Chapter 83

 

Oh.

Three and a half years—how impressive.

As soon as Liang Jiancheng finished speaking, the stern look on Professor Liang’s face softened into a faint smile. Seeing Ming Xi suddenly sitting there in a daze, he realized that he, an old man, had made the atmosphere far too awkward. He spoke gently instead. “Scared you? Looks like you don’t like him after all.”

“…” Liang Jiancheng was about to get up and take Ming Xi away.

However, Ming Xi seemed frozen in her chair.

Even if Liang Jiancheng wanted to take her away, she couldn’t move. Her silence wasn’t due to being frightened, but rather because her heart was heavy, so heavy that she seemed to lack even the strength to hold her chopsticks. She tightened her grip on the chopsticks, tried to bury her head, then raised it again, and softly said, “Liang Jiancheng… I do like him.”

Ming Xi’s voice wasn’t loud, and her response was slow, but both men at the table surnamed Liang heard her clearly.

If the professor’s words were a statement of fact, then Ming Xi’s words were more like an expression of emotion flowing naturally from the depths of her heart.

She answered plainly and openly—her expression and demeanor completely unguarded.

Then, she shifted her gaze from the professor to Liang Jiancheng and said again, “What a coincidence… I’ve also liked Mr. Liang for a long time.”

Liang Jiancheng: …

If Ming Xi had been the one stunned moments ago, now it was Liang Jiancheng’s turn. He stared straight at the person beside him, as if he had finally reached this long-awaited moment. He was so happy, so overwhelmed with joy—yet he couldn’t bring himself to smile. His eyes remained fixed on Ming Xi’s face. Even as his mature, long-suppressed love surged again and again, it felt as though overlapping years had suddenly folded into a single instant.

Ming Xi stopped speaking, picked up her chopsticks again, and took the ribs Liang Jiancheng had placed in her bowl.

Two simple sentences seemed to have exhausted all her strength. She was hungry; she needed to eat first…

“…Oh!”

The three people at the table fell silent, and Professor Liang, who was usually the quietest, was speechless for a moment. Today, this old man really had been too abrupt. He hadn’t understood a young woman’s heart at all.

Ming Xi didn’t have complicated thoughts. If the professor hadn’t exposed Liang Jiancheng’s long-held feelings, her own feelings toward him would have remained the same as before—even knowing she liked him deeply, she still wouldn’t have wanted to be the one to concede first.

But now that she had spoken her truth, she had conceded.

It wasn’t shameful to like someone like him.

But she also felt so embarrassed she was about to cry.

The professor had just tested her, suggesting she didn’t like Liang Jiancheng.

So what was it—had she been pretending too much all these years? Or being too selfish? Or overly cautious?

How had she managed to give the professor that impression? She felt wronged and innocent at the same time. Liang Jiancheng had been waiting, and she had been waiting too—waiting for the day when she could, just like today, openly and easily say in front of the professor, in front of Liang Jiancheng’s mother, and in front of anyone curious about their relationship, that she liked him too.

She had liked him for a long time as well.

If only her family were like Cai Ni’s, she could have said it much sooner.

Professor Liang said Liang Jiancheng had a crush on her for three and a half years—that was a long time. She calculated the time; he had liked her even earlier than she had thought.

But Liang Jiancheng didn’t know when she had started liking him.

From the moment, back in Yicheng, when she saw him chase after her out of the professor’s dorm to return the gifts—she had wanted to live with the same dignity and presence he carried. Over these three years, had there been a single day she hadn’t pushed herself to live harder, stand taller, shine brighter?

So that one day, she too could calmly and gracefully say to everyone: “This is Mr. Liang, the man I love.”

It wasn’t that she didn’t like him; she simply wanted to live with more dignity and spirit before liking him—with enough confidence to support that love. That way, her feelings would carry strength and resolve.

She wouldn’t retreat easily, and she wouldn’t feel ashamed of them.

All this time, his love for her had been so bright that it made her seem dim in comparison. That was why she had worked so hard to make herself shine.

Did she need to say all of this right now?

Fine. Then she’d eat first. She needed more strength before she could tell these things.

Ming Xi pursed her lips, lowered her head, and continued to focus on eating the rice in her bowl. The glistening rice, coated with the oily aroma of the ribs, entered her mouth—but what she tasted was sourness. Had there been too much vinegar in the dish? Why did it taste so sour? She swallowed the overly sour mouthful with difficulty, then reached for her drink and drained half the cup in one go.

Her eyes suddenly welled up with tears, brimming with emotions that were about to spill over.

“Ming Xi, haven’t you always told me everything over the years?” the professor sighed, his tone gentle yet helpless. Who would have thought it would turn out like this? He had assumed this child had been completely in the dark.

So, taking advantage of the holiday, this old man had taken it upon himself to play the matchmaker.

If Ming Xi had still been relatively steady before, then the moment the professor asked this, the sourness surged straight toward her heart. She lightly licked the corner of her lips and realized they tasted salty too.

“…Because I was afraid you wouldn’t like me… that you wouldn’t want me.” Ming Xi gritted her teeth and spoke out the only worry that had been in her heart all these years. The moment she said it, she completely lost control. She had laid herself bare, revealing the sensitivity and pride of the twenty-year-old girl she once was.

Ming Xi tried desperately to rein in her emotions. She tilted her face upward and raised a hand to wipe away the tears welling in her eyes. She was grown now, capable now—she couldn’t lost composure too badly. But no matter what she did, she couldn’t stop the tears. Her lashes trembled, and more tears spilled out.

Professor Liang had never expected that his well-intentioned matchmaking would not make Ming Xi happy at all, but instead pierce the softest part of her heart.

When she said “you,” it certainly didn’t include Liang Jiancheng—but it definitely included Professor Liang himself.

Professor Liang was immediately filled with remorse.

“How… how could I not like you? How could I not want you?” Professor Liang exhaled deeply, his face full of shock and emotion. Then he let out an incredulous, heavy sigh and tried to explain himself. “If I didn’t like you, would I have helped you find a job, urged you on in your studies, cared about your career…?”

Ming Xi nodded, deeply moved. Of course, she knew the professor liked her, but she always felt he only saw her as a student.

When she first fell for Liang Jiancheng, she was just a penniless girl from Yicheng TV University. How could she dare to assume that the professor who helped her find work would have no regard at all for family background?

She could choose not to be worldly—but she couldn’t avoid thinking in worldly terms on behalf of Liang Jiancheng’s parents.

Ming Decheng and Yang Yumei were still missing, their whereabouts unknown, and she had a biological mother whose identity was a mystery… These circumstances naturally weighed on her mind. She could tell herself they didn’t matter—but she was deeply grateful to the professor and indebted to him. She couldn’t be thoughtless, nor could she pretend to be naive…

If, before today’s meal, Liang Yuzhi still harbored a trace of doubt about Ming Xi, then at this moment, he understood everything. He finally understood why the relationship between Liang Jiancheng and Ming Xi had developed the way it had. It turned out that he—and Gu Shuangyang—were the real culprits behind it all.

Professor Liang finally glanced at his son, who had remained silent.

Liang Jiancheng closed his eyes briefly, then gave him a pleading look.

Realizing he had become the “bad guy,” Professor Liang suddenly felt that he was the one who should leave.

“…I just remembered something. Old Zhao asked me to lunch…” Professor Liang quickly set down his chopsticks and stood up. After taking a couple of steps, he turned back and instructed his still-silent son, “Liang Jiancheng, you and Ming Xi eat slowly. I’m going to pick up a couplet from Old Zhao.”

Liang Jiancheng looked up, too lazy to speak, only giving him a deep and helpless look: Hurry up and go!

Professor Liang said nothing more, put his hands behind his back, and hurried downstairs.

With a soft click, the door to the room was thoughtfully closed.

Ming Xi: “…”

Liang Jiancheng remained seated. After withdrawing his gaze, he let it rest quietly on her for a moment, then spoke with calm composure and sincerity. “Old Liang’s cooking doesn’t suit his own taste. That’s why he didn’t eat much.”

“What a waste… Why don’t you eat more, Mr. Liang?” Ming Xi replied to Liang Jiancheng, but turned her face to the other side.

“I can’t eat either. There’s too much I need to say. The meal can wait—but what I want to say to you can’t.” Liang Jiancheng’s voice wasn’t loud, but he spoke earnestly. He gently pursed his lips, patiently waiting for Ming Xi to turn around, and then reached out his hand with longing: “If you can’t eat either, shall we go to the study to talk?”

Oh… okay.

She really couldn’t eat anymore either.

Ming Xi stood up and followed Liang Jiancheng into the professor’s study. At this moment, only the two of them remained in the house, and it was extremely quiet. As she stepped into the study, the image of her first visit, when Liang Jiancheng personally installed software for her, flashed through her mind.

That must have been around 2000…

The professor’s study had not changed much; it still had that large desk with two computers on it, and two rows of bookshelves facing each other.

Ming Xi stopped at the doorway and turned her head—just in time to see Liang Jiancheng following her in and closing the door behind him.

Unlike the apartment’s security door outside, the study door was an old-fashioned, solid-wood one. It took a bit of force to shut it completely.

Bang—

As the door closed, Liang Jiancheng stood directly in front of her.

Ming Xi lifted her head, waiting for him to say those things he claimed were even more important than eating—things that simply could not go unsaid.

Then his foot brushed against hers. His chest pressed against hers. Her lips parted slightly, and Liang Jiancheng’s lips came down.

He kissed her—intimate, commanding—sealing her lips.

A tight, silent kiss.

The entire room was silent, as if everything around them had frozen in time.

Liang Jiancheng’s kiss, like the look in his eyes before he kissed her, was turbulent with emotion, sometimes tender, sometimes intense.

It also carried a deep understanding and profound tenderness.

Ming Xi’s body had been stiff at first. Only when her once iron-hard heart finally softened did she place her hands around Liang Jiancheng’s waist and respond to his kiss naturally.

She was still on her period today. What did a kiss like this—so full of feeling—feel like?

It was like warm currents surging violently through her body, as if she were on the verge of hemorrhaging.

Today…

She really was losing control.

As the kiss ended, glistening droplets still clung to Ming Xi’s eyelashes. Liang Jiancheng gently kissed the eyes and eyelashes of the person before him.

“Ming Xi, I’ve been waiting for this day ever since you first walked into this study.” Liang Jiancheng tried to speak in a light tone. He wasn’t the ignorant Professor Liang; it was precisely because he knew so much about her that he had been waiting.

But he didn’t know that she had also begun to wait for him.

What could he say?

For the past few years, they had remained “good friends,” each harboring their own “truth.” Her truth—he already knew.

But his truth—she might still know nothing about.

“Ming Xi, come here, I want to show you something…” Liang Jiancheng took her hand again and led her to the computer he kept in his father’s study, sitting down in the large executive chair whose leather had begun to peel. Once the computer booted up, he opened a file.

Then he clicked on a scanned document named “lyz” and opened it.

“What is this?” Ming Xi asked.

“Old Liang’s letter of separation and divorce to Director Gu.”

Liang Jiancheng wrapped his arm intimately around Ming Xi’s body, one arm encircling her, the other holding the mouse, gently zooming in on the scanned document.

Ming Xi: …

She truly didn’t understand. How could Liang Jiancheng show her something this private—something so deeply personal to the professor?

As if reading her mind, Liang Jiancheng explained, “DIrector Gu wanted me to see it. She kept the original—couldn’t bear to part with it—so I scanned a copy.”

He wasn’t showing Ming Xi this to prove anything or to show off. He was laying bare his parents’ past purely so he could reveal his own truth. His reflections over the past few years—about himself and about Ming Xi—were deeply tied to this letter. This letter had not only resolved years of confusion for him, but had also allowed him to fully understand why Old Liang was the one who proposed the divorce. Strange, wasn’t it? After more than a decade together as husband and wife, when it was clearly his mother’s career that had flourished more, it was Professor Liang who had asked for the divorce.

As a young man, Liang Jiancheng had once misunderstood his father, thinking it was wounded pride—that he couldn’t tolerate a wife who outshone him. But the truth was different. Even after years together, despite arguments and differences in outlook, Professor Liang had never lost his dignity or pride as a husband in front of his wife. On the contrary, it was Gu Shuangyang—who appeared to hold the higher position—who had always been the more accommodating one.

So why did Old Liang divorce her?

As an adult, Liang Jiancheng could understand it and no longer wished to probe too deeply. It was only three years ago, when his mother asked about his relationship with Ming Xi, that he had honestly told her about the conversation his father had had with him—about waiting until Ming Xi was more established before committing to a relationship.

Hearing this, the usually strong-willed Gu Shuangyang fell into thought, shook her head helplessly, and said, “That’s exactly the kind of thing Old Liang would do.”

Later, she showed him the divorce letter Professor Liang had handwritten all those years ago.

As Liang Jiancheng spoke gently and steadily, Ming Xi finished reading the letter as well. If her previous understanding of Professor Liang was merely that he had a bad temper, a proud personality, and was somewhat awkward but extremely kind-hearted, then after reading this letter, she truly understood what a deeply affectionate and genuinely considerate person Professor Liang was.

The entire letter was thoughtful and restrained. Especially toward the end, it was filled with a dignified, controlled respect for his ex-wife.

“Shuangyang, you are meant to be an eagle. The love in our marriage has transformed into familial affection. In that case, the title of ‘marriage’ should no longer be a restraint upon you. You should soar freely across the sky without fear—unburdened by household trivialities, unbothered by worldly judgment, unconfined by identities such as my wife or the mother of my son. You should live as yourself alone. None of society’s shackles should weigh you down. I know the pain you have borne these years, the dilemmas you have faced, the hesitation in your heart. Too many compromises have dulled the will and spirit that were once stronger than most. As your former closest friend, I wish only that you become better—that you live with greater ease, clarity, and strength…”

Ming Xi was shaken to the core. After finishing the letter—its powerful, resolute handwriting glowing on the screen—she felt as though every word had pierced straight through her soul.

Then, Liang Jiancheng showed Ming Xi something else.

It was also a letter written by Old Liang himself.

A job recommendation letter.

This wasn’t something Old Liang had shown him. In fact, Old Liang might have forgotten about it entirely. Half a year ago, while searching the study for old documents, Liang Jiancheng had stumbled upon it in a discarded manila envelope. Liang Jiancheng couldn’t bear to throw away this now-useless letter of recommendation, so he kept it in his notebook.

He showed it to Ming Xi today simply to reassure her that his Old Liang truly liked her…

Liang Jiancheng opened the top drawer, took out a notebook, and pulled out a job recommendation letter tucked inside. He opened it and handed it to Ming Xi.

She took the stamped graduate recommendation letter in her hands. When she saw her own name, her gaze locked onto every single word written about her.

She remembered that weekend before graduation—the reason she had gone to Professor Liang’s home with gifts was because she’d seen him writing recommendation letters for undergraduates, letters that could place them in good jobs.

That was what had stirred her heart.

She had no recollection of the few words Professor Liang had written in those recommendation letters.

But the letter of recommendation in her hand was exceptionally long.

So long that Ming Xi couldn’t even finish reading it at a glance. Before she could finish, she noticed the date on the letter: November 12, 1999, even earlier than the day she went to give the gift.

A full month earlier.

Professor Liang wrote the following in her graduation recommendation letter:

“Although this student comes from a TV University, she is the student I value most. I regret deeply that I could only teach her two hours a week. Over two years, I have witnessed an exceptionally promising talent. She could have flown higher, but her family background and education limited her. Even so, given an opportunity, she will never disappoint expectations. I earnestly hope you will offer her a position that allows her to grow and grant her many chances. She is a student who gives me pride and comfort, and I sincerely hope she will have a brilliant future.”

Ming Xi read it word by word and then saw that the company the professor recommended to her was a very good state-owned enterprise in Yicheng.

However, that year, she went to Professor Liang and told him that she was going to work for a large company elsewhere and could not stay in Yicheng.

What’s wrong with her today…?

Her eyes welled up again. Afraid her tears would stain the letter, Ming Xi hurriedly set it back on the desk. Lowering her head without thinking, the tears that surged forth didn’t fall onto the paper—but on Liang Jiancheng’s hand.

One drop after another.

…

Professor Liang wandered downstairs for a long while. Estimating the time, he finally returned home two hours later, deep in thought.

When he opened the door, he saw Ming Xi and his son sitting on the sofa—with a noticeable distance between them.

“You’re back. I’ll take Ming Xi home first,” Liang Jiancheng stood up.

He walked straight toward the door and stepped outside without waiting for her.

Ming Xi also stood, lowering her gaze slightly as she rose from the sofa and slowly followed.

Professor Liang was completely bewildered: …This doesn’t look like people who had a proper conversation at all!

They liked each other—and still managed to mess it up?

Looks like his son hadn’t learned any real skills from that stepfather of his after all.

Professor Liang was just about to start mentally criticizing his son when—

Ming Xi, who had just passed by him, didn’t go after Liang Jiancheng. Instead, she suddenly threw herself into the old man’s arms, hugging him tightly.

Professor Liang was momentarily stunned: …

Uh, what’s going on here?

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