Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
She had come looking for him with exactly the same thoughts in her head.
She took out a card from her handbag and said, “There are 100 thousand in here. I don’t have the means at the moment to give you more. This is all I have.”
“This is enough!” Qiao Yi laughed with elegant ease. “I had expected that all I’d be getting was a flight ticket.”
She stood up immediately and said, “Did you think I’d be that petty?!”
Qiao Yi asked, “So when should I leave?”
Qiao Lian looked at him inquiringly. “When do you wish to leave?”
He laughed and said, “Actually, I’ve booked a ticket to leave tomorrow.”
This time, the smile vanished from Qiao Lian’s face.
Her little brother had grown up indeed.
He was no longer the boy who needed her protection.
What was unexpected was that, even though she had acted normal the last few days, her brother had already sensed her intentions.
Her eyes started to sting and her vision blurred through a thin film of tears that had formed.
She patted him on the shoulder and said, “I’ll be cheering for you and waiting for your return so that you can take care of me.”
The young man grimaced and said, “What a way to put it! To think you’re a reporter!”
Qiao Lian fell silent.
She smiled, but her heart was full of emotions as she left his room.
She walked into her bedroom and surveyed it, as though looking at it for the first time. Then she washed up and went downstairs for her dinner.
Auntie Li brought the dishes she had cooked and laid them on the table.
As Qiao Lian ate, she talked incessantly, “Auntie Li, Mom has high blood pressure. In the future, be careful with the salt you use in the dishes and try to cook light meals.”
“Ok, noted!”
“Uh huh. And, although Shen Liangchuan forbids you to clean the bedroom, he doesn’t have time to do this himself. You may mop the floor when he’s not around. He won’t know.”
“Ok.”
“And he likes to go to a beach villa on Qinghuangdao to spend time when he’s unhappy. I’ll write the address down for you.”
Auntie Li looked at her steadily in silence.
Qiao Lian cupped her face and asked, “What’s the matter?”
Auntie Li said, “Madam, you’re being exceptionally long-winded, as though you’re giving your final instructions. I’m feeling a little odd about this.”
Qiao Lian froze.
Then she laughed after a moment. “That’s true. I’m not that old, but I’ve become this naggy.”
Auntie Li smiled and walked towards the kitchen, saying, “There more soup. I’ll get you more.”
Looking at her, Qiao Lian called, “Auntie Li!”
The housekeeper turned around.
Qiao Lian smiled at her and said, “I’ve never said a proper thank you.”
Stunned, Auntie Li asked, “Thank me for…?”
“Thank you for looking after me!”
Ever since she had married Shen Liangchuan, the only housekeeper among all the housekeepers in the household who had not despised her was Auntie Li.
Auntie Li shook her head and walked into the kitchen.
She scooped a bowl of soup and brought it out, placing it on the dining table.
Qiao Lian lowered her head and took a sip. “Auntie Li, you’re the best cook!”
“Oh, Auntie Li, Mom’s blood pressure medication is in the drawer of her bedside table. There’s a white bottle and she takes three each time. Don’t forget.”
Auntie Li nodded and said, giving her a strange look, “Madam, you should quickly eat your dinner while it’s hot.”
Qiao Lian finally kept quiet.
She finished her dinner.
Then she went upstairs.
She took in everything in the familiar bedroom—the current pain in her heart was overflowing and consuming her.
Finally, she lay on the bed, taking in Shen Liangchuan’s familiar smell and cried her heart out.