My Crush Also Has a Crush on Me!
Chapter 193 Wait for Me to Return, to Lull You to Sleep

Chapter 193: Chapter 193 Wait for Me to Return, to Lull You to Sleep

The blazing sun hung in the sky, and the wind carrying the heat swept by, nearly steaming people away.

After a downpour relieved everyone’s urgent need for coolness, the atmosphere at home quieted down considerably once the oldest brother’s family moved out; little Shenghui’s cries were no longer heard.

Even her lively younger brother seemed listless and ill, lacking energy for anything.

At the dinner table, Cheng Yiyi, as if in passing, asked Fu Ying, "Fu Ying, you must have a boyfriend by now, right?"

Fu Ying’s chopsticks paused, and she looked up: "What about it?"

"Ah, nothing, just that one time I saw you get into an unfamiliar man’s car at the school gate. That must be your boyfriend, right?"

Fu Mingchuan looked up at Fu Ying. He knew his daughter rarely interacted with the opposite sex, and besides her two brothers and Shen Liguang’s car, he couldn’t think of whose car she might get into.

Fu Yan clicked his tongue twice, his lips curling up, "Not bad, it’s only been half a month since Brother Li Guang left, and you’re already like this? You really can’t stand the loneliness, can you?"

Fu Mingchuan frowned: "Is that how you talk about your sister?"

"······ It was just a joke."

Realizing she might have said the wrong thing, Cheng Yiyi laughed awkwardly: "No, no more, I might, might have seen wrong."

"You didn’t see wrong. I did get into a man’s car, I got into a car with someone I have a legal relationship with, that’s not a crime, right? Dad, Aunt Wen, I’m full, going upstairs now." Fu Ying suddenly lost her appetite, put down her chopsticks, and went upstairs.

Fu Mingchuan’s expression darkened slightly: "Yiyi, I think you’re a good kid, but don’t talk nonsense about things you don’t understand. You said it at home this time, but if you said it outside, wouldn’t it damage Yingying’s reputation?"

"I understand, Uncle," Cheng Yiyi showed a face full of guilt and apology.

...

The rain outside stopped and started again, pitter-pattering against the windowpanes. Fu Ying wrote the character "Shen" on the glass with her finger, then sighed and returned to her bed.

Qibao slept soundly. After being neutered, it lived worry-free and desireless, eating and sleeping, leading days too good to be true.

Fu Ying envied it for having no annoying people, no one to think about, and no troubling matters.

She logged into QQ on her computer, which kept pinging as the group chat became active again.

The group was missing one person, Du Yong’s girlfriend.

Turns out, Du Yong had broken up with the girl, which is why the group had livened up again.

Li Hanyi: That was fast, tsk tsk tsk...

Lin Lishan: I’m dying of laughter, ask if anyone’s getting slapped in the face now?

Du Yong: ... At least it was me who dumped her.

Li Hanyi: Being dumped isn’t a huge loss of face, we stand strong despite it.

Du Yong: Not talking to you guys anymore, I have stuff to do, logging off.

Lin Lishan: Weird, maybe he still likes that girl?

Li Hanyi: Maybe.

Eventually, Li Hanyi and Lin Lishan were the only ones left chatting. Fu Ying stayed silent, just lurking and watching. The chat history ended with Li Hanyi saying: Sleep early, good night.

That night, Fu Ying couldn’t sleep. Fiddling with her phone, she inexplicably went to her contacts and dialed Shen Liguang’s number, and by the time she realized it, someone on the other end had already picked up.

"You’re taking the initiative to call?" The man’s voice carried a light, teasing laugh, making Fu Ying’s cheeks burn.

"Brother, I can’t sleep." She licked her dry lips, took a deep breath, her fingers twisting the blanket, whispering softly, "I, I miss you a bit."

The man sat downstairs taking a drag on his cigarette. Hearing the girl’s soft voice saying she missed him, he slowly chuckled, "So I should soothe you?"

"I want to listen to a song."

"What do you want to hear?"

"Anything."

The girl then added, "As long as it’s you singing."

A round moon hung in the sky on his side, stars strewn across it, the summer night breeze carrying warmth that made one feel restless.

Shen Liguang listened to the girl’s sweet, soft voice on the other end, his body warmed, his eyes darkening a shade.

"If you won’t help me with geometry problems, just talking about them makes me want to sleep."

The person didn’t immediately respond, but slowly chuckled, quite teasingly: "I do have a way to make you fall asleep instantly."

Perhaps because they had spent so much time together, and she had come to understand him well, Fu Ying was all too familiar with the implication behind his words.

Her cheeks had already turned a blush red, suddenly unsure of how to respond, the man added: "I want to listen to you, breathing in my ear."

His voice, coming through the phone, felt as if he were whispering right beside her ear, burning hot.

Fu Ying couldn’t stand his flirtation.

Fu Ying’s cheeks were unbearably red.

"Wait for me to come back, I’ll soothe you to sleep properly."

Fu Ying clutched her phone, obediently responding with a "Mhm."

"Then let’s hang up the phone."

"Brother, good night."

"Mhm, good night." Shen Liguang smiled with the corners of his mouth, his heart shining like the starry night sky.

Fu Ying pulled out two shiny new red booklets from the drawer and flipped them open; in the photo, she looked a bit nervous, her lips curved in a shy smile, while the man’s head was gently leaning towards her, mouth upturned, brimming with laughter.

She placed the red booklets under her pillow, closed her eyes, and slowly drifted into dreamland...

That night, Fu Ying slept soundly.

...

Last night’s rain had poured all through the night, and today was overcast.

The air was fresh, with a touch of chilliness, Wen Qing was stewing soup in the kitchen, asking Fu Ying to deliver it to Xia Jinyun.

When Fu Ying left with the thermal container, it was nearly noon.

The ground beneath her feet began to tremble; Fu Ying’s heart skipped a beat, and she immediately looked towards the residential buildings.

She was not the only one to sense something wrong—people from the building started rushing out in panic, yet the tremor lasted only a few seconds before everything returned to normal.

They knew all too well how terrifying natural disasters could be from last year’s flood.

Everyone panicked and hesitated to go back upstairs, gathering at the base of the building.

One by one, people emerged from the building, but Xia Jinyun was nowhere to be seen; holding onto the thermal container, Fu Ying pushed through the crowd and squeezed into the building.

A flustered person descending grabbed her, "Girl, aren’t you afraid? It felt like an earthquake just now, come downstairs quickly."

"I’m going up to find my sister-in-law," Fu Ying hastily replied, breaking free from their grip and running upstairs.

Quite a number of people lived in the building; Fu Ying only spotted Xia Jinyun on the fourth floor.

A woman was holding little Shenghui, who was crying terribly.

Outside the building, the space was crowded with people, who stayed put until the afternoon, only returning when they were certain it was safe.

"The Seismological Network officially determined: On August 24th at 10:35 am, an earthquake occurred, with a focal depth of 10 kilometers, and the surrounding cities felt mild tremors."

That evening, as the family was eating dinner, the TV was broadcasting the news.

Hearing the name of City A, Fu Ying’s heart tightened, and the food in her mouth tasted like wax.

There was a sudden chill in the air at the dinner table, and Fu Ying put down her chopsticks and went upstairs.

Xia Jinyun asked, "Li Guang is in City A, isn’t he?"

Fu Mingchuan nodded.

Then silence followed.

In the dead of night, with the world in complete stillness, Fu Ying tried calling Shen Liguang countless times, always greeted by the same standard prompt tone.

Fu Ying’s fingers clenched the phone tightly, her body curled up, hugging her knees, her face buried in her arms, biting her lip as tears flowed uncontrollably, her petite shoulders trembling.