The story of Rose starts with being a brother

Chapter 513 The Big Winner (Part 9)
The following Saturday, Love Apartment 3601.

"Sister Yifei, did you stand Teacher Zeng up last night?"

Hu Yifei was eating breakfast absentmindedly at the dining table when Tang Youyou slowly walked over and asked her a question.

Hu Yifei tore at the bread in her hand, her face unnatural, and said, "Who said that?"

"I found this on your desk."

Tang Youyou took out the pass directly.

Upon seeing this, Hu Yifei's feelings became complicated.

Last night, forgetting to bring this pass complicated some simple things and left her feeling so distraught.

"So this is where it is." Hu Yifei looked at the pass again and again, and finally asked after a two-and-a-half-second silence, "Last night, was Zeng Xiaoxian badmouthing me behind my back?"

"This one……"

Tang Youyou hesitated for a moment.

Last night, when everyone was holding a celebration party for Zeng Xiaoxian at the bar, Zeng Xiaoxian did indeed scold Hu Yifei in front of everyone for standing him up.

Thinking of this, Tang Youyou sighed inwardly. Last night, Teacher Zeng had clearly won a million-dollar prize, and should have been happy, but it was obvious that Teacher Zeng was disappointed.

The whole thing was supposed to be a lively affair, but Teacher Zeng, who was in a bad mood, drank like water and got drunk almost as soon as he sat down.

And so the celebration banquet just fizzled out.

And everyone learned from Zeng Xiaoxian's drunken words that Hu Yifei had stood him up.

After listening to Tang Youyou recount what happened last night, Hu Yifei remained silent for a long time, concerned only with one thing.

"Zeng Xiaoxian wants to continue participating? Doesn't he know when to quit while he's ahead?"

Tang Youyou said with a smile, "Everyone is waiting for him to break the record!"

Upon hearing this, Hu Yifei, who was drinking milk, stopped what she was doing. Recalling what she had overheard backstage last night, she said seriously, "No, he can't go."

……

3602, living room.

Zeng Xiaoxian was browsing encyclopedia entries on his laptop in the living room. Tomorrow night would be the most crucial moment of his life, and he needed to recharge himself as much as possible.

He heard a sound coming from the suite door, but he didn't even need to turn around to look; he could recognize the person as Hu Yifei just by the sound of footsteps.

"Hi."

Zeng Xiaoxian greeted him coldly without turning around.

Hu Yifei walked over, her eyes darting left and right, her expression conflicted.

"I...I want to explain to you, yesterday..."

“No need to explain.” However, just as Hu Yifei was about to confess what happened last night, Zeng Xiaoxian interrupted her, “I know many people don’t have confidence in me, but it’s okay, I have confidence in myself. You go ahead and do your work, work is important!”

In the emotional tug-of-war between the two, Zeng Xiaoxian has always been the weaker party. He rarely speaks loudly, let alone uses sarcastic or sarcastic language.

There's nothing we can do about it; Hu Yifei is so proud and arrogant, and Zeng Xiaoxian has a bit of a masochistic streak.

But even if he's being abused, he still needs to cooperate and give feedback!

For example... well... as anyone who has been through it knows, when this psychological state is still in its initial stage, it often requires guidance, even if it is mostly a forced or semi-forced requirement.

It could be a sudden change of location, a sudden placement of props, or simply a sudden slap.

Pain, shame, fear, and other negative emotions are unpleasant and something that most people would want to avoid. However, they don't, or rather, after these negative emotions arise, initially they also feel disgusted and want to escape, but soon they can taste something unusual and exciting after these negative feelings.

Of course, these can also be explained in more scientific terms. Well... from a psychological perspective, *the process of being in charge can provide a sense of relaxation, a release from responsibility and control.

People usually think that being the controlled party must be tense throughout the process, but in fact, the opposite is true. You don't need to make decisions, you just need to obey. Isn't this feeling of handing over control to the leader and only needing to obey a kind of relief and relaxation?

Although they are generally perceived as the abused and wanting to suffer, in reality, it is the one who enjoys the experience who is actually the one who is more tired.

Beyond the sense of liberation, on a psychological level, one can also focus on oneself through sensory stimulation in a "flow" state, blocking out external troubles. This state of complete concentration is similar to an athlete's "peak experience" or "entering a meditative state," which can generate a tremendous sense of pleasure and fulfillment.

……

So there's no need to look at it differently, because this world is a huge **, it's just that some people enjoy pleasure from it, while others are caught in it without even realizing it.

Oh, it's worth mentioning that many people become like this because they experience high work pressure and then resort to these more direct physical pains to relieve that pressure.

Of course, in addition to the psychological level, this behavior can also be explained from the physiological and neurological levels. For example, the brain releases endorphins when in pain, and the brain interprets "pain" as "excitement" when in a state of high arousal and excitement.

In short, this kind of behavior is a profound and complex issue, involving multiple psychological, physiological and social aspects, and cannot be simply categorized as "illness".

Getting back to the point, Zeng Xiaoxian does have this tendency, but his mental state isn't serious enough. After all, if it were serious, he should have been happy when Laura cheated on him for six years.

Hmm... Looking at it this way, Zeng Xiaoxian's so-called germaphobia, eccentricities, masochism, and other problems can basically be attributed to Laura.

No wonder he said Laura was his nightmare... It seems the idea that an ex-girlfriend is one's hell has come true.

Getting back to the main point, it is precisely because Zeng Xiaoxian has this tendency towards sexuality, but it is not particularly serious, that he needs guidance or timely affirmation when he is being abused.

His participation in the show "Who Can Become a Millionaire" was a key step in his desire to gain Hu Yifei's approval.

After all, in their relationship, he was always the one being abused. However, since this was not physical abuse but emotional and mental, he couldn't simply give a couple of lashes and a compliment to get a good response.

Unfortunately, Hu Yifei stood him up, or at least that's how he saw it, which was a bit too much.

Well, according to the theory we just discussed, Zeng Xiaoxian feels like he's been tortured for nothing.

Just as the most tense and exciting moment was about to arrive, and the brain was about to transform "pain" into "pleasure," the other person had already finished enjoying themselves and left.

Once he calmed down, his brain could no longer deceive him; the only signals it sent him were the burning pain and a deep sense of loss—a feeling that no one cared, no one appreciated him.

Coincidentally, Hu Yifei is not entirely a dominant one, or rather, not a competent relationship leader.

Being a tsundere is still a popular attitude these days, and she's long been used to it.

Seeing Zeng Xiaoxian's attitude, she was reluctant to explain that she had gone to see it last night, but her remaining rationality managed to calm her down a little.

After taking a deep breath, she said in a low voice, "I actually wanted to remind you not to participate in the final round, because yesterday..."

"Jingle Bell!"

A ringing phone interrupted Hu Yifei's words, and Zeng Xiaoxian answered the call immediately.

Hi, Lisa!

"Congratulations, Zeng Xiaoxian! I heard the ratings broke records last night?"

Lisa Rong's voice came through the phone. In the past, Zeng Xiaoxian would have been bowing and scraping, trembling with fear.

But this time, whether it was because he won a million and felt confident or because Hu Yifei caused his M personality to temporarily shut down... in any case, he is very calm now.

"Oh, thank you."

"I heard the prize money for the final round tomorrow night is ridiculously high. The production team wanted me to ask you if you want to continue the competition. Think about it." After hearing this, Zeng Xiaoxian was silent for two seconds.

"Hold on."

Zeng Xiaoxian turned to look at Hu Yifei and asked, "Are you busy tomorrow night?"

Hu Yifei was taken aback and replied, "No."

After nodding, Zeng Xiaoxian picked up his phone again and said, "Lisa, please tell them that I will participate in the final round tomorrow."

Hearing this from behind, Hu Yifei was startled and quickly tried to persuade him again, but Zeng Xiaoxian smiled and continued, "I've already made up my mind. Don't worry, I will definitely win the final prize money because I don't want to be looked down upon by others."

"That's it, bye."

After hanging up the phone, the atmosphere in the living room suddenly became oppressive.

"Are you angry?"

If Hu Yifei could still manage to calmly try to explain what happened yesterday, she can no longer force herself now.

With a smile on his face, Zeng Xiaoxian turned around and said, "I'm not angry. Why would I be angry? I'm a happy little white dove! By the way, if you're free tomorrow night, you're welcome to sit in front of the TV and watch my performance. If you're not free, or if something comes up, it's up to you. I'm used to it anyway."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zeng Xiaoxian smiled and left, leaving Hu Yifei standing there motionless.

Time passed second by second, and Hu Yifei, standing in place, had tears welling up in her eyes.

It went a bit wrong.

Of course, to paraphrase a lyric, pride often holds people back, making love take a winding path.

……

Evening, at the foot of Sheshan Mountain.

"Mom, did you and Uncle have a fight?"

As Dali packed her things and prepared to go home, she quietly asked her mother while Wensheng was tidying up the trunk.

Lawyer Zhuge, carrying a few pieces of clothing, glanced at Wen Sheng not far away and said in a nonchalant tone, "No, why would I argue with him?"

Last night, we almost came to blows, not just arguing.

"Really?" Dali tilted his head and looked at the uncle who had closed the trunk and gotten into the driver's seat, and his mother who had gotten into the back seat. He felt that there was something strange between the two of them today.

Hmm... it seems to have started when watching the sunrise in the morning.

Zhuge Dasheng looked at Wen Sheng, whose expression remained unchanged, in the rearview mirror. When the other person met her gaze in the mirror, she slowly looked away.

"Dali, how was your camping trip to Sheshan?"

As the car started, Wen Sheng turned around and asked Dali with a smile.

"It's fun, but the time is a bit short," Dali said excitedly. "It's more interesting than Dianshan Lake. Besides fishing, there are other fun things to do here. It's a pity that there were no birds in the bird's nest we found."

Upon hearing this, Zhuge Liang's expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

"I told you not to climb trees, but you still did! Don't you know how dangerous that is!"

Dali immediately said somewhat awkwardly, "But there's an older man standing next to us, isn't there?"

“Even if he’s here, it won’t work.” Attorney Zhuge rolled her eyes at Wen Sheng, who was driving.

Wen Sheng's lips curled up slightly, and then he asked, "Sister Sheng, what did you think of this camping trip?"

He paused for a moment, then added, "I'm just as happy as Dali, but I didn't sleep well last night, probably because I wasn't prepared this time."

"..."

Attorney Zhuge's hand holding the cardigan tightened slightly, and he paused for a moment.

"Didn't you sleep well? I felt like I slept quite comfortably," Dali said with a smile.

"Your mom seems to have some dark circles under her eyes; it's probably because you're a restless sleeper."

"How could that be? They're all individual sleeping bags, so I can't kick off the blankets."

"Maybe your mother has trouble sleeping in unfamiliar beds, or maybe she's under a lot of pressure?" At this point, Wen Sheng looked at Zhuge Dasheng in the rearview mirror and said, "Sister Sheng, it's rare to be away from the city, so don't think about work and don't put too much pressure on yourself."

"..."

Listening to the two people in front of him singing in unison, Zhuge Dasheng felt his temples throbbing.

When Dali looked over, she forced a smile and said, "It's nothing, I just got bitten by mosquitoes last night."

Then, when she looked at Wen Sheng, her smile took on a different meaning.

"The main problem is that Wensheng's phone ringtone is a bit noisy in the middle of the night."

"Next time I have the chance, I will definitely put my phone on silent when I sleep."

"..."

Originally, Zhuge Dasheng wanted to retort to Wen Sheng, but his words immediately made him unwilling to respond.

Looking at the scenery rushing past the window, Attorney Zhuge rolled the window down a little and said in a barely audible voice, "There won't be a next time."

Last night's phone ringtone was like the referee's final whistle, bringing everything to a halt before the situation became even more out of control.

She didn't know how she felt after returning to the tent and lying down next to Dali again; she just stared at the tent ceiling for a long time, unable to fall asleep.

While driving, Wen Sheng glanced at Lawyer Zhuge in the back seat. Although the other party's voice was very soft, he still heard it before the words were blown away by the wind.

Is there no next time?
The emotions that had been building up for so many years were finally unleashed last night. Even though the ringing of the phone interrupted the conversation, it didn't mean that nothing had happened.

On the contrary, that would only make the situation worse.

"It will happen," Wen Sheng said softly.

Dali looked at him with a puzzled expression, while Zhuge Dasheng remained calm.

Before nightfall, the car returned to the Zhuge family home. This time, Zhuge Dasheng did not invite him upstairs for a chat.

After declining Dali's invitation by citing other commitments, Wen Sheng left. Although he felt a little regretful, it didn't matter; he had gained something and made progress.

Just thinking about how Yu Mo sent a text message first last night, and then Nuolan called, gave Wen Sheng a headache. Those two interruptions were really well timed...

Is this also a kind of tacit understanding?

When the car stopped downstairs at his ex-wife's house, Attorney Zhuge sent him a message.

Sister Sheng: Please thank your ex-wife for her phone call last night.

Wen Sheng raised an eyebrow, glanced at the light shining through his ex-wife's window, and then sent a message to Zhuge Dasheng.

"Sister Sheng, you can call me if you can't sleep at night. I'm a responsible doctor."

(End of this chapter)