Lin Jing lowered her head and said nothing, like a naughty primary school student.
Lan Bowen wanted to say something more, but as he saw Lin Jing's demeanor, he couldn't bring himself to say it. In the end, he raised his hand and closed the elevator door.
Lin Jing was left alone in the corridor. She stood there in a daze for a while before turning to walk towards Sheng Kuang's room.
The door wasn't locked, and Lin Jing pushed it open. Sheng Kuang was sleeping. His face was pale, and in the few days since she last saw him, he had visibly lost weight.
Lin Jing's heart felt as if it had been pierced by something sharp, the pain making it hard to breathe. With great effort, she moved to the bedside. She stared intently at Sheng Kuang's sleeping face. Before she even realized it, her fingers were on his face.
She felt a warmth on her fingertips, and before she could even register where she had touched, her wrist was firmly gripped.
Lin Jing gasped in pain and then met Sheng Kuang's eyes, which had opened at some point.
The atmosphere in the room became somewhat heavy.
They gazed at each other in silence for a while before Lin Jing's gaze drifted downwards. She saw that her fingertip was resting on Sheng Kuang's lips. Her fingers trembled slightly, and she pulled back a little.
Sheng Kuang's grip on her wrist did not loosen at all.
Lin Jing was in pain but didn't cry out. "Are you feeling any better?"
Sheng Kuang remained silent, looking at her with pursed lips.
Lin Jing blinked. "When I left back then, it wasn't because you were bad, it was my problem."
Sheng Kuang looked at her in silence.
After they exchanged WeChat information, she had sent him a few messages, mostly greetings like "good morning" and "good night." She had also thought about explaining herself, but each time she picked up her phone, she didn't know where to begin.
Perhaps it was Lan Bowen's words that moved her, or perhaps it was the knowledge that he hadn't been living as well as she had seen online over the past two years.
A piece of Lin Jing's heart sank. She could no longer concern herself with shyness or uncertainty.
She took a deep breath and continued, head bowed, "I didn't mean to leave without a word, I..."
She admitted that her way of handling their separation two years ago had been extreme. It had happened so suddenly, leaving her no room to breathe. Inexperienced and unsure of how to cope, she had simply chosen to evade and escape.
But at that time, she had genuinely considered him.
He was in the finals then, and she couldn't let her own problems interfere with him.
But now, she didn't want to tell him about accompanying her mother abroad for medical treatment, only for her mother to eventually pass away.
It would sound like she was seeking pity.
Lin Jing pursed her lips. "...When I left, I had only one thought in my mind: I will definitely come back to find you."
Sheng Kuang still didn't speak, but his expression was clearly a little stunned.
The grip on Lin Jing's wrist gradually loosened, and his entire demeanor softened considerably.
Sheng Kuang's reaction gave Lin Jing a boost of confidence. "I know what I did was a bit selfish, and I was really scared. I was afraid you wouldn't forgive me, afraid you'd forget me, afraid of so many things. But, Sheng Kuang, no matter how selfish my actions were back then, I truly intended to come back to you..."
She was the one who had left, and now she was the one who wanted to return.
She should be the one to take this step.
She couldn't always rely on him to make the first move.
That would be too unfair.
Lin Jing took a deep breath and continued, "You said last time that if I haven't figured out what I want to do, I shouldn't come around trying to get your attention. I have figured it out. When I left two years ago, I had already decided. I just wanted to come back to you."
"For the past two years, there hasn't been a single day when I wasn't thinking about coming back to find you."
Having said all this, even if he didn't respond, she couldn't back down.
Lin Jing glanced at the hand Sheng Kuang was holding and took a deep breath. Then, she subtly tried to pull her wrist away.
Sheng Kuang's brow furrowed slightly as she slipped out of his grasp. Before the crease could fully form on his forehead, Lin Jing's hand clasped his.
Before he could react, Lin Jing spoke again, "Sheng Kuang, you told me, if one day we parted, you would wait for me."
"So..." A mist seemed to gather in Lin Jing's eyes. She sniffled softly, her fingers tugging at his, and said in a soft, pleading tone, "I'm back. Please don't leave me, okay?"
Sheng Kuang couldn't articulate his feelings.
To say he didn't hate her for the past two years would be a lie.
The depth of his love and his desire for a lifetime together was matched by his hatred.
But the essence of hatred was love.
His rational mind told him not to forgive her so quickly, but as she blinked her eyes and spoke in her soft voice, "Boyfriend, can we get back together?"
Sheng Kuang's Adam's apple bobbed. The last shred of his reason shattered.
He had put in a lot of effort when he was pursuing her.
He thought that if she ever came back wanting to reconcile, he would make her experience the bitterness he had felt back then.
But he realized that those thoughts were just thoughts.
The moment she softened, lowered her head, and apologized, all the pain of the past vanished.
He couldn't even bear to make her chase after him and ask for reconciliation multiple times.
Sheng Kuang cursed himself for being spineless, sighed, and said, "Okay."