“Meow…” Little Bean licked Ye Shuyun’s finger, melting her heart with its soft purr. Her son had brought the feline home since it was a kitten, and she had been charged with taking care of it. The large frame of the cat was a result of her fear of Little Bean being malnutritioned. Nowadays, she was rarely at home, and she didn’t trust the housekeepers enough to leave Little Bean to them, so she decided to bring it to her sister.
She went to the hospital after sending Little Bean away. In the hospital room, Lu Yi was wrapped like a mummy, his flesh and skin peeled away, especially the part on his back. Even when he recovers, the scars will surely stay. These scars would have made a woman long dead, so it was lucky that he was a guy.
“It’s you, Mom,” Lu Yi sat up. The only part of his bandaged body that was exposed was his eyes. His wounds covered a large part of his body, making infection their worst fear. The pain of reapplying ointment was unbearable, pain only understood by those who had gone through such injuries.
“I have entrusted Little Bean to your Aunt,” said Ye Shuyun. She nearly teared up at the sight of her son’s injuries. “Why are you so stubborn, my silly child? You almost got yourself killed.”
“I know what I’m doing, Mom,” said Lu Yi in a hoarse voice. “Grandpa had been in a fit of anger, but he wouldn’t have killed me for real. I might not have made a good choice, but I think it was necessary so that a case like Miao Xinyuan doesn’t repeat itself.”
“You…” Ye Shuyun was at a loss of words. “Just what kind of woman made you go this far? You didn’t even leave your Grandpa any way out. Small wonder why he beat you so harshly.”
“She’s an excellent girl,” said Lu Yi, remembering his sweetheart. The thought of not being able to see her for a few months pricked him in the soft spot of his heart. He dared not see her like this.
“An excellent girl, yet you won’t even let Mom take a look at her,” chided Ye Shuyun, rolling her eyes. “Don’t you worry, I will treat her as my daughter-in-law. Mom always support you. No matter what kind of woman she is, if you are willing to go this far for her, Mom will also cherish her.”
“I appreciate that, Mom,” Lu Yi gripped her hand tightly and found them a little cold. He sighed as he wriggled his bandaged fingers.
A beating for a wife. A good deal, he thought.
A few days later, on a Saturday, Yan Huan laid in her bed waiting and wondering where Lu Yi was. He should have been here by now.
Was he delayed by something?
She stood up feeling a little tense, as though something was squeezing her heart, for no good reason. The uncomfortable tenseness was suffocating.
She sat down again. More time passed, yet he never came. In the end, she ran out to wait at the place where Lu Yi’s car usually parked at.
Half an hour… one hour… two hours passed. He didn’t come.
When night was about to fall, she realized that he might not be coming. She sniffed, feeling unspeakably sad. Why didn’t he come to see her? He never mentioned about not coming last week. Could he have been too busy? But she knew him too well to know that that wasn’t the case.
Even if he was busy, he would have spared time for a visit.
When she was back at the unit, the guard told her that there had been a call for her. She quickly got beside the unit phone and waited; she didn’t have a phone, and the phone in the unit could only receive calls.
She was leaning against the wall all high-strung when the phone suddenly rang. She fumbled to pick up the receiver and held it to her ears.
“Hello, who is this?” she asked with a shaky voice, her heart pounding hard.
“It’s me, Huanhuan,” said Lu Yi, phone in hand. He couldn’t move, and his fingers were so stiff that he had to clamp the phone between his head and shoulders to prevent it from slipping. He had been calling non-stop, but was told that she wasn’t around.
He supposed she must have been waiting for him. However, he wouldn’t be able to visit for a few weeks.
Yan Huan sniffed sulkily. “Why didn’t you come today?”
“Work has been demanding lately, so I won’t be visiting for a month. Take care of yourself. I’ll be over in a jiffy once I have time, alright?”
“Okay,” nodded Yan Huan. When the call had ended, she still couldn’t get used to the absence of Lu Yi. Suddenly, she didn’t want to be a soldier anymore. She wanted to go home. Two months, just two more months before she could go home.
She felt thankful she had subscribed to milk and lunchbox delivery service for him, so that he would eat properly. Men are handsome when they are working, but working has never been an easy task.
When Ye Shuyun went to Lu Yi’s residence, she found two bottles of milk, so she took them along with her to the hospital.
“Since when did you have the habit of ordering milk?” she asked her mummified son as she placed the milk bottles on the table. In the past, he was contented with water and never cared for things like milk. He has grown up now, she thought, and knows how to take care of himself.
“She ordered it,” said Lu Yi as he gulped down one bottle of milk. Nothing could stop him from drinking these two bottles of milk daily.
It took a moment for Ye Shuyun to realize who her son was talking about.
So it’s her daughter-in-law whom she has yet to meet. She does seem like a good kid. At least she’s thoughtful.
“Oh, speaking of which, where have you hidden her?” asked Ye Shuyun. She knew she had a daughter-in-law, yet she didn’t know her name, appearance, or even her whereabouts.
She felt herself the most pitiful mother-in-law in the world.
“Are you afraid of me devouring your sweet young wife? Come on, your mother isn’t an old witch.” Young indeed, a whole five years younger than her son. She would have been a student if she opted for further studies or started school early.
And what’s this now? How long are you going to hide her from your own mother?
“She can’t come at the moment, Mom,” said Lu Yi, putting the empty bottles back on the table. The exertion sent a stinging pain down his body. He squeezed his hand.
