“Go home then. You haven’t been resting well lately,” she said in her usual warm voice. She had never thrown her temper before, no matter what kind of trouble Bai Luoyin brought for her and no matter how much Bai Zhenfeng protected his daughter boundlessly. It seemed as though Wei Lan had already killed all the temper left in her body. She smiled as usual and gave her usual gaze.
“I…” Bai Zhenfeng did not dare to be righteous like before. He was just like a small child who had done something wrong and was deadly afraid of the woman smiling peacefully.
“Let’s go.” He placed his fist by his mouth and coughed lightly. As he said, he was going to put his hand over Wei Lan’s shoulder, but Wei Lan took a step back and left Bai Zhenfeng’s hand hanging in the air. His face tensed up.
Wei Lan touched her own hair and smiled again. “You can go back first. I still have some stuff to tell Ruoxin.” As soon as she finished talking, she walked past Bai Zhenfeng and to the door, with the corner of her shirt flying up slightly from the wind. However, throughout, she still did not have any contact with Bai Zhenfeng who was physically very close to her.
Xia Ruoxin served up two freshly-made fruit juice on the table.
“Auntie Wei, you’re here.” She raised her hand, and yet she could not guess or comprehend what Wei Lan was thinking.
“Yeah, I just returned so I came over to see you.” Wei Lan sat down, and one could tell that below her tired eyes, there was a patch of green and purple.
Outside, Bai Zhenfeng’s face was burning red; and he walked away quickly as if he would rather be buried in the ground if he had stayed for more than a minute.
“Auntie Wei, did you hear everything…?” Xia Ruoxin brought her cup up and placed it by her lips. Actually, she really wanted to know if Wei Lan and Shen Yijun were similar or different.
Was she willing to sacrifice her children or the marriage she had protected for so many years?
“Yeah, I did.” Wei Lan smiled, and tears started to well up in her eyes.
Even if she did not hear much, but it was already enough.
Xia Ruoxin drank her apple juice. It was sour but sweet, just like her heart. Just that, the sweetness had already been overwhelmed by the sourness. Perhaps the apple she bought today was sour.
“Thank you, Ruoxin.” Wei Lan suddenly extended her hand and placed it on Xia Ruoxin’s shoulders. “Thank you for taking the risk to help Gao Yi. I just can’t imagine.” She laughed bitterly. “Would I even have my son in a couple of months or longer?”
Xia Ruoxin thought to herself: perhaps she had seen Gao Yi and knew what had happened.
She converged her lashes and looked up again to see Wei Lan smiling. Just that, her face was dismal.
“Ruoxin, could you do Auntie a favor?” Wei Lan asked suddenly, which made Xia Ruoxin uneasy. Was she going to abandon her soon, too, and ask Xia Ruoxin to convince Gao Yi?
“Please say it.” She used her thumb to rub against the cup, feeling the coldness from the cup. Again and again, her heart started to feel heavy.
“I think…” Wei Lan licked her dry lips. This decision was harder than she thought it would be.
“I was thinking of moving over to your place for these few days; what do you think? I can move out when I find another house.”
Xia Ruoxin loosened the grip on her hand and placed the fruit juice on the table.
She stood up and surveyed the big house. “You can stay in whichever room you want. I will help you tidy it up now.” She already knew Wei Lan’s choice. Luckily, Wei Lan was not Shen Yijun. Luckily, Gao Yi and Gao Xin had a good mother.
“Thank you.” Wei Lan’s lips quivered. She did not bring anything with her, and she could not return to the Bai family for now—at the very least. She knew Bai Zhenfeng’s character really well, and she was afraid that he would resort to all kinds of means to save Bai Luoyin. She had already ruined her own son’s marriage; she could not ruin the rest of his life anymore.
Xia Ruoxin tidied up a guest room on the first floor so that Wei Lan could move in anytime. Actually, there was not much to tidy up as she would clean the room once every few days. All she needed to do was to change the bed sheets, and Wei Lan could move in already.
She cycled out to buy some groceries as she needed more ingredients for the guest in her house. Moreover, judging from Wei Lan’s situation, she probably had not eaten a good meal in days. In those few days, she had already slimmed down a lot. If she still did not eat proper food, she would collapse.
When she came back, Wei Lan was already carrying Rainy and accompanying her to watch cartoon shows.
“Mommy, you’re back.” Once Rainy saw her, her eyes lit up; and she hurriedly jumped down the sofa and ran over to hug Xia Ruoxin’s legs, her cheeks stuck to her legs. After a year, this child still had not grown taller and was still small, but she did grow more muscular and a bit chubbier.
Xia Ruoxin ruffled her daughter’s hair and pushed her shoulders. “Play with your granny. Granny is unhappy so Rainy, you need to talk to her more.”
“Okay,” agreed Rainy obediently. She let go of her mother’s leg and ran to Wei Lan and chatted with her nonstop. Wei Lan extended her hands and carried Rainy. When no one was watching, tears had already swelled up in her eyes; but she did her best to resist and not let the tears fall.
Three dishes and one soup was a traditional Chinese meal. Xia Ruoxin had always loved eating Chinese food and not so much of Western food, so at home, she had always been cooking her own food.
“Auntie, please eat more.” Xia Ruoxin served food to Wei Lan. Wei Lan put down her bowl and shook her head. “I don’t want to eat.”
“Auntie, please eat.” Xia Ruoxin gave Wei Lan more food. “Gao Yi’s situation is not looking very good now. He needs you. If your body collapses, what is Gao Yi going to do?
“His drug addiction is very serious, and rehabilitation is a very painful process. Auntie, we have a long way to go, and we must fight this ruthless battle.”
Wei Lan held her chopsticks tightly and picked up her bowl to send food into her mouth. Meticulously, Xia Ruoxin had noticed that tears would drop from the corner of Wei Lan’s eyes. This meal, she ate it while holding back her tears, and maybe, she had swallowed her past alongside her food.
At night, after Rainy had fallen asleep, Xia Ruoxin came out to see Wei Lan sitting on the sofa with the television on. However, she knew that Wei Lan was not focusing on the program as her eyes looked blank; and she could not focus.
She walked over, sat down, and held Wei Lan’s hand tightly