Chapter 1154: Tang Li, Im back (2/2)

The A’Li who’s always lively and chattering nonstop...the A’Li who won’t stay in the Tang Clan and brings me out to play…the A’Li that I force to make me soup in the middle of the night without any complaints, and even with a smile...has lost his mind?[1]

Ning Jing fell to her knees in front of the bed and took Tang Li’s hand as tears flooded her face. “Tang Li, I’m back...I’m back…”

But Tang Li still didn’t budge. His soul was gone, leaving an empty shell that sat motionless as he muttered softly to himself.

“Tang Li! I’m back! I’m here!” Ning Jing sobbed. She gripped Tang Li’s face with her hands, but he didn’t even look at her. It was as if he’d never lift his head again.

“Tang Li....I’m already back. I’m here, so look at me!”

“Tang Li, please look at me.... Tang Li, you...don’t you want me anymore?”

“How could you not want me...how could you bear it?” Ning Jing broke down into crying as she cradled Tang Li’s face, but the man just wouldn’t budge.

Han Yunxi and the rest stood on the sidelines. Her eyes were already damp. She desperately wanted to help Ning Jing move Tang Li’s head, but so what if he did?

If Tang Li couldn’t come to his senses, it wouldn’t matter if he saw Ning Jing.

Gu Beiyue had long started staring at the right wall, while Gu Qishao was looking at the left. Both men wore heavy, silent expressions. Long Feiye hadn’t even entered the room, but was leaning against the wall outside with his eyes shut. Ning Jing’s sobs grew louder and more broken with time. She couldn’t move Tang Li, so she gave up and rose to her feet. She wrapped her arms around his head and buried it against her chest in a strong embrace.

Refusing to give up, she stubbornly plowed on. “Tang Li, I’m hungry...I want to eat red bean soup. Go make me some right now.”

She’d spent countless nights ordering him around like this.

“Tang Li, I’m hungry! Go! Right now!” Ning Jing pushed him, but only succeeded in shoving him aside. Despite her teary face, she put on a commanding expression and demanded, “Tang Li...hurry up and go! I’m going to starve to death! What are you dawdling for?”

“Tang Li, if you do go, you can sleep on the floor outside tonight! Don’t even think of climbing onto my bed!”

“Get to it already! Are you going or not? Are you going...or not…”

In the end, Ning Jing cracked. Her voice began to tremble as she cried, “Tang Li, I’m begging you...please. I want to eat red bean soup… A’Li, won’t you make me some? Pretty please?”

“Tang Li, are you hungry? ….how about I make you some instead?”

“Say something! What’s wrong with you? Tang Li...please don’t scare me like this, won’t you?”

“.........”

As Ning Jing’s tears flowed, Tang Li slowly raised his head and stared at her blankly, his mouth still muttering words. Everyone tensed at the sight. Ning Jing was both nervous and excited. She quickly wiped away her teardrops and took his hand.

“Tang Li! Tang Li, look at me, I’m Ning Jing! ….do you recognize me? I’m Ning Jing, I’m back! I didn’t die, I really came back…”

Tang Li only stared at him, unmoving. Ning Jing could clearly see his gaze, but it was empty like an endless abyss that faded into a black nothingness. She was drawn into that darkness, which enveloped her in despair. Her tears never stopped, but she soon grew quiet.

By contrast, Tang Li’s muttering grew louder. Ning Jing quickly leaned in to listen, holding her breath in case she missed a word. It would have been better if she hadn’t, because his ravings made her tighten her grip on Tang Li and burst into wails. If she could, she would cry herself to pieces until the fragments fell into his lap, his heart, his life.

All this time, Tang Li had been muttering the same things over and over again.

“I miss Jing Jing...I miss peace and quiet…”

Unable to bear the scene, Han Yunxi turned on her heel and fled the room. She said nothing as she threw herself into Long Feiye’s arms and held on tight. Gu Beiyue and Gu Qishao soon followed her out, the former giving a heavy sigh as he shut the door behind her.

“Bai Yanqing! It’s all because of Bai Yanqing!” Han Yunxi was both hurt and angry. “I’ll go find Han Chen right now and get back the Perplexing Butterfly Illusion. I’m going to kill Bai Yanqing!” She was so furious that her complexion had turned white, but Long Feiye quickly held her back.

“The child!” he said sternly.

Han Yunxi finally remembered that she was still pregnant.

“Princess, don’t affect your womb! It wouldn’t make a difference even if you killed Bai Yanqing,” Gu Beiyue said seriously. “Psychological problems must be treated with the heart. Miss Jing is the Tang Clan Head’s best medicine--and his only cure. Perhaps as time goes on, he’ll recover--and even very soon. Please don’t worry too much, princess.”

1. This was originally dialogue but it sounded so unnatural being “spoke out loud” that I’ve turned it into thoughts. It’s basically stream of consciousness from Ning Jing’s head in the end.