117: Melting Heart

Liu Nansheng had always been an independent and strong-willed girl; she never easily asked others for help.

Seeing her call now, Chen Li's heart tightened, and he immediately pressed the answer button.

"Hello, Nansheng?"

From the other end of the phone came Liu Nansheng's heavily suppressed sobbing; her voice trembled noticeably, filled with a sense of despair:

"Chen Li, can you... come pick me up right now?"

"Okay, I'm coming right now."

Chen Li answered without hesitation, "I'll be there in twenty minutes."

...Shortly after Chen Li had sent her home and left, Mrs. Liu and her party returned home.

As soon as she entered and saw that Liu Nansheng had already packed her luggage, Mrs. Liu recalled her daughter's embarrassing behavior at the dinner table earlier, and her anger flared up instantly.

"Liu Nansheng, what's the meaning of packing your bags? Are you really going to leave with that poor kid?"

Mrs. Liu's tone was sharp as she launched into a barrage of questions.

"Yes." Liu Nansheng's reply was brief and firm.

"What's so bad about Wu Li? He has a career and money, and he's even willing to pay five hundred and twenty thousand in bride price. Do you know what that money means for our family?"

Mrs. Liu grew more agitated as she spoke, "Your brother could buy a car, and the rest can be saved for his future marriage. He's the only son in our family; continuing the family line depends on him."

She went on and on, painting a blueprint of a wonderful life after receiving the bride price—the son marrying a wife with great fanfare, and the Liu Family's lineage continuing.

But in this beautiful picture, Liu Nansheng was the only one missing.

In this house, she seemed to be nothing more than a tool used to exchange for profit.

"Nansheng, your mother is right."

Mr. Liu chimed in from the side, "Wu Li is indeed a reliable person. Why don't you understand your parents' good intentions?"

"Sis, with this money, I can buy an Audi." Liu Tianbao also chimed in excitedly, a greedy glint in his eyes.

"So, for the sake of your son, you're going to sell me off like a commodity?"

Liu Nansheng finally asked the question that had been weighed down in her heart for a long time.

"How can you call this selling?"

Mrs. Liu retorted righteously, "Girls have to get married sooner or later. While you're young and beautiful, what's wrong with finding someone willing to pay a high bride price?

Should you follow a poor kid like Chen Li instead, letting him trick away the daughter I worked so hard to raise for just a bit of money?"

Hearing this, Liu Nansheng almost wanted to sneer—Chen Li was a poor kid? Truly ridiculous.

"I won't marry him."

Liu Nansheng's tone was calm but firm. "If you want someone to marry him, go marry him yourself." She pulled up the handle of her suitcase, preparing to leave.

"You..."

Mrs. Liu was completely infuriated by those words and raised her hand, giving Liu Nansheng a loud slap across the face.

The slap landed squarely on Liu Nansheng's fair cheek, instantly leaving clear finger marks.

"I raised you for nothing!" Mrs. Liu trembled with rage.

Liu Nansheng fought back her tears, not letting them fall.

There is no greater sorrow than a withered heart; at this moment, she was completely in despair over this family.

She only wanted to leave this suffocating place as quickly as possible.

"Leave then! If you're so capable, don't you dare come back!" Mrs. Liu used the tactic she had successfully employed many times before.

Liu Nansheng paused at the door and said softly, "Take care of yourselves."

Seeing her daughter really leaving, Mrs. Liu panicked and rushed forward to grab the suitcase. "Leave these things behind! They were all bought with my money!"

Liu Nansheng struggled with her mother for a few moments before suddenly letting go.

It was just some clothes; she didn't need them anyway.

She turned and walked down the stairs, with Mrs. Liu's sharp curses trailing behind her: "Don't ever come back! You ungrateful wolf!"

Every word was like a knife stabbing into Liu Nansheng's heart.

Fighting back her tears, she walked down the stairs step by step with determination, each step shattering her last bit of attachment to this home.

When Chen Li arrived at Liu Nansheng's Residential Complex, he saw her from afar, standing alone under the same scholar tree as last time.

The afterglow of the setting sun stretched her shadow long, making her look exceptionally lonely.

He stepped forward quickly and called out softly behind her, "Nansheng."

Hearing that familiar and gentle voice, Liu Nansheng slowly turned around.

When she saw the concern in Chen Li's eyes, all the grievances and pain she had suppressed these past few days instantly burst through the floodgates.

She suddenly threw herself into Chen Li's arms, her shoulders beginning to tremble violently and uncontrollably.

At first, her heavily suppressed, intermittent gasps could be heard, as if she still wanted to maintain a final shred of dignity.

But soon, the forced whimpers turned into an irrepressible, broken wailing.

Scalding tears gushed out instantly, soaking the front of his shirt.

He was caught a bit off guard by this sudden embrace, his heart feeling both joy and heartache.

He didn't need to ask to know what had just happened.

He gently patted her back, letting her vent all her sorrow in his arms.

After an unknown amount of time, Liu Nansheng's crying gradually subsided, finally turning into intermittent sobs.

She still leaned in Chen Li's arms, her cheek pressed against his warm chest, where she could clearly hear his steady and powerful heartbeat.

This feeling of being completely accepted and protected made her drifting, restless heart find a harbor to anchor in for the first time.

She thought of everything Chen Li had done lately—his unhesitating trust, his undisguised favoritism toward her, and the respect she had never received from her family.

These small bits of warmth were like spring sunshine, gradually shining into the lake of her heart that had been frozen for so long.

She could even clearly feel the layer of ice at the bottom of her heart, frozen for over twenty years, rapidly melting... [Liu Nansheng]

[Affection Level: +62]

The moment the System notification rang in Chen Li's mind, he could hardly suppress the upward curve of his lips.

He suppressed the wild joy in his heart, but his arms involuntarily held her even tighter.

"Chen Li,"

Liu Nansheng looked up at him with red and swollen eyes, her voice still raspy from crying. "Take me away; I don't want to stay here anymore."

The dependence revealed in those words was something she had never shown before.

"Okay, where do you want to go?"

"Anywhere is fine," she shook her head gently, her face full of exhaustion. "I'm tired."

"Then let's go to my house for a bit and rest. We can go out for dinner later."

Chen Li took Liu Nansheng back to his home. As she pushed open the familiar door, Liu Nansheng looked around the somewhat old but neatly kept home with some surprise.

This was far from the billionaire's residence she had imagined.

Chen Li noticed her confusion, handed her a glass of warm water, and explained, "My parents are reluctant to move.

We've lived here for twenty years; every corner has memories. They've long since developed a deep attachment to it."

"Your parents... are very nostalgic," Liu Nansheng said softly, her gaze sweeping over the yellowed family photos on the wall and the cabinets filled with old items.

Though simple, this little home was filled with the warmth of life and a sense of homeliness everywhere, making her feel inexplicably at ease. "Are they not home?"

"They're at work; they don't get off until six-thirty."

Chen Li smiled. "The older generation is like that; they have an attachment to where they're used to living. Of course, I want them to live in a better house, but their happiness is what matters most."

"That's... quite nice." There was a hint of imperceptible envy in Liu Nansheng's tone.

Growing up in an environment full of love, it was no wonder Chen Li's personality was so warm and reliable.

"Um... I'm having dinner with two old classmates later,"

Chen Li looked at her somewhat nervously. "Would you like to come along? If you're feeling tired, we could..."

"It's fine," Liu Nansheng interrupted him, a faint, genuine smile appearing on her lips. "Just arrange it as you like; I'll go with you."

At this very moment, where they went or what they did didn't matter to her.

As long as Chen Li was by her side, she felt an unprecedented sense of peace.

She was willing to let him take charge, following his footsteps to any place.