“I’ve drank it already.” Yan Huan felt queasy when she thought of the taste of that soup, but she still had to drink it tomorrow.
“Bear with it,” Lu Yi placed his hand on her forehead and caressed it gently. “Just drink it for a few more days. You won’t need to drink it anymore when you’re not in pain.”
“Okay.” Yan Huan relented.
Lu Yi raised his face and his gaze fell on the television. He had been so busy with the flood issue recently that he had barely spent any time with her. After everything settles down, he planned to take a leave of absence from work for a period of time.
“Huanhuan…”
He suddenly murmured her name.
“Mm?” Yan Huan responded as she curled up comfortably next to him.
“Let’s go on a vacation after the flood is over. We can go wherever you want to.”
“Okay.” Yan Huan’s eyelashes trembled as the corner of her eyes grew misty. Yet, she did not even know why she was crying.
“Mr. Lu, Miss Yan, it’s dinner time.”
The housemaid outside was calling for them.
“Alright,” Lu Yi answered as he took the pillow from Yan Huan’s arms.
“Huanhuan, get up, it’s time to eat.”
Yan Huan sat up and allowed Lu Yi to put on her slippers for her, after which he proceeded to take her hand and lead her to the living room where the housemaid had already left dinner on the dining table. They had a simple and light dinner but it was all Yan Huan’s favorite dishes.
After dinner, the housemaid brought out a delicate clay pot and placed it on the table.
Almost immediately, Yan Huan felt queasy with nausea once she smelled its contents. She twisted her face away as she really could not bear the smell of it.
She did not want to drink it and neither did Lu Yi want to force her to. However, he could not bear watching her being in such pain that she could not even move for every month to come. Both him and Yan Huan had heard about this natural remedy from the housemaid. He had never thought of making her drink it until she could get pregnant, because he had stopped thinking of children. In fact, he would rather not have children rather than risk her life.
She had to drink the soup, no matter how disgusting it was.
He placed the bowl of soup in front of Yan Huan, “Drink.”
Holding the small bowl with her hands, Yan Huan raised it to her lips and lowered her head to sip it bit by bit. Its spice and strong flavor nauseated her so much that she wanted to cry. Nevertheless, she returned an empty bowl to Lu Yi, showing that she had obediently drank all the soup. She was not being perfunctory nor was she duping him, she really did drink it.
As if he were dealing with a child, Lu Yi petted her head and took her out for a short walk, so that she could digest it properly. There were not many people still walking around the suburb at this hour, and there were only a few lights that were still on. It was no wonder that Yan Huan would think that only the two of them, Lu Yi and her, lived here.
Lu Yi had once told her that this community was different from others where only people with special identities lived here. Naturally, ever since it was built, only about ten or more residents had moved in. Moreover, a few of those residents lived with different schedules from them. That was basically why Yan Huan did not encounter any of their neighbours when she left the house.
The flowers in the community garden were already starting to wither. Time flew by quickly and September was nearing. To Sea City, the days in September were still warm. However, when it came to October, the so-called golden autumn, Sea City would experience a kind of rainy season.
It happened every year without exception.
“Let’s go back.” After walking for some time, Lu Yi stopped to tuck Yan Huan’s stray hair behind her ear, noticing that her hair had grown longer. He stroked her hair gently. It was soft and silky.
All along, she had always taken extra care of her hair. Although curling and dyeing their hair was common for people nowadays, she had maintained the habit of not styling her hair unless required and had also been receiving monthly hair treatments. Hence, her hair felt as smooth as silk in his hands.
“Okay,” Yan Huan replied, reaching out to hug Lu Yi’s waist and burying her face in his chest as she listened to his steady, strong heartbeats.
“Will you leave me, Lu Yi?”
“No,” Lu Yi’s firm voice echoed in her ears. His hand had not left her hair.
“Then, can you please die later than I do?”
Yan Huan did not want to live a day without him, so she wanted him to die later than she did. Humans were destined to die eventually, from the moment they were born. She was afraid of going to the underworld alone, but she also did not want Lu Yi to be alone, especially if they did not have children.
“Okay,” Lu Yi answered her. “When we’re old and about to die, I’ll let you go off by yourself, then I’ll keep you company at a place with scenic hills and clear water. Maybe not long after, we’ll finally reunite and be together.”
“Then, we won’t be apart for all of eternity.”
A refreshing breeze blew across them, bringing with it the humid sensation that was unique to Sea City. Sea City had seas and rivers and was a well developed city, but it had too many heavy industries that caused much damage to the environment.
Although people had started to pay attention to environmentalism and recycling these few years, whatever that was damaged was already lost and it would be hard to recover. Effort was being put in but there was very little impact. Nonetheless, it was in such a place of steel and cement that a patch of green land was planted.
Lu Yi sat up gingerly only after Yan Huan had fallen asleep, pulling away the sheets and then tucking her in to kiss her forehead. He suddenly realized that he did not want to leave her.
“If I weren’t here for you and you were bullied, what to do then?”
His fingers glided lightly across her pale face. The menstrual cycle of women was not a sickness, but it was still a time where their immunity levels were very low.
“Please promise me, even if I’m not by your side, you’ll still take good care of yourself. I believe that you can do it, can’t you? No matter what disaster is to come, I’ll bear it for you; whatever misery is to fall, I’ll endure it for you.”
He sighed softly, pulling the covers up to Yan Huan’s chin and walked out. He turned on the laptop on the desk to check the recent information, hoping to have an extra security safeguard when that day came, so that less people would die.
However, he did not know how bad the flood was going to be. He was not Yan Huan and had not experienced it before, but he could deduce an overall picture from Yan Huan’s words.
Almost all the sea fortifications and river dams gave away. How bad would that have to be?
He had reinforced both sides of the dams and piled up a lot of flood-prevention sandbags. Sandbags were necessary when it came to flood-prevention, but they had to be placed anyway even in places without the risk of flooding as a basic safety precaution.
