Chapter 21
My Husband Told Me to Get Lost
Every word Zhao Yuheng uttered felt like a slow, agonizing torture inflicted on Jin Bao'er.
Seeing that he kept his head down and refused to speak, Zhao Yuheng's gaze turned and shot towards Hu Xiaowen like a knife.
"What about him? You said you're afraid to accept kindness from others, and you suspect that anyone who's kind to you has ulterior motives?"
"Then why are you two so close?"
"Could it be... that he's more important than me?"
Zhao Yuheng spent the entire afternoon cooped up in his dorm room.
I felt utterly dejected and hopeless, as if a fire was burning inside me, filled with anger and regret.
What angered me was Jin Bao'er's hurtful use of the word "Chao Xiong," and what I regretted was that I acted impulsively and almost threw that punch.
Another thing that made him uneasy was...
He might have really done something that completely broke Jin Bao'er's heart.
So he sulked and tried desperately to recall what he had done to offend someone, but his mind was a mess and he had no clue what to do.
It wasn't until his basketball teammates messaged him, saying they saw Jin Bao'er and Hu Xiaowen eating hot pot, and asked him why he hadn't gone.
Zhao Yuheng asked for the address, which made him so angry that he jumped out of bed.
He didn't care about anything else, grabbed his coat and rushed to the hot pot restaurant.
However, the scene he saw when he rushed into the store instantly turned his anger into ice.
The two sat facing each other in front of a steaming hot pot, and Jin Bao'er was still smiling at Hu Xiaowen.
That smile was utterly irritating.
This made him feel that the argument he had just had was just a one-man show.
This anger was just a performance he put on himself.
Hu Xiaowen sat there, not knowing what to do.
The point of contention has now fallen on him.
"Heng-ge, why don't you... have some too?"
Hu Xiaowen braced himself and picked up his teacup in an attempt to ease the tension.
Zhao Yuheng, his face full of anger, just glared at him coldly. The ferocity in his eyes almost made Hu Xiaowen drop his cup.
Immediately, Zhao Yuheng fixed his gaze on Jin Bao'er, who was bowing her head and remaining silent.
Hu Xiaowen was completely humiliated and shrank to the side, not daring to utter a sound.
The hot pot restaurant was bustling with noise, but the air around this table seemed to freeze, chilling to the bone.
"Speak up, Jinbao'er! Are you mute?"
Zhao Yuheng's voice suddenly rose, filled with barely suppressed anger.
Jin Bao'er trembled, and under his intense gaze, she had no choice but to slowly raise her head.
His eyes were brimming with tears, yet he stubbornly maintained his composure, his voice terribly hoarse.
"Alright, Zhao Yuheng, let me tell you the truth. You have so many flaws that I can't stand them."
After listening, Zhao Yuheng stared intently at him, his chest heaving, signaling him to continue.
"First, I don't want to eat the chicken leg you put on my plate every day anymore! I told you I didn't want it, but you still insisted on shoving it into my mouth. I find that disgusting!"
"Secondly, I don't want to be like Siamese twins with you! We have to be glued together in class, after class, while eating and sleeping. You talk so much nonsense all day long, I find it incredibly annoying!"
"Thirdly, what I hate most is when you buy me things and drinks all the time... I feel like you're pitying me, like you're giving me charity!"
Jin Bao'er took a deep breath, each word sounding like blood squeezed from her throat.
"Zhao Yuheng, you're too domineering, too stubborn, and too self-righteous! Your so-called 'being good to me' is actually... all of it that I don't want!!"
After saying this, Jin Bao'er quickly lowered her head, biting her lip tightly, not daring to look into Zhao Yuheng's eyes again.
Because every single word I uttered was against my will!
With every word he uttered, his heart trembled and bled violently.
These are all the little things that Heng-ge has done for him...
In this world, besides Heng Ge, who else would pamper him like a child?
For a long time, Zhao Yuheng seemed not to have recovered from these words.
More than anything, it was unbelievable.
It turned out that it was indeed his behavior that annoyed him.
But he never expected that the last straw that broke the camel's back would be his own heartfelt "goodness"!
He described it in such detail that it seems every effort I made was seen as an embarrassing burden in his eyes.
"Okay...okay...okay!"
Zhao Yuheng said "good" three times in a row, a self-deprecating sneer curling at the corner of his mouth.
The big head nodded mechanically, as if it were trying its best to vent something.
He looked fierce and ruthless, yet he also exuded a deep sense of hurt and helplessness.
His fists clenched tightly at his sides without him even realizing it, his knuckles turning white.
Hu Xiaowen watched in terror, barely daring to breathe, fearing that the tall man might spill the scalding hot pot broth on the two of them in a fit of anger.
"I was meddling in other people's business."
"I was too arrogant."
Zhao Yuheng gave Jin Bao'er one last deep look, the light in his eyes completely extinguished.
He suddenly took two steps back, turned around and left, his back view exuding a resolute loneliness.
Until Zhao Yuheng's figure disappeared through the doorway.
Jin Bao'er, who was still sitting in her seat, seemed to have all her strength drained away, and she slumped against the back of the chair.
The energy that had been supporting his acting just now dissipated, and immense pain instantly overwhelmed him.
This pain is more intense than any physical injury.
It felt like countless steel needles were densely piercing every corner of my heart.
He was in so much pain that his breathing was trembling, and he couldn't utter a single word.
Seeing Jin Bao'er's distraught appearance, Hu Xiaowen sighed and said nothing more.
This straight man is really different from the average straight man.
When two straight men become friends, if one wants to keep their distance, the other will usually tactfully back off.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Yuheng not only did not back down, but also insisted on getting to the bottom of things, determined to get to the bottom of things before he would give up.
That's really too stubborn.
Jinbao was so upset that she couldn't eat a single bite of the hot pot.
Although Hu Xiaowen has a big appetite, he ordered enough for two people, so he had to reluctantly pack the leftovers to take home.
The school cafeteria has a microwave, so we can heat it up again tomorrow.
The two took a taxi back to school.
Throughout the journey, Jin Bao'er remained silent, watching the receding night view outside the window.
When they arrived at the dormitory building, it was time for them to part ways.
"Jin Bao'er, you did the right thing today."
Hu Xiaowen patted Jin Bao'er on the shoulder and said earnestly.
"If you don't completely separate, your lingering ties will not only hurt you, but also harm him. You need to understand this."
After saying that, Hu Xiaowen carried the packaged beef back to his dormitory.
Jin Bao'er smiled bitterly.
he knows.
Pushing open the dormitory door, the air inside was so stuffy it was suffocating.
Jin Bao'er changed her shoes very quietly, almost tiptoeing as she went in.
He subconsciously looked up at the familiar upper bunk.
Zhao Yuheng was lying on his side, his back straight, like a block of ice that refused to melt.
His face was buried deep in the pillow, leaving only a broad but stiff back view for the person on the lower bunk.
Jin Bao'er's gaze slowly moved down and landed on the clothesline at the foot of the bed.
It was completely empty.
In the past, Zhao Yuheng always liked to hang his underwear there, and he would say as if it were perfectly normal to hang his underwear here.
Now, all of Zhao Yuheng's underwear has been neatly put away in the closet.
It's as if it's silently declaring: the boundaries are clear, and there's no longer any connection.
Jin Bao'er's throat felt like it was blocked with cotton, sour and painful.
He didn't dare to say much, silently climbed into bed, and followed Zhao Yuheng's example, lying down with his back to the center of the dormitory and facing the wall.
Even after the lights were turned off, the atmosphere in the dormitory remained incredibly awkward.
When the eldest brother came back from the toilet, he glanced at the upper bunk and then at the lower bunk. As if they had planned it, the two of them turned their backs to them and faced the wall.
"What's wrong with you two today? Haven't you made up yet?"
The eldest brother couldn't help but speak up, "Jin Bao'er, we spent half the afternoon trying to persuade the third brother not to hold a grudge against you while we were playing basketball."
Jin Bao'er didn't say anything, but just awkwardly hummed twice to the boss.
"By the way, Jinbao'er,"
The eldest brother seemed to remember something, "Tomorrow morning, the second brother and I want to eat steamed buns and soy milk. If you're going to the cafeteria, could you bring us some? And while you're at it... ask the third brother what he wants to eat."
The eldest brother's words concealed a subtle intention to bring them together.
Jin Bao'er tightened her grip on her phone.
He knew that he and Zhao Yuheng would likely be in a state of cold war from now on.
But if even the boss isn't given face, he really can't stay in this dorm.
He took a deep breath, his voice as soft as a feather, yet with a barely perceptible tremor:
"Heng...Third Brother, what do you want to eat for breakfast tomorrow?"
The person on the upper bunk suddenly froze.
Zhao Yuheng kept his eyes tightly closed, but his brows furrowed deeply in the darkness.
That long-lost, soft "Heng" sound was like a needle, precisely piercing through the defenses he had painstakingly built up.
The scene at the hot pot restaurant instantly came to mind.
Jin Bao'er disgustedly ate his chicken leg, coldly saying that it was "charity," "noisy," and "self-righteous."
If you don't push it away, you'll be disliked.
If you don't refuse, you'll be laughed at.
He gripped the bedsheet beneath him tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force.
After a long few seconds, just when Jin Bao'er thought he wouldn't answer.
A very soft thud, accompanied by the sound of someone turning over, came from the upper bunk.
Zhao Yuheng didn't turn around, not even lifting his eyelids, but turned his face further into the inner wall.
His voice was hoarse, as if it had been sanded on sandpaper, and it carried a chilling aura.
"Get lost! I won't eat anything."