For example, the health and well-being of family members are all managed by a dedicated person. This Professor Liu is Huo Shenyan's doctor, and his wife and Zhong Lan are in the same charity association, so the two families are close.
It was quite a coincidence today. The charity association is donating a batch of supplies to the mountainous areas next month, so Zhong Lan went there. Mrs. Liu was also there. When she left in the evening, she ran into Professor Liu picking up Mrs. Liu, and they chatted for a few minutes.
Zhong Lan, as Huo Shenyan's mother, had known about his health issues before.
Therefore, Professor Liu happened to mention that Huo Shenyan had been having an allergic reaction these past few days.
Huo Shenyan frowned: "It's just an allergy, is it really worth making such a fuss?"
Zhong Lan meant well, but her good intentions backfired and she ended up looking like the bad guy. Her anger turned into annoyance, and she said coldly, "Yes, it's just an allergy. Don't you know your own situation? Shanghai is humid and rainy. The first time you had an allergic reaction because of the humidity, I wanted to dry the whole house."
Ni Jingxi turned to look at Huo Shenyan and finally understood.
No wonder he's been tossing and turning in his sleep these past two nights. He usually has excellent sleeping habits and is very quiet.
Ni Jingxi felt a pang of sadness. It had been raining continuously in Shanghai these past few days, with almost no sunshine. Her house was an old, cramped, damp, and cold place, and even with new sheets and blankets, there was always a lingering dampness on the bed.
Thinking of this, she looked up at Zhong Lan and said softly, "I'm sorry, I didn't know Shenyan was allergic."
Zhong Lan glanced at her, sighed after a long while, and said, "I'm not trying to lecture you, but since you're married to Shen Yan, shouldn't you two be more tolerant of each other? You can't just expect the other person to accommodate you without giving anything in return. Besides, moving to a new place isn't something you should be doing wrong, is it?"
Zhong Lan's explanation, appealing to emotions and reason, along with the final admonition, essentially conveyed the same message: Ni Jingxi was utterly ungrateful.
Ni Jingxi listened to Zhong Lan's words and wasn't annoyed.
Although the words were unpleasant, from a mother's perspective, Zhong Lan had nothing to be upset about in response to her questioning.
Huo Shenyan, with his privileged background, had always been high and mighty. If it weren't for her, he wouldn't have even set foot on that street, let alone lived in a damp house in a narrow alley.
Ni Jingxi glanced at Zhong Lan and said seriously, "I will have Shenyan move back home."
It was referring to Huo Shenyan, but not to herself.
Zhong Lan was furious, feeling that her attitude was so impenetrable that it was simply...
The next moment, Ni Jingxi looked at her and said, "You should know our family situation. My father has been missing for six years. But what if he comes home one day? Shanghai is so big, I have to protect this family, otherwise my father won't be able to find his way home."
Zhong Lan was completely stunned.
Ni Jingxi spoke sincerely, not deliberately trying to elicit sympathy. Ever since she started taking care of her grandmother alone, she has never complained to anyone, not even her best friend from her four years of college.
She doesn't need anyone to pity her, because she will handle everything herself.
When her mother wasn't around, her father promised her that he would take good care of himself and her grandmother.
Now that her father is missing, even if he didn't leave her a single word, she will still take good care of her grandmother.
In the end, Zhong Lan didn't make things difficult for her anymore. As a fellow parent, Ni Jingxi's words truly touched her heart, regardless of anything else. Actually, if Ni Jingxi hadn't married Huo Shenyan, Zhong Lan might have appreciated the girl.
Despite experiencing life's hardships at a young age, they are not self-conscious, but rather independent and strong.
*
As night fell, the light from the porch illuminated the outside, and the dense, slanting rain falling in the air created a particularly picturesque scene. The driver was already waiting at the door, and Huo Shenyan, holding Ni Jingxi's wrist, led her straight over.
As the car drove away from the Huo family mansion, Ni Jingxi looked back at the deep courtyard behind her.
Huo Shenyan looked particularly tired as he leaned against the back of the car after a long day of work.
Seeing this, Ni Jingxi let him rest with his eyes closed, without saying anything to disturb him. The car slowly came to a stop at the entrance of the narrow alley. Because the alley entrance was narrow, they always got out of the car and walked across.
Huo Shenyan got out of the car first and took the umbrella from the driver. He then slowly walked to the other side and opened the car door.
As soon as Ni Jingxi got out of the car, he put his arm around her. At 1.7 meters tall, she was already quite tall, but Mr. Huo had such a good physique that his height and long legs made her look petite.
As soon as she arrived home, Ni Jingxi changed her shoes and stood in the living room.
Huo Shenyan arrived a step later than her, but as soon as he got there, the person standing there turned to look at him and said, "I'm sorry."
Ni Jingxi's voice was hoarse. She was usually calm and aloof, but for the people she truly cared about, it was enough to make her feel terrible.
She didn't even notice that Huo Shenyan had an allergy because he hadn't told her.
At this moment, her eyes were tinged with an unusual red, and her almond-shaped eyes gradually became misty. She was not the type to shed tears easily, but now, seeing her like this made Huo Shenyan feel as if he were being pricked by fine needles, which was heartbreaking enough.
"Star," he called her by her nickname.
Ni Jingxi looked at him and reached out to hug him. Even when she was sick, she would not feel this bad. "I'm sorry, I didn't even know you were sick."
Huo Shenyan knew she was truly blaming herself, so he quickly reached out and comforted her from behind, saying, "I'm fine, I'm really fine."
At this moment, Ni Jingxi slowly raised her head from his embrace, "I'm not stubborn, nor do I want to consider you."
"I just want to wait for my dad to come back."
As she finished speaking, Ni Jingxi's gaze fell on the photos on the wall. There hung an old photo, probably from more than ten years ago. The family of three in the photo all had happy smiles on their faces: young parents and a little girl who was only about ten years old.
But the person standing here now is only twenty-four-year-old Ni Jingxi.
There are no more parents in sight.
The most popular topic of conversation in the girls' dormitory at night is relationships. Roommate Chen Chen once asked them a question: do you believe in love? To their surprise, Ni Jingxi, who usually seemed the most indifferent to boys, firmly said two words.
believe.
Yes, she was born into such a family, how could she not believe it?
Ni Pingsen and Gu Mingzhu met in college. Ni Pingsen came from Nanxun, a charming old town in Zhejiang, while Gu Mingzhu was a native of Shanghai.
They met on a university campus in that era; young and outstanding people are always easily attracted to each other.
As a young man, Ni Pingsen was handsome and taller than his male classmates.
Gu Mingzhu was also outstanding; she was the most beautiful girl in the journalism department, with a pure and charming appearance.
Despite being from Shanghai, Gu's parents did not object to Ni Pingsen's marriage because he came from a small town; they entered into marriage with their blessings.
Before Ni Jingxi was born, they were a loving couple.
After Ni Jingxi was born, they became an enviable family of three.
However, some lives that are too perfect will always have an unexpected side. When Ni Jingxi was six years old, Gu Mingzhu suddenly fell ill and remained bedridden until her death.
But Ni Pingsen loved her unconditionally and took good care of her.
Even his maternal grandmother once said that she was not as attentive as him in taking care of his mother.
When Ni Jingxi was ten years old, Gu Mingzhu spent almost all of her time in the hospital. No matter how hard Ni Pingsen tried to take care of her, he could never keep her.
On the day Gu Mingzhu passed away, the doctors and nurses in the hospital were all afraid that Ni Pingsen would not be able to bear it.
Because everyone saw how carefully a man took care of his wife, they wanted to keep her.
He didn't cry until the day of the actual burial. That was the first time Ni Jingxi had ever seen her father cry so bitterly; he lay on her mother's tombstone, sobbing uncontrollably.
After her mother left, her father devoted himself to taking care of her and her grandmother.
Until her second year of high school, when her grandmother suddenly suffered a brain hemorrhage and was hospitalized for surgery, her father did everything he could to save her without hesitation. Even after her mother passed away, he still treated her grandmother like his own mother.
Even though my grandmother's surgery went smoothly, she was still bedridden with paralysis in the end.
Ni Jingxi was in high school when her family faced financial difficulties. Ni Pingsen eventually decided to accept his company's assignment to work abroad for a year.
He thought he would only stay for a year, but after a year, he stayed for another year.
Until I never heard from my father again.
He disappeared abroad.
Ni Jingxi seemed to be pulling herself out of her memories from the old photos. She turned to look at Huo Shenyan and whispered, "Dad said that Grandpa named Mom Mingzhu, which means 'precious pearl in the palm of one's hand'."
He said that his mother was his grandfather's apple, and I was his precious star.
"So he named me Xingxing (Star)."
Now that the stars are still here, where has the big hand that should have been supporting her gone?
Author's Note: Ni Jingxi: Just a little pinky promise to coax my husband.
Shenyan Gege: Does the person who said my wife is cold to me understand love?
So the pressure is now on Brother Shenyan. What name should he give his daughter so that he won't lose?
Chapter 7
Life is about how, no matter how much pain and hardship we've experienced in the past, as long as the sun rises, everyone must greet a new day.
Ni Jingxi arrived at the company in Huo Shenyan's car as usual in the morning, but before getting out of the car, she asked, "Do you have a business dinner tonight?"
Huo Shenyan glanced at her, then looked up and asked Tang Mian in the front passenger seat, "Do you have any plans tonight?"
Having served as his assistant for so long, Tang Mian had long since become so familiar with his schedule that he simply said, "I have a dinner appointment with President Han of Qihui."
"Let's cancel it."
Upon hearing this, Ni Jingxi immediately said, "No."
Before she could even say what it was about, this person actually wanted to cancel the already arranged trip.
Huo Shenyan turned to look at her again, and said in a deep and pleasant voice, "Didn't you have something to do?"
Ni Jingxi looked at him for a while and said, "Don't take your allergies lightly. Move back to the villa tonight."
Huo Shenyan frowned slightly, and only managed to utter two words: "No need..."
“I’ll move with you,” Ni Jingxi blurted out, interrupting him.
Huo Shenyan remained silent for a long time before finally speaking: "Xingxing, you don't need to take my mother's words too seriously."
Yesterday, Zhong Lan's talk about tolerance between husband and wife went unheeded by Huo Shenyan, but now it seems that Ni Jingxi has taken it to heart.
Ni Jingxi remained calm and said, "Your mother's words are not unreasonable. She is right. We can't always rely on you to tolerate me and make concessions for me. I didn't even know you weren't feeling well these past few days, and that was my fault."
Huo Shenyan was surprised that she would say so much, and his heart stirred slightly.
He raised his hand and placed it beside Ni Jingxi's temple, his palm gently caressing her soft hair and her snow-white ears. Ni Jingxi's earlobes were very beautiful, full and snow-white, and felt smooth and plump to the touch.
Huo Shenyan was silent for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "You don't need to back down, because I can keep backing down."
This man always possessed a detached air, as if he were unattached to worldly affairs, yet the moment he spoke, he uttered words that warmed one's heart. Moreover, Ni Jingxi knew all too well that he was never just talking.
That proud man lived with her in that old house, never once frowning.
He always put her mind at ease through his actions.