Why Suffer for This Distress (GL) - Chapter 26

For the entire night, due to the overly thrilling and dangerous twists and turns earlier, Su Xiyan, who usually falls asleep the moment she touches the bed, kept tossing and turning. Various emotions surged in her heart. One moment, recalling He Jingmo’s earlier words of non-rejection, Su Xiyan was so happy that she kicked off the blanket and waved her arms. The next moment, thinking that He Jingmo might never fall in love with her and would eventually marry someone else, tears would flow without warning. She was restless, crying and laughing nervously, but eventually, she fell asleep.

He Jingmo’s situation was no better, perhaps even worse than Su Xiyan’s. She didn’t close her eyes all night, lying on the bed flipping through photos, looking at the memories sparked by those smiling faces, and crying the entire night.

No one knew how she had spent these years, and she had never told anyone about the pain in her heart. But now, thankfully, this fool hadn’t caused her sadness for nothing. Thankfully, this blockhead had finally wised up. A tremendous joy surged in her heart, making it impossible for her to digest it in a short time. She really wanted to go to the next room, grab that little thing she both loved and hated, and kiss her.

The next day, as soon as the sky brightened, He Jingmo checked her phone—it was only six o’clock. Thinking that Su Xiyan had drunk a lot of alcohol last night, she finally put down the photo album and, with a tired body, intended to cook some porridge for Su Xiyan.

Unexpectedly, as soon as He Jingmo walked into the dining room, she saw a table set with a balanced mix of meat and vegetables.

“You’re up?” Su Xiyan walked out, smiling, wearing a Snoopy apron. She had never worn this apron before; it was exclusively He Jingmo’s. Now that she wore it, she looked somewhat comical.

“You made this?” He Jingmo still looked somewhat disbelievingly at the breakfast on the table, suspecting Su Xiyan had bought it outside. Su Xiyan nodded, her smile proud. “Of course. Try it. These are your favorite fresh shrimp dumplings. I steamed them especially.”

He Jingmo nodded, pulled out a chair, sat down, picked up her chopsticks, and prepared to taste them. Su Xiyan also sat down, watching her with anticipation. She had woken up before four o’clock just to prepare a heartfelt breakfast for He Jingmo as a declaration of her resolve. She absolutely couldn’t fail now.

He Jingmo ate the dumplings, slowly chewing. Her initial expression was a little strange, but then a smile appeared on her face. She looked at Su Xiyan with a grin. “They’re very delicious.”

“Really?” Su Xiyan looked at her, surprised. “I didn’t think I was such a genius. I cooked for the first time and made it this well.”

With that, she picked up her chopsticks, ready to try a dumpling and taste her own cooking. To ensure He Jingmo tasted her first attempt at cooking, Su Xiyan had forced herself to hold back and let He Jingmo have the first bite. Effort pays off; her hard work was finally rewarded. It looks like I really am a genius.

“No!” He Jingmo immediately struck down her chopsticks, raised an eyebrow at her, and extended her hand to circle the dumplings protectively. “Only I am allowed to eat them. You can’t!”

“Alright, alright, you eat.” Su Xiyan looked at her with a helpless yet doting expression. He Jingmo ignored her, happily eating the dumplings one by one. Seeing her eating so joyfully made Su Xiyan even happier than if the dumplings had tasted good herself. A sense of pride and happiness spontaneously arose. If He Jingmo could be this happy every day, she was willing to wake up early to make breakfast every morning. No matter how hard it was, as long as He Jingmo was happy.

The breakfast was warm and relaxed, with one person eating and the other watching. He Jingmo packed up, preparing to go out because the school had a meeting in the morning. Su Xiyan stood by the door, smiling as she watched her change shoes. “I’ll come to your office to see you after work.”

“Okay.” He Jingmo agreed without hesitation. Although she had decided to torment Su Xiyan a bit and make her taste all the emotions, once this long-awaited happiness was held in her hand, she was always reluctant to push it away.

“Don’t neglect your work.” He Jingmo reminded her, sounding worried. Su Xiyan rolled her eyes with a smile. “Nagging.”

After feeding her and sending her off, Su Xiyan finally felt tired and hungry. With a smile on her face, she walked toward the kitchen. She had hidden a separate steamer basket of dumplings from Jingmo. Since this first attempt was so meaningful, she definitely had to taste it herself.

Impulsively, she brought the dumplings to the table. Su Xiyan picked up the largest one, put it in her mouth, and chewed without thinking. With a single bite, she spat it out.

…

So salty… How did Jingmo eat it?!

Su Xiyan quickly picked up the soy milk nearby and gulped it down. How could it be so salty? Even after drinking a cup of soy milk, her mouth still tasted bitter and salty. She had to eat a few bites of side dishes before she recovered.

Next, Su Xiyan stared blankly at the half-eaten dumpling on the table.

Jingmo said they were very delicious…

Jingmo protected them and wouldn’t let me eat them…

Jingmo ate a whole basketful in one sitting…

Only now did she understand that everything was just to make her happy. Gradually, her eyes turned red. Su Xiyan stood up and took a deep breath. She was glad, glad that she had realized her feelings, glad that she hadn’t missed such a woman worthy of her complete devotion. She clenched her hands, silently vowing in her heart: He Jingmo, I must make you happy.

He Jingmo was busy with meetings as soon as she arrived at school. Since summer vacation was approaching, the school’s final closing work was gradually starting, which conveniently gave He Jingmo a chance to catch up on sleep.

After waking up, He Jingmo received numerous eye rolls from the Dean of Students. She smiled helplessly and lowered her head to check her phone.

Sure enough, her phone had been bombarded with a series of texts from Su Xiyan.

— Jingmo, Jingmo, I miss you already just after you left.

— Jingmo, Jingmo, what are you doing? Do you miss me too?

— Why aren’t you replying to my texts? Don’t you know I’m very anxious waiting?

— Going crazy! If you don’t reply, I’m going to ignore you!

He Jingmo smiled. How old is she, still pulling that college-era routine? Her fingertip lightly touched the screen, and she only replied with a few words, but they were enough to quiet the already agitated Su Xiyan on the other end.

— Be good, focus on work. See you tonight.

He Jingmo never expected the surprise wouldn’t stop there. Before the afternoon closing time, a courier walked into the office carrying a large bouquet of roses. The bouquet was so enormous that it completely obscured the courier’s head. To the astonishment of all the mentors, he handed the full bouquet of roses to He Jingmo.

“Miss He? Your flowers. 999 roses. Please sign.”

“Whose are they?” He Jingmo didn’t take them but immediately tried to confirm the sender. The courier smiled. “No name was left.”

The first thing that popped into her mind was Su Xiyan’s big round face. He Jingmo curved her lips. When did this person become so romantic, sending roses? Didn’t she used to scorn these things as something only kids would do?

She didn’t refuse. After signing for the roses, He Jingmo turned around, trying to find a place to put them. The bouquet was truly too large, and it was hard for her to hold. Just as she was looking for a spot, a familiar, deep voice sounded from outside the door.

“Jingmo.”

He Jingmo spun around, her eyes lighting up. At the doorway, Su Xiyan was looking at her, or more accurately, looking at the flowers in her hands. He Jingmo was holding the bouquet, a smile filling her eyes, wanting to say something, but the words were abruptly cut short by Su Xiyan’s extremely unpleasant expression. He Jingmo’s heart sank. Crap.