Chapter Twelve

  "Me too."

  Cai Luo Chen initially thought she had misheard. Xiang Qian Tong actually responded to her and even said the three words "I am too".

  For an instant, I was dazed, as if in a dream.

  Qian Tong, do you know how long I've been waiting for these three words?

  Such a wonderful moment made Si Luo Chen wish for the first time: "Time, would you please not pass, can't we just stay warm and still here?"

  Even if it's just for a moment, it's better than nothing.

  After a long time, Xiang Qiong finally moved slightly and slowly turned around, with both hands on Si Luo Chen's waist, looking at her in a daze.

  The two of them gazed at each other, and Xiang Tong's cheeks flushed slightly. Si Luo Chen, who was already feeling a bit dizzy, became even more flustered under her intense stare.

  Qian Tong...

  "Shh." Long and slender fingers, still wet, pressed against Si Luochen's lips.

  Don't speak, Lu Chen begs you not to speak.

  Anything you say will make me pass by with an unstoppable momentum.

  All the things that once warned herself, as if they were all engulfed by this hug, your voice swallowed everything clean, but she couldn't do it, couldn't do anything to hurt Si Lu Chen.

  The icy fingers on her lips were slowly warming up, she furrowed her brow, looking uneasy.

  It's always because I'm too impatient.

  Just as I was about to find a topic to ease the atmosphere, I heard: "Lu Chen, do you still want to eat dinner, huh?" The voice had a hint of restraint, and his head was slightly lowered as he asked.

  He was taken aback at first, then nodded in response.

  "Who just said they were hungry, huh?" Xian Tong's voice was soft and gentle, yet it carried a hint of magic that made Si Luo Chen inexplicably follow her lead, saying: "Me."

  Qian Tong's mouth curved into a smile, her voice low and gentle. She turned sideways to let her see the black pepper sauce in the pot that had already been dried out: "Then why don't you quickly go get the table set up? If not, the sauce will be completely dry again and we'll have to make it all over again, and the steak won't taste good."

  Watching her smile, he felt relieved.

  Si fell back a step, with an innocent face: "It's not entirely my fault, at least one-third of the blame is Qian Tong's responsibility." He said so but immediately ran to clean up the table.

  The atmosphere returned to normal, and the steak that had been left out in the cold for a long time finally became the protagonist and was served at the dinner table.

  The meal was eaten in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

  "Tomorrow I plan to go take a look at that rehabilitation center."

  "Isn't it next week? I have a patient coming tomorrow and might not be able to go together." A piece of tender beef was put in his mouth.

  "It's nothing, I'll just go take a look myself. You said that woman isn't simple, so I thought I'd launch a surprise attack." He elegantly cut his steak with the dinner knife in his hand.

  Understand Si Luochen's intention, has always disliked being led by the nose.

  "...then you be careful, if there's a problem just call me, got it?"

  Si Luo Chen nodded.

  The topic ended and the dinner table fell silent again, possibly because they had walked too much today, both of them were very tired. After cleaning up, Si Luochen went to bed early after taking a bath.

  Qian Tong remained still on the sofa, a little afraid to enter that room, fearing that her uncontrollable heart would ultimately harm Si Luo Chen.

  You're not suitable for her and she's not suitable for you. You are two completely different people. Both women, unblessed emotions, does it make sense to continue like this?

  Qian Tong did not speak.

  As long as you leave, everything else is no problem. You can also live a good life, don't forget that some things only I can do.

  Her eyebrows were furrowed, her arms wrapped around her knees grew stronger, and her fingers tightly grasped her shoulders.

  You're really useless - to Qian Tong!

  The next morning, Xiang Qiong packed up and left early. The moment the door closed, Si Luo Chen opened her eyes, glanced at the tidy bed beside her, and knew that Xiang Qiong hadn't come in all night.

  What happened after all?

  Am I hated?

  Looking back on these days of getting along, everything went smoothly, so why did I retreat from Qian Tong at the critical moment?

  Woke up with a puzzled heart, washed and had breakfast, changed into a crisp suit and walked out of the house.

  The final conclusion is that Si Luo Chen was too hasty, and towards Qian Tong, she was originally a person who didn't trust emotions, let alone such an emotion, she should have given Qian Tong more space.

  He handed the address to the driver and the taxi headed in another direction of New York.

  The car stopped at the entrance of the rehabilitation center, and he took over the change from the driver. He got out of the car with his bag and stared at the white building in front of him, his expression very calm.

  Before arriving, Si Luochen had a simple understanding of this place and also learned from the taxi driver that most of the people here were American wounded soldiers, and some were disabled due to disasters. Their mental state would not be very good.

  At this moment, Si Luo Chen asked himself, can he really take on the responsibility?

  Can she, as a doctor, really empathize with what these people who survived the hail of bullets have gone through?

  He walked into the rehabilitation center, looking around at everything. A robust man with a military badge on his chest was sitting in a wheelchair, his legs gone without a trace.

  From his eyes, Si Luo Chen could see a kind of despair towards life.

  "Doctor, what a coincidence." A voice sounded from behind him.

  Turning around and facing him, Shen said: "Hello, I came to take a look at the situation and environment here." His voice was very calm, his expression also very calm.

  Shen glanced around and didn't see Xian Tong's figure anywhere, no wonder it felt a bit cold.

  "I thought it would be next week before we could meet again, but Dr. Si came the day after tomorrow." With a smile at the corner of his mouth, he walked to Si Luo Chen's side and explained: "His name is Jack, a former air force pilot who was sent here for rehabilitation after breaking both legs in battle."

  He had been seeing Cui Luochen's gaze on him since just now.

  "Does he have family?" asked faintly.

  "There is, but he also has a younger brother who is also a soldier and is currently an air force captain."

  "Does he have a girlfriend?"

  "We broke up three months ago." Shen replied lightly.

  "Was he sent here three months ago?" The tone was calm, as if he had already guessed the outcome.

  "I didn't expect Si Luo Chen to face the warmth and coldness of the world with such a calm attitude. He nodded: "Yes, many stories happen here every day, some touching, some realistic.""

  Si Luo Chen's gaze fell on Shen Lue, his expressionless face asking: "Is there a story worth your nostalgia?"

  Shen thought for a moment before responding, "It's like the story of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg." He looked at Si Luo Chen and smiled slightly, "You're so young, you probably haven't seen this movie."

  He glanced at her and said lightly, "You don't look much older either."

  "I'm just more nostalgic."

  "Nostalgia is also a part of midlife crisis, be careful." he said expressionlessly.

  Shen Lue's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at Si Luo Chen and didn't continue the topic: "Want to sit in my office for a bit?"

  Si Luo Chen nodded, which was equivalent to agreeing.

  Shen Yue's office is very clean and tidy, but there are not many personal items. From these details, it can be seen that this person is meticulous and cautious in doing things, and also has a mysterious side.

  "What would you like to drink?" There was a small refrigerator in Shen Yue's office.

  "Is there milk?"

  "Just in time." He took it out and handed it over to Si Luochen.

  "Thank you." Xie Luo Chen took over the milk, his eyebrows drooping as he asked faintly, "What kind of story is 'The Umbrella'?"