Shu Yi'an's expression froze, and she subconsciously wanted to speak. But Xiao Ke spoke first, "Just kidding, Julie and I are engaged."
Shu Yi'an opened her round eyes with a hint of surprise, "Really?"
Xiao Ke nodded and put some food on her plate. "We're getting married next summer. She said she can't wear her wedding dress in the winter."
"I was on a business trip in France before I heard about your situation. I have some time off these days, but I can't get away in July, otherwise I would have come to see you. How are you doing? Are you doing okay taking care of the child alone?"
Shu Yi'an felt very relaxed seeing Xiao Ke like this, and couldn't help but feel happy for him and Julie. "Congratulations! Thank you so much for coming to see me. The baby is doing well, and I'm doing well too."
Xiao Ke frowned in displeasure. "You always seem so polite to me, Shu Yi'an. Do you know how frustrating you make me feel?"
"Is there?"
“Of course,” Shaw said sincerely, expressing his hurt. “When I was your boss, I never enjoyed the respect a boss should have. I could quit whenever I wanted. Now… even if we’re friends, are you being so distant with me?”
Shu Yi'an thought about it carefully, and it seemed that what Xiao Ke said was actually true...
"I'll try to change... You know, I've always been wary of you, and this habit isn't easy to correct in a short time." She really couldn't be too familiar with someone who had once pursued her and whose methods were somewhat extreme.
Fortunately, Xiao Ke, as a man, was very gentlemanly. He first apologized for the overseas assignment he had given her, and then explained his relationship with Julie to her, which helped Shu Yi'an let go of many of her grudges and burdens towards Xiao Ke.
It was an ordinary meal, lasting only a little over an hour. That evening, Xiao Ke took a taxi to take her back to her apartment complex, and the two strolled slowly along the flowerbeds. Xiao Ke carefully considered what he had been thinking about all night before finally saying what he wanted to say.
“Although I don’t have any particular stance, I still want to give you some advice. Are you really not planning to go back to Beijing? The baby is due in a few months and can’t stay without a father. Besides, I heard… he’s been looking for you.”
Shu Yi'an stopped in her tracks, her expression darkening as she suddenly became quiet. Xiao Ke knew the deep wounds Shu Yi'an had suffered in this marriage, and he knew what she was running away from, but from a man's perspective, reason always prevailed over emotion.
She couldn't help but continue, "What you're doing isn't really fair to him. Even... I hate him too. He has the right to know about this child, and besides, it will be very difficult for you all by yourself."
Shu Yi'an looked at her clumsy coat and her increasingly round body, and took a few steps forward on her own.
“I did think about it, but… after all, we’ve already separated. Maybe it’s selfish of me to do this, but at that time I really couldn’t convince myself to stay with him. I wasn’t sure if he was only staying in the marriage because of the child.”
As they reached the building entrance, Xiao Ke opened the door for Shu Yi'an, and before she left, he suddenly turned and hugged her. The moment was so brief that Shu Yi'an didn't have time to refuse.
"Stop being stubborn. Many of the things you think you know are just illusions. If I were him, I would never let you go, even if it meant death."
“Yi An, the feeling he gives you is something none of us can give you.”
The feeling he gives you is something none of us can give you.
It wasn't until two months later, when Shu Yi'an was crying bitterly one night, that she truly understood the meaning of Xiao Ke's words.
The feeling he was describing was called security.
The author has something to say: Don't blame Yi'an for being afraid, because Chu Mu has never said he loves her. All they need is a brief separation to make each other realize that they are indispensable in each other's lives.
I heard there's a shooting star tonight. If you get a chance to see it, don't forget to make a wish for yourself and your family. Love you all, goodnight.
Chapter 59 Is it good to meet?
With the Lunar New Year just around the corner, Shu Yi'an took advantage of the holiday to go to the hospital for a prenatal checkup. Seeing the tiny figure in the X-ray, she felt a little comforted after being tormented by this little one for so long.
When she was six or seven months pregnant, Shu Yi'an's pregnancy symptoms finally began. Morning sickness and insomnia made her look extremely tired most of the time. She vomited everything she ate and didn't have enough nutrition and energy to replenish herself. After just a few days, she couldn't hold on any longer.
After charging the hand warmer, Shu Yi'an could sometimes manage to doze off for a while during her lunch break, slumping over her desk. A female colleague who had given birth comforted her, "You'll get through this phase. I was the same way back then, vomiting so much I didn't want to eat anything. I'd often wake up crying in the middle of the night with leg cramps, and my husband would massage me. He'd stay with me as long as I was awake, and I often couldn't fall asleep until dawn... Those days... were truly..."
The person next to her noticed that Shu Yi'an was in a bad mood and quickly coughed to remind her to shut up. This cough made her female colleague remember that Shu Yi'an was single, so she waved her hand and made an excuse to go downstairs for lunch. Shu Yi'an was left alone, looking at her bulging belly, her nose stinging with tears.
The incident occurred one evening.
A couple living across from Shu Yi'an suddenly started arguing in her apartment building. It was 11 p.m., and the argument was loud, filled with insults and the sounds of things breaking, which were particularly jarring in the night. She could also faintly hear the man shouting and the woman crying. The noise startled Shu Yi'an awake, followed by waves of nausea in her stomach.
Shu Yi'an curled up on the bathroom floor tiles, her eyes brimming with tears from vomiting. She had no strength to stand up. Her heart, already fragile during pregnancy, was pounding wildly from the argument next door. She barely touched her bare feet; they were ice-cold. Shu Yi'an tightened her pajamas, her lonely figure appearing particularly helpless in the empty room. For a moment, she thought she was truly about to collapse.
In just one hour, the hallway became incredibly noisy, followed by deafening banging on the door. Three or four men's heavy dialects could still be faintly heard. Shu Yi'an, supporting her back, stared at the door, which was being pounded on with a sharp, piercing sound, and suddenly felt a surge of fear.
A pregnant, single woman was banging on her door late at night by a group of strange men, during which muffled thuds resembling sticks could be heard. This nearly broke Shu Yi'an, who was already on the verge of a mental breakdown. Instinctively, she ran inside and grabbed her phone to call the police.
Before the call could even be made, police cars arrived with sirens blaring. Not only Shu Yi'an, but the entire apartment building was awakened by the banging on doors. It turned out that one of the arguing couple had gone back to her parents' home to complain, and her brothers, unable to contain their anger, had come to the neighborhood with weapons to cause trouble. They had only intended to teach the man a lesson, but they hadn't expected to attract the police. The brothers and the arguing couple were all taken away on charges of disturbing the peace, and the community management apologized to the severely frightened residents.
When everything finally calmed down, Shu Yi'an looked at the door that she had blocked with two chairs and could no longer hold back her tears.
In the dead of night, in the middle of a mental breakdown caused by her child and strangers, she suddenly missed someone terribly. In the instant the door was banged on, she subconsciously called out that person's name.
In the phone's contact list, the name "Chu Mu" stood out brightly and clearly in the darkness. Shu Yi'an stared at it blankly, suddenly recalling how she had seen him on television sometime before.
It was the evening news. She was nestled on the sofa, pressing the remote repeatedly, trying to find a program that could quickly lull her to sleep. Just as it was playing, a figure stopped her in her tracks. On the television screen, a man in a sharp suit and tie was following behind a foreign head of state. Occasionally, he would approach the foreigner and speak quietly. Although she couldn't understand what he was saying, the foreign head of state's smiling, appreciative face made it clear. The subtitles at the bottom of the screen clearly indicated that it was a diplomatic activity by a foreign delegation in China.
Although it only lasted a few seconds, Shu Yi'an was so stunned by the image that she forgot everything she was doing. He still looked so refined and meticulous, the expression in his eyes as gentle yet arrogant as when she first met him years ago. Nearly half a year had passed... Shu Yi'an stared blankly at the television screen, which had already been switched, a sudden realization washing over her.
She had to sadly admit that seeing him again, even just a glimpse of his voice or appearance, was enough to break her heart. And it was from that one night that, like a curse, Shu Yi'an began experiencing a long and arduous pregnancy. When the discomfort became unbearable, she would poke her belly and ask the little one with a hint of displeasure, "Are you protesting to me?"
It's said that the early hours of the morning are when a person's emotions and willpower are at their weakest. Shu Yi'an, feeling her heartbeat gradually calming down, thought anxiously that she would only call this once, just to hear his voice. Because Shu Yi'an simply couldn't hold on any longer.
Almost out of her control, she pressed the small green microphone button. Her calming emotions began to clench again with the long, silent beep. Each beep represented her greatest courage and her most genuine vulnerability.
One sound, two sounds, three sounds...
Chu Mu frowned slightly as he looked at the unfamiliar number on the screen, then stood up and walked out of the private room. Someone nearby quickly reached out to stop him.
"Don't answer, it must be a wrong number. Who would be looking for you at this hour?"
The vibrations reverberated in his palm, seemingly reaching deep into his heart. Ignoring the person trying to stop him, Chu Mu walked directly to the soundproof corridor outside.
"Hello?"
Shu Yi'an's fingers gripped the phone tightly, the tips of her five fingers turning white. Hearing the all-too-familiar voice on the other end of the line, tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. She covered her mouth with her other hand, afraid to make even the slightest sound.