Chapter 54: Chapter 54

He said, "Sorry, I’m late."

Su Lingzhi’s mind went blank for a moment, then a dense wave of bitterness welled up from her heart, her throat gradually swelling and choking.

It was the voice she had been longing to hear for the past half-month, yet at this moment, she wished she had misheard.

Instinctively, she tightened her grip on the white cane, suppressing the discomfort in her throat, and asked calmly, "Do we know each other?"

She couldn’t see his face, wasn’t sure if it was him.

But the remaining ten percent of uncertainty still made her want to confirm.

There was no response from him for a while, and the surroundings were so quiet it was devoid of the slightest sound.

Just as Su Lingzhi was about to speak, her words were silenced by his lips, a warm kiss mixed with the taste of tobacco invaded, the familiar heat terrifying her, making her instinctively resist.

Her nape and waist were held by icy hands, and any sound she tried to utter was swallowed back, leaving her no room for retreat or resistance.

The white cane slipped from her hand, Su Lingzhi’s thoughts were in disarray, resigning herself to acceptance from resistance, and then transforming from acceptance to initiative, entwined with him in the deep night.

The emotion ignited in the air, her initiative and shyness burning away Fu Yinli’s reason, desperately wanting to claim her for himself.

The force gradually tightened, becoming more entangled.

It lasted for a long time, and the ambiguity between them spread through their panting breaths.

Fu Yinli held her, their foreheads touching, and in the moment of savoring it, his body was suddenly pushed away without warning by her.

"What kind of man bullies a blind person?"

Her voice was always clear, but at this moment, it turned cold, like frosted sugar.

Her sudden change caught Fu Yinli off guard, his eyes darkened by the night’s shadow, "Still pretending not to know me?"

Su Lingzhi raised her hand to wipe the moisture from her lips, her voice still cool, "Do you think just from your voice I can tell who you are? Am I important enough in your heart?"

"So, you rely on a kiss."

"Yes." Su Lingzhi pulled a cold smile at the corner of her mouth, "Only a bastard like Fu Yinli would bite someone like that."

Her tone was contemptuous, calling him by his full name and cursing him a dog...

Fu Yinli frowned, unable to discern what he felt inside, but he didn’t argue with her, "Feeling better now?"

"What do you think?" Su Lingzhi retorted.

These days, she had been longing for his response every day, it had been a whole half month without contact, and even when he came back, he didn’t tell her.

Upon reunion, he just bullied her, what did he take her for?

An object to summon at will and dismiss at will?!

Suppressing the resentment that grew in her heart, swallowing down the love she had for him, Su Lingzhi coldly asked, "Shouldn’t you explain something to me?"

Fu Yinli’s deep, noble face was engulfed in the thick night, his dark eyes cold and hard to read his emotions.

After a moment, he said in a deep voice, "Explain what? Why I didn’t let you go through with the marriage with Jiang Chenglin?"

Fu Yinli gazed at her gentle face, his voice steady, "You’re dating me while secretly nurturing feelings with your marital partner back in the country, do you think I can tolerate that?"

Su Lingzhi’s delicate eyebrows suddenly tightened, "In your heart, do you think I’m that fickle? I came back to the country because I wanted to change my family’s mind about the marriage, not to nurture feelings."

Fu Yinli silently watched her.

During the days he wasn’t at her side, he couldn’t clearly see what hardships she had gone through.

Every day the reports he received only showed her together with Jiang Chenglin, whether eyes open or closed, it was the two of them interacting, this half-month of endurance could not be so easily resolved.

But seeing her in this frail state inevitably stirred pity.

Su Lingzhi clenched her fist tightly, "Hiding it from you was my fault, but my intention was to cherish our feelings a bit more. I was so cautiously caring for you, yet you, without even asking me a single question, gave me such a big surprise, is this your revenge on me?"

Fu Yinli frowned: "Pulling me into the block list without a word, did you ever give me a chance?"

"When did I block you?"

Seeing her genuinely unaware, Fu Yinli frowned again and moved forward with a sullen face to search for her phone.

Su Lingzhi gritted her teeth, "Don’t touch me."

Su Lingzhi begrudgingly pulled the phone out of her pocket and handed it to him.

Before she could finish telling him the password, Fu Yinli already unlocked it and went straight into the contact list.

"Am I blocked?" Su Lingzhi asked.

His number lay right there in the blacklist, but she couldn’t see it.

"When have I ever lied to you?"

Su Lingzhi was speechless, feeling suddenly complicated inside.

In fact, she hadn’t blocked him, and she didn’t know who did.

"My calls wouldn’t go through, but you have Xiaoxi’s number, right? She was with me, why didn’t you call her?"

Fu Yinli looked up at her, "Same."

"Then couldn’t you try calling with another phone at least?"

Fu Yinli didn’t respond.

Su Lingzhi’s emotions suddenly grew complicated.

With someone as important as him, who would dare to block his contact details repeatedly.

So, he wasn’t intentionally not contacting her, but couldn’t reach her, thinking she was sulking, which led to everything that happened afterwards?

"When did you return to the country?"

When the clouds parted, Su Lingzhi found herself at a loss for how to react.

After half a month of suspicion, he suddenly told her it was all because of a misunderstanding between them.

Su Lingzhi frowned, unable to let it go: "Even if there was a misunderstanding between us, you shouldn’t have handled things so harshly, completely disregarding my feelings. I’m your girlfriend, you should trust me, and you can’t decide my matters without my consent."

"In the future, don’t keep anything from me, I promise you."

Su Lingzhi fell silent, the resentment in her heart for him eased quite a bit.

There was indeed a misunderstanding between them, but all the reactions it triggered made her understand more deeply what kind of person Fu Yinli was.

He could choose his career over her, destroy her future when he thought she betrayed him, and easily make it impossible for her to get married, could this mean that there was nothing Fu Yinli couldn’t control if it was something he wanted?

But, what about her, what did she really want?

Are they really in love now?

Tightened around her waist prevented her thoughts from becoming more complex, the scent of wood and tobacco filled her nostrils, the lingering and gentle force made her somewhat dazed.

Du Qin stood at the garden entrance, watching from afar the couple entwined under the night sky.

After contemplating for a moment, she turned silently and left the scene.

"Does your head still hurt?" his deep, unique voice sounded.

Su Lingzhi awoke from her reverie, "Fu Yinli, we should both take some time to cool down."