Chapter 73
Chapter 73 Love, Friendship
The brightly lit streets, the dazzling array of shops, and the bustling crowd were all so lively and cheerful.
Yi Duanfang and Chen Keren walked along this noisy street, but they were not in harmony with this vivaciousness.
Occasionally, the eyes of the people around them fell on the two beautiful persons walking silently in a lonesome manner—one in front of the other.
Moonlight fell on their bodies and the light reflected on their faces, clearly so beautiful, but it made people feel so cold.
After some time, Chen Keren suddenly stopped. Yi Duanfang also stopped. “Are you angry?” Chen Keren turned, her eyebrows slightly frowning.
Yi Duanfang looked up with his bright eyes. He cocked his head, the corners of his mouth slightly turned up with a hint of evil and a hint of playfulness, fascinating people. Looking at Chen Keren in front of him, he calmly said, “Do I have a reason to be?”
Chen Keren looked at him. The relationship between them had seemed strange recently. Like two rubber balls, Wang Weixi and Chen Kexin met and came together, but whenever they met and came together, they would bounce off each other due to their own elasticity. This kind of game was boring and annoying, but it made people unwilling to resist or give up.
Chen Keren was a clever woman. If the first few times she had been wondering if she was a little strange, now, after tonight, she knew that she had given birth to feelings for Yi Duanfang that she thought were impossible.
When they had left the seafood restaurant, she thought that Yi Duanfang would yell and blame her for leaving Chen Kexin and Lan Xiao alone. Strangely, however, he just followed her quietly. She thought that would make things a lot easier, but along the way, she had unconsciously slowed down several times. She wanted to wait for Yi Duanfang behind her to catch up. She even wanted to look back and see what expression he had on at the moment. Was he angry, or did he just feel that it was not necessary to walk with her? Or did he feel that it was not necessary to argue with her because, in his eyes, she was very unreasonable?
As she got more and more worried, in the end, she did not realize that she had stopped. Then, turning around, she had abruptly asked her question aloud. When she saw his expression, however, her mood became even more complicated than before.
“What does he mean by ‘do I have a reason’?” Chen Keren’s feelings were very strong. “His tone is obviously angry.”
Seeing Chen Keren’s expression becoming ugly, Yi Duanfang shrugged, stepped forward, and stood in front of Chen Keren.
Although Yi Duanfang was very feminine and looked very beautiful, his figure was the best within ten thousand miles. With a height of 1.83 meters plus high heels for men, it was a total of 1.86 meters. Therefore, even though Chen Keren was wearing 10 cm high heels, she only reached Yi Duanfang’s ears.
At this time, they were standing at the door of a flower shop. The fragrance of the flowers filled the air and surrounded them. Chen Keren looked up slightly. Their eyes were locked on each other. Yi Duanfang bent down slightly and looked at Chen Keren’s beautiful eyes. They were deep and charming eyes. What was hidden in them?
His heart rate suddenly accelerated sharply. However, he sensed that the person across him seemed to be feeling the same thing… panic? He suddenly forgot what he was going to say, and it was as if time stood still.
Chen Keren felt her face turn a bit red, but in front of her, Yi Duanfang had put on an indifferent face and looked at her with an evil smile.
“What are you doing?!” Chen Keren suddenly pushed Yi Duanfang away with some anger.
Yi Duanfang coughed twice and staggered a few steps to regain his footing. When he looked up and caught a glimpse of Chen Keren’s blushing face, he suddenly laughed.
Chen Keren angrily asked, “What are you laughing at?” Yi Duanfang shook his head and said, “Nothing. It’s just the first time I’ve seen you blush. It’s lovely.”
…
Chen Keren pretended to be angry and stared at him, but her heart was inexplicably happy.
Yi Duanfang suddenly and seriously asked, “Keren, do you like that Lan Xiao very much?” He asked this, but there was no trace of vinegar.
Chen Keren paused and asked, “What do you mean?” Why aren’t you jealous? Her heart was smoldering.
Yi Duanfang touched his nose and said, “What do I mean? Literally, I just wanted to ask if you still think Lan Xiao and Kexin are suited for each other? Compared to Weixi, do you think Lan Xiao is more suitable to be your brother-in-law?”
Chen Keren suddenly breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out that what he meant by “like” was not the “like” that she thought. Was that why he wasn’t jealous?
Chen Keren, who understood her own thoughts, suddenly hated this version of herself—always thinking about everything, always trying to see through what the man in front of her was thinking about…
Seeing her silence, the corner of Yi Duanfang’s eyes drooped in desolation.
To him, Chen Keren’s silence seemed to indicate complete acquiescence.
“Actually, Weixi is really nice.” Yi Duanfang looked up at the round moon in the sky and spoke earnestly. It was the first time she heard him speak in such a gentle voice.
His clear voice was more melodious than that of women’s, like a clear drop of water dripping onto clean water, making people feel comfortable all over.
“Well, I know.” Chen Keren quietly responded.
But Yi Duanfang shook his head and said, “You don’t know.”
Chen Keren did not speak, quietly waiting for him to finish.
In fact, she did not know. She only knew that Wang Weixi was the gentlest, most tolerant, and most delicate man in the world. Just for these things, in Chen Keren’s eyes, he was a good man.
For Chen Keren, a really good man had no position. As long as he was good for Chen Kexin, it was fine. Except for Chen Derong. Because no matter what Chen Derong said or did, in her eyes it was nothing but repentance.
A man whose wife committed suicide now wanted to compensate for the child’s loss of her mother with material things while he devoted himself to the pursuit of sex again and again. This was something Chen Keren had always been ashamed of.
“Weixi has no father and has not seen him even once. Regarding his father, I heard the adults in the village mention that his father… went to the city to look for a job but was seduced by a rich woman and never came back, leaving his pregnant wife behind.” Yi Duanfang lowered his head. His voice was so gentle, it was suffocating.
Chen Keren was somewhat surprised. She never thought that Wang Weixi would have such an experience. His smile was so clear and gentle.
“The quality of the people over there is very low. All the children in school looked down upon Weixi and often bullied him, but he never got angry. Later on, I was bullied on the road and he helped me out.” He recalled the midsummer when he was ten years old, the day when he was sweating profusely but felt moved.
Chen Keren listened quietly and secretly laughed when she thought about what a sissy Yi Duanfang must have been when he was a child.
Yi Duanfang began to move forward slowly. Chen Keren walked beside him quietly. This kind of feeling was like when they were in Jiulong yesterday.
The evening breeze blew gently, as the most beautiful flower bloomed in her heart.
Yi Duanfang reminisced about one thing after another, from the day he met Wang Weixi, to the story of the two of them mixing together, going to school and eating together, and how Wang Weixi taught him to be strong, to be tolerant and to face others with a smile.
Chen Keren finally understood why Yi Duanfang cared so much about Wang Weixi.
It was similar to how she was with Chen Kexin—whether she was her sister or not, she was the only one who was with her during that incident, and it was Chen Kexin who said, “Don’t be afraid, I am here.” After that day, whether she was her sister or not, she was regarded as her only family.
Yi Duanfang didn’t like seeing Wang Weixi being bullied and he sometimes hated his tolerance, which was generous to a fault. But he knew that Wang Weixi was right about everything and that he just didn’t like to bother with people who had nothing to do with his life.
Yi Duanfang, who knew all this, was inexplicably delighted because he knew that Wang Weixi treated people who were good to him attentively, so he was Wang Weixi’s good friend and his only good brother. However, he also hated associating with people who were hypocritical. Although he was becoming the focus of the public due to his outstanding appearance, he only had Wang Weixi in his eyes and regarded only Wang Weixi as his friend.
At last, they came to the end of the street. Chen Keren turned her head and looked at Yi Duanfang with a smile on her lips and said, “I didn’t expect you two to be such stubborn people.”
Yi Duanfang smiled lightly and said, “Yes, friendship and love are almost the same. When you have a perfect and good brother in your heart, everyone else’s life is just a struggle.”
Chen Keren smiled faintly. “Really?”
Love and friendship…
Her eyebrows puckered slightly, and she was suddenly lost in thought.