After buying the wood carved doll, Dong Huiying returned to Lao Si’s place.
Seeing Lao Si’s reaction, she was clearly startled; it seemed he was quite surprised, not expecting that she would actually purchase this item for him.
"Do you like it?" she asked.
He took the wood carved doll, his expression blank, but his lips formed a straight line. Holding a mix of complex emotions, he nodded, "Mhm, I like it."
Dong Huiying sighed in relief, "As long as you like it."
However, judging by his appearance, it was hard to tell if he truly liked it, or was he just humoring her? He seemed... not very happy.
Since he had a nightmare the other night, he had been this way.
Suddenly, he grasped her hand and opened his mouth slightly.
She waited patiently, but in the end, he shook his head.
However, the grip on her hand grew even firmer.
"Let’s go back!" Holding her hand, he walked them back with swift steps, as if running from something.
At the same time, he also clutched the wood carved doll tightly; memories of the past and the present were like two bolts of lightning striking into his brain, and his hurried pace betrayed his inner turmoil.
His mood was far from calm.
Compared to Lao Si’s long strides, her short legs were somewhat lacking, and she had to trot to keep up; following him was somewhat exhausting.
Yet, she didn’t ask to stop, instead, she looked at him with eyes full of exploration and understanding.
After returning to Weiyuan Hall, Lao Si held the small wood carved doll which had a male face. He gazed at the doll’s face with a somewhat vacant look.
The doll greatly resembled someone, a figure from his childhood memories.
His wife’s footsteps approached from outside the door, and he panicked slightly, quickly hiding the small doll.
Soon, she appeared bearing a tray, which held three dishes and a soup.
"Come, it’s time for dinner."
Lao Si nodded, then obediently washed his hands before sitting back down at the table.
The young wife noticed something bulging beneath his chest, as if he had stuffed something inside.
With a silent sigh, she picked up her chopsticks and served him some of his favorite dishes.
At night, the wife nestled in the crook of her arm, seemingly fast asleep.
He opened his eyes in confusion, then reached under the pillow and fumbled around, finally pulling out the wood carved doll.
The room was too dark, and visibility was extremely low; he touched the wood carved doll, his face again showing that vacant expression.
His body stiffened suddenly, and he quickly stuffed the wood carved doll under the covers.
The little wife chuckled, "There’s no need to hide it; I saw it all."
This man was so clumsy. She thought to herself that if he were hiding money, she would surely find every cent.
He was terrible at hiding things, and while doing it, he always had a guilty look, clearly betraying his secretiveness.
Lao Si stiffly turned to look at her, then saw her slowly supporting herself up.
She gazed at him intently, "Does this doll mean a lot to you?"
Lao Si was silent for a moment, then softly said, "It resembles... Father..."
When she bought the wood carved doll, it was because she noticed Lao Si seemed to really want it; she hadn’t looked closely at it.
Now hearing what Lao Si said, she quickly got up and lit the oil lamp with Flint.
"May I have a look?" she asked, curious.
Lao Si "Mhm"ed, and then honestly passed the wood carved doll to her.