ISBH - Chapter 36
Chapter 36: I Like You
"You..."
Mo Sang turned her head to look at Han Tian. She seemed to want to say something, but the traffic light ahead turned green, and the cars behind began honking to urge them forward. Mo Sang could only give Han Tian a deep look before turning back to focus on driving.
Han Tian covered her face.
Her face felt hot and burning, as if she were about to catch fire herself.
She had only intended to peck Mo Sang on the cheek, never expecting Mo Sang to suddenly turn her head...
By the time Han Tian realized what was happening, she had already kissed Mo Sang right on the lips.
This was truly testing her composure!
Just thinking about the expression in Mo Sang's eyes moments ago made Han Tian's heart pound like a drum, making her wish she could find a crack in the ground to hide in...
Perhaps it was because Mo Sang was simply too beautiful that, even though she knew it was an accident, Han Tian subconsciously felt she had gotten away with taking a huge advantage, which naturally sparked a wave of guilt in her chest...
The rest of the drive was smooth, and the two arrived at their destination quickly.
Han Tian took several deep breaths until the heat on her face finally subsided somewhat, then slowly unbuckled her seatbelt and followed Mo Sang out of the car.
Almost as soon as Han Tian stepped out of the car, Mo Sang took hold of her hand.
Was she still angry?
Han Tian carefully glanced at Mo Sang's profile, but Mo Sang had put on sunglasses that hid most of her face. Han Tian could not see her expression or guess her thoughts at all...
They walked for a while when Mo Sang's footsteps suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong?" Remembering Mo Sang's identity, Han Tian instinctively lowered her voice...
Had they been spotted by someone?
"Nothing." Mo Sang's gaze swept past a certain spot, and the corners of her mouth lifted slightly, but she then turned forward again as if nothing had happened.
Mo Sang seemed extremely familiar with this area. She walked forward for a bit, bypassed the commercial district, and led Han Tian into an unassuming shop.
The shop was decorated in a standard, unremarkable way and seemed to lack any gimmicks. Even though it was mealtime, there were hardly any customers inside.
"This shop is mine," Mo Sang turned back to smile faintly at Han Tian. "I thought you might want to eat here..."
Mo Sang also owned a restaurant?
Though confused, Han Tian did not forget that she was currently a guilty party and that Mo Sang seemed to have not yet forgiven her. So Han Tian obediently kept quiet and played along...
A moment later, Han Tian understood why Mo Sang had said that.
Seeing new customers arrive, the owner greeted them with a broad smile. When he saw Mo Sang, his eyes lit up, and he hurriedly lowered his voice as he guided her inside, sounding somewhat excited. "Mo Sang, what brings you here today? You should stay longer. I just finished brewing my own green plum wine, and I want to give you some to taste..."
As he spoke, the owner glanced at Han Tian again. His gaze fell on their joined hands, and his eyes held a touch of curiosity. "And who's this?"
Mo Sang turned to look at Han Tian but said nothing.
Coming out of her initial shock at seeing the owner, Han Tian felt inexplicably flustered. She forced a smile and greeted him. "Hello, I'm Han Tian. I'm... I'm Mo Sang's sister."
Han Tian recognized him. This owner ran the very restaurant where Mo Sang had eaten boxed meals when she was fourteen. Back then, to protect Mo Sang's pride, the owner had specifically sold her the boxed meals at a discount.
But didn't he run his shop under that office building? How did he end up here?
...
"Nice to meet you, Miss Han." The owner greeted Han Tian cheerfully. Sensing her discomfort, he shifted his gaze back to Mo Sang after finishing his greeting.
Han Tian was not sure if it was her imagination, but Mo Sang looked unhappy again.
"It's rare for you to visit, and the kitchen just received a batch of seafood today, along with your favorite braised beef with potatoes," the owner seemed to sense Mo Sang's bad mood. After leading her to a private room, he wiped his hands nervously. "Thanks to your help, we can continue staying in this city. If you don't mind, please treat this place as your home. We're not insiders and can't offer much help, nor does the shop make much money. We can only try our best to keep you well fed and hydrated. Once you're here, stop worrying about those unhappy things. I'll go watch the kitchen now and make sure they perform at their absolute best..."
"Thank you, Uncle Li." Mo Sang took off her sunglasses and smiled at the owner. "I'm just a little tired. Nothing's bothering me..."
"The catering industry isn't doing well these days, so making any money is already good enough. Uncle Li, you owe me nothing, so please don't belittle yourself..."
"Then you two talk. I'll go watch the kitchen..." Comforted by Mo Sang's words, the owner gave a simple, honest smile, closed the door, and left the room.
When she turned back, Mo Sang met Han Tian's gaze.
Since their reunion, Mo Sang had noticed that Han Tian's gaze usually avoided hers. Yet now, Han Tian looked straight at her without flinching or dodging. For a fleeting moment, it felt like going back to long ago, when Mo Sheng had scored first in the entire school, and Han Tian had looked at her exactly like this...
Mo Sang's eyes darkened slightly.
In that instant, Mo Sang involuntarily thought of the kiss in the car.
Heaven knew how much self-control Mo Sang had to exercise to keep her reason intact and drive all the way here.
She had craved Han Tian for far too long.
After Han Tian woke up, the Research Institute had kept everything tightly sealed, leaving Mo Sang with absolutely no chance to contact her again.
Throughout her life, Mo Sang had always believed she feared nothing. Yet during Han Tian's hospitalization, she felt a fear unlike anything she had ever known. She was terrified that upon returning, Han Tian would forget everything again, not only losing the memories from ten years ago but also erasing the time they had spent together recently...
Fortunately, she had managed to get the phone number of the staff member who had attended to her that day. The staff member told her that Han Tian's memory seemed intact; she was simply busy with work every day...
Mo Sang breathed a sigh of relief, only to fall into an even deeper despair.
After finishing filming the music video, Mo Sang rushed back overnight. She returned with the heavy heart of someone awaiting judgment.
No one knew that when Mo Sang came back, her suitcase contained an entire bottle of sleeping pills.
She loved her sister beyond the bounds of life itself. During the five years they had been apart, she had lived like a walking corpse until her sister reappeared, allowing Mo Sang to feel her heartbeat quicken once more.
Yet the lie about being an ex-girlfriend had been exposed.
Thinking back to Han Tian's furious expression when she left that night, Mo Sang could not imagine what face she should show Han Tian. After all, her sister had no memories of their five years together. The real Mo Sang was completely different from the sunny, positive idol her sister cherished in her heart. Would she still forgive a liar who had deceived her?
Through years of waiting, a beast had gradually awakened within Mo Sang. That wild creature roared, urging her to use every means possible to imprison her sister by her side...
Mo Sang feared that beast would completely destroy her sanity and drive her to do something irreversible.
Rather than hurting her sister, Mo Sang would rather kill herself.
Her love had always been this stubborn and resolute.
Mo Sang had even drafted her suicide note in advance. She would clear her sister of any blame regarding her death. She would take her unspoken love and memories to rest underground, praying for her sister's happiness, health, and longevity...
Mo Sang never expected that heaven, which usually treated her harshly, would finally side with her: On the way back, her mobile phone received a notification that someone was trying to log into her email account.
Did that mean her sister had regained her previous memories? Would she miss Mo Sang too?
...
Mo Sang carefully restrained her longing and tested the waters step by step. She struck first, gradually revealing the darker parts of her heart to her sister...
Yet her sister did not react with disgust as she had anticipated. Instead, the look in her sister's eyes even carried a hint of guilt...
As expected, her sister had recovered her past memories!
Mo Sang had never felt so grateful to the heavens as she did in that moment!
Mo Sang's anger was actually feigned. She could get angry at anyone else in this world, but she simply could not bring herself to be mad at Han Tian.
However, Mo Sang had to position herself at a moral high ground. Only by creating a sense of crisis could she force her sister to reveal her true feelings. Her sister was naive and stubbornly lived inside a shell of her own making. If Mo Sang let it slide lightly, her sister might think she did not matter to her, or worse, abandon her again and retreat back into that shell...
She had waited so long that she was nearly driven mad. It had taken immense effort to pry open even a tiny crack in her sister's dull heart, but that sliver of a gap was like a ray of sunlight to Mo Sang: Her sister still liked her!
Even if her sister's affection was far weaker compared to her own overwhelming love, it was more than enough for Mo Sang.
That night, tears streaming down her face, Mo Sang flushed the sleeping pills down the drain one by one. Aside from herself, no one would ever know what sorrow and despair she had endured...
"Han Tian, this is what you owe me!"
Mo Sang would never tell Han Tian: You simply refused to run away, which unleashed the beast buried deep within my heart.
For the rest of my life, I will never let you go until my dying breath!
...
Yet Mo Sang never expected Han Tian to give her such a massive surprise!
The moment Han Tian leaned in to kiss her, Mo Sang felt distant times rush toward her. Great bursts of fireworks bloomed in her mind. The feeling was overwhelmingly happy, so much so that Mo Sang almost wanted to cry in that instant.
This was the first time her sister had kissed her while fully awake.
Why was her sister so incredibly cute?
So cute that she wanted to pull her sister into her arms and be together every single moment...
Yet the moment that thought crossed her mind, her sister immediately distanced herself from her in front of Uncle Li...
The beast in her heart reared its head again, roaring that it wanted to bind this woman who always ran away, ensuring she would never speak words that angered Mo Sang again...
But Mo Sang never expected to meet Han Tian's smiling eyes.
It had been far too long since Han Tian had looked at her with such a gaze. Mo Sang froze for a second, at a loss, genuinely unsure of what to do next.
"Mo Sang, you're so wonderful!" Han Tian did not notice Mo Sang's awkwardness. Looking straight into her eyes, her brows curved into a smile, and a trace of emotion seeped into her gaze. "I never thought you'd still remember."
Years ago, that owner had sold boxed meals to Mo Sang at a low price. Such a small act of kindness, yet Mo Sang had repaid them by buying their entire restaurant.
In truth, the Mo Sang in Han Tian's heart was exactly such a girl!
She had grown up in the darkest, most difficult circumstances, step by step rising to become the most dazzling star.
She desperately craved love and care, and her perception of human hearts was exceptionally sharp. Once someone showed her even a shred of kindness, she would repay it tenfold or a hundredfold.
So what if Mo Sang was not as sunny and perfect as she appeared to be?
She still liked her so much.
The tenderness in Han Tian's eyes was far too obvious.
The roaring beast in her chest was soothed remarkably well. Mo Sang realized she could not possibly maintain an angry expression now. Instead, her heart felt as if soaked in warm water, tinged with a slight ache and a swelling sensation...
Every frown and smile of her sister could sway Mo Sang's emotions. Mo Sang was utterly greedy for this kind of gentleness from her sister.
Mo Sang pressed her lips together tightly and sat up stiffly. She wanted to say something but did not know how to start. She could only maintain a cold demeanor on the surface, while her heart had long since surrendered completely...
The private room door was knocked on, and the owner pushed it open, carrying a tray inside.
On the tray sat a large bowl of braised beef with potatoes, along with a small white porcelain bottle of green plum wine.
"Please enjoy. Other dishes will be served shortly," the owner smiled at Han Tian. "Miss Han, please don't stand on ceremony. You're our honored guest today. This place has been open for two years, and it's the first time I've ever seen Mo Sang bring a friend over..."
While speaking, the owner enthusiastically poured a glass of green plum wine for Han Tian. "This is a specialty from our hometown. Please taste it, Miss Han..."
After the owner left, Mo Sang finally found a topic to discuss.
She cleared her throat, took a spoon, and served Han Tian a bowl of rice. Trying to cover her tracks, she explained, "Two years ago, I happened to find out that Uncle Li's restaurant was struggling and he wanted to go home. I was planning to open a shop myself, so I hired his family to come here..."
"Don't misunderstand. Uncle Li's family is just too honest..."
"But if you wanted to make money, you could easily leverage your fame. Yet this shop has absolutely no promotion related to you," Han Tian's gaze carried a knowing smile. "You opened this store solely to help Uncle Li. After all, they're getting older and can't handle too many customers..."
"Just like the boxed meals they served you back then," Han Tian's lips curved upward. "You wanted to repay them in the gentlest way possible."
"Mo Sang, you're truly wonderful! So wonderful that you inspire awe in all of us. You're the most beautiful starlight in our dreams..."
This was Han Tian's most genuine feeling as a fan.
Mo Sang found herself completely speechless at that moment. After learning about Han Tian's research, Mo Sang had already guessed who that star in Han Tian's heart was. Hearing Han Tian express it so directly now filled Mo Sang with both sweetness and bitterness: sweet that the person Han Tian liked was indeed her, but bitter over the time she had wasted back then. If she had not been obsessed with comparing herself to that star and had confessed to her sister earlier, would everything have been different...
Facing Han Tian's gaze like this, Mo Sang's pretended indifference could no longer be maintained. She poured a glass of wine and drank it in one gulp as a distraction. She truly felt that Uncle Li had not been lying; the sweetness of the green plum wine spread down her throat, reaching all the way to the bottom of her heart...
Some words suppressed for a long time slipped out involuntarily. Mo Sang stared unblinkingly at Han Tian, her voice uncontrollably picking up a tone of grievance. "If I'm so wonderful, why won't you be with me?"
...
Han Tian lowered her head. She still could not bear to see Mo Sang like this, barely managing to restrain her impulse to comfort her.
In fact, Mo Sang's meaning had been expressed incredibly clearly:
She had liked her for many years.
This previously unreachable star had fallen right in front of her. Did she really have the courage to catch her?
...
Han Tian bit her lower lip and took a sip of wine with her head bowed.
She drank it too quickly and nearly choked. The alcohol content was low, but she had a constitution that could not tolerate even a drop of liquor. Almost as soon as she swallowed the drink, Han Tian felt as if something had suddenly exploded in her head, and heat began to rise from her scalp...
Even though the air conditioning was running in the room, Han Tian only felt overwhelmingly hot, and sweat began to bead all over her body involuntarily...
A long while passed without hearing Han Tian's reply.
Accustomed to Han Tian's evasions, Mo Sang still felt a pang of disappointment in her heart.
Before she could even get angry, Mo Sang saw Han Tian bow her head and gulp down another glass of wine!
Mo Sang's eyelid twitched.
She remembered that Han Tian could not handle any alcohol at all. Seeing that Han Tian seemed ready to pour another, her rationality had not yet caught up when her body instinctively stood up and grabbed Han Tian's hand as she reached for the bottle...
Han Tian paused for a moment, then a sudden smile touched her lips. Without warning, she leaned forward and kissed Mo Sang directly on the mouth.
Mo Sang's eyes widened in shock!
...
"The fresh seafood just arrived!"
At that exact moment, Uncle Li walked in carrying a dish.
Witnessing the scene in the private room, Uncle Li nearly dropped the seafood he was holding!
"Y-you... you two continue..." Several seconds later, Uncle Li finally processed what he had seen, and he practically bolted out of the private room.
...
Steam rose from the newly served dishes, yet neither of them had any appetite to eat.
"W-what do you mean?" Mo Sang's eyes grew heavy as she looked at Han Tian, her voice rough as she forced the words out.
A sudden suspicion arose in her mind, but this possibility was too fortunate for Mo Sang to believe it could actually come true...
"No particular meaning." Interrupted by Uncle Li, Han Tian's hard-gained courage suddenly faltered. Blushing deeply, she lowered her head and clumsily tried to pull her hand back, but Mo Sang did not let go...
The warmth from Mo Sang's palm transferred through her skin...
The alcohol surged to her head once more, and Han Tian felt as if her entire body was about to catch fire!
"Because you're not good!" Not knowing where she got the strength, Han Tian suddenly broke free from Mo Sang's grip and snatched her hand back. She propped her head up with her hand and sat down, looking at Mo Sang through tear-filled eyes.
"You like getting angry, you were fierce to me yesterday, you're petty and hold grudges, you're young but scheming, always using your beauty to seduce people into crime..."
"You're drunk!"
Seeing Han Tian start counting off her flaws on her fingers, Mo Sang told herself not to argue with a drunkard. Overcome with exasperation, she laughed bitterly, took a few deep breaths, and sat back down...
Feeling inexplicably disappointed again, Mo Sang involuntarily took another drink.
This time, the wine tasted somewhat bitter...
Han Tian across from her seemed unable to list any more of Mo Sang's faults, so she just stared unblinkingly at her with watery eyes.
"But there's no helping it. Who else would you be but Mo Sang!"
"I still like you very much!"
"With so many flaws of yours, it seems no one but me would tolerate you. I suppose I'll reluctantly agree to be with you..."
...
S-she... what did she just say...
Mo Sang's eyes snapped wide open as she stared unblinkingly at Han Tian. Her body went rigid in place, and she even unconsciously softened her breathing, afraid of shattering this rare dream.
The alcohol had eroded her rationality, and the words she had harbored in her heart for so long were finally spoken. Han Tian instinctively sighed in relief. Watching Mo Sang sit there like a stunned mullet, Han Tian even frowned slightly in dissatisfaction: This reaction was completely different from what she had expected.
Was Mo Sang not happy?
"Hey, did you hear me? I said I want to be with you..."
This was not a dream!
Mo Sang pinched her palm hard!
In Han Tian's line of sight, the expression on Mo Sang's face looked incredibly strange, torn between crying and laughing. She pulled out her mobile phone, quickly switched to the front-facing video mode, approached Han Tian with a trembling voice, and gazed into her eyes, pleading softly, "Sister, say it again..."
Han Tian met Mo Sang's gaze. Mo Sang's beautiful eyes were filled with anticipation, sparkling with fragmented light as if crushed stars had been mixed into them.
She was using her beauty to seduce people again!
A flash of clarity cut through her muddled mind, but Han Tian realized she had fallen for the hook once more: she could not bear to watch the hope in those eyes fade away.
"I like you," Han Tian leaned close to Mo Sang, pecked her on the cheek, her appearance shy yet her voice perfectly clear. "I want to be with you..."
"So, stop being angry, okay?" Her head grew increasingly dizzy, but Han Tian barely remembered Mo Sang's earlier anger. Struggling, she turned Mo Sang's face around and kissed her cheek again in a coaxing manner. "You're already mine! So you can't be angry anymore..."
"Okay!" Despite having a face so beautiful it usually created a sense of distance, Mo Sang's expression was unexpectedly docile. "Whatever Sister says is fine."
Finally, she was not angry anymore!
Seeing Mo Sang wear such an expression, Han Tian finally felt satisfied. As a reward, she kissed Mo Sang on the lips, then comfortably rested her head on Mo Sang's shoulder.
Han Tian slept with complete peace of mind, completely unaware that in order to keep Mo Sang from getting angry, she had lost everything she had...
Overwhelming joy crashed over her. Listening to Han Tian's light breathing on her shoulder, Mo Sang watched the video on her mobile phone over and over again, the smile on her lips growing wider and wider...
How could she possibly be angry anymore?
Mo Sang turned her head and reverently, joyfully kissed Han Tian's cheek:
Her sister had admitted to liking her and agreed to be with her. Even if her sister asked her to die the very next moment, Mo Sang felt she would gladly agree...
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