Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
“Did Lan Yu bring you here?” Kang Jian changed the subject.
“Yes.”
Kang Jian took a deep breath to fight back the pain and tried his best to keep his mind clear. “Go tell her to send you back.”
“What about you?” An Xiaxia looked at him anxiously, feeling even more nervous when she recalled the terminal lucidity she had seen in Mr. Song. “S- stop talking! You need to save your strength.”
“I’m fine…” He would never have let her in if he was really in grave condition.
“But Lan Yu said you’re dying…”
“She’s lying to you.” Kang Jian blinked. “It’s nothing serious and I’ll be fine in a few days.”
An Xiaxia asked suspiciously, “Really?”
Kang Jian paused a little before saying, “Really.”
“You can go back now. I want to get some sleep.” Kang Jian smiled weakly at her.
An Xiaxia tugged at the lower hem of her dress uneasily, then wrapped the blanket tighter around Kang Jian and said quietly, “Get some rest. Get well soon.”
“Alright.”
When she walked out the door, Lan Yu was no longer there.
A man who looked like a butler stood there, and he bowed at An Xiaxia and spoke in fluent English. “Ma’am, I’ll take you back.”
She was then blindfolded and led to a car.
When she opened her eyes again, she was already outside the hotel from last night.
Sheng Yize got the phone call and rushed out. Seeing that she had come back unscathed, he let out a breath of relief.
“Who did this?” he asked with a grim face.
An Xiaxia lowered her gaze. “I… I don’t want to tell you.”
The temperature around them seemed to drop as Sheng Yize’s face darkened. He looked at An Xiaxia in disappointment.
An Xiaxia lowered her head in silence.
The silent stalemate went on, and eventually, Sheng Yize was the first to give in. Rubbing his forehead in resignation, he said, “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. You came back safely and that’s all I care about.”
“Thank you.” An Xiaxia looked at him gratefully.
–
After An Xiaxia left, Lan Yu went up to Kang Jian and reprimanded him coldly. “She called you a goofball and I think she’s right!”
Kang Jian looked like his life was hanging by a thread. He was no longer as lighthearted as when An Xiaxia had been there. In fact, he barely had enough strength to speak.
Lan Yu commiserated with him, but was disappointed in him at the same time. “You had such a great opportunity, but you just threw it away! If you die here, you have no one to blame but yourself! Do you know why she was here? She’s traveling! She’s living happily with that man and you’ll probably die alone in a foreign country…”
“She’s happy… Isn’t th- that enough…” Kang Jian managed to squeeze out some words. “I can live without her.”
“You stubborn moron!” Lan Yu was furious and got up to leave.
Kang Jian knew very well that the reason she was doing this to him was probably because she had seen herself in him.
–
Fang Shanshan and Su Xiaomo had set out with their respective husbands, neither one aware of An Xiaxia’s brief disappearance.
Seeing that An Xiaxia didn’t want to tell him, Sheng Yize didn’t press her, but only doubled her bodyguards.
That night, Sheng Yize took An Xiaxia out on a boat trip around the city.
Unlike the homely feel of the water regions in their country, this city was romantic and fashionable.
Leaning on Sheng Yize’s shoulder, An Xiaxia chattered casually. “Sheng Yize, were you ever very, very sad?”
After a long silence, Sheng Yize replied, “Yes.”
“Did you cry?” An Xiaxia pressed, ready for some gossip.
“Would you like to see me cry?” Sheng Yize raised an eyebrow.
“I just want to know… tell me…” An Xiaxia swayed his arm back and forth, buttering him up.
That always worked on Sheng Yize. He considered for a moment, then said, “I did.”
But when did that happen?
It felt like so long ago, but so recent at the same time.
