Incurable Pain

IP Chapter 90

Incurable Pain | Chapter 90

Two young people who were not yet lovers in high school, what would their feelings and reactions be like when they unexpectedly meet again after many years?

Ning Shumo didn’t know what Sheng Wen was thinking at this moment. All she knew was that she was looking at the man with eyes as dark as ink, feeling like her brain was about to shut down and her heart was about to stop.

Her mind was buzzing, and she stared blankly at Sheng Wen.

It wasn’t until the man’s gentle voice called her name.

“Uh, um.” 

Ning Shumo was a little flustered, suddenly feeling that the current scene was extremely awkward. Under the man’s intense gaze, the usually carefree girl felt a bit ’embarrassed’ for once. 

She nervously tucked a strand of delicate hair behind her ear and said, “Long time no see.”

“Long time no see.” 

In contrast, Sheng Wen seemed much calmer.

But unnoticed by anyone, his slender fingers unconsciously clenched into a fist.

The veins on the fair back of his hand seemed to be spreading with tension.

Ning Shumo belatedly realized that she was almost late. She inwardly cursed and furrowed her brows, about to run off.

Sheng Wen subconsciously reached out and grabbed her slender wrist—as if it were a reflex, it should have been this way.

The girl was startled, incredulously turning her head.

She looked at the man in confusion. 

“Why are you grabbing me?”

…

Sheng Wen pursed his lips, seeming a bit embarrassed. For a moment, the usually decisive boy actually seemed a bit hesitant.

Thinking about the perfect attendance award for this month, Ning Shumo felt like her butt was on fire. If she didn’t maintain a ladylike demeanor, she would almost jump up in a hurry.

Her voice became urgent. 

“I’m almost late!”

Seizing on this sentence, Sheng Wen found a starting point for conversation. He hurriedly asked, “Do you work in this office building?”

If so, that would be quite a coincidence.

Because he worked here.

“No.” Unfortunately, Ning Shumo shook her head. 

“I work at the criminal investigation bureau across the street.”

As she spoke, she discreetly ‘rescued’ her wrist from Sheng Wen’s long hand.

“The criminal investigation bureau?” 

Sheng Wen’s delicate eyebrows couldn’t help but furrow slightly, hesitantly asking, “Are you… a police officer now?”

The lively and bright girl from high school had become a police officer? 

This was quite a contrast, a possibility that Sheng Wen hadn’t considered in his years of reminiscing, so he found it even more surprising.

“No, a forensic examiner.” Ning Shumo smiled somewhat sheepishly.

Sheng Wen noticed that she had become more ‘reserved’ than she was in high school, but her eyes still looked very innocent when she smiled.

Sheng Wen’s Adam’s apple rolled, his black eyes withdrew, and he casually asked Ning Shumo for her contact information.

Then… he blankly watched her slender and agile figure run away.

With this coincidental meeting taken to the extreme, their subsequent contact became inexplicably ‘natural.’

One reason was that the places where they worked were very close to each other, but more importantly… Sheng Wen became proactive. 

He would take the initiative to message the girl to have lunch together, often using the excuse that a new restaurant had opened on some street and they could get a discount by eating together.

Gradually, Ning Shumo realized something and couldn’t help but feel pleasantly surprised.

In the past, as long as Sheng Wen didn’t reject her and was willing to take a step forward, she felt like she could take the remaining ninety-nine steps with her enthusiasm alone.

But now, Sheng Wen was exceptionally proactive.

This initiative catalyzed the relationship between the two.

They were both single, with no misunderstandings or past passionate and lingering youthful love stories… but they couldn’t help but yearn for those.

Meeting again, being attracted to each other again, was simply a very normal thing.

Because they had never forgotten each other.

The saying “the sea is vast because it rejects no rivers” was applicable in many situations. Ning Shumo hadn’t encountered a boy who could make her heart beat so fast in so many years, and Sheng Wen hadn’t encountered a girl like her.

Bold, bright, and unrestrained, rushing towards him like a moth to a flame.

He had wanted to indulge in this passion before, but he didn’t have the qualifications. Now that he had his own personality, he did.

One evening, while having dinner together, watching the girl’s charming face under the candlelight, describing a movie she had watched before in vivid detail—wherever she was, there was a lively atmosphere.

Sheng Wen couldn’t help but say softly, “Ah Mo.”

His tone made Ning Shumo pause, looking at him with a slightly puzzled expression in her bright eyes.

Because although she had told Sheng Wen that he could call her ‘Amo’ since the first time they met, her friends also called her that, but Sheng Wen had never called her that way.

This was the first time he had called her that.

Ning Shumo suddenly realized that this nickname sounded so ‘affectionate’ when called by him.

Sheng Wen vowed that this was the ‘corniest’ thing he had said in over twenty years. He pursed his lips, his long fingers involuntarily gripping the fork, and even the knuckles turned white.

“We… ” 

He hesitated before speaking, “Should we give it a try? Being together?”

This quasi-confession was difficult to utter, but once said, Sheng Wen’s eyes were firm, and it was a sincere inquiry, without any pretense. 

Ning Shumo felt a tense feeling, as if her breathing had stopped for a moment. Her small hands involuntarily grabbed the tablecloth and twisted together.

To be honest, Sheng Wen’s confession was hard for her to refuse, after all, he was the guy she had liked for so many years.

Moreover, he liked her now too.

But just the thought of how hard she had pursued him before, and how indifferent Sheng Wen had been, made her feel like she’d be at a loss if she quickly accepted his confession… it felt like she’d be losing out.

Ning Shumo couldn’t help but bite her lip in frustration.

“What’s wrong?” Sheng Wen looked at her nervously. 

“Do you… not like me anymore?”

“No!” 

Ning Shumo hurriedly refuted.

But as soon as she finished speaking, she saw the man’s smiling eyes and smiling lips, and there was even a hint of mischief in his black pupils, looking like a mischievous little imp.

…

Geez, why did Sheng Wen seem so ‘scheming’ now?

Ning Shumo muttered to herself silently, sighed lightly, she couldn’t lie. 

Thinking about it, she decided to be honest—

“I feel like I’d be at a loss if I just agreed to you like this.”

Sheng Wen didn’t quite understand the girl’s train of thought, furrowing his brows in confusion. 

“Huh?”

“I pursued you for one hundred and seventy-six days back in school.” 

Ning Shumo said somewhat stingily, looking serious. 

“You didn’t pursue me for even one day, so… you should at least… pursue me for half of that time.”

That way, she would feel a bit more balanced.

But why half… hmm, she was being quite petty, wanting to enjoy the feeling of being ‘Sheng Wen’s girlfriend’ ahead of time.

The man couldn’t help but laugh at her words, his black eyes twinkling in the candlelight.

“Alright.” 

Sheng Wen’s voice almost poured out all the tenderness he had in his life, his smile gradually widening. 

“Then I’ll pursue you for one hundred and seventy-six days too, how about that?”

Ning Shumo had endured enough grievances before.

Now, he didn’t want her to feel at a loss anymore.

The girl smiled, her delicate features filled with undisguised satisfaction.

Actually, Ning Shumo was an only child from a wealthy family, pampered since childhood, but she was actually very easy to please.

She never nitpicked, just said, “Forget it, just pursue me for half the time.”

No wonder people close to her always said she was a bit silly.

Sheng Wen had actually noticed this about her a long time ago, but he considered it  as ‘innocence.’

Ning Shumo was the most innocent and least worldly girl he had ever met. Her love and hate, likes and dislikes were always clear and intense.

Being with such a person, whether as a lover or a friend, you didn’t have to strain to shape yourself into something ‘pretentious,’ you could always be in a very comfortable state.

It was also the state that Sheng Wen most pursued and cherished.

Half of one hundred and seventy-six days was eighty-eight days.

At this moment, it was late autumn, and it would soon be the first snowfall in nearly three months.

Like a ‘model boyfriend,’ Sheng Wen waited outside the Criminal Investigation Bureau steps to pick up Ning Shumo from work, and he saw the little girl running out.

She was wearing a creamy white wool coat, her petite face glowing white, and Ning Shumo’s eyes lit up when she saw the gentle snow falling outside.

Then Sheng Wen watched as the girl stood in place, smiling foolishly for a while, and then ran over to him.

“Sheng Wen, it’s snowing.” 

Her face was half covered by the scarf as she spoke, her voice sweet and coquettish. 

“It rarely snows in Linlan, I like it.”

“Mm.” Sheng Wen responded softly, his lips curved into a faint smile, as thin as the cold air in the first snow.

But his long hands were warm as he gently cupped Ning Shumo’s two red ears, warming them up.

“Unfortunately, it’s not enough. I haven’t built a snowman yet, Yinyin says the snow in the north is especially big, like the snow in books.” 

There was a hint of obvious envy in the girl’s eyes, murmuring, “How about we go on a trip to the north and play with Yinyin?”

One thing led to another, Sheng Wen couldn’t help but laugh and asked ‘mercilessly,’ “Do you have any vacation days?”

…

Ning Shumo wilted instantly.

Vacation days? She’d be lucky not to work overtime.

“Can’t you just let me be happy for a moment?” 

Ning Shumo raised her gaze to glare at him, but happened to see a flurry of snowflakes falling on Sheng Wen’s lips.

In an instant, they melted, condensing into a droplet of water.

Ning Shumo suddenly felt thirsty, she wanted to kiss him, a sudden inexplicable impulse and a pounding heart, just like when she first saw Sheng Wen.

So she asked, “How many days has it been today?”

Sheng Wen was taken aback. 

“Huh?”

The bright big eyes on the girl’s scarf-wrapped face curved up. 

“You’ve been pursuing me for eighty-eight days, right?”

Sheng Wen couldn’t help but laugh, gently responding, “Eighty-two days.”

He had remembered it all along. In six more days, Ning Shumo would be his.

“Then I’ll exempt you from six days.” 

Ning Shumo smiled, reaching out to take off her scarf and wrap it around her slender neck. With her snow-white chin and crimson lips, she smiled as if she had achieved her goal. 

“Sheng Wen, you’ve successfully pursued me.”

Because she wanted to kiss him, she didn’t want to wait for six more days.

After saying this, Ning Shumo took advantage of Sheng Wen’s surprise and pulled him down by his neck.

Four soft and thin lip petals pressed together, emitting a fragrant scent.

Cold and sweet.

This was probably the best look of the first snow, and also the scene that would be cherished in their memories for a lifetime.

After going round and round, they were still together.