My Fierce Beta Husband is Surprisingly Sweet | Chapter 79 | The Truth of the Heart | Novela.app

The hospital was finally on break. The moment she took off her white coat, Xie Bing felt a sudden sense of aimlessness. *Where should I go now?* That day, when she had chased after him, she hadn't quite understood Li Qingliu’s resistance. Li Qingliu was certainly not as fast as Xie Bing. After a bit of pulling and tugging, the two of them eventually ended up in the park, reaching the spot where they had originally agreed to meet. "Brother Qing, what’s wrong with you? Why did you run?" Xie Bing grabbed him firmly, preventing him from struggling further. Li Qingliu tried to shake her off, but when he couldn't, he turned to glare at her. "Let go of me! Why did you chase me?" "I won't." "Tell me first why you suddenly got angry. Is it because I was late?" Xie Bing looked at him with confusion. She raised her hands and placed them on his shoulders. Though she didn't fully understand the situation, she chose to apologize first. "If that’s the case, I am very sorry." Looking at this girl who was several sizes smaller than himself, Li Qingliu felt a massive headache coming on. If he had to be honest, it was all his own wild imagination. He was the one who had fallen for her first, the one who had decided to get close to her, and the one who had even planned to confess. If this was all just a solo performance and the other lead had never even entered the role... then it was all quite meaningless. Li Qingliu suddenly felt exhausted. Why did things always turn out so unsatisfactorily? *If I’m going to go down, I might as well go down swinging.* He steeled himself and stood on his tiptoes. His lips, heated from running, pressed against Xie Bing’s slightly cool ones. Xie Bing was truly stunned this time. She stared blankly at the handsome man’s tense face and closed eyes. She could clearly feel her lower lip being taken into his mouth. *Was Brother Qing... kissing her?* Li Qingliu thought with a sense of self-abandonment: *I’ve kissed her now. Even a blockhead should know what I mean. If you can’t accept it, then push me away. Even if I’m rejected, at least I’ve kissed you.* No matter how he looked at it, he wasn't the loser here. Despite the cold winter day, the temperature between them continued to rise. Just as Xie Bing saw Li Qingliu’s trembling eyelashes and felt her heart soften, wanting to embrace him, he took a step back. He broke the kiss and lowered his head. "Now you know why." "I like you. That’s why I made dinner for you, why I stole a kiss from you, and why I wanted to go on a date with you today." "But since you already have someone you like, I shouldn't keep bothering you." "I’m sorry for kissing you without your permission." While Xie Bing was still frozen in place, he turned to leave. "Wait, Brother Qing, I don't understand." She snapped out of it and tried to call him back. "What do you mean, I already have someone I like?" "Don't you know who you like yourself?" *Don't I know who I like?* That question circled in her mind many times. Xie Bing might be slow, but she wasn't a fool. Connecting Li Qingliu’s behavior—the two sudden departures from the hospital—she knew he was talking about Dr. Yan Yan. *Do I like Dr. Yan?* If she had been asked a few years ago, Xie Bing would have nodded without hesitation. After all, he was the most important light in her life. If she had been asked when she first tested into Zhennan, she might not have denied it immediately. After all these years of wandering, Yan Yan was the most special and outstanding man she had ever met. However, all those budding feelings of a young girl had withered the moment she saw Yan Yan with Li Zi and their family. Xie Bing had a sense of propriety and a moral compass. How could she like a man who already had a family? Moreover, his daughter had become her friend. But if she hadn't met Li Qingliu, she might never have had much contact with any other men. She had always thought that even if she couldn't be the person standing beside Yan Yan, she could at least be near him. Just following behind him, following that warm moonlight, and exploring the path of saving lives that he had so highly praised—surely no one could criticize that. She had never thought about forming a family of her own. Perhaps she had envied others when she was a child, and she had missed her deceased parents. But after growing up alone through long years of struggle, those hidden desires seemed to have drifted away like feathers. *I can make it on my own. I don't necessarily need anyone else.* If she hadn't thought that way, it would have been hard for her to find the strength to make it to where she was today. But then Li Qingliu had suddenly appeared. He gave Xie Bing many experiences she had never had before. Being kept in someone's heart, being cared for via text messages, and being looked after meticulously late at night. When Li Qingliu took her to release sky lanterns, she had opened her eyes to peek at him while he prayed with his eyes closed. The steadfastness in her heart had actually wavered with a hint of panic. That was why she had made a wish for him to stick to his goals and not forget his original intentions. It was as if she were brainwashing herself. After all, Xie Bing never believed in ethereal powers; she only believed in hard work. *Could a man as good as Brother Qing actually like me?* Xie Bing gave a bitter smile to her reflection in a window. She knew she had no capital; the only thing she had to show for herself was her current degree. She had no relatives, came from a poor background, and was stubborn rather than tactful. Brother Qing could clearly find someone better. But... Having lost her destination, Xie Bing wandered the streets. Unknowingly, she had walked to the base of Li Qingliu’s apartment building. She looked up at his window and asked herself: *Do I like Brother Qing? Can I accept him no longer appearing in my life and being this good to someone else?* The answer was— *Ding-dong.* The sound of the doorbell startled Li Qingliu, who was sitting at the dining table in a daze. In front of him sat a bento he had subconsciously prepared again. Even though he had spoken so harshly to Xie Bing, he still made that dinner every night, only to eat it himself the next day. He felt like a fool. Since Xie Bing stopped coming over, his house had returned to its former desolation. Although he was used to such silence, he wished more than anything that there was a girl at the table, shyly handing him a fruit plate and saying, "Brother Qing, thank you for your hard work." *Ah, Li Qingliu, you really are a hopeless romantic. This is what happens when you fall for someone.* No wonder he had been so poor at judging people before, ending up in such a state. He patted his groggy head and slowly drifted toward the door. "Coming, coming. Who is it?"