Chapter 368: , Love for a Lifetime, Wind Rises and Waves Roll (Please subscribe!)

A sentence upon waking from a dream: "It's so good to see you."

Instantly touched the softest place deep in Mai Sui's heart. With eyes intertwined, she slowly moved her left hand, gently covering his left cheek, then remained motionless, quietly soothing him.

This was the first time she had taken the initiative to use tenderness to embrace this man who made her intoxicated.

She didn't know why she had such great courage at this moment?

Perhaps it was because she had been suppressed too hard for over a month.

Or perhaps it was because, when facing this man, her heart was always soft.

But regardless, she just did it uncontrollably. At this very moment, she had no time to consider the consequences; she felt heartache for him.

It was magical to say that when her left hand covered his face, the frustration Li Heng had been suppressing for a long time vanished instantly, as if he had taken a miraculous medicine, and his body instantly felt relaxed.

Looking at each other, he greedily didn't want to get up from her thigh. He just used his right hand to press down on her left hand, murmuring as if talking to himself: "You finally relented and came back to see me. I thought you would remain hard-hearted forever."

Mai Sui smiled tenderly, looking down fixedly at him, letting her long hair fall onto his forehead. "How could I."

After one question and one answer, the two smiled at each other, then suddenly slowly quieted down again, their gazes entangled and unable to separate ever again.

After a long while, Li Heng stretched out his hands unsatisfied, tightly hugging her slender willow waist. He turned his head slightly, then buried it in the base of her thigh and said: "Keep your word."

"Okay."

His four words were very inexplicable, but Mai Sui understood and promised.

For a long time afterward, neither of them spoke again. He smelled her fragrance, and she looked down at his face with lowered eyes. At this time, silence was better than sound; they were completely immersed in a world for two.

"Do you blame me?" After a long time passed, he broke the silence.

"No." Mai Sui replied.

She said this sincerely.

Because when she fell in love with this person, she already knew what kind of person he was. Naturally, she wouldn't trouble herself with such worries.

Perhaps, in the process of getting along, certain scenes or certain people would bring her brief shocks and pain. But her feelings for him were like a ship sailing in the ocean; at certain times, it might be hindered by natural disasters like waves, but the established goal of her voyage remained unchanged.

What she cared about was this person. As long as he lived well, as long as he was happy, she would also dispel the gloom and be happy along with him.

With just a few hazy conversations, the two seemed to have unlocked the shackles on their bodies, gazing at each other, their two hearts closer than ever before.

At some moment, Li Heng freed his right hand and slowly reached toward her face.

Mai Sui understood. After hesitating for a moment, she took the initiative to press her cheek against his palm, her eyes charming as she slowly rubbed against it, as if saying: Let it turn over.

Li Heng seemed to understand her thoughts. His right hand left her cheek, stroking as it went, and hooked her neck with a slight force. Her head lowered a few more inches, and his lips met hers just right, kissing her.

Facing the sudden kiss, Mai Sui's body was straight and stiff, but accompanied by the biting and mysterious feeling coming from the corners of her mouth, after struggling for a while, she finally chose to relax her body and mind, her long eyelashes closing together while trembling.

This kiss didn't shake the heavens and earth, nor did it move mountains and seas, and it certainly didn't last forever.

It was very brief.

But it was warm enough! It was enough to be remembered forever.

The two tongue tips separated reluctantly. Li Heng loosened her neck and buried his head in the base of her thigh again, saying: "Chen Lijun sent me a letter, and there's a photo. Take a look."

Lijun sent him a letter, and it even had a photo?

Mai Sui was surprised by this news. Her gaze then wandered over the coffee table, and finally, she accurately found Chen Lijun's handwriting among the many letters. Thinking for a moment, she leaned forward slightly and took the letter into her hand.

She didn't look at the letter paper; she didn't want to know what her best friend had written to him. She was simply curious about the photo.

Pulling the photo out of the envelope, she looked at it for a long while and asked, "Lijun went to the army?"

"Yes, I thought you knew the reason." Li Heng replied.

Mai Sui said softly, "I haven't been in contact with her for a while. The last time was when we met and had dinner together during the winter break."

Li Heng asked, "Did she have any signs beforehand?"

Mai Sui recalled for a moment: "No."

Then she said without avoidance, "If you want to find out the reason, you can ask Song Yu and Zijin. They meet often and have always been relatively close; perhaps there will be traces left behind."

Li Heng pondered for a short while and finally shook his head. "Forget it. Since she doesn't want to say, she must have her reasons. Why should I go digging for the truth? I'll talk about it when I meet her in the future."

"Mm." Mai Sui agreed with this logic.

Then Li Heng pointed to the anonymous love letter. "You can really take a look at this letter."

Mai Sui didn't refuse this time and opened the anonymous love letter to read it.

At just one glance, she couldn't help but exclaim, "This handwriting is so beautiful."

Li Heng nodded. "Isn't it? Don't just look at the handwriting; savor the content, and you'll be even more surprised."

The love letter had two pages of letter paper. Because it was written so well, Mai Sui spent a considerable amount of time reading it. In the end, she said, "The whole piece doesn't have any secular words like love or affection, but the whole piece is full of love. It really has an artistic atmosphere. I'm even a bit curious about who this person is?"

Li Heng asked, "Is there really not a hint of familiarity in the handwriting?"

Mai Sui identified it carefully again. "Not familiar. It doesn't look like anyone around me."

Well then, Li Heng knew that this might become an eternal mystery, and he estimated that the answer wouldn't be revealed in a short time. Or perhaps, it would never be revealed in this lifetime.

Because the other party didn't sign their name, it meant they didn't want him to guess.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

"Knock, knock, knock!"

Just as the two were chatting and guessing, a knock on the door came abruptly from downstairs. The sound wasn't loud, but it clearly reached their ears.

Li Heng subconsciously checked his watch and realized it was very late—it was already past 11 o'clock.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

When the third knock sounded, the two, who were ambiguously half-hugging, were like startled birds and separated in an instant.

Mai Sui seemed to realize it belatedly, her face turning red like a bright red rose. Under the dim electric light, she appeared shy and timeless.

Li Heng was a bit mesmerized, but a moment later, his eyes were covered by a hand, and a charming voice came to his ear: "I'll go up to the attic and take a look."

"Mm." Li Heng collected his thoughts and sat up.

Mai Sui came to the outside attic and peered down, then quickly walked into the room and said, "It's Shihe knocking on the door."

Hearing this, Li Heng didn't say a word and followed her downstairs.

Going down the stairs, passing through the main room, with a creak, the door opened.

Li Heng asked, "Comrade Shihe, why aren't you asleep yet?"

Her gaze wandered between the two for a moment, and Zhou Shihe said warmly, "Sui Sui hasn't had dinner yet."

Li Heng turned his head to stare at Mai Sui, very surprised: "You haven't had dinner yet?"

Mai Sui looked away. "I'm not that hungry yet."

Seeing the two like this, Zhou Shihe smiled faintly and said to Li Heng, "Li Heng, you heat up the food for Sui Sui; I'm going to take a shower."

After saying this, Miss Zhou turned and returned to the small building at No. 27, finding a change of clothes and heading to the shower room. She had been dragging her feet about not showering all night, just waiting for Mai Sui to return so she could go to the kitchen to heat up food for her. But she waited and waited, and seeing it was almost midnight, she felt uneasy and came to knock on the door to check.

Heating up the food was easy. After everything was done, he sat at the dining table and watched Mai Sui eat.

After Mai Sui had eaten half a bowl of rice, Li Heng spoke up, "Don't do this in the future; I'm not going anywhere."

Mai Sui's face felt hot, and she smiled charmingly, saying okay.

More than ten minutes later, Zhou Shihe walked out of the bathroom in a light pink pajama set, her dark hair draped down. Her appearance was dignified yet revealed a scholarly, pure aura, graceful and elegant, as if she had walked out of an ancient painting—absolutely stunning.

Li Heng couldn't help but look a few more times and asked, "Have Sun Man and Ye Ning gone to sleep?"

"I don't know. They left after dinner, saying they had something to do." Zhou Shihe answered softly.

Mai Sui asked, "It's been so long tonight, were you home alone?"

Zhou Shihe nodded with a smile.

Mai Sui guiltily held her arm: "Let's sleep together tonight."

Zhou Shihe said okay.

Next, the three sat around on the sofa and chatted for about an hour, until he noticed that Zhou Shihe was vaguely a bit tired, and only then did he propose to leave.

Mai Sui saw him to the door and hesitated for a moment, saying, "I won't go over; I don't have clothes to change into there."

"Alright."

Getting permission, Li Heng immediately tore open the packaging, took out a piece of chocolate, removed the outer paper, and handed it to her lips with a sense of ritual, whispering: "The first bite is for you, save a bite for me."

Mai Sui looked into his eyes and asked, "What do you want to eat for breakfast tomorrow?"

Li Heng blurted out, "I want to eat rice noodles, and thousand-layer pancakes. And you guys can't leave me behind to eat alone."

"Mm." Mai Sui smiled and hummed, standing at the threshold to watch him leave.

Returning home, Li Heng didn't feel sleepy. First, he looked at the starry sky from the outside attic for a while, then went into the study to read for a bit, researching literature for about an hour before entering the bedroom.

That night, he had a dream.

He dreamed that Yu Laoshi had guarded him by his bedside all night.

As a result, when he woke up, the sky outside was already bright, and the faint sound of Mai Sui and Zhou Shihe talking in low voices came from the living room outside.

He twisted his head left and right on the pillow—where did Yu Laoshi come from?

Damn it, this dream was just absurd!

Li Heng lay on the bed with his mind blank for about 3 minutes before getting up to get dressed. He walked out of the bedroom while yawning: "Good morning, two beautiful ladies."

Because of the yawn, his voice was a bit slurred and also a bit funny.

But Mai Sui and Zhou Shihe didn't make any response. They turned their heads in unison and stared fixedly at him, their faces full of worry.

Especially on Mai Sui's face, the worry was even greater.

Noticing something was wrong, Li Heng instantly became a bit more sober and asked, "What's wrong? Did something happen? Why are you looking at me like this?"

Mai Sui and Zhou Shihe exchanged a glance, remaining at a stalemate.

Seeing that her best friend couldn't bear it, after a long while, it was Zhou Shihe who handed him the two newly bought newspapers. "Take a look."

Li Heng walked over in two or three steps, grabbed the newspaper, and lowered his head to read.

At just one glance, his eyebrows furrowed tightly, and a nameless fire surged upward.

*Jingcheng Daily* was a comprehensive newspaper with considerable influence across the country, and today it actually published a front-page headline criticizing *Bai Luyuan*.

It spent thousands of words nitpicking, and in the end, it summarized it into one sentence: What kind of dog-shit is this? It's too vulgar. I decisively tore it up after reading to chapter 11; it's garbage without nutrition!

The person who published the criticism was an "old acquaintance," Jingcheng Lao Wang. This person was currently rising rapidly in the domestic literary scene, and both his works and his personal style were known for sharp language and a unique style, with considerable influence.

Jingcheng Lao Wang and Li Heng could be considered people who dominated the literary scene in the same period, and newspapers would occasionally compare the two.

It was just that Li Heng was far superior to Jingcheng Lao Wang in terms of fame, influence, literary status, and market recognition. To borrow the words of Professor Ji Xianlin from Peking University, the two were not comparable.

It was this sentence from Professor Ji that completely infuriated Jingcheng Lao Wang, who was particularly unconvinced.

From then on, whenever Li Heng published a work, Jingcheng Lao Wang would shut himself away to study it for three days and three nights, and then write a highly aggressive review.

If it were just Jingcheng Lao Wang criticizing Li Heng, that would be fine; after all, everyone knew this person's habits, and people with high spirits would just take it as a joke and wouldn't pay too much attention.

But it just so happened!

It just so happened that an old veteran named Zhai from the Writers Association also couldn't stand *Bai Luyuan* and publicly attacked the writer "December" in the *Guangx Daily*.

The news headline was even more shocking: Why did the legendary writer fall so quickly?

And the content of the 3,500-word article could be summarized in 12 words: So decadent, completely meaningless! What is this written?

These words couldn't be described as anything but heavy and vicious, almost completely denying the literary value, ideological content, and worth of *Bai Luyuan*.

The problem was that this big shot had enough status that ordinary people didn't dare to provoke him.

Actually, one could understand it by thinking with their toes: if the status wasn't big enough, who would dare to easily provoke Li Heng? Who would dare to provoke *Harvest* magazine? Who would dare to provoke Mr. Ba?

After all, in the vast Chinese literary scene, who didn't know now that Li Heng was Mr. Ba's last disciple?

Since they dared to speak out and criticize, it meant they weren't afraid of you.

Li Heng calmly finished reading the two front-page news reports, then pointed to the newspaper and asked Zhou Shihe: "Have you heard of this person named Zhai?"

Zhou Shihe nodded gently. "Anyone who pays attention to the literary scene should know him."

Li Heng didn't deny this.

After identifying his micro-expressions for a moment, Zhou Shihe asked with concern: "Are you okay?"

Li Heng threw the newspaper aside and waved his hand. "I'm fine. *Harvest* magazine has only published up to chapter 12; where are we even at? I'll let him bark like a dog for a while; I'll slap his face later."

Actually, he had long anticipated this kind of criticism and had long made psychological preparations; otherwise, he wouldn't have specifically asked Chief Editor Liao and his teacher to take a look and oversee it before publishing.

Seeing Mai Sui looking at him with worry, Li Heng reached out and patted her arm, comforting her: "I'm really fine. You have to believe me. After I returned from Bai Luyuan, I specifically went to my teacher's house. My teacher approved of this scale."

At this point, Li Heng paused and said to the two women: "I even asked for my teacher's opinion back then, asking if I should make cuts? My teacher said no need, saying it was all essence."

Hearing this, Mai Sui asked with bright eyes: "Really?"

Seeing her reaction change so much, Li Heng laughed. "Such a big matter, could I possibly lie to you?"

With Mr. Ba backing him up, the two women instantly felt much more at ease. Zhou Shihe greeted the two: "Let's eat breakfast first, otherwise the noodles will get soggy."

Li Heng said: "You guys eat first, don't wait for me, I'm going to wash up."

Just as the three were chatting while eating breakfast, a commotion came from the stairwell, and footsteps were approaching.

The three looked at each other for a moment, then turned their heads in unison to look over.

Zhou Shihe and Mai Sui thought it was Xiao Han making another surprise visit, but it turned out to be Yu Shuheng, who had disappeared from Lushan Village for a full month.

Yu Shuheng had changed her outfit today, wearing a bright red knee-length long coat. As she walked, she swayed gracefully, blending with her rich scholarly temperament to form a strong contrast, and her aura was very powerful.

"Teacher."

"Teacher."

"Teacher."

The three called out politely in succession.

"Mm."

Yu Shuheng smiled slightly, nodded to the three, then fell beside Li Heng very familiarly, and then placed the newspaper in her hand on the coffee table.

Scanning the various newspapers on the coffee table, Yu Laoshi tilted her head and asked Li Heng, "It seems you already know."

These words were aimless, but Li Heng understood as soon as he heard them. Instantly, his heart felt warm; it seemed this teacher had come specifically for this matter, fearing he would fall into a predicament.

Li Heng replied: "I just found out as well."

Yu Laoshi asked: "What are your thoughts?"

The subtext of her words was: Do you need Teacher to take action?

This was also the reason she rushed back, with the purpose of seeking his own opinion.

Because she felt that since *Bai Luyuan* dared to be published so boldly, there must be a backup plan. Or the book was classic enough that Mr. Ba and *Harvest* magazine dared to place such a heavy bet.

Honestly speaking, because she had been missing for a month, she had only seen up to chapter 24. Although she had been keeping the subsequent 11 chapters in her heart, she hadn't come to him to ask for them.

"Thank you, Teacher, not for now."

Li Heng said thank you sincerely, then said frankly: "Just as my teacher said, I want to show all those obscure, hard-to-tell things. This is the foundation of literature."

Hearing him mention Mr. Ba, the anger in Yu Shuheng's heart instantly diminished quite a bit. Then she reached out and picked up the thousand-layer pancake in front of him, eating it slowly, small bite by small bite.

Mai Sui asked: "Teacher, haven't you had breakfast?"

Yu Shuheng said: "Teacher was originally going to buy breakfast, but came directly after seeing this morning's news."

Zhou Shihe scanned Yu Laoshi, then scanned Li Heng, her eyelids drooping a bit, quietly eating her beef rice noodles, not saying a word the whole time.

Mai Sui came from a well-off family since she was young, so she was always generous when buying things. Sure enough, the breakfast for three was enough for four to eat and drink, and there was even some left over.

After breakfast, Yu Shuheng asked Li Heng: "Are you busy today?"

The implication was asking him if he wanted to go to Shanghai Medical College today?

Ever since he and Xiao Han broke through their relationship, they had been stuck together almost every weekend. Although Yu Shuheng wasn't in Lushan Village, she was very clear about the dynamics here.

Li Heng replied: "Not busy, Teacher, do you have something for me?"

Yu Shuheng stood up, nodded to Mai Sui and Zhou Shihe, and said to him: "Come with me for a moment."

"Oh, okay."

Li Heng wiped his hands, followed behind her, left the small building at No. 26, and entered the small building at No. 25 opposite.

The small building at No. 25 hadn't been lived in for a long time, and there was a smell of dust inside. Because of the heavy rain in spring, it was also mixed with a faint musty smell.

Going up to the second floor, Yu Shuheng opened all the windows in the living room and then entered the master bedroom.

Seeing him standing in the living room without moving, she didn't look back. "Come in."

Her two words "come in" were a bit cold, and also had a bit of a thought-provoking taste.

Lingering on her tall back for a while, Li Heng pondered for a moment and followed her in.

Feeling his movement, Yu Shuheng turned around, looked at him face to face, and then asked an irrelevant question: "How is Teacher's outfit today?"

Li Heng: "."

Teacher, oh Teacher, you didn't call me over alone just for an aesthetic review, did you?

That would really be a blessing he couldn't enjoy.

After a standoff for a while, Yu Shuheng broke the dullness: "Are you planning to go into business?"

Li Heng: "."

He was speechless again. So she had seen his reply to Old Mabu yesterday; no wonder she had been standing behind him in class, and once she stood there, she wouldn't move.

He now had reason to suspect that the so-called sore throat was fake; she probably just wanted to finish reading his letter.

Since she had seen it, he didn't hide it. "I have this idea."

Yu Shuheng asked: "Why? Did I stimulate you?"

Li Heng knew she was talking about the matter in White Deer Village, her big investments one after another.

He shook his head: "Not really."

Staring into his eyes for a while, Yu Shuheng took a step closer, and then took another step closer, whispering in his ear: "Is it because you feel that just being a scholar is too thin, not enough to support your dealings with so many women, so you need to make money?"

Feeling the heat on his earlobe, smelling the woman's fragrance on her, and feeling the fullness pressing against his chest, Li Heng's body reacted uncontrollably, his breathing quickened a bit. He controlled his emotions and said: "Yes and no."

Noticing his abnormality, the corners of Yu Shuheng's mouth curled up imperceptibly, and then she asked: "How did you coax Mai Sui?"

"Teacher, what are you talking about?" Li Heng's eyes were incredibly clear when he said this.

Yu Shuheng tilted her head to look at him, smiled elegantly, and said: "Little boy, your ability to speak off the cuff is really well-practiced."

Li Heng blinked.

Yu Shuheng stared at him for a while, then suddenly wrapped her hands around his neck, her eyes full of temptation: "Do you dare to kiss me?"

Li Heng's heart beat rapidly, and he said in a panic: "Teacher, don't mess around."

Seeing his body stiffen, Yu Shuheng smiled meaningfully, let go of him, turned around, and began to tidy up the bed. While tidying, she said: "Aren't you going to ask why I didn't come to Lushan Village last month?"

Li Heng said: "Teacher has her reasons for not coming."

Yu Shuheng looked back at him and said: "Siya is pregnant, Teacher has been accompanying her."

"Mm."

At this point, the two suddenly had nothing to say. The bedroom was quiet for a moment, and you could hear a pin drop.

After a long time, she said: "If you have something to do, go get busy. If you encounter difficulties, you can come find me."

"Okay, thank you, Teacher." Li Heng turned to leave.

Just as he reached the bedroom door, Yu Shuheng asked out of the blue: "How are those pieces of music of yours coming along?"

Hearing this, he remembered that when she participated in the Spring Festival Gala last year, she had proposed releasing a pure music album for him.

Li Heng scratched his head, feeling embarrassed to speak: "I've been busy and forgot about it. I'll organize it and give it to you after a while."

Yu Shuheng didn't respond after hearing this and busied herself with her own work.

Seeing this, Li Heng knew that this teacher was seeing him out invisibly, so he didn't stay and quickly left the small building at No. 25.

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Published first, edited later.

(More to come)

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 369 =====