After Breaking Up, I Married the Dying Tycoon in a Flash-Chapter 395 - 15: The Long River of Dim Lights (Part 15)
"I said I love you, I really love you," Song Nian raised her hand, disregarding the painful pressure on her shoulder from Lu Zhonian, speaking gently and softly, "Every day that I’ve been married to you, I’ve felt it was worth it."
For all the time Lu Zhonian had been with Song Nian, he never dared to expect to hear the word ’love’ come from her lips.
Too serious, too extravagant.
So extravagant that it seemed like something he didn’t deserve.
But now, Song Nian was articulating it so clearly, sentence by sentence.
Suddenly, Lu Zhonian felt a pang of heartache.
He looked at Song Nian, the pressure in his hands gradually easing, a wordless bewilderment spreading in his eyes, "You love me?"
"I’ve loved you, earlier than you could imagine, Lu Zhonian. I’ve always loved you." Song Nian smiled, eyes glistening with moistness, "I would never marry a man I don’t love. Even if my life was threatened, I couldn’t compromise."
Lu Zhonian was even more bewildered, "If you love me, then why... do you want to divorce me?"
The tears that Song Nian had been holding back fell. She looked at Lu Zhonian for a long while, her voice trembling softly, "Because... I don’t have much time left, Zhonian. I can’t let you watch me die in front of you."
It was easy for Song Nian to find out about her terminal illness, she simply had to step out without Lu Zhonian’s knowledge and get a check-up at a hospital not under the Lu Group, and then she’d know the full truth.
"Over the years, you’ve taken great care of me. Being by your side, I never felt like someone with a terminal illness," Song Nian told Lu Zhonian with a smile, "Zhonian, you used to say I was high-maintenance. It must be true. I really am hard to care for."
Lu Zhonian was at a loss for words.
The torment clear in his eyes, he said in a low and gruff voice, "No matter how high-maintenance, haven’t I cared for you well? In the future, I will continue to do so."
Song Nian shook her head, "Do you know why I recently refused to cooperate with the doctors for examinations? Because..."
Song Nian pointed to her heart, "It’s about to give up, I don’t know when I will lose consciousness. Lu Zhonian, I don’t want you to witness my death, do you understand?"
Lu Zhonian lifted his hand, his fingers still trembling. He gazed at Song Nian, full of heartache. "Nian Nian, you’re only 25 years old."
Song Nian nodded. She touched Lu Zhonian’s brow and eyes, "But you’re already 31 years old. How many years can you spend with me, wasting away?"
"I don’t need children..." Lu Zhonian’s voice was urgent as he stared at Song Nian, "Nian Nian, I don’t need children. I just need you by my side."
Song Nian’s smile remained, her tears had stopped, but she still looked at Lu Zhonian with a sorrowful gaze, "I can’t always stay by your side, Zhonian. I can’t give you children, nor can I give you a healthy wife..."
Lu Zhonian’s eyes turned red. He said firmly and slowly: "I can give up everything else, can’t we just live in the moment?"
Song Nian hugged Lu Zhonian, feeling the man’s instant stiffness. She patted his back softly, her voice becoming softer, "Of course I can... I’m the one who is destined to leave you first. I can give up everything and live in the present, but what about you? Lu Zhonian, what will you do once I’m gone?"
"I can go to accompany..."
Before Lu Zhonian could finish, Song Nian had already turned pale, her hand covering his lips.
Tears filled her eyes as she choked up and said hoarsely, "Don’t talk like that... Lu Zhonian, I want you to live well."
That night, the two clung to each other desperately in love.
It was unclear who initiated it, but it seemed as if both wanted to drown completely, not wanting to survive.
While clutching Lu Zhonian tightly, as her consciousness sank into the deepest abyss, Song Nian did not forget to say, "Lu Zhonian, our divorce..."
"Don’t even think about it..." Lu Zhonian held her tighter, closed his eyes, and said in a hoarse whisper, "Even if I must watch you leave me, I would rather endure such pain than let you go without worries."
He nibbled on her earlobe until a bead of blood seeped out, "I want you to die restless, always thinking of me."
Song Nian thought, this was indeed Lu Zhonian’s personality. She had almost forgotten that he was such a domineering person underneath his recent gentleness.
She couldn’t leave him, even though she had laid out all the perils before him.
So, Song Nian nodded, "Okay then, I’ll leave with the memory of you."
With the new year over, Lu Zhonian took Song Nian to Switzerland.
There, the top doctors arranged by Lu Zhonian were doing everything to prolong Song Nian’s life as much as possible.
Song Nian knew it was pointless.
But she didn’t want to crush Lu Zhonian’s hopes, so she let him be and didn’t refuse.
Lu Zhonian was very attentive to her health, meeting with the leading doctors every morning to discuss subsequent care plans.
Song Nian didn’t pay attention. Instead, she immersed herself in the life she enjoyed—
She bought Lu Zhonian a lot of stuff, just as he had once taken care of her. Now, it was her turn to take good care of him earnestly.
"These are the clothes I picked out for you, for spring, summer, autumn, and winter, all matched up," Song Nian pointed to a room full of clothes and explained, "These are all classic styles, they won’t go out of fashion easily."
Lu Zhonian watched her excited demeanor with a complicated expression, lightly ’hmming’ in response, "Alright, I’ll wear the clothes Nian Nian has prepared for me in the future."
Song Nian was very pleased as she picked up a white suit, her voice light, "When my funeral starts, you’ll wear this. I love this suit the most, you’ll definitely look handsome in it. Maybe my soul, upon seeing it, might just refuse to leave."
Lu Zhonian couldn’t bear to listen any further. The hand holding the clothes began to tremble and, finally unable to endure it, he threw the clothes on the ground.
For the first time in his life, the man held Song Nian and cried his heart out.
He said, "Nian Nian... I want you to live well, no matter the cost, I want you to live well."
Song Nian’s expression was complicated. She let Lu Zhonian hug her and, after a long while, she sighed, "Zhonian, everyone has to leave eventually, sooner or later. No matter how hard you try, the end result is the same."
Lu Zhonian didn’t speak; he held Song Nian and cried like a child.
Song Nian listened to his sobbing, and it felt like a dull knife cutting through her flesh.
Maybe Lu Zhonian’s efforts did have an effect, at least Song Nian lived half a year longer than the doctors had estimated.
This year’s autumn in Switzerland was beautiful.
Song Nian watched the falling leaves drift slowly outside the window, and she too slowly closed her eyes.
It was like she could see Lu Zhonian approaching from not far away, holding her favorite iris in his hand.
