Chapter 68: A Debt from a Past Life, Eagerly Repaying in This One
Li Ge rubbed his eyes and reread the powerful words on the paper.
Fuck, was this the same perverted dog he knew? Possessed by a demon? So he was usually quiet, but his heart was full of twists and turns, his mouth as if sealed, not saying a word, really something.
How could a person be so secretly horny?
Li Ge was incredulous and read it a third time, carefully reading each word, and found that he almost didn’t recognize Chen Shuo anymore.
The bastard from last night was the real Chen Shuo, so who was the one who wrote these sentimental words? He even used a metaphor. He wanted to fly, but how could he fly with such sentimental words?
What a quiet one, so good at holding it in.
If it were Li Ge, he would definitely be suffocated to death. At this moment, he had a lot to say, so he quickly lay back on the bed, took the phone from the bedside table, and called Chen Shuo. As he dialed, the corners of his mouth unconsciously lifted, as smug as could be, even the physical pain was bearable.
When the call connected, he had to argue with the quiet one. He had hit him so hard last night, and he had the nerve to say he liked him. Couldn’t he just say he was jealous of that slut? A grown man, so pretentious, hiding his feelings, how could he tell? Writing a bunch of sentimental words to turn the tables on him and act wronged, who was the real victim here?
“Let’s see how I’ll deal with you tonight.” Li Ge stared at the confession on the paper, both groaning and chuckling, already thinking of an opening line. First, he would make Chen Shuo say he liked him, and then they would settle the rest slowly.
However, a cold, mechanical female voice came from the receiver.
“Hello, the subscriber you dialed is switched off. Sorry, the subscriber you dialed…”
Li Ge was stunned. He hung up and called again, still switched off. Having been blocked by Chen Shuo so many times, the prompt tone was different this time. He was sure that Chen Shuo had really turned off his phone, and he had a bad feeling, but he also felt it was unlikely.
He already liked him, why play hide-and-seek?
Impatient, Li Ge desperately wanted to see Chen Shuo, to hear his voice. He then called Yuan Feng. After waiting for more than ten seconds, the call connected, and it was his cousin He Yan who answered.
He quickly asked, “Brother, is Chen Shuo there? Let him answer the phone.”
“No, he’s on leave.” He Yan scolded his cousin, “I don’t care what’s going on between you two, don’t affect Yuan Feng. Chen Shuo has a sense of propriety, you’re the one who doesn’t know what’s important.”
Li Ge: “…”
A man being pregnant was indeed a rare and risky thing. Li Ge quickly asked a few more questions and learned that Yuan Feng had woken up this morning with an upset stomach and had gone to the hospital for an emergency checkup, so he couldn’t attend class today. He Yan was worried and had ended the course for Yuan Feng in advance. Chen Shuo, suddenly free, had simply taken leave, asking He Yan for leave alone without telling Yuan Feng.
Guessing this, Li Ge was subdued and asked his cousin, “How long is his leave?”
He Yan: “He came to the hospital to find me wearing a mask and resigned on the spot. I didn’t agree and told him to go out and relax, and come back before Yuan Feng gives birth. If he brings it up again when he comes back, I won’t stop him.”
Li Ge: “…”
He Yan: “I told you not to bother him, is it appropriate to hit someone’s face like that?”
Li Ge: “No, I—”
He Yan: “Alright, the doctor is here, don’t go near Yuan Feng, so he won’t worry. If he worries, I’ll worry too, it’s endless.”
Li Ge: “…”
The call was hung up from the other end. Li Ge first looked at his bruised knees, then turned his head to look at his ass, which was even more frightening than his knees. His waist to his legs were covered in bruises and pinch marks, especially his ass, which was swollen like a big perky butt.
Fuck, how many times had he hit him? A huge loss. He was more wronged than Dou E. The quiet one would have been better off fucking him hard with Chen Erdi last night, at least he would have been satisfied, now there was only pain.
Fuck.
Li Ge couldn’t laugh anymore, his stomach full of anger with no outlet. Looking at the sentimental words Chen Shuo had written, he only felt they were hypocritical, that’s not how a person should be.
Everything was decided by Chen Shuo. He could be good when he wanted to, break up when he wanted to, and run away when he wanted to. He had never considered his feelings from beginning to end, what kind of like was that? Was this what he called wanting to have a good life with him? He didn’t even dare to apologize to him in person, just writing it down lightly on a piece of paper, what a fucking coward!
“Fuck.” Li Ge was so angry that he crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it on the floor. The sudden movement pulled on his ass and legs, making him groan in pain, “Ouch,” he was so wronged.
He hadn’t eaten at the party last night, only had two drinks. After feeling wronged, he was hungry. He looked at the kitchen, there was no steamer on the stove, only an iron pot and a clay pot that Chen Shuo had bought a few days ago. Chen Shuo would make soup for him every night.
The steamer wasn’t out, which meant there was no hot breakfast.
Li Ge’s anger wouldn’t subside, and he wanted to smoke. After ordering takeout for himself, he forced himself to get up and get dressed. He could barely stand it when he put on his underwear, and when he put on his trousers and fastened his belt, his waist ached, but the most painful were his two knees. He couldn’t remember how long he had knelt on the washboard last night, and he had also forgotten when he had fallen asleep.
“Ouch…” He bent down to pick up the crumpled paper on the floor, carefully unfolded it, and read each word carefully again. After reading it, he folded the paper again and again and put it in his trouser pocket.
He only found a lighter in the room, no cigarettes. Li Ge was extremely annoyed and ordered two packs of cigarettes on his phone, then walked around in the small living room. Every step he took, his body ached. The more it hurt, the angrier he became, only hating himself for not hitting him harder last night.
An disobedient dog should be dealt with harshly.
After eating the takeout without any taste, Li Ge opened the wardrobe and found that Chen Shuo’s clothes were indeed fewer. Obviously, he had not only packed for him this morning but also packed a suitcase for himself.
He slowly squatted down and opened his own suitcase. In the middle of the neatly folded clothes, he saw the Patek Philippe watch box. Chen Shuo had finally been willing to accept his watch in the car that day, but he had never worn it.
In the end, Chen Shuo had always been putting on airs with him, what kind of like was that? And he hated his promiscuity. Hadn’t he stopped being promiscuous when he was single-mindedly pursuing him? He was overthinking his past and getting jealous, why hadn’t he died of his own quietness and sourness?
“You quiet one, let’s see where you can run to!” Li Ge sent this voice message to the pinned chat window on WeChat, then called another friend in his circle.
The black Mercedes in the underground garage hadn’t been driven away by Chen Shuo. Li Ge didn’t care, thinking he could find Chen Shuo soon, even if his phone was off, he could still track his whereabouts.
But Chen Shuo had disappeared as if he had evaporated into thin air. For the next few days, there was no news of him, he hadn’t turned on his phone, hadn’t returned home, and there were no records of his whereabouts.
His wife had disappeared.
He couldn’t ignore the large company in his hands. Li Ge couldn’t spare too much time to look for Chen Shuo. Being busy could also distract him a little, so he wouldn’t always be thinking about him and getting angry.
The main thing was that he didn’t know where to start looking. The dog was deliberately hiding from him, so he could only ask his friends to keep an eye out.
For the first few days, Li Ge was angry and hateful. No one took care of his daily life. He wanted to move back but was worried that Chen Shuo would suddenly return. Besides, there was a group of little Rhodeus fish that Chen Shuo liked in the fish tank, and if he left, no one would take care of them.
Several times when he was feeding the fish, he would curse at the fish tank, “Do you know that your father is a good-for-nothing? He’s just a coward, so pretentious, I’ve never seen such a sentimental pretender, I think he has schizophrenia. He left just like that, not caring about your life or death, how heartless. From now on, recognize me as your father, I’m the one who won’t abandon you.”
But when Li Ge contacted Wen Ling and indirectly inquired about Chen Shuo’s whereabouts, he learned that Chen Shuo hadn’t returned to Jiangcheng at all for Qingming Festival, nor had he gone to see Mengmeng.
Chen Shuo really just wanted to surprise him, staying alone in a hotel, not telling him anything, and only sending him a WeChat message at night.
Fucking unbelievable, what was the point of having a mouth?
For the next few days, Li Ge went crazy in Chen Shuo’s deserted little apartment. He didn’t know how many times he had punched the punching bag on the balcony, until he was sitting on the ground, panting. Still angry, he smashed the washboard he had knelt on, but it was too sturdy and didn’t break. Instead, he made a small dent in the floor of the room. After going crazy, he drove back to his own place.
Liking my ass, was this how you liked someone? Whoever he loved, whoever he loved, if he wanted to disappear, then disappear, as if he couldn’t live without that Chen guy. What was the point of living in that shabby apartment? Wasn’t it more comfortable to live in a big house with a housekeeper? If he went looking for trouble again, he would be a despicable person!
But the next evening, after leaving the company, Li Ge sheepishly returned to his wife’s small apartment.
He refused to admit the fact that he had slapped his own face and found a very good reason for himself—the little Rhodeus fish couldn’t be without a father, they needed him to take care of them.
While waiting for takeout, Li Ge fed the fish daily and complained to his “children,” “If it weren’t for the fear of you starving to death, I wouldn’t fucking come here.”
As the fish food fell, the little Rhodeus fish quickly wagged their tails, all pecking at the food like hungry wolves, even fighting over it. In just a few seconds, they had divided up a spoonful of fish food.
“What are you fighting for?” Li Ge frowned and sprinkled another spoonful of fish food into the tank, “If you fight again, none of you will get to eat. It’s so annoying to see you fighting, can’t you get along peacefully?”
The little Rhodeus fish continued to fight over the food, and in just a few seconds, they had divided up the fish food again. After eating, they swam happily in the water, getting along peacefully.
Li Ge took out his phone and took a picture of the fish, taking three to five in a row, and sent them all to Chen Shuo’s WeChat, with a message attached: [If you don’t come back, they’ll starve to death.]
He scrolled up and looked at his chat history with Chen Shuo, suddenly not knowing what he was doing here. He was already holding in a breath of anger, and coming here would only make him more annoyed, purely self-inflicted trouble.
When Yuan Feng’s due date arrived, wouldn’t they be able to meet? There was no need to wait here. Chen Shuo didn’t even care about the life or death of this group of fish, why was he so eager to take care of them?
Li Ge opened the calendar and counted the days. There was still a month and a half until Yuan Feng’s due date, too long, so long that he couldn’t wait a single minute or second.
His wife had been missing for a full eight days, clearly hiding from him. He might not even be able to see him at the hospital, and he might not even have a chance to settle the score with him.
Fuck, why?
The dog still owed him a formal apology!
Li Ge really admired Chen Shuo. How could he endure not using his phone in this day and age? He hadn’t even taken his laptop with him, was he really cut off from the world? How could he live without money for food, clothing, and shelter?
Soon, he realized a terrifying problem.
On the other side of Beicheng, He Yan was coaxing the little pregnant man at home, giving Yuanbao prenatal education.
The phone on the bedside table, which was on silent, kept lighting up. Yuan Feng was the first to notice and quickly reminded He Yan. When He Yan saw that it was his cousin calling, he guessed it was nothing good.
Yuan Feng: “Hurry up and answer, what if it’s something urgent? It’s not like he’s fighting with Chen Shuo, right?”
“They’re fine. It’s just that Li Ge has been trying to get me to invest in a project these past two days, and I’m still considering it.” He Yan lied and got out of bed, leaning down to kiss Yuan Feng’s forehead, “I’ll go out and take the call, go to sleep first if you’re tired.”
Yuan Feng was happy, “I’m not tired yet, you go ahead.”
As soon as He Yan answered the phone, his expression turned sour. He only heard his cousin’s anxious and shouting voice, saying that his assistant was having a breakdown and might have already committed suicide.
Li Ge: “Brother, do you really not know where he is? I can’t fucking track his whereabouts. If something really happens to him, how am I supposed to explain it to his family?”
He Yan: “You’re worried about him now, what were you doing before?”
Li Ge: “Fuck, can’t I just let it go…”
Hearing his cousin’s defeated voice, He Yan said, “I told you he would be back when Yuan Feng gives birth, what’s wrong with your brain? Go do what you have to do, don’t look for him.”
Sensing that something was wrong, Li Ge pressed, “Have you been in contact with him? Where is he? Tell me, brother, are we still family?”
He Yan didn’t know where his assistant had gone. It was just that on the day Chen Shuo resigned, he, as his boss, had shown some concern.
Chen Shuo was probably too depressed and told him that he and Li Ge had broken up, that he had some psychological problems and needed to see a psychologist, and that it might take a long time to recover, so he decided to resign.
He Yan was ultimately more biased towards his own cousin. Besides, his assistant looked lovesick, what he needed was probably not a psychologist, but to sit down and have a good talk with Li Ge. They could either work things out or break up amicably.
So He Yan told his cousin, “He went to a psychological counseling agency, I’ll send you the address later, I don’t know anything else.”
“Thanks, brother!” Li Ge asked again, “Does he really have no friends in Beicheng? He didn’t drive, and there’s no record of him leaving Beicheng, he must be living somewhere.”
He Yan didn’t know much about Chen Shuo’s private social life and couldn’t help. Before hanging up, he repeatedly advised his cousin to behave himself and to sit down and have a good talk when they met.
On the ninth morning of his wife’s disappearance, Li Ge went straight to the psychological counseling agency Chen Shuo had visited, pitifully selling his misery to the psychologist.
He lied that his brother was lovesick and had suicidal thoughts, and had been missing for a whole week after coming here for counseling, and that something might have already happened to him, a matter of life and death that couldn’t be taken lightly.
The psychologist happened to have an impression of Chen Shuo and quickly invited Li Ge to sit down. He found Chen Shuo’s file from the visitor’s records and recalled, “He was indeed very distressed and rather negative, but he didn’t show any suicidal tendencies.”
“…” Li Ge’s heart tightened, “He was already negative, I think that’s close enough. Did he reveal any other key information? Like where he wanted to go.”
Then, Li Ge heard the psychologist say that although Chen Shuo had come for counseling, he rarely spoke, or rather, he was resistant to speaking, and was mostly silent. It wasn’t until after an hour of sitting there that he asked the psychologist how to alleviate his pain, and after asking, he suddenly stood up, paid the fee, and didn’t want any more counseling.
Psychologist: “Because he wasn’t in a good state when he left, I tried to communicate with him and asked him where he wanted to go next. He only said he wanted to get a haircut and refused to communicate further.”
Li Ge: “…”
Psychologist: “In psychology, getting a haircut is also a form of self-reinvention. I think he wants to cut off the past and start a new life. He probably won’t commit suicide, he just needs some time.”
He had finally found a glimmer of hope, but not only did he get nothing, but the situation was even worse.
Li Ge paid the fee and left the psychological counseling agency. Standing on the roadside, watching the cars and people go by, the morning sun was quite hot. He stood in the sun for a while, thinking that Chen Shuo’s hair wasn’t that long, he had just gotten it cut when he came to Jiangcheng to surprise him for Qingming Festival. Did he have to get a haircut to cut off the past? Why didn’t he just chop off Chen Erdi? Really, making him go back and forth.
A debt from a past life, eagerly repaying in this one.
He Yan had just entered his office when his cousin’s harassing call came. He answered helplessly, “If you call again, I’ll block you.”
Li Ge: “Don’t, brother, I wanted to ask you, do you know where Chen Shuo usually gets his haircut?”
He Yan actually knew this and immediately sent his annoying cousin away.
As soon as he got the address, Li Ge rushed to the suburbs, wondering on the way why Chen Shuo would go so far, wasn’t it troublesome? There were so many barbershops in the city, why not choose one of them? Was it opened by some distant relative?
Just as he was about to arrive at that barbershop, a call from a friend in his circle came, telling him Chen Shuo’s latest news.
Chen Shuo had bought a train ticket to Dongcheng last night and had already left Beicheng.
The car stopped at the entrance of the barbershop. Li Ge didn’t really want to go in anymore. He felt like a clown, being played around, how could he not hold a grudge? What did that Chen guy take him for?
He sat in the car smoking until the car window was knocked on. The barbershop owner was a middle-aged man of about forty, who greeted him with a smile and asked if he wanted a haircut. There were no customers at the moment, so he could go first.
Li Ge didn’t get out of the car and casually asked the owner if he knew Chen Shuo. Seeing the owner’s expression change, he knew he was in the know. He quickly stubbed out his cigarette, got out of the car, and pressed for information.
“Brother, I’m Chen Shuo’s brother, I’ve been looking for him for several days, can you tell me about his situation? If you don’t trust me, I can show you…” Li Ge suddenly realized that he didn’t even have a photo of Chen Shuo.
He and Chen Shuo didn’t even have a single photo together.
“It’s okay, I know, he’s mentioned you to me.” The owner said, “He left yesterday afternoon.”
Li Ge: “…”
Later, Li Ge learned from the owner that Chen Shuo was a regular customer of this barbershop. When the owner first met Chen Shuo, he was only nineteen, so he had watched him grow up year by year. He had always been a loner, and this year he finally got a partner, but unexpectedly, it was a male partner.
During the days Chen Shuo was missing, he had been staying in the empty room that the owner rented out. It was a temporary stay, so he didn’t use his ID to register. Before leaving yesterday afternoon, Chen Shuo had gotten his hair cut, a buzz cut, and said goodbye to the owner.
Owner: “He wanted to shave his head, but it wouldn’t suit his handsome face, so I just gave him a buzz cut.”
Li Ge: “…”
“He went to Dongcheng to relax.” The owner didn’t understand same-sex relationships and couldn’t offer much comfort, so he just casually said, “Don’t worry, what’s meant to be yours won’t run away.”
Dongcheng was very far away. Li Ge didn’t go looking for Chen Shuo again, not because he was limited by the distance, but because he suddenly understood, he was like a fool, going around in circles by himself. If Chen Shuo wanted to relax, then let him. If he pushed him too hard and he ran away again, he would give Chen Shuo enough time this time. He would remember all the scores between them and settle them slowly when Chen Shuo returned.
In short, he hadn’t said no, Chen Shuo was still his wife.
Spring passed, and summer came.
The VIP ward at the hospital was bustling with activity. Li Ge chatted with a few elders in the living room for a while, and when the topic turned to him, he immediately hid in the ward to find Yuan Feng.
Yuan Feng was completely unaware of what was going on between Li Ge and Chen Shuo. He had been fooled by the two cousins and thought that Chen Shuo was really busy with his new career outside, and had caught a cold these past few days and couldn’t come to the hospital.
“Brother-in-law, your due date is in three days, right?” Li Ge was looking forward to it as much as the baby’s father, “I’m finally going to meet little Yuanbao, my heart…”
Yuan Feng chuckled, “Why are you more anxious than me? You’re at the hospital every day, don’t you have to manage your company?”
Li Ge: “How can the company be as important as Yuanbao? All my future assets will be Yuanbao’s.”
Yuan Feng: “…”
After staying at the hospital for a while, Li Ge was afraid that his elders would start urging him to have a child, so he said goodbye and went home.
When he got home, he first fed his “children” as usual, then ordered takeout for himself. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to cook, he had tried twice, but the food was terrible, so he was too lazy to do it.
When the takeout arrived, Li Ge’s phone rang. Seeing that it was his cousin calling, he quickly answered, “Brother, is there any news? Is he back?”
“Yes, he came to the hospital first, Yuan Feng is sleeping, he should be back.” He Yan reminded his cousin, “If you have any problems, sit down and have a good talk. If you cause me any more trouble—”
“Stop, stop, I’ll definitely have a good talk!”
After hanging up the phone, Li Ge quickly checked the apartment, first throwing away the takeout box, then stuffing the few messy clothes on the sofa into the wardrobe, at least keeping the surface tidy to leave a good impression on his wife.
And the clothes on the balcony…
He quickly went to collect them, stuffing them all into the wardrobe, creating the illusion that no one had been living there, planning to scare Chen Shuo a little. He had been left alone in an empty room for so long, this punishment was too light, he admired himself for being able to wait for so long.
Li Ge had been keeping track of the days. He had been separated from Chen Shuo for more than a month and a half. Including today, it was a total of one month and twenty-one days.
Why did he remember so clearly? Because every night he was unhappy, and taking care of himself was even more unhappy. He missed Chen Erdi and Chen Shuo’s tongue, and of course, he missed his living wife the most.
He sat on the sofa, counting the time for half an hour, then got up and turned off all the lights, then hid in the bathroom to wait for his prey.
He wasn’t sure if Chen Shuo would come back, but he had already told He Yan, so he probably would.
Another ten minutes passed, and the sound of a door opening came from the darkness.
