Surrounded by the Billionaire's Deep Doting-Chapter 530 - 405: Self-Deception

She didn’t know how this man managed to do it. Was he truly fearless in saying this, or was he just forcibly avoiding reality?

For a moment, Su Xiaomeng was at a loss.

"What? You still think I’m joking?"

He slightly curled his lips in a gentle smile, scooped a spoonful of porridge, blew on it twice, and brought it to her lips.

She opened her mouth and swallowed.

The room was very quiet; one person feeding, the other eating. Back and forth, the bowl of porridge was quickly empty.

He handed over a napkin for her to wipe her mouth.

As soon as she finished wiping, he leaned in and kissed her...

Xiao Meng didn’t shy away, still looking at him with wide-open eyes.

His approaching brow and eyes were still as profound and handsome as usual.

His disguise was perfect, but he was acting so well.

After the kiss, Yin Shixiu held her in his arms for a long while, only releasing her to say,

"Rest easy, I still have work to handle."

"It’s past two in the morning, and you still have to go back to the company?"

Su Xiaomeng asked, with a hint of sarcasm in her voice that Yin Shixiu could hear...

He sighed lightly, knowing that the little lady was really angered by him at the moment.

She probably blamed him for her illness too?

Yin Shixiu came home at night mainly to see his wife. There wasn’t any significant communication issue between them, but if he waited until he finished his work to come home, her resentment might just keep growing.

By then...

If a rabbit is cornered, it will bite!

He had originally planned to come home at night and then return to the company, as their home wasn’t far from his work.

But now, at past two in the deep night, there was no need to go back.

"No, I’ll stay home with you."

Su Xiaomeng didn’t say anything else, just turned slightly to face away from him.

It was out of spite...

Yin Shixiu clearly felt it.

He carried out the tray, left a small night light on, placed the tray in its spot, and then went into the study.

There was no way Su Xiaomeng could sleep; she knew she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep easily anytime soon.

Insomnia...

She hadn’t really encountered this word much in her life, but looking back, the only times she did, seemed to be related to Yin Shixiu.

Time, like ink, splashed freely across the canvas of her life. Unconsciously, her painting got intertwined with Yin Shixiu’s.

His canvas was intricate and colorful, leaving one dazzled and involuntarily admiring...

Anyone would sigh, "Truly a work of art!"

Her canvas was simple, distinctly black and white...

Placed together, one was a priceless work of art, the other looked like just a child’s doodle.

She suddenly recalled her mother’s words...

"If you truly intend to be with him, I won’t interfere. But the path is yours to choose, and if hardships come, you must endure them yourself."

The path is for yourself to choose, and if hardships come, you must endure them yourself.

Does her current situation count as a kind of hardship?

Nineteen, she was with him; at twenty, she had his child...

At twenty-two, she wanted to bear a third child for him, but fate wasn’t so kind...

Now, she was almost twenty-three, wanting to achieve something in her studies and career so she could stand beside this man with dignity...

Throughout the journey, she always bore a playful and optimistic spirit.

When it came to hardship, Xiao Meng didn’t think it was too much. Even when losing Little Treasure, she didn’t feel it was hardship; she only felt deep heartache and regret.

Because no matter what happened, Yin Shixiu was always by her side, his devotion, and everything he did for her made all setbacks worthwhile, with not one bit deserving of complaint or lament...

But at that moment, she truly felt hardship; even a lotus seed was bitter, but Su Xiaomeng felt her heart was even more so.

Yin Shixiu wasn’t just her husband...

The thirteen years of age gap between them was a substantial factor in their relationship...

He was so much more mature, and to a nineteen-year-old girl, he was almost like a faith in this mature man who stood at the peak of the business world.

And for that reason, his deception was akin to a collapsing faith to her.

Physical discomfort, even side effects of cold medicine, didn’t affect her much.

She wasn’t sleepy; her body was extremely fatigued, yet her mind clear.

Throughout the night until dawn, Yin Shixiu came in three times; every time Su Xiaomeng heard the door, she closed her eyes and pretended to sleep.

He would come over, tuck her in, and touch her forehead, relieved to feel no fever.

Once, twice... it was always the same.

The third visit was much later than the previous ones.

Still, he repeated the same actions, only this time, he said,

"When you’re better, let’s head back to Beijing together..."

"..."

"Last time, I made time to see grandpa; the first thing he mentioned was you. Let’s bring Shuangshuang and Huang Huang to Beijing together, okay?"

"..."

After speaking, he left.

Su Xiaomeng opened her eyes, returning to Beijing...

The sun rose slowly, looking warm through the bedroom window, but as Xiao Meng approached it, the chill of the glass greeted her.

See, the warm sunshine is an illusion, let alone people.

————

Entering the bathroom, she ran the hot water and took a bath. By the time she came out, it was already seven o’clock.

Yin Shixiu happened to come in, caught momentarily by surprise seeing her drying her hair,

"Awake? Why did you get up?"

"Being wrapped up in the quilt all night made me all sweaty; I needed a shower or I’d have been too uncomfortable."

Su Xiaomeng said.

It sounded like a complaint, finally shifting her tone a bit, making Yin Shixiu laugh suddenly...

Su Xiaomeng didn’t think she said anything funny and looked at Yin Shixiu with confusion.

Yin Shixiu abruptly moved forward, pulling her swiftly into his arms,

"I’d be more than happy to help you shower."

"Aren’t you busy?"

Su Xiaomeng quickly pushed him away, her hair still dripping!

Yin Shixiu took the towel from her hand, wiping her hair.

The height difference of almost twenty centimeters made it perfect for him to towel her hair without either adjusting position.

"Busy with you, yes."

"So improper."

Su Xiaomeng muttered under her breath, making Yin Shixiu laugh once more, kissing her while drying her hair...

"I feel if you keep kissing like this, my hair would be washed in vain."

"Disgusted by me?"

"Yes, disgusted by you."

Su Xiaomeng said flatly.

How much was real and how much was false in her words, not even Su Xiaomeng knew.

Yet those three words, in Yin Shixiu’s ears, were merely a joke.

Su Xiaomeng suddenly twitched her nose; the woman’s perfume on him was no longer detectable.

He had showered and changed his clothes.

Yin Shixiu, just this once, just this once...

No uncovering, no pursuing, treating it as if nothing happened.

The night before last, I didn’t go to the company, didn’t see you embracing another woman into a hotel, nor did I wait outside the hotel all night for you.

I didn’t know it snowed heavily in London that night, nor did my hat get wet with snow...

I won’t say you’ve betrayed me; seeing is believing. I can’t just convict you for being with a woman in a hotel all night.

What you did with that woman in the hotel, I won’t try to discern.

You lie to me, hide from me, I’ll bear it.

I’ll treat your relationship as the purest; that nothing happened in the hotel.

Let it be...

But Yin Shixiu, just this once, my concession is only this step.

Because I love you, love you more than you imagine.

Because I love our children, holding them above all else.

But using reasons, excuses, and self-deception like this, I’ll only do this once.

"Yesterday’s outfit, I thought it was ugly..."

"..."

"I want to throw it away."

Yin Shixiu momentarily couldn’t follow Su Xiaomeng’s thought process, much less guess the meaning behind her actions.

Let it be her venting, then.

"Yes, throw it away, it really wasn’t good-looking."