Neither Wesley nor Megan showed any interest in Debbie's concert.
But Blair was proud of her friend, who was singing gracefully on the stage. She didn't care about the two and continued to cheer her and sing along like the rest of the fans.
The next day, Wesley and Blair went on a four-day trip to the neighboring city.
On their first day, they decided to go for a small trek. Halfway up the hill, Blair felt thirsty. But they didn't have enough drinking water with them. Wesley handed the camera to her and said, "Wait for me here. I'll go buy some."
"Okay." As she waited, she took pictures of the beautiful landscape.
A man suddenly appeared in her shot. Blair put her hands down and raised her head to look at the stranger. Three young men were smiling evilly at her. "What do you want?" she asked warily.
"That's a nice camera you got there," one of them said as he fixed his eyes on it.
Blair's grip on the camera tightened. Of course, it was nice! Cecelia had picked the best for her; it was worth more than a hundred thousand dollars. Knowing their intentions, Blair yelled loudly, "Wesley!"
The three men were caught by surprise.
"Wesley!" she shouted towards the direction in which the soldier had gone.
The three men realized that she had company. They exchanged glances with each other, and in an instant, two of them lunged at her and locked her arms behind her. The third one quickly robbed her of the camera that was hung around her neck.
"Wesley! Help! Wes— Mmph!" One of the men covered her mouth immediately.
Wesley was paying for the bottle of water when he heard her screaming for help. He dropped the bottle and dashed back to Blair as fast as he could.
From a distance, he saw her being surrounded by three men. Enraged, he barked, "Let go of her!"
The robbers saw the tall, strong guy running towards them. They fled with the camera.
"Wesley, they stole my camera!"
Blair began to run after the robbers, but Wesley was much faster. He ran past her like a gust of wind, and closed in on them.
The robbers turned to see that the man was only a few meters away from them. Panicking, they shrieked, "Oh, crap! Run faster!"
They ran all the way to the road and fled in different directions.
In a fluster, the man holding the camera knocked into a small electric car. The camera was thrown into the air and in the next second, it crashed on the ground; the lens was smashed to pieces.
Wesley pinned the man down and rained a few blows on him. The robber rolled on the ground, howling in pain.
Blair caught up to them. She picked up her precious camera and saw the broken lens. Her heart sank.
Wesley caught the second robber in no time. He wanted to hunt the third one down, but he was worried about Blair's safety. He didn't want to leave her alone again. So, he gave up the chase and called the police.
The police arrived soon and handcuffed the two robbers.
Blair looked at the camera with a frown. It had been a gift from Cecelia, but she couldn't preserve it well. She felt immensely guilty.
Reading her mind, Wesley touched her head lovingly. "You didn't mean for this to happen. It's not your fault. Mom will understand. I'll buy you a new one."
Blair shook her head. "No, I don't want one. I'm so careless. I'll end up breaking that too."
"You can buy another one when you do." Leaving no space for an argument, he drove her to an appliance store downtown.
She didn't want a new camera. So, he decided to at least buy her new lens. If she couldn't take pictures for the next three days, she would regret it.
On their way, Wesley got a call from the police. She heard him say, "It's me. We need compensation for the camera, or I'll file severe charges against them. Yes, thank you."
Once at the appliance store, Wesley picked out the latest model and showed it to Blair. She shook her head and pointed to another lens in the counter. "Just get me this one, the Canon 50mm/F1.8 STM." It wasn't that expensive and was well-suited to everyday shooting.
Wesley examined the lens she had chosen. "This is good for portraits. But, you like shooting landscape. I think this one will be better suited."
Blair hesitated. He sounded reasonable. She enjoyed taking pictures of her friends and family, but most of the time, she liked capturing the landscapes around her.
Eventually, she followed his advice and bought the more expensive, latest model lens.
Because of the incident with the robbers, Wesley didn't dare leave Blair alone again. He kept her by his side wherever he went. Even when he had to go to the men's room, he made her wait for him in front of the door.
The police called again later that day. The robbers had agreed to compensate for the camera at its original price.
The rest of their trip went smoothly. They had a really good time. Wesley was happy to see Blair laugh every day. She slowly became more cheerful and outgoing. The old Blair was back. She would make fun of him, flirt with him and throw small tantrums like she used to. The psychologist did give him the right advice.
On the fourth day, they were back in Y City. Wesley received Cecelia's call soon after. His mother had tried to call Blair, but the call hadn't gone through. They randomly chatted for a while. Then, Cecelia finally cut to the chase. "I think I need an explanation from you, Son. Why are you making me wait for so long to be a grandma?" Cecelia was frustrated. Wesley had refused to get married at first. Now that he finally had Blair, why weren't they giving her any good news yet? Before Wesley could speak, the anxious mother added, "I understand that you are busy with work. But you have time to spend with her right now. It's not normal that Blair hasn't gotten pregnant yet. Wesley, tell me honestly. Are you…impotent?"
Wesley's face darkened. He reminded her in a low voice, "Mom, it is not right to ask such questions to a man. It's an insult."
"I know, but I couldn't help asking. You're in your thirties now. I'm worried!"
Wesley groaned. The truth was that he was anxious too. But it wasn't something they could force to happen.
The phone call alone couldn't set Cecelia's mind at ease. The more she thought about it, the more anxious she became. She made up her mind to fly out to Y City.
"Mom?" Blair was shocked to see Cecelia at their front door without any warning. Wesley wasn't home when she arrived.
Cecelia gave her a warm hug before saying, "Blair, I missed you so much."
Blair patted her back gently. "Why didn't you tell us beforehand that you were coming?"
"If I told Wesley, he wouldn't let me come and interrupt your privacy." Cecelia pursed her lips.
"Well, don't bother about him. Please come in, Mom. Are you hungry?"
"Yes!" Cecelia nodded honestly. She was so anxious to see them that she couldn't grab anything to eat.
"Have some fruit first. I'll cook something for you."
"Thank you, Blair. You're such a considerate girl," the mother beamed.
Blair returned the sweet smile. "You're welcome, Mom. It's just a meal. Here, I've washed the fruit."
Cecelia casually picked up an orange and looked around the house. "Where's Wesley?"
"He went to the military base."
"Is he always busy at work? Don't you two spend any time together? Does he come back at night? What time does he come home?" Cecelia asked in one breath as she stood at the doorway of the kitchen with the orange in her hand.
Blair answered patiently, "We just came back from a trip. He's out for some errands during the day, but he always comes back home by eleven at night." Wesley was home every night ever since he had come back from the border.
"I see…" Cecelia ate a slice of the orange, deep in thoughts. Then, she asked implicitly, "What time do you two usually go to bed?"
Blair's face turned red; she knew what the curious mother had in mind. Wesley had told her that his mother doubted his sexual ability. Blair, of course, knew how good he was. But the man was unhappy about her doubts, and to prove himself, he had banged Blair the whole night after that phone call. "Mom, there's nothing wrong with Wesley. It's me; there's a small issue with my uterus. Don't worry, it's nothing major. I've taken some Chinese medicines to improve the condition. Please be patient." Blair felt the pressure too. After all, Wesley was already in his thirties.
