Zhong Lan couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"
"What you're saying sounds like something a mother would say." Ni Jingxi lowered her head slightly, seemingly a little embarrassed to look at Zhong Lan, because it was indeed quite awkward.
She's not good at saying sentimental things, but sometimes when she's in the mood, the words just come to her lips.
Even someone as independent and strong as Ni Jingxi gets teary-eyed whenever she hears the word "Mom."
When she called out the word "Mom," the slight tremor in her voice was impossible to hide.
Zhong Lan was slightly taken aback, and then she thought of Ni Jingxi's family background. After she married Huo Shenyan, Zhong Lan did have someone investigate her family. Her mother had died early and her father had disappeared in Israel and his whereabouts were still unknown. There was only an elderly grandmother in the family, but she was always in a wheelchair.
Zhong Lan was dissatisfied with this family situation, but at that time she didn't consider at all how Ni Jingxi had managed to live all these years.
Seeing her like this now, Zhong Lan also felt a little sad. She asked, "When did your mother pass away?"
“When I was ten years old.” Ni Jingxi’s voice was soft and calm.
It seems that bringing this up was an easy thing for her.
At ten years old, she should have wanted her mother to braid her hair beautifully every day before school, and she should have begged her mother to buy her any pretty dress she saw. But Ni Jingxi had never been so willful.
Because her mother is in poor health, she seems to have never gone shopping with her mother, nor has she ever asked for any pretty dresses.
Other ten-year-olds are still snuggling in their mothers' arms and acting spoiled, making a fuss every day to sleep with their mothers.
But at the age of ten, she was holding her mother's portrait and quietly following her father, saying thank you to everyone who came to the funeral.
Zhong Lan really didn't know what to say. She felt her eyes were wet. As a mother, she could hardly imagine that a little girl had lost her mother at such a young age.
She suddenly felt like she had done something wrong.
"I'm not actually against you and Shenyan," Zhong Lan said after a long silence.
But Ni Jingxi seemed to understand what she meant. She tried her best to restrain herself and said, "I understand what you mean. Shenyan and I got married without even discussing it with you. It was wrong of us to begin with."
Zhong Lan nodded eagerly. Yes, she wasn't a controlling mother either.
She felt that such a big thing as getting a marriage certificate meant that her parents should have the right to know.
Zhong Lan said softly, "Our Shenyan has never caused me any trouble since he was little. Although he seems a bit cold, he is very filial and smart. He always gets first place in exams, and he has continued to do well even after entering Hengya. I never thought he would do something so outrageous."
Ni Jingxi was about to say sorry again.
But Zhong Lan looked at her and said, "Let's get along well from now on."
Ni Jingxi was taken aback.
"I've only ever had a son, so I don't know how to be a mother to a girl, but I'll treat you well from now on."
Zhong Lan looked at her and said in a very serious and formal manner.
Chapter 34
After Zhong Lan left with Aunt Zhou, Ni Jingxi went back to her room to rest, but despite being exhausted, she couldn't fall asleep no matter how hard she tried.
Whether it was because the wound was still throbbing, or because her mother was suddenly mentioned today, she always saw the images of her parents when she closed her eyes.
It is said that people will never forget what their parents look like, but for Ni Jingxi, it seems that she really is about to forget.
She's the kind of person whose eyes well up with tears whenever she's mentioned, but her image is gradually becoming blurry.
Time is a terrifying thing.
Unbeknownst to her, Ni Jingxi gradually fell into a deep sleep until the door was gently pushed open.
Huo Shenyan didn't get home until after 7 o'clock. When he got downstairs, he didn't see Ni Jingxi. He asked Aunt Qian and found out that she had been sleeping since Zhong Lan and the others left.
"Didn't you have dinner?" Huo Shenyan frowned slightly.
Aunt Qian was a little embarrassed and explained in a low voice, "I knocked on the door just now, but my wife was sleeping soundly and didn't answer me."
Huo Shenyan reached out and unbuttoned his suit jacket, took it off and placed it on the sofa, saying, "I'll go take a look."
When he pushed open the door, the room was unusually dark because the curtains were drawn.
The moment he pushed open the door, light from the corridor shone through the crack in the open door, and the person who was already sleeping restlessly in bed turned over with a soft moan.
Huo Shenyan frowned slightly, but remembering that she hadn't eaten dinner yet, he tiptoed to the bedside.
After he sat down and leaned against the headboard, he placed his palm on the raised thin blanket and patted it very lightly twice: "Jingxi."
Ni Jingxi's body jerked violently, as if she had just experienced a nightmare.
Huo Shenyan reached out and hugged her, and Ni Jingxi calmed down after a while.
"Be careful what you say." A few seconds later, a soft voice came from under the thin blanket. The voice was not as cold as usual, but rather a little hoarse as if someone had just woken up from a dream.
Huo Shenyan hummed in agreement and gently stroked her back a few times through the thin blanket: "I'm here."
After a moment of silence, Huo Shenyan asked in a low voice, "Are you awake now?"
"Not yet." Ni Jingxi's eyes were still adjusting to the darkness of the room, but her mind was filled with the fragmented dream she had just had while sleeping.
Huo Shenyan chuckled softly as he listened to her soft voice.
The next second, Ni Jingxi whispered again, "I dreamed about my father."
Huo Shenyan stiffened slightly, then reached out and hugged her again. "And then, did he say anything to you?"
“No.” Ni Jingxi shook her head and said slowly, “I heard that only the deceased can speak in their dreams, while the living cannot speak in their dreams. He didn’t speak, he was just looking at my face.”
“My face is injured, he must have seen it.”
She didn't want her tone to sound too sentimental, but deep down she was genuinely a mix of happiness and sadness because she really missed her father.
After she finished speaking, the room fell silent again.
It wasn't until Ni Jingxi jokingly said, "If my dad were here, he would definitely go and fight those people to the death," that things changed.
Although Ni Pingsen is mild-mannered, he values his family very much.
Finally, Huo Shenyan, who had been silent all along, moved. He lifted the thin blanket and reached inside until he found Ni Jingxi's fingers. His palm, which had been outside the blanket, was a little cold.
Ni Jingxi's hand was gently held by him, and she couldn't help but flinch when her warm fingers touched his fingertips.
But the next second, Huo Shenyan inserted his fingers one by one between her fingers, their fingers interlocking.
He was practically half-lying on the bed, the two of them very close to the ground, so close that his breathing was amplified infinitely in her ear.
"Jingxi," he called her name softly.
He said, "There won't be a next time."
There will never be a next time that she is in so much pain, living in constant fear even in her sleep.
When Ni Jingxi heard this, her bright eyes narrowed sharply in the darkness. She whispered, "It has nothing to do with you, don't blame yourself. I just suddenly thought of my father."
“I know,” he said softly.
He gently kissed her forehead. "But I will cherish you no matter who it is."
*
After the two went downstairs, Aunt Qian had already set out dinner on the table, and the two sat down separately.
However, as soon as she sat down, Ni Jingxi couldn't help but look towards the wall. Huo Shenyan noticed that she hadn't touched her chopsticks and glanced at her, asking, "Why aren't you eating?"
Ni Jingxi looked away, glanced at the table full of tableware, and asked in a low voice, "Are the plates we're using also some kind of antique art piece?"
She suddenly remembered that she had broken a bowl before, and Huo Shenyan had comforted her that it was okay.
But she never saw that set of tableware in the kitchen again.
Huo Shenyan carefully examined the bowls and plates placed in front of her, and thought for a moment: "This set was sent back by my mother. It should be the set produced in 1879."
Ni Jingxi froze for a moment, her body involuntarily shifting back as if afraid of breaking it.
Aunt Qian came out just then, carrying a bowl of freshly served soup. After placing it on the table, she saw Ni Jingxi looking like she wanted to get a million miles away from the table: "Madam, don't you like any of the dishes today?"
On the other hand, Huo Shenyan slowly picked up his bowl, looking elegant and composed.
Ni Jingxi took a deep breath and uttered two words: "I'm scared."
"What are you afraid of?" Aunt Qian asked, somewhat puzzled.
"These dishes." She was afraid of breaking another one, afraid that she really would...
Aunt Qian asked in surprise, "Madam doesn't like this set of dishes? Then how about I go to the basement tomorrow and exchange it for a new set?"
The aunt thought Ni Jingxi didn't like the style of the bowls and plates, so she quickly offered a solution.
Ni Jingxi was taken aback. There was another one in the basement?
Finally, after admiring her series of expressions, Huo Shenyan on the other side couldn't help but chuckle.
Hearing his laughter and looking at Aunt Qian, who was standing next to him with a serious expression, Ni Jingxi finally understood.
She got tricked.
"Huo, Shen, Yan," she called out each name slowly and deliberately.
Huo Shenyan suppressed his smile, but a hint of amusement remained in his eyes. Ni Jingxi's lively reaction had truly amused him. He probably hadn't expected Ni Jingxi to be so entertaining.
"You lied to me?" Ni Jingxi took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to commit domestic violence.
Huo Shenyan said innocently, "I was just trying to joke with you."
joke?
Is this how you joke with someone?
Ni Jingxi felt that he was just teasing her, and that his behavior was absolutely heinous.
"Don't be angry, sweetie." Huo Shenyan said with a smile as he looked at her huffing and puffing.
Ni Jingxi ignored him and continued eating with her head down.
The two of them didn't talk much during the meal, but halfway through, Ni Jingxi held her chopsticks and looked up at the man opposite her. He really had a captivating quality about him.
Even a simple meal caught her off guard and made her pause in surprise.
When Ni Jingxi looked up at him, Huo Shenyan also looked up at her.
"What's wrong?"