As there weren’t any cancer cells found in his lungs, the stone in Xiao Yi’s heart finally chipped away. He didn’t plan to stay too long in the Capital, so he was going back to Bardahl for work tomorrow.
Hearing his decision, Xia Yanran didn’t say much. After the doctors report, her mind was in a mess and wasn’t in the mood to spend more time with him.
She needed to be alone and think about it properly.
When they arrived back at the hotel, Xiao Yi’s phone rang.
It was Yi Ran.
The Old Madam wanted Xiao Yi to bring Xia Yanran to the manor, wanting to meet Xiao Yi’s girlfriend.
Xia Yanran went to sleep after they returned to the hotel. She had been exhausted the last few days and was kept awake by him last night, so she was probably exhausted.
Xiao Yi told Yi Ran to tell the Old Madam that he would bring Xia Yanran over tomorrow morning.
After Xia Yanran fell asleep, Xiao Yi stared at her for a while.
As if thinking of something, Xiao Yi took out her checkup report from her bag.
Like she had said, everything seemed normal. It was probably because she was exhausted.
Xia Yanran buried herself in the blanket, crying secretly before she somehow fell asleep.
When she woke up, the skies were already dark.
Only the dimmed wall light was turned on in the room. Xiao Yi was sitting on the sofa, a laptop placed on his slender lap as he wore a pair of frameless spectacles, typing away.
When the light landed on his handsome face, it was like he was covered in a layer of warm light, making his facial features even more well-defined.
Everyone said that men were the most handsome when they were serious. It was true.
She didn’t know if it was because her eyes were too strong and passionate, but the man concentrated on work suddenly looked up and glanced at her.
Their eyes met.
Xia Yanran was attracted by his dark eyes. They were like to endless wormholes sucking her in.
His eyes on her slowly softened, and Xia Yanran suddenly felt the urge to cry.
Xiao Yi put down his laptop and walked towards Xia Yanran. He leaned down, moving his handsome face closer towards her as his scorching hot breath sprayed on her skin. “You’re awake? Are you hungry yet?”
Xia Yanran shook her head. “I’m not.”
“How about you get up and we go out to eat?”
“Sure.”
Xia Yanran went to the bathroom to take a shower. Xiao Yi had place a few sets of clothes he bought unknowingly by the bed and she changed into one of them.
There were a few unanswered calls on her silenced phone. There was a call from both Nan Zhi and Yan Hua.
Xia Yanran replied them in the WeChat chat group the three of them had.
Xia Yanran: I took a nap after coming back from the hospital.
Nan Zhi: How’s Xiao Yi’s body?
Although she was the Queen, a patient’s details were private and confidential, so Nan Zhi naturally wouldn’t ask the doctor so casually.
Xia Yanran: Lung infection.
Nan Zhi: It’s good that there isn’t a huge problem. Get him to smoke and drink less in the future.
Xia Yanran: Ok.
Yan Hua: I just came out from the shower. I feel so depressed, my General seemed to be determined to ignore me.
Nan Zhi: I heard from Sihan that your General is in-charge of a drill, so he’s probably really busy recently.
Yan Hua: I wanted to go look for him at first, but if he’s busy, then I won’t go disturb him. Oh right, I plan to make a come back.
Nan Zhi: Everyone’s attention would be on you.
Xia Yanran: I’m highly anticipating it!
Yan Hua: Yanran, you’re not going to leave the Capital so soon right? If you have the time, let’s meet up!
Xia Yanran: I only took a few days of leave, so I’ll need to go back to work tomorrow. I’ll come back again earlier once Zhizhi decides on her wedding date.
Yan Hua: We must hang out together when you come over again!
After they finished chatting, Xia Yanran glanced at Xiao Yi, who was waiting for her on the sofa. She walked over and smiled. “Alright, let’s go!”
Once they got out of the elevator and were at the lobby, a crisp voice rang. “Sister Yanran, Brother Xiao Yi!”
Yi Ran walked over in her crutches.
Xiao Yi and Xia Yanran stopped where they were as Yi Ran walked in front of them, saying with a bright smile, “Brother Xiao Yi, the Old Madam thought through about what happened to Aunt Qing. She said that she cannot blame you either as that was Aunt Qing’s own decision. You’re the person Aunt Qing cared about the most when she was still alive. Since you’re Aunt Qing’s family, you’re the Old Madam’s family as well. She wants you to bring your girlfriend and have a meal with her before you leave the Capital.”
Xiao Yi glanced at Xia Yanran. “Do you want to go with me tomorrow?”
Xia Yanran knew how important Aunt was to Xiao Yi. He was probably guilty towards the Old Madam as well, so she nodded, “Alright.”
Yi Ran broke into a bright smile. “The Old Madam would be very happy when she finds out that Brother Xiao Yi is bringing Sister Yanran over.”
…
After Yi Ran left, Xiao Yi brought Xia Yanran to eat at a Chinese restaurant. Xia Yanran’s appetite wasn’t too good, so she didn’t eat a lot.
Once they arrived back at the hotel, Xiao Yi wanted to be intimate with Xia Yanran, but Xia Yanran was slightly tired and seems uninterested. Seeing her lack of interest, Xiao Yi didn’t touch her.
He worked until late at night, while she lay in bed and couldn’t sleep.
It was later after he got on the bed and hugged her that she slowly fell asleep as she smelled the familiar masculine smell on him.
She had a dream.
In her dream, Xiao Yi and her got married, but never had children after marriage. Because she took medicine to adjust her body condition, her face bloated and her figure went away. Xiao Yi slowly stopped coming back, stopped getting intimate with her and had work that never seemed to finish.
One day, when she went for a checkup at the hospital, she happened to see Xiao Yi holding a woman with a large stomach. She heard the woman say, “What do we do if your wife found out?”
“I’ll kick that eggless hen away soon.”
The woman fell into his arms with a coy smile.
No! Xia Yanran woke up immediately, that stuffiness and sharp pain spreading within her nonstop. It was like a sharp needle that was poked at the depths of her heart. She could see it, but couldn’t take it out.
After she startled awake, Xia Yanran couldn’t fall asleep anymore. She opened her eyes and stared at the man hugging her.
After he fell asleep, he didn’t look so cold anymore, looking like an innocent and unguarded boy.
Xia Yanran buried her face into his chest, feeling his strong and rhythmic heartbeat. Her tears slowly slid out of her eyes.
Why did this have to happen to her?
…
The next day, they booked afternoon flights out of the Capital. However, Xia Yanran was flying to Ning City while Xiao Yi was flying to Bardahl.
Once they were done with breakfast, they headed towards the Old Madam’s manor.
When they arrived, the Old Madam was with a guest, so she got the butler to bring Xia Yanran and Xiao Yi to another living room.
They had to pass by the main living room to go to the other one, so when the woman who was speaking to the Old Madam saw Xia Yanran, she froze a little.
“Old Madam, that is…”
The Old Madam never met Xia Yanran, but she guessed that she was probably Xiao Yi’s girlfriend.
Seeing the woman act like she wanted to speak but not dare to, the Old Madam was slightly confused. “Dr Wei, she’s my grandson’s girlfriend. Why? Do you know her?”
It just so happened that Dr Wei was the doctor who had done the checkup for Xia Yanran yesterday. She hesitated for a second before she said, “Since she’s your grandson’s girlfriend, I have to advise you that it may be hard for that girl to get pregnant. It’ll be a little difficult for you to have a great-grandson.”
