Lei Qingyi was also ill-at-ease. They sat there staring at each other.
“Lei Qingyi. What are you planning to do next?” Yan Huan asked him. She wanted to know if Lei Qingyi was going to hit it and quit it, or take responsibility. Her Yi Ling wasn’t an easy woman. If he was just playing around, then he better scram right now. She herself can take care of Yi Ling for the rest of her life, making sure she eats well and lives carefree.
“Me?” Lei Qingyi was tongue-tied. “What I’m planning to do next?”
“Yes. What are you planning to do next?” repeated Yan Huan.
Lei Qingyi scratched his head. “Isn’t this kinda thing common these days?”
Splash! Yan Huan splashed the milk on Lei Qingyi’s face and grabbed Yi Ling’s hand. “Let’s get out of here, Yi Ling. If you dare get together with this shameless man who can’t handle responsibilities, I will break your legs and take care of you for the rest of your life in a wheelchair.”
Shocked, Lei Qingyi quickly reached out and pulled Yi Ling back.
Relax, will you?
“Huanhuan, isn’t there a misunderstanding here?”
Yan Huan’s tight grip hurt Yi Ling’s wrist, but she didn’t dare anything since she was the one at fault.
“What kind of misunderstanding?” questioned Yan Huan, her eyes narrowing hostilely. Men who would take a girl to bed before marriage are all scum.
“Well…” muttered Yi Ling, her face reddening for once.
“He proposed to me, and we were both drunk, and then, and then…” she said, tapping her indexes together. She herself didn’t know what had made her say yes. At that time, she thought that if she eventually had to marry, Lei Qingyi wasn’t a bad choice.
He was honest, earnest, and not so bright.
That was how she saw Lei Qingyi. She felt something for him too, or she would never have accepted the proposal. Then they got drunk, then Yan Huan budged in and caught them in the act.
Then… Well, that was it.
Lei Qingyi pulled Yi Ling to his chest tightly so that Yan Huan cannot drag her away again.
“I’m not good with words, Yan Huan,” he began earnestly. “I never planned to play around from the very start. I will marry Yi Ling and love and cherish her for the rest of my life. My family is fairly well-to-do, so there’s no worry that she would starve. Of course, I also won’t stop her from working for you. I’m fine with her doing whatever she wants.”
“I promise,” he thumped his chest loudly. “That I will take good care of Yi Ling. Please let me have her hand in marriage.”
“I trust you will,” Yi Ling gripped Lei Qingyi’s hand tightly. They could see nothing else but each other in their eyes. How sweet. Cloying, even.
“Get out, the two of you,” waved Yan Huan. She sat on the sofa, unconversational and grumpy. Negative emotions flooded her. She felt abandoned once again. So this was how insecure she was.
Lu Yi opened the door with two bags of groceries in hand. He connected the dots when he saw the sulky Yan Huan and remembered about the couple on the 15th floor. He sighed.
Lei Qingyi should have known better than to engage in a PDA before Yan Huan. He wasn’t this dumb normally. What has gotten into that brain of his?
He walked over and hugged her around the shoulders.
“When a hatchling has grown up, the mother bird lets them fly with their own wings, even if it might hurt them. You too have grown up in the loving care of your mother. Even if you fall down, your mother wouldn’t keep on holding on to your hand. Your growth is the continuation of her life. You getting married and having a child is all part of life. This can’t be changed.”
“Shouldn’t you be happy that she has a home now? You wanted a home, and so does she. She wanted more love, and so do you,” he placed his hand on Yan Huan’s forehead and tidied her mussed hair.
Yan Huan knew that too. She just couldn’t bear to let Yi Ling go.
In her previous life, she ended up all alone. This was why she had been living very cautiously in her current life. Her greatest fear was for Yi Ling to get together with a scumbag and jump down from the 25th floor again. She didn’t want to see Yi Ling in a twisted lump of flesh. She didn’t want to see her cracked head.
Letting Yi Ling have her own family was for the best, she knew that. Yet she couldn’t accept it. She had been together with Yi Ling for all her life, and out came a Lei Qingyi who is going to swoop her away.
“You yourself is getting married. Are you going to let Yi Ling become an old maid? You shouldn’t be so selfish, now,” said Lu Yi, staring into Yan Huan’s misty eyes.
“Okay, okay, I get it,” said Yan Huan, summoning a teary smile. She reached out looped her hands around Lu Yi’s neck. In that instant, all her wounds—physical and emotional, from this life and from her past life—healed.
Yes, it would be selfish of her to make Yi Ling stay. It’s about time to let go. And with someone like Lei Qingyi, that scumbag Ding Ming will never be able to approach Yi Ling again.
“Be good now,” Lu Yi patted her cheeks.
“Let’s get cooking. Make more dishes for the guests.”
“Okay,” answered Yan Huan, smiling. She pecked Lu Yi on the cheek. She never bothered to ask who the guests were, assuming that it was the Yi Ling couple.
Lu Yi had bought plenty of cooking ingredients—red meat, fish, chicken—but this was all too simple for Yan Huan. With Lu Yi’s help, she whipped up many tasty dishes in a flash.
Someone knocked on the door.
“I’ll go get it,” said Lu Yi, removing his apron. He walked back and kissed Yan Huan on the cheek before leaving.
A warm light went from his eyes to Yan Huan’s.
Lu Yi opened the door, and before him stood his parents, who seemed to have dressed up for the occasion. Even Lu Jin wore a set of casual clothes, which made him look much more easygoing.
“Smile, you idiot,” Ye Shuyun kicked Lu Jin.
“Hey, no kicking! You’ll dirty more clothes,” complained Lu Jin, dusting his trousers. He then gave a stiff smile, the result of Ye Shuyun’s training for the past few days. It was as much a cry as a smile.
“Huanhuan, come meet our guests,” Lu Yi called out to the kitchen.
“Coming,” replied Yan Huan, wiping her hands on her apron. When she stepped out of the kitchen and saw their guests, she went still. Then, realizing, she walked beside Lu Yi.
