Xiao Li heard the doorbell.

  The doorbell sounded ear-piercing and urgent. From the frequency of the doorbell, Xiao Li guessed the identity of the person.

  She stared at the wallpaper on the computer and fell into deep thought.

  On the computer was a young man in a black shirt. He was sitting on a fountain stone platform by the street with a cup of coffee in his hand. He narrowed his dark eyes at the person taking the photo. His lips curled into a very faint and cold smile.

  The doorbell stopped ringing.

  Xiao Li thought that Zhuang Long had left.

  She could not help but reach out and gently touch the young man’s forehead on the screen. Like a pervert, she pressed her lips to the corner of that person’s lips and sighed softly. “I miss you so much.”


  Just as she finished speaking, Xiao Li suddenly heard a man’s voice from downstairs. “Ah Li! I know you’re not asleep yet! Open the window and look at me.” Just as she finished speaking, a stone knocked on the glass window of Xiao Li’s study. Xiao Li was stunned for a moment. Did he not leave?

  Xiao Li walked to the window and pulled open the curtain. Through a transparent glass window, she looked down at the person downstairs.

  Zhuang Long was wearing a light blue shirt and a pair of casual pants. He stood in her front yard and was looking up at her. Zhuang Long gestured at her, meaning for her to open the window. He had something to tell her. Xiao Li hesitated slightly, and she did not open the window obediently.

  Zhuang Long picked up another stone and threw it at Xiao Li.

  Xiao Li watched as the stone hit the glass in front of her and flew away.

  She sighed and opened the window.

  Leaning against the window, Xiao Li looked down at Zhuang Long and asked him, “Why are you here so late? Aren’t you afraid that I’ll call the police and sue you for trespassing?”


  Zhuang Long did not speak and only looked at her quietly.

  That gaze contained thousands of words.

  Xiao Li did not dare to look at him. She shifted her gaze and looked at the haystack beside Zhuang Long.

  “What are you doing here?” Xiao Li’s tone was cold.

  Zhuang Long said, “I miss you a little.”


  Xiao Li’s heart skipped a beat.

  Thinking of something, her softened eyes instantly became ruthless. She said, “Oh.” Then, there was nothing else.

  Zhuang Long scolded this woman for being heartless.

  He asked her, “Have you really decided to marry Bruce?”


  Xiao Li did not answer and only looked at him with a mocking gaze. Zhuang Long understood her gaze and felt that he was asking for humiliation. The forced smile on his face completely faded. Zhuang Long placed his hands behind his back and clenched them tightly.

  He asked Xiao Li, “What’s good about him?”


  Xiao Li said, “Everything is good. He treats me quite well. He treats Qilin well, looks good, and has a good family background. He’s also very upright…”


  “Alright, I understand.”


  Zhuang Long’s heart was bleeding when he heard Xiao Li praise Bruce as if he was perfect.

  He said, “Actually, I’m quite good too.”


  Xiao Li looked at him mockingly.

  “Really!” Zhuang Long said. “I’ll be very good to you too. I’ll be very good to Qilin. I’m good-looking and have a good family background. Although I’m not an upright person, I’m definitely not a heinous person. More importantly, I love you.”


  Upon hearing the last three words, Xiao Li secretly clenched her fists.

  “You don’t love me.” Or maybe you don’t love me enough.

  “Why wouldn’t I love you!” Zhuang Long was exasperated. He pointed at his heart and said, “From the day you and Bruce announced the wedding date, I’ve been hurting here without stopping for a moment. I thought that I would just let go like this, but I can’t do it. Loving you is clearly a very painful thing, but I can’t stop loving you!”


  “Why don’t you believe that I love you! Even if I neglected you in the past and was a little of a bastard, a bastard is still qualified to get a chance to perform! You didn’t even give me a chance. You’ve sentenced me to death. This is unfair!”


  Xiao Li saw Zhuang Long’s pain and was almost convinced.

  “You keep saying that you love me…” Xiao Li said softly. Her voice was not loud, but Zhuang Long, who was downstairs, heard her. He quickly shut his mouth and listened to her quietly.

  Xiao Li said, “If you really love me so deeply, you should remember me.”


  Zhuang Long was stunned. He subconsciously asked, “What?”


  Xiao Li asked him, “Do you remember where we first met?”


  Zhuang Long said, “The Middle East!”


  With that, he saw the faint anticipation on Xiao Li’s face completely darken.

  Xiao Li said, “It’s late. You can go back.” With that, she closed the window. No matter what Zhuang Long said downstairs, she did not open the window again. She did not know how long she stayed downstairs before Zhuang Long left.

  Zhuang Qilin carried a koala bear and walked into Xiao Li’s study.

  Seeing Xiao Li staring blankly at the computer table, he could not help but tiptoe and hug his mother. He comforted Xiao Li and said, “Mom, we have to believe Dad. He will get better.”


  Xiao Li hugged Zhuang Qilin back, her face filled with sorrow. “What should we do if he can’t get better?”


  Zhuang Qilin stroked Xiao Li’s hair and said, “Mom, if he continues to be like this, I won’t agree to let you live with him. He’s too scary. He almost killed you. Mom, I don’t want a murderer father, nor do I want the person killed by my father to be my mother.”


  Zhuang Qilin’s words made Xiao Li’s nose sting.

  In the silent night, the mother and son hugged each other tightly, treating each other as their only straw to clutch at.

  When he returned home late at night, Zhuang Long was filled with anger. He had nowhere to vent it, so he could only lock himself in the boxing room and fight the sandbags for more than an hour.

  Zhuang Long was so tired that he felt like he had been hollowed out. Only then did he lie on the ground like a fish that had lost its water source and was struggling on its deathbed.

  He stared blankly at the ceiling, his expression half crying and half smiling.

  …


  Zhuang Long opened his eyes and realized that he had been lying in the boxing room for the entire night.

  He tried to sit up. His bones were weak.

  Actually, the most uncomfortable thing was not his sore and tired bones, but his head. His head hurt like it was being pricked by needles. He guessed that he might have caught a cold. Zhuang Long rarely got sick, so this cold was especially serious. He stood up shakily and walked out of the boxing room towards the dining room on the first floor.

  Seeing that he was unable to walk and his face was slightly red, the chief steward frowned.

  The chief steward quickly walked forward and held Zhuang Long. He asked, “Sir, are you feeling unwell?”


  “I might have a cold.”


  Zhuang Long’s cold symptoms were a little serious. He was sent back to his room by the head butler. After taking two pills to cool down his headache, Zhuang Long fell asleep. When he woke up, his health did not improve. He had to see a doctor. He had to make an appointment to see a doctor in America. For ordinary minor illnesses, he just had to find a family doctor.

  The family doctor examined him, prescribed some anti-inflammatory cold medicine, and left.