The little boy extended his fair and tiny hand to pull off the blanket that was covering Yan Huan. “Can aunt tell Little Lei a story?”
Little Lei climbed onto the bed before he lay on top of the blanket.
“Aunt, tell Little Lei a story please.”
Little Lei loved to listen to the many tales Yan Huan told him. Every time Yan Huan told him a story, he would repeat the same story to his grandparents, who would then praise him. Besides, it had been a long time since Yan Huan had told him a story.
Yan Huan opened her eyes and stared at Little Lei who was lying on top of her stubbornly. His limbs acted like the tentacles of the octopus and trapped her underneath her blanket.
Then, she reached out to ruffle Little Lei’s hair. Yan Huan’s lips parted, but the words died in her throat. She did not know how to put it into words, or more precisely, she did not know how to speak at all.
Little Lei put on a grin. Yan Huan was always his favorite aunt. Therefore, he snuck into the bed before he gleefully rolled underneath the blanket.
Yan Huan grabbed the blanket tight to provide him an enclosed space as she was worried that he would fall off the bed.
After Little Lei had a little fun, he was worn out and refused to move anymore. He reached out to touch Yan Huan. Realizing Yan Huan was hiding something in her embrace, he carefully took it over from Yan Huan.
He sat up and tilted his head curiously.
“Aunt, why is uncle in the picture?” He pointed at the photo that was nicely framed.
Yan Huan was once again overwhelmed by the deep sorrow. If she had a choice, she would freeze time and of course, her life. At the very least, she would still be with Lu Yi as of now.
She did not want to be separated from him, dead and alive.
She did not know how to carry on with her life.
She had no idea if she would live the rest of her life like this, alive but almost lifeless.
A loud and abrupt crack resonated across the room. She felt as though her heart was broken into pieces, and followed by that was an unbearable pain that swamped her mercilessly.
Little Lei looked at his own hand before he stared at the shattered pieces of glass on the floor. His eyes brimmed with tears as he pouted, trying hard to suppress his urge to cry.
Yan Huan’s eyes misted over. She could no longer see anything clearly other than the broken pieces that lay quietly on the floor. Just like the glasses, her heart was broken into pieces. This seemed like a sign that was telling her that it was impossible to fix the fragmented glass pieces, not to mention her severed heart.
Little Lei knew that he had caused Yan Huan trouble. He quickly climbed to the edge of the bed and tried to pick up the damaged picture frame. He innocently compared the fragmented glass to the clay his mom bought for him, thinking that it would be fixed once he kneaded them together and uncle would continue to stay obediently within the photo frame once again.
Just as he extended his tiny hand, his chubby body fell from the bed. Yan Huan hurriedly reached out, trying to catch the little boy.
Meanwhile, Yi Ling did not notice that her son was missing as she was too engrossed in the conversation with Ye Shuyun. She failed to realize that Little Lei was no longer playing next to her until she heard her son’s anguished cry. Instantly, she broke out in cold sweat. Similarly, Ye Shuyun was perplexed too.
The boy’s crying came from Yan Huan’s room. Has Yan Huan done something to my boy?
Yi Ling and Ye Shuyun quickly left their seats and ran toward Yan Huan’s room. The moment they opened the door, the smell of blood hit their nose.
Then, they saw the shattered glass pieces that were all over the floor before they finally noticed Yan Huan who was lying on the floor with Little Lei crying in her arms.
Panicking, Yi Ling ran over to carry her son away from Yan Huan, or, more precisely, snatched her son away from Yan Huan. She was so worried about Little Lei to the extent that she did not realize her actions brought so much pain to Yan Huan. Yan Huan’s forehead was now covered with cold sweat as she was writhing in agony.
In his mom’s arms, Little Lei was still in a crying fit when he tried to mumble and tell the story about how he broke the photo frame and hurt his uncle.
“Huanhuan…” Ye Shuyun was dumbstruck and Yi Ling alike. None of them knew how to react as they watched the blood flow out of the wounds on Yan Huan’s body that was lying on top of a floor of broken glasses.
“Send someone here! Quick! ”
Ye Shuyun yelled. Before long, Lu Jin, together with the helpers, entered the room. They were all stunned by the scene before them as well.
“For now, you shall bring Little Lei away,” Lu Jin said to Yi Ling, “He’s still young and I don’t want him to be traumatized.”
Yi Ling stared at Yan Huan for a long while, but she was apparently incapable to help. With no other option, she exited the room and, with her quivering fingers, dialed Lei Qingyi’s number to ask for his aid.
“Qingyi, come here now. Something happened to Huanhuan.”
Once she hung up, she sunk into the sofa with Little Lei lying in her arms. Little Lei was exhausted from the crying fit. He rested his tiny head on his mother’s shoulder with his red nose sniffled occasionally.
In the room, Ye Shuyun intended to walk to Yan Huan’s side but was stopped by Lu Jin. “You shouldn’t go near her as you will possibly hurt her again. I will call Yibin over.”
Obediently, Ye Shuyun stood still without taking another step forward. Anxious, tears welled up in her eyes. However, she did not know how to help Yan Huan other than staring at Yan Huan helplessly.
“Let’s clean up the place first,” Lu Jin ordered the helpers. They cleared the glass bits on the ground but were all afraid to touch Yan Huan. With her current injuries, she was already vulnerable. Even the slightest touch could possibly hurt her further.
Yan Huan lay silently on the floor, as though she was immune to the pain.
“Huanhuan, Huanhuan…” Ye Shuyun was close to kneeling on the floor as she held onto Yan Huan’s hand. “Talk to me. Are you okay? Where did you get hurt? Is it painful?”
Yan Huan opened her eyes and gently clutched Ye Shuyun’s hand. With this brief action, Ye Shuyun began to sob uncontrollably.
What should we do? She has just recovered. Why does she have to go through all this pain again? This child has suffered enough. She only recovered not long ago but she is injured again.
After a short while, He Yibin arrived alongside Lei Qingyi as they bumped into each other on their way here.
Without much talk, He Yibin dashed toward Yan Huan’s room. The smell of blood wafted through the room. Just like how Lu Jin described to him, Yan Huan was still lying on the ground and the floor was covered with blood. He was certain that she was harmed by shards of glass. However, he was unsure about how badly she was hurt. If she was only superficially injured, she would only have to suffer the pain for a few days. But, if her other organs were hurt, the restorative procedure would be more complex as she was unable to undergo any major surgery at this moment. Otherwise, she would either die during the surgery or fail to survive the recuperation period. This was absolute damage to her post-traumatic mind and soul.
