Chapter 29
Yan Shiting recognized that it was Yu Li’s voice.
The Yu Li who had just been in his line of sight had now disappeared.
Yan Shiting abruptly stopped in his tracks, his thin lips pressed tightly together.
He gripped the umbrella tightly, recalling where Yu Li had been standing, and turned around, going against the crowd and leaving the pavilion, circling around to the area near where Yu Li had been.
He scanned the area, but didn’t see any trace of Yu Li.
Yan Shiting frowned deeply, his footsteps turning, rushing towards the small stream by the pavilion.
“Yu Li!”
Yu Li was grasping a slender sapling, trying to walk towards the shore, when he suddenly heard Yan Shiting’s anxious voice.
He looked up and saw Yan Shiting running towards him.
The expression on that face was one Yu Li had never seen before – a look of panic.
Yu Li was slightly taken aback, and in that brief moment, Yan Shiting had already reached him.
Yu Li saw that Yan Shiting’s lips were tightly pressed together, an aura of tension around him, and Yu Li hastily tried to reassure him, “I’m fine…”
Yan Shiting’s lips were taut, and he didn’t speak.
His eyes quickly scanned over Yu Li, not finding any visible injuries.
It was just that Yu Li was standing in the muddy bank of the stream, his feet sunk in.
The hand gripping the small tree was scraped, though Yu Li didn’t know how that had happened.
Yan Shiting’s gaze darkened, and he handed the umbrella to Yu Li, then single-handedly lifted Yu Li out of the mud, pulling him close.
Yu Li: !
He was still in a state of surprise when he heard Yan Shiting’s low voice, “Are your feet injured?”
Yu Li shook his head, “No.”
It was just that the mud had gotten into his sneakers, which was quite uncomfortable.
He didn’t know when he had become this delicate, when he used to be able to walk barefoot and catch loaches as a child.
Yu Li bit his lip in self-reproach.
Yan Shiting looked at him deeply for a moment, then suddenly turned around and half-crouched in front of him.
“Get on.”
Yu Li was dazed.
Was this Yan Shiting’s way of asking to carry him on his back?
He hesitated for a bit, “I’m not injured, I can walk by myself.”
Yan Shiting just coldly repeated, “Get on.”
The rain had already soaked his hair, and seeing this, Yu Li, though reluctant, didn’t refuse again, and with the umbrella in hand, awkwardly climbed onto Yan Shiting’s back.
Yan Shiting clenched his fists, not letting his palms come into direct contact with Yu Li’s thighs, supporting him steadily as he stood up and headed down the mountain.
The rain was gradually getting heavier, and the ground was becoming very difficult to walk on.
But Yan Shiting’s steps were steady, his supporting hands strong, not letting Yu Li feel any jostling.
Yu Li wrapped one arm around Yan Shiting, holding the umbrella with the other hand.
The raindrops pattered on the umbrella, making a dull sound.
Listening to that muffled sound, Yu Li thought for a moment, then asked, “Are you worried that I’ll slip and hurt the baby again?”
Without waiting for Yan Shiting’s answer, he continued, “Don’t worry, I’ll protect it, it won’t get hurt.”
Of course, Yu Li also didn’t want anything to happen to his child.
So when he had stepped on the edge of the pavilion step and started to fall towards the stream, at that moment he had only thought of protecting the baby, and had quickly grabbed the small tree by the stream to barely stabilize himself.
This was how he had gotten the scrapes on his hand from grabbing the tree.
Yu Li finished speaking, and Yan Shiting’s footsteps paused slightly.
In a place Yu Li couldn’t see, Yan Shiting’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and after hesitating for a long time, he simply said, “No.”
But how else could he explain it? He had married for the sake of the child, but just a few days later, he had denied caring about the child?
Yan Shiting remained silent, his brow furrowed, and continued carrying Yu Li down the mountain.
Yu Li didn’t notice his strangeness, lowering the umbrella a bit to keep the wind from blowing it around.
They walked in silence.
…
When they reached the bottom of the mountain, in front of a convenience store, Yan Shiting called the driver.
While waiting for the driver, Yan Shiting went into the convenience store and bought some towels and wet wipes.
Soon, the driver arrived with the car.
After getting in the car, Yan Shiting handed the towels and wet wipes to Yu Li, “Wipe yourself, don’t catch a cold.”
“Mm.” Yu Li took them, wiping the moisture from his hair.
Turning his head, he noticed that Yan Shiting’s hair was also dripping wet, and Yu Li’s hands paused slightly.
He hesitated, then handed the towel to Yan Shiting, “You should wipe yourself too.”
Yan Shiting glanced at him, silently taking the towel.
Yu Li withdrew his hand, but his peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of Lin Jiarong and the others rushing down the mountain.
The rain had come suddenly, and the three of them hadn’t brought umbrellas, but Lin Jiarong and Yu Xin had Wang Jianfeng’s leather jacket covering their heads, so their hair didn’t seem too wet.
As for Wang Jianfeng, he was walking behind them with just a single layer of clothing, his entire body already soaked through.
Yu Li stared at them blankly.
Yan Shiting had also noticed the three of them.
When he went to the convenience store to buy the umbrella, it was the last one they had.
Yan Shiting looked back at Yu Li, handing the umbrella to the driver, “Pull the car over and give them the umbrella.”
As he spoke, Yu Li looked at him with a nervous gaze.
The driver took it, then asked, “Master Yan, there’s one more emergency umbrella in the car, should I give them that one too?”
“Mm.” Yan Shiting nodded.
“Understood, Master Yan.” The driver responded, slowly driving the car up to where Wang Jianfeng was.
Before the car came to a stop, Yan Shiting raised the partition.
Yu Li tightened his grip on the wet wipes, secretly letting out a sigh of relief.
The car windows were tinted, so he could see his mother and sister outside, but they couldn’t see him.
The driver rolled down the passenger window and called out to Wang Jianfeng, “Brother, the rain is too heavy, you should take the umbrella.”
He then handed out the two umbrellas.
Wang Jianfeng was taken aback, “This, this is too kind…”
The driver glanced at the partition and shouted, “Take it, my boss… I’m driving, the rain won’t get me. You need to walk to the front to catch a ride, use the umbrella.”
Wang Jianfeng looked at Lin Jiarong and Yu Xin, then took the umbrellas, “Thank you, brother.”
However, he then directly turned around and handed both umbrellas to Lin Jiarong and Yu Xin.
Yu Xin was worried about getting Yu Xin wet, so the leather jacket was still draped over her.
Lin Jiarong tried to tilt the umbrella more towards Yu Xin’s side.
Seeing this, Wang Jianfeng quickened his pace, moving the umbrella he was holding to slightly cover Lin Jiarong’s head.
The three of them walked on side by side, heads bowed against the rain.
The car started and drove away, and Yu Li slowly withdrew his gaze.
He lowered his eyes to look at the package of wet wipes in his hand, his thoughts in turmoil.
Originally, Yu Li had planned to visit the maple forest on East Mountain with Yan Shiting in the afternoon, then take a flight back to Y City.
However, as soon as he got back to the hotel and took a shower, Yu Li’s morning sickness started again.
Perhaps it was because he had stayed up late the night before, or maybe it was because his emotions had fluctuated a bit too much today, but this bout of morning sickness was rather severe.
In the bathroom of the hotel room, Yu Li finished vomiting the contents of his stomach and leaned weakly against the wall.
Hearing Yan Shiting’s knock on the door, Yu Li wiped the tears from his face and said, “I’m fine.”
Outside, Yan Shiting was silent for a moment, then said, “Take some medicine.”
Yu Li rinsed his mouth, then opened the bathroom door.
Yan Shiting was holding a bottle of vitamin B6 tablets, his brow furrowed, “Take the medicine to ease it.”
There was really no other way to relieve it at the moment.
Yu Li pressed his lips together, taking the medicine and water that Yan Shiting handed him.
After taking the medicine, he lay down on the bed and fell asleep.
When he woke up again, the rain had stopped outside.
Yu Li’s gaze was hazy as he stared blankly at the dim bedside lamp.
He suddenly noticed something different about his hands, and his gaze shifted to see a small bandage covering the most severely scraped area, and a band-aid on the finger that had been scratched by the branch.
It was Yan Shiting who had treated his injuries while he was asleep.
Yu Li was slightly taken aback.
Suddenly, the soft sound of footsteps reached his ears, and Yan Shiting placed a bowl of porridge on the bedside table next to him.
“What time is it?” Yu Li collected himself, rubbing his eyes.
“Four o’clock in the afternoon.”
“Ah?” Yu Li was startled, “Can we still go back to Y City?”
Yan Shiting sat on the edge of the bed, his gaze heavy as he looked at Yu Li, “You’re not feeling well, we’ll leave tomorrow.”
Yu Li fell silent, propping himself up to sit.
Leaving tomorrow… he had already told his mother and sister this morning that he was going back to school, so he definitely couldn’t stay at home overnight tonight.
And besides… he didn’t really want to go back right now.
This meant that tonight he would have to share a room with Yan Shiting.
Yu Li’s supporting hand trembled slightly.
He tried his best not to think about this, picking up the porridge and taking a few sips.
The taste of this porridge was still the same as the one made by the private chef, so it seemed Yan Shiting had made it again.
Combined with the medicine he had taken earlier, Yu Li’s appetite had improved, and he soon finished the entire bowl of porridge.
After the bowl was emptied, Yan Shiting took it, then said, “I ordered some fruit, you can have some later.”
Yu Li nodded.
He had thought being in the same room as Yan Shiting would be very awkward, but after a while, when Yan Shiting returned from dinner, he just sat at the desk and started dealing with some company affairs.
The awkwardness Yu Li had anticipated never materialized.
By the time Yan Shiting finished his work, Yu Li was already feeling a bit drowsy.
It wasn’t until a slight sound came from the other side of the large bed that Yu Li suddenly became more alert.
He turned his head to see Yan Shiting, in a bathrobe, lying down.
The hotel bed was very large, and there was still enough space to fit another Yan Shiting between them.
Yu Li nervously gripped the blanket, his gaze flitting around.
Yan Shiting turned off the lights, and the room was plunged into darkness.
In the darkness, Yu Li secretly let out a sigh of relief.
However, the negative effect of the poor soundproofing in this room soon manifested itself.
Faint, unpleasant sounds started coming from the neighboring room.
The awkwardness that hadn’t appeared when he and Yan Shiting were together earlier now emerged in this form.
Yu Li was embarrassed.
His body was tense, and he inwardly berated himself.
If he had known it would be like this, he might as well have just gone home, and if his mother and sister asked, he could have just said the rain was too heavy to leave.
But now, if he suddenly got up and said he wanted to go home, that would be even more awkward.
Yu Li’s feet were starting to feel stiff.
Fortunately, the Yan Shiting next to him didn’t seem to have heard anything, showing no reaction at all.
They say that near-sighted people also tend to have poorer hearing.
—Yu Li comforted himself in this way.
After a while, the sounds from the neighboring room finally stopped.
Yu Li gently rubbed his face, trying to relax his body and induce sleep, when he suddenly heard Yan Shiting’s voice:
“Were you in a bad mood today?”
Yu Li’s body tensed, his hands clasped together on the blanket.
He didn’t ask Yan Shiting how he had noticed, after all, he had spaced out several times today, and his emotions had been leaking out, so it would have been hard for Yan Shiting not to notice.
With this in mind, Yu Li softly “mm’d” in response.
Yan Shiting was not the type who liked to pry into others’ private matters.
Yu Li had thought he wouldn’t ask this time either, but to his surprise, he then heard Yan Shiting say:
“If you want to confide in someone, you can tell me.”
Yu Li’s clasped hands tightened.
Perhaps because the awkward emotions from earlier had not yet dissipated, he didn’t feel particularly depressed at the moment, and so he was not averse to the idea of confiding in someone.
Yu Li sighed lightly, “I just… miss my dad a little.”
Before the age of twelve, Yu Li’s family had been complete and happily fulfilled.
When he was twelve, his father passed away, and he had to take on the responsibility of being the older brother, ensuring he didn’t cause trouble for his mother, and taking good care of his sister.
While his mother was busy earning money, he was responsible for protecting their home and raising his sister well.
He never showed his sadness in front of his mother and sister, always remaining strong, even comforting them when they missed their father.
Now that there was about to be a new change in the family, he also needed to properly comfort his bewildered sister, to understand whether that uncle was a good person worth it, and maintain a calm, clear-headed attitude.
But in fact, facing this impending new change in the family, he also felt very lost and sad.
Yet, wishing for his mother and sister to have a new life was another matter entirely.
They could not be trapped in the past forever.
Yan Shiting had been listening quietly the whole time.
It wasn’t until Yu Li spoke the last sentence that Yan Shiting’s hand moved slightly, but after a moment, it returned to its original position.
“Yu Li,” he said softly, “you should also have your own new life.”
Not for the sake of his mother and sister, not for the sake of the family.
Yu Li fell silent.
After a long time, he softly “mm’d” in response.
In the darkness, he discreetly turned his head, looking in the direction of Yan Shiting.
His mother and sister would both have new families, and he…
In fact, he also already had his own family.
Recommended Reads
