SHE'S COMING BACK

Sheng Junlie's words thundered in Ye Ling's ears, leaving her pale and her heart wrenching with pain. She picked up the Chinese medicine on the bedside table and drank it in one gulp, the bitter liquid causing her stomach to spasm.

She fought the urge to vomit and stood up to walk to the door. "I'll take the bowl down," she said.

They were arguing so much that there was no way they could sleep in the same bed tonight. She took the bowl and left the room quickly.

As she closed the door behind her, she heard the sound of something heavy falling to the ground. She didn't know what had gone wrong this time, but it seemed like Sheng Junlie had taken it out on something.

She stood in the hallway for a while until she felt better, then went downstairs. Sheng's wife and Zhang Ma were in the living room, snacking on melon seeds and watching variety shows. When they saw her coming down with the bowl, Zhang Ma quickly got up to take it from her. "Little Ling, why did you bring it down yourself?" she asked.

"I wanted to go for a walk outside and brought it down while I was at it," Ye Ling forced a smile.

"It's so late, are you sure you want to go out? Has Junlie gone to bed? If he hasn't, let him accompany you. Don't go out alone, it's not safe," Sheng's wife said.

She was indeed unhappy that Ye Ling had become Sheng Junlie's wife, but she couldn't deny that her son was responsible for his actions. Now that Ye Ling had married into the Sheng family, as long as she gave birth to a big fat grandson, even if she came from a humble background, she could still be accepted. Look at Chu He and his wife, they were so loving.

Ye Ling stared at her shoes, Sheng's wife was a very romantic person, and the slippers and pajamas she had prepared for Ye Ling and Sheng Junlie were couple-themed. If she knew that they had fallen out of love two and a half years ago, she didn't know if she would be very sad.

"He's pretty tired today, so I'll just walk around the yard and not go out," Ye Ling said as she walked towards the door.

It wasn't until her figure disappeared at the entrance that Zhang Ma leaned in towards Madam Sheng and whispered, "I just saw that Little Ling's eyes were all red. Did she and her husband have a fight?"

Madam Sheng frowned and put the melon seeds back into the fruit bowl. "I'll go check on her."

*

The Sheng family estate was quite large. Ye Ling walked around the lawn and came to the lake. The cool breeze of the summer night lifted her long hair, making her figure appear especially slender.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket, again and again. She knew who it was - only her mother would be so persistent.

She suspected that if she didn't answer, her mother would call all night.

Ye Ling took a deep breath and answered the phone. Her mother's angry voice came through the phone, "Ye Ling, what's going on? I've been calling you all day, why aren't you answering?"

"Mom," Ye Ling moved the phone away from her ear, "can you please stop bothering me?"

"I'm bothering you?" Ye's mother couldn't believe it. Her voice became sharp, "I care about you, and you say I'm bothering you? Do you have any conscience?"

Ye Ling closed her eyes. "Do you really care about me? Or do you care about whether I can secure Madam Sheng's position and continue to benefit you? If you really cared about me, you wouldn't have gone behind my back to find Sheng Junlie and force him to marry me!"

The night breeze blew gently, and Ye Ling heard her own rapid breathing.

She finally said it.

These words had been hidden in her heart for so long. She had been planning to keep them to herself. She and Sheng Junlie had been married for three years. What was the point of questioning how they got married?

"So this is what you really think of me, Ye Ling. You're really heartless," Ye's mother was furious, panting heavily on the other end of the phone.

"Isn't it?" Ye Ling didn't want to argue with her, but her words were still firm, "I said I can support the child, I don't rely on anyone, why do you have to go find him?"

Two people who didn't like each other, forced to come together because of that absurd night and the unexpected child, how could they be happy?

How could their marriage start so badly and still be happy?

Ye's mother softened her tone, "I'm not going to find him, can you still marry Chu Qin? Ye Ling, when did you become so naive?"

"I never thought about marrying him." Ye Ling's eyes were so painful that tears could come out with a blink. Even now, she still felt heartbroken when she thought of that night.

That night, Sheng Junlie took her to socialize, and at the banquet, he blocked several glasses of wine for her.

He had told her that his secretary didn't need to block wine for him. If one day he had to let his secretary block wine for him, then the Sheng Group would be on the brink of bankruptcy.

Later, he got drunk, and she helped him to the hotel room to rest. He was too heavy, and they both stumbled on the carpet as they entered the room.

That hit her hard, and when she reacted, she found that she was pinned under Sheng Junlie. She was scared and struggled desperately.

But her struggle awakened a sleeping lion, and in the end, he devoured her until there was nothing left.

"You are my child, how could I not know what you are thinking?" Ye's mother said, "Even if this didn't happen, you and Chu Qin are still worlds apart. Chu's wife will never agree to Chu Qin marrying you."

Ye Ling couldn't stand it anymore. She squatted down, her stomach burning and hurting badly. "I said I never thought about marrying him."

Listening to her stubborn words, Ye's mother just sighed lightly, "Little Ling, whether you believe it or not, when I went to Sheng Junlie and asked him to take responsibility, it was the best choice for you."

Ye Ling couldn't listen anymore and hung up the phone forcefully. She leaned on the railing and suddenly vomited.

Madam Sheng went upstairs and stopped outside the door of Sheng Junlie and his wife's room. She knocked on the door several times, but no one came to open it. She bent down and looked through the crack in the door and saw that the lights were on inside. So she pushed the door open and entered.

No one was in the room, but she saw a tall figure standing on the terrace, surrounded by white smoke. It was unclear whether it was the night that shrouded him, or if his back looked desolate and lonely.

She walked through the bedroom and went to the terrace. She reached out and took the cigarette from his hand. Sheng Junlie turned his head suddenly and saw her. The light in his eyes, which had just lit up, dimmed instantly. He licked his dry lips, and the taste of nicotine lingered between his teeth. It was bitter and astringent.

"Why did you come up here?" he asked.

Madam Sheng put out the cigarette and wrinkled her nose at the smell of smoke all over him. "Didn't I tell you to quit smoking? Why are you still smoking?"

Sheng Junlie grabbed the railing with both hands and said, "I'm upset, so I smoked two cigarettes."

"Is it because Yunxi is coming back?" Madam Sheng asked, seeing him stunned. "And you had a fight with Little Ling because of her, didn't you?"