landbeastnovel Chapter 172 What's wrong with you?
Chapter 172 What's wrong with you?
The next day, the ball game.
Lin Yuanzhou said he didn't need help, but Lin Shuyao still went to ask Zhou Chunmei.
"Shuyao, you've come at the perfect time!" The union has been busy lately, and they need people to go to the basketball game. They're short-handed and can't leave. Zhou Chunmei didn't stand on ceremony and instructed, "Go to the basketball game today and bring water to the athletes. Just bring them some sweet soup during halftime; it's not tiring."
"Okay," Lin Shuyao readily agreed.
There was no bottled water in those days. Delivering water involved bringing a few enamel mugs and thermos flasks, filling the mugs with sugar water to cool, and then taking them to the players during halftime to replenish their energy. Lin Shuyao made several trips, carrying the enamel mugs and thermos flasks to the sidelines of the court.
The basketball court was bustling with noise.
"Go! Go!"
The factory workers, their families, and girls from nearby cotton mills craned their necks to look at the field from the stands, shouting loudly.
The game is in full swing.
Lin Yuanzhou dribbled past his opponent, who double-teamed him. He then made a behind-the-back pass to Liu Dayong. Liu Dayong didn't even jump; he simply raised his hand and put the ball into the basket.
"Good shot!" A cheer erupted from the crowd.
Lin Yuanzhou wiped the sweat from his face, glanced casually at the sidelines, and saw Lin Shuyao bending over and fiddling with the enamel mugs. His eyes lit up, he looked away, patted the ball, and ran back to his position.
They played even harder in the second half, breaking through, stealing, and shooting, as if they had inexhaustible energy.
……
Cheng Zheng had just gotten off the train.
He had been on a hard seat for over forty hours, hadn't slept a wink all night, his eyes were bloodshot, his lips were dry and chapped, and he looked much more haggard.
But his face was still handsome, with high brow bones, a straight nose, and an increasingly defined jawline. His dark eyebrows and eyes were even deeper and more intense, exuding a sharpness.
Jin Song met him at the exit and told him as they walked, "It was quite a coincidence. A policeman friend of mine in Guangzhou has a wife named Zhao Xiulan. She was in the same carriage as your wife that night. You asked me to find someone, so I asked him. When he got home and told his wife, she immediately recognized the name and that's how we found her."
"Your wife stayed in the steel plant's employee hospital for a month and was just discharged a few days ago."
Jin Song continued, "She was quite clever that night. If she hadn't disguised herself to fool those robbers, the girl they took away would probably have been her and my friend's wife. It was just bad luck. Later, when she went to the restroom, she bumped into one of the robbers' accomplices in the car. The other guy was scared of being discovered, so he attacked her. Your wife got hit on the back of the head with a hammer and had to get a lot of stitches."
When Cheng Zheng heard that Lin Shuyao was injured, his heart clenched, his face hardened, and his lips pressed tightly together.
Jin Song said, "Don't worry, she's fine. Zhou Chunmei took good care of her during her hospitalization, so she didn't suffer much."
Cheng Zheng was still deeply troubled, his expression somber and silent.
To get to the staff hospital, you have to pass the basketball court.
I could hear shouts coming from the basketball court from afar.
Cheng Zheng wasn't interested in watching the game; he just glanced casually at the field.
With that sweep, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
The halftime whistle blew.
Lin Shuyao picked up the tray and walked towards the sidelines.
"Have some water." She handed the tray over, first to Liu Dayong, then to Sun Zhiqiang, and finally to Lin Yuanzhou.
Lin Yuanzhou took the enamel mug, tilted his head back and took a big gulp, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, sweat dripping down his neck.
After finishing his drink, he handed the cup back to Lin Shuyao, his eyes sparkling: "Did you see me score just now?"
"Yes, I saw it. That's amazing! Keep it up!" Lin Shuyao looked up and gave him an encouraging smile, her two dimples spreading across her cheeks, making her look sweet and charming.
Lin Yuanzhou's face turned red instantly.
"Watch how I score in the second half!" he said, then turned and ran back onto the court. In the next few minutes, he was like a man possessed, breaking through, stealing, and shooting, scoring more than ten points in a row. Every time he scored, he would glance at the sidelines.
Lin Shuyao met his bright eyes several times, smiled at him, and cheered him on.
Cheng Zheng stood rooted to the spot, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the tall man in the white vest as he walked toward Lin Shuyao, watching her pick up an enamel mug from the tray and hand it to him, watching the two of them so close together, watching her smile at him.
It felt as if a knife had been plunged into my heart.
The blade churned at his heart once, then a second, then a third, until his heart was a bloody mess.
He searched for her for a whole month.
I spent over forty hours on the train, almost two nights without sleep, thinking and worrying the whole way.
And here she is, perfectly fine, smiling at another man.
Cheng Zheng blinked slowly, as if trying to suppress all his emotions in that brief moment.
But he couldn't do it.
His hands, hanging by his sides, clenched tightly, his knuckles cracking, and the veins on the back of his hands bulging as if they were about to burst through his skin.
He must be crazy to let her treat him like that!
His eyes were bloodshot. He suddenly turned around and left!
"Hey! Cheng Zheng! Where are you going?"
"The hospital is over there!"
Jin Song realized what was happening and quickly chased after them.
Cheng Zheng didn't stop; he walked quickly and hurriedly.
His jaw was taut, the veins on his temples throbbed, and he looked like a volcano about to erupt, yet he managed to suppress all his emotions under his cold, hard face.
Jin Song caught up with him in a few strides and grabbed his arm: "Why are you running? Aren't you going to look for your wife?"
Cheng Zheng stopped and turned his head to the side. His eyes were frighteningly red, as if something was burning inside them.
Jin Song looked into his eyes and was startled: "What... what's wrong with you?"
"I'm not looking anymore." Cheng Zheng lowered his eyes, his eyelashes concealing the emotions in them. He squeezed out a few words in a hoarse voice, sounding utterly exhausted.
"Let's go."
He turned his head and continued walking out.