Yue Ling's head was tilted back as she stares silently into the night sky. When she heard his voice, her eyes shifts to look at him, and smiles.
"It was too bright over there."
Lu Tian looks back at the house. The light inside and outside were both on and illuminated a bright light. It was indeed too bright for stargazing.
His attention returns to his wife and he unfolds the blanket in his hand. Placing it over her shoulders, he sits down on the right side of her.
"It's getting cold, wear this to keep you warm."
He made sure the blanket covered every inch of her body leaving only her head in view. He then places his left around her shoulder to give more warmth to her.
Feeling the warmth from his arm, Yue Ling's entire being softens. Every time she is in his arms, she always felt a sense of safety.
She looks up at the sky and a faint smile gradually grew on her lip.
"Tian, have you ever counted the stars?"
Hearing her question, Lu Tian looks up at the sky with her. He had watched the night sky before, but never did he think to count the stars.
"I haven't."
Yue Ling sighs a smile at his response. She continues to star up the sky like she was admiring its breath-taking view. However, if one were to look closely, it looked more like she was trying to search for something that was beyond her grasp.
"I used to make my subordinates stay with me to watch the stars. Sometimes it would be until sunrise. They would make fun of this habit and run away every time I drank too much."
The smile on her face slowly disappears and her words continue.
"They said it was meaningless because no one can count all the stars because one would lose track counting."
Memories of the past played in her mind of the times she would force her subordinates to count the stars with her. She knew they didn't want to as it made them tired. It was like counting sheep until one fall asleep.
"But I never told them the reason why I did this."
Lu Tian lowers his head to look at her. Unlike her childlike behavior from earlier, she looked more like her usual self. However, he knew that she was still under the influence of alcohol.
He tried to read her thoughts, but unable to figure her out, he asks.
"Will you tell me the reason?"
Yue Ling glances at him without moving her head away from the sky. She looks back at the sky and a trace of sorrow painted inside her eyes.
"When I was a child, my parents would take me to watch the night sky. If the nights weren't too cold, we would stay until sunrise and watch as the stars disappear to welcome the sun."
She scans the many glistening stars until she found the brightest one.
"My parents would often work late or go on business meetings, so when they were too busy, my father would tell me to count the stars before I go to sleep."
Her eyes turned moist as her lower lip trembles at the thought of her parents.
"He said, 'Ah Ling, be a good girl and stay home. After you count 100 stars in the sky, close your eyes. When you open your eyes, you will see us again'."
Thinking about her happy childhood, she sighs a smile.
"As a child, counting to 100 was so difficult, but I made sure to never miscount. If I did, I would start all over. My father probably knew this, because, by the time I counted 100 stars, my parents would have returned from their business trip."
She had always hoped that every time she closed her eyes, she would wake up to see her parents. However, after her parents left the world, she came to understand that no matter how many times she counted the stars, she will never see them again.
As she grew older, she learned how to hide her feelings away.
No matter how much she wanted to cry because she missed them, she had to tell herself to be strong. Her mother and father would not want to see her sad. If they knew she was sad, they would be sad too.
So, she decided to only count the stars when she drinks. She hoped that if she counted to 100, she will be able to go to sleep and dream about her happy childhood with her parents.
Lu Tian listened silently to her. He thought about her words and thinks back to the things Grandfather Ji had said to him.
His wife was a woman who puts on a strong appearance, but inside she was like a very fragile porcelain vase.
Just like the time they lost their child.
Even when she was in so much pain, she kept a smile so that no one would be sad for her.
He couldn't help but think about her childhood. While he grew up cold and aloof so that others would not take advantage of him, he still had his parents. However, for his wife, she must have been alone and afraid.
His eyes slowly closed as he inhales a deep breath. Before his thoughts could trail away, he didn't hear her voice anymore.
He opens his eyes and glances down at his wife. A faint smile curls on his lip as she was leaning against him and looked like she had fallen asleep.
"Yue Ling."
He whispers her name quietly, but the only response he got was her soft breathing. His entire being turned soft and kiss the top of her head.
"If you need someone to count the stars with you, let that someone be me."
His head tilts to the side to lean against her and he pulls her closer to him.
"Let me be your forever shield and carry the weight on your shoulders for you."
As seconds turned into minutes, Lu Tian finally carries his sleeping wife inside the house. He made sure to be incredibly careful and when entering their shared bedroom, he gently places her down on the bed.
He sits down at the edge of the bed and gazes down at her sleeping face before placing a soft kiss on her forehead.
"I will never let you suffer alone again."
