Chapter 171: The Change of Heart (Part 1)
The dark still shrouded the room along with the cold air. It was a peaceful night, except for one poor person.
With thick dark shades under his eyes, Zheng Zhanglie didn't rest for the whole night. No, he tried to rest, but his mind didn't let him at all.
'Fly to the highest heaven, then fall to the lowest hell in one sweep'
It was the suitable phrase for what he experienced in one day. From making a confession in a face of death, then he made a shitty confession, continued with making the advance and enjoyed the nectar of love, and ended with indifference Peng Zhen.
Even after all of that, all he received was a broken heart – full of resentment.
Returned to a few hours before.
After the girls went to sleep and while Fu Tao was instructing Song Qi in their daily training, Zheng Zhanglie called out Peng Zhen. He wanted to know what was on her mind, also her future plan. Of course, it was about himself too.
But the expectation he had, everything was shattered by a moment.
'I understand your feeling, and I am happy to hear about it from you. Your confession touches my heart, but. . . sorry. . . can you forget everything about it?'
That moment was akin to thunderous clouds in his mind, the unexpected conclusion from Peng Zhen.
[No! Impossible! How can I forget everything about it? About my feeling, about that kiss, about our story at that place! Zhener. . . you are asking the impossible. . . Why can't you understand! About me, about my sacrifice, about my heartfelt feeling!]
But of course, Zheng Zhanglie couldn't say it loud – only in his mind.
'I. . . I won't confront you about that thing, about that ki- ki- ki- kiss. . . and the thing after that. . . I- I will never talk about it. So, can you also forget abut that?'
[WHY! Why why why why! I have asked for your consent, and you accepted it! You received my confession, you received my advance, and you received my love! I still remember your soft and sweet lips, every corner of your curve! Your sweet moan which melted my heart and lit, how can you ask me to forget all of that! It is impossible!]
His face was ugly as if all of his family was murdered in front of him. There was a trace of resentment and hatred in his gaze, but it was too minuscule for he himself to realize. But, the seed had been planted already, waiting to grow in a suitable soil.
Of course, Peng Zhen didn't realize this point at the same time as she was erasing that shameful memory of her.
'That's all. I hope you can understand my wish, brother Zhanglie. I, I don't wish to be tied down yet."
With that, Peng Zhen ran away without giving another glance at Zheng Zhanglie, thinking that the latter needed some time alone. But at the same time, she didn't realize the resentful glare coming from Zheng Zhanglie's eyes – no, perhaps Peng Zhen never expected this kind of outcome from Zheng Zhanglie, never expected that he was different from the kind of man that she first thought before.
[But. . . but. . . you don't care about my wish. . . no, you don't care about me. . . in the end, I am just a mere. . .]
Zheng Zhanglie understood that at that moment, he was thrown into the original position – a mere brother of her best friend. Nothing more, nothing less.
No, he was reduced into something lesser of that. . .
If the previous him still had the chance with his confession, this time he was shot down already, making it impossible to make another confession. Or perhaps, Peng Zhen would take a safe distance from now on. . .
Nothing more than a mere 'brother of my childhood friend'. . .
It was a cruel conclusion, not to mention that it was a one-sided decision without caring for his feeling – smashing his fragile heart, his true feeling of Peng Zhen.
[I. . . I. . . No! I can't give up!] A sharp glint along with ruthlessness appeared in his darkened eyes. It was so scary that it changed the aura around himself, became something colder and indifferent. [If she doesn't wish to accept me, then I will force her to accept me. If she can arbitrarily make her decision, then I can make the same decision. No! I am forced to make this decision because she didn't care about my situation, my feeling. She didn't care about me. . .]
[If so, I will make her accept me. . . No matter what the cost. She will be mine. . . only mine. . . .]
Closing both of his eyes as if resting his tired eyes, the decision was made at this moment. Without attracting anyone's attention, the way he stared at Peng Zhen was changed. Not filled with care, but rather indifference – similar to Peng Zhen's gaze toward him.
But deep inside, a craziness was born, and no one knew when this craziness would bloom.
Like an assassin hid in the darkness, waiting for the prey to lower its guard.
…
After the long journey, the group finally saw a speck of light – their way out of this damned place. But not long after, they found that even the way out was the same damned place as before. No, it was a little better as there was no any ambush at this place.
Mingyue was walking in leisure while maintaining two balls of light around the group, illuminating the surroundings. As usual, she mounted on Xiao Wu.
But no one realized that her smile was so stiff that a small movement would make her stiff smile seemed so miserable.
Yes, all of her body was aching.
A youth with similar stature with Mingyue, Song Qi was different. He walked on both of his legs because of Fu Tao's suggestion. Fu Tao called it a stamina tempering – by walking for at least a few kilometres, one body would develop not only stamina, but also the necessary muscle. And at the same time, one's body posture would be made stronger.
In fact, Fu Tao feared that Mingyue would pamper the talented youth and let Song Qi mount on Xiao Wu. But of course, Mingyue wouldn't do something like that.
Even though Xiao Wu was a little childish and overprotective, she hated to let everything, with the exception of Mingyue herself, mounted on her pure white body. Mingyue was the same as she felt a little reluctant to let anyone riding along behind her, or even taking over her spot.
Xiao Wu was her, her softest spot together with Xiao Jing, and her alone. Not anyone else's.
Liao Yun, she was not caring for anything else as she just walked around and followed Mingyue from behind. She could materialize the fat owl to brighten the place, but she wasn't interested in it. If there was another to do this chore, she wouldn't lift her finger. But unlike the usual her, her eyebrows were a little tense.
And the reason was. . .
"Big Sister! Big Sister! What kind of food do you like? Is it something meaty? Meat, right? Your fists are strong, even stronger than what I can imagine! Both of Big Sister's fists are the strongest that I ever have seen! Is eating meat the key to becoming strong?" Her eyes were similar with a starry sky, full of sparkles and filled with infatuation. Her gaze was straight and pure, not harbouring any evil intention – like a child's gaze.
But inside. . .
[How wonderful! I strike a conversation with Big Sister! With my dearest and most handsome Big Sister! Even if she has a pair of mounds on her chest, she will always be my prince charming, my dearest dearest dearest Big Sister! Muehehe~. . .]
[Sniff. . . sniff. . . Hummh~ Big Sister scent! Muehehehe~~ . . .]
Zheng Yi was tailing Liao Yun ever since she woke up this morning. She was no different from a kitten that asking for an amusement from the mother kitten – following from behind while miaw-miawing, er, blabbering everything that came across her mind.
Before, she was kind of shy, her self-consciousness always reminded to not overdoing it in case her idol didn't like it. But after that battle, that kind of thinking was thrown behind her mind.
She was upgraded, became braver and simple-minded.
It was a weird scene for Fu Tao, but he didn't say anything. The most surprising aspect was Liao Yun didn't flare up even after that bothering.
Of course, Liao Yun didn't answer any of the asked questions, only doing what she wanted to do. The only thing she felt was an awkwardness.
She didn't know anything about Zheng Yi, not to mention the closeness between them. But Zheng Yi acted as if she was close and not minding of Liao Yun's cold attitude. And in the end, she didn't know what to respond. And after some time, she decided to let Zheng Yi do as she wished.
Thus, making various of the question were shot without pause.
While each of them was at leisure, there was a weird atmosphere between Zheng Zhanglie and Peng Zhen. It was not cold nor warm, not a conflict or direct confrontation. It was just. . . weird.
But no one spared their attention on them as they were faced with a problematic trouble.
After coming out of the previously dug-hole, they were met with a dead-end. No, it was not a real dead-end as there were another two dug-holes nearby. But what made them depressed was the source of that light.
Above their head. Far, far above their head.
All of them, except for Mingyue, thought that the source of light would be the escape way. Well, indeed it was the outside, not the dark like earlier.
Their current position was as if at the pithole, trapped without any way escape.
"How about depending on that?" Zheng Zhanglie pointed his finger at the protruding Stone Tree at the wall. Indeed, there were some Stone Trees there, the exact same as the place where Xiao Jing jumped down. "Climbing on each of the Stone Tree, one by one, we will be able to reach the top." Zheng Zhanglie presented his view in the most reasonable way.
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