"Then scold me, scold me as hard as you can. I will absolutely not retort or tell dad! I did something wrong, I deserve to be scolded. As long as you don’t stay mad at me after scolding me, it’s okay."
"Haha~" a cold laugh comes from He Teng’s mouth, "Is there any use in scolding you? If scolding you could make you wake up, wouldn’t you have woken up a long time ago? Why would you wait until now?"
It was impossible for He Teng not to be angry, but seeing the pitiful look in He Zhilan’s eyes, his anger dissipated. He wanted to fiercely scold He Zhilan, but seeing her suffering from the illness, he just couldn’t bring himself to do so.
He Zhilan’s apology, sincere and heartfelt. Her clear eyes were filled with remorse. Every time their eyes would meet, He Teng would almost believe that Zhilan truly regretted her actions and was on the verge of forgiving Zhilan. But then he would recall Zhilan at her most ruthless.
On their wedding night, she had hated him to the point of madness, cursing him with the harshest words, crying almost to the point of fainting when he possessed her body. The way she looked at him was as though he was her mortal enemy. But after that night, she suddenly changed.
He Teng also very much wanted to believe, that she had truly changed. She had become sensible. Even if she had given in to the compromises of life and marriage, before last night, He Teng had almost completely believed in Zhilan’s change without any doubt. But then, her actions last night shook his trust in Zhilan.
He couldn’t be sure, how sincere was the repentance Zhilan spoke of?
Yet, he still couldn’t find the heart to tell her to drop out of school and return home. Watching her suffer, her brows furrowed like a little kitten whimpering, he instead felt a tightness in his heart.
He Teng sighs inwardly, wondering if his family owed Zhilan something in their past lives, or if it was him that owed Zhilan something.
"Where does it hurt? I’ll call the doctor." He Teng stands up, placing Zhilan’s hand back at her side.
"My head hurts, especially at the temples. It feels like something is knocking on it from the inside." Zhilan pointed at her head, "It also feels like a worm is continuously drilling inside."
"Tsk~" He Teng couldn’t help but scoff, "Serves you right, for going to drink last night!"
But seeing Zhilan truly in discomfort, even after mocking her, He Teng moved a couple of steps closer, helping Zhilan to lay flat before sitting on the side of her bed. He then started to gently massage her temples.
He Teng’s massage, not too soft and not too hard, was a relief for Zhilan, "It feels so much better!"
Zhilan watched He Teng, who massaged her temples with a blank expression. She felt increasingly ashamed; she made He Teng so angry that he had to go smoke to vent his frustration, yet He Teng was still massaging her patiently.
"Brother, can you believe me one more time? If, next time I do this again, you can just send me back home to dad, if there really is a next time, I certainly won’t beg you again!" Zhilan was pushing her luck, seeing that He Teng was still willing to massage her because of her headache, she wanted to seize this opportunity to temporarily dispel He Teng’s idea of sending her back home.
Not to mention her studies were unfinished, just the fact that He Teng was stationed so far away, how long would it take before she could see him again? If she returned home, wouldn’t she be unable to spend the New Year with He Teng?