Chapter 29

Yan Shiting recognized Yu Li's voice.

Yu Li, who had been in his sight just moments before, had now vanished.

Yan Shiting suddenly stopped in his tracks, his thin lips pressed tightly together.

He gripped the umbrella tightly, recalling where Yu Li had been standing, then turned and walked against the flow of the crowd, circling the pavilion until he reached the vicinity of where Yu Li had been.

Looking around, they couldn't see Yu Li.

Yan Shiting frowned, turned around, and ran towards the stream near the pavilion.

"Yu Li!"

Yu Li was holding onto a slender sapling as she walked toward the shore when she suddenly heard Yan Shiting's urgent voice.

He looked up and saw Yan Shiting running towards him.

On that face was a look of panic he had never seen before.

Yu Li was slightly taken aback. In just a short while, Yan Shiting had arrived in front of him.

Seeing that he had his lips tightly pressed together and was radiating a low-pressure aura, Yu Li quickly comforted him, "I'm fine..."

Yan Shiting's lips were tightly pressed together, and he did not speak.

He quickly scanned Yu Li, but found no wounds.

However, Yu Li was standing in the mud by the stream, and both her feet sank in.

There were abrasions on my hands as I gripped the sapling; I had no idea how they got there.

Yan Shiting's eyes darkened. He shoved the umbrella into Yu Li's hand, put one arm around his waist, and pulled him out of the mud.

Yu Li: !

While he was still in surprise, he heard Yan Shiting's deep voice again: "Is your foot injured?"

Yu Li shook her head: "No."

However, the mud got into my sneakers, which was very uncomfortable.

I don't know when he became so spoiled. When he was little, he used to catch loaches barefoot in the ground.

Yu Li bit her lip in frustration.

Yan Shiting gave him a deep look, then suddenly turned around and squatted down in front of him.

"Come up."

Yu Li was stunned.

Does this mean I have to carry him on my back?

He hesitated for a moment, then said, "I'm not injured, I can walk by myself."

Yan Shiting simply repeated in a cold voice, "Come up."

The rain had already soaked his hair. Seeing this, Yu Li could no longer stand still, so she stiffly climbed onto Yan Shiting's back while holding the umbrella.

Yan Shiting clenched his fists, making sure his palms didn't touch his thighs, and helped him get up steadily and walk down the mountain.

The rain gradually intensified, making the roads difficult to walk on.

But Yan Shiting's steps were steady, and the hand supporting him was strong, so he didn't feel any bumps.

Yu Li wrapped one arm around Yan Shiting and used the other hand to hold the umbrella steady.

Raindrops pattered against the umbrella, making a crackling sound.

Hearing the muffled sound, Yu Li thought for a moment and asked, "Are you worried that I'll slip again and hurt the child?"

Before Yan Shiting could answer, he continued, "Don't worry, I will protect it and won't let it get hurt."

Yu Li certainly didn't want anything to happen to his child.

So after stepping onto the edge of the pavilion steps, he fell towards the stream. In that instant, all he could think about was protecting the child, so he grabbed onto a small tree by the stream and barely managed to steady himself.

As a result, my hands bear the marks from the friction when I grabbed the sapling.

After Yu Li finished speaking, Yan Shiting paused slightly.

Where Yu Li couldn't see, his Adam's apple bobbed, and after hesitating for a long time, he simply said, "No."

But how can this be explained? They got married for the sake of the child, but just a few days later they denied caring about the child?

Yan Shiting remained silent with a sullen face, steadily carrying Yu Li down the mountain.

Yu Li didn't notice anything unusual about him. She lowered the umbrella a little to prevent it from swaying in the strong wind.

They remained silent the entire way.

...

Upon arriving at a convenience store at the foot of the mountain, Yan Shiting made a phone call to the driver.

While waiting for the driver to arrive, Yan Shiting went to a convenience store and bought towels and wet wipes.

A short while later, the driver arrived in front of the two.

After getting into the car, Yan Shiting handed Yu Li a towel and wet wipes, saying, "Wipe yourself off, be careful not to catch a cold."

"Mmm." Yu Li took it and dried her wet hair.

Turning her head, Yu Li saw Yan Shiting's still dripping hair and paused.

He hesitated for a moment, then handed over a towel: "You should wipe yourself too."

Yan Shiting glanced at him and silently accepted it.

Yu Li withdrew her hand, and out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly saw Lin Jiarong and the other two running down the mountain.

The rain came suddenly, and none of the three had brought umbrellas. However, Lin Jiarong and Yu Xin had Wang Jianfeng's leather jacket on their heads, so their hair didn't look very wet.

Wang Jianfeng, standing behind the two, had taken off his coat and was only wearing a single layer of clothing, his entire body soaked through.

Yu Li stared at them blankly.

Yan Shiting also noticed the three of them.

When he went to the convenience store to buy an umbrella, there was only one umbrella left.

Yan Shiting looked away, glanced at Yu Li, handed the umbrella beside him to the driver, and said, "Pull over and give the umbrella to them."

As soon as he finished speaking, Yu Li looked at him with a nervous expression.

The driver took the umbrella and asked, "Mr. Yan, there's another emergency umbrella in the car. Should we give it to them as well?"

"Hmm." Yan Shiting nodded.

"Yes, Mr. Yan." The driver responded and slowly drove the car to Wang Jianfeng's side.

Before the car stopped, Yan Shiting raised the partition.

Yu Li gripped the pack of wet wipes in her hand and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

The car windows were covered with privacy film, so he could see his mother and sister outside, but they couldn't see him.

The driver rolled down the passenger window and called out to Wang Jianfeng, "Brother, the rain is too heavy. You should take the umbrellas."

After he finished speaking, he handed over the two umbrellas.

Wang Jianfeng was stunned. "This, this is too much to ask..."

The driver glanced at the partition and shouted, "Take it, it's my boss... I'm driving and won't get wet. You'll have to walk up ahead to get a taxi, so take this as shelter."

Wang Jianfeng glanced at Lin Jiarong and Yu Xin before accepting the umbrella. "Thanks, brother."

After saying that, he turned around and handed both umbrellas to Lin Jiarong and Yu Xin.

Yu Li saw that the three of them seemed to be talking to each other. In the end, Lin Jiarong and Yu Xin shared one hand, while Wang Jianfeng shared the other, which was slightly smaller.

Worried that Yu Xin would catch a cold, the leather jacket was still draped over her shoulders.

Lin Jiarong tried to tilt the umbrella towards Yu Xin.

Seeing this, Wang Jianfeng quickened his pace and stepped forward, tilting his umbrella slightly over Lin Jiarong's head.

The three of them walked side by side, heads down.

As the car started and drove away, Yu Li slowly withdrew her gaze.

He lowered his eyes to look at the packaging of the wet wipes in his hand, lost in thought.

-

Yu Li originally planned that after visiting the maple forest in Dongshan with Yan Shiting at noon, they would take a plane back to Y City in the afternoon.

However, as soon as she returned to the hotel and took a shower, Yu Li started experiencing morning sickness again.

Perhaps it's because I stayed up late last night, or perhaps it's because my emotions fluctuated a bit today, but this time my morning sickness is quite severe.

In the hotel room's bathroom, Yu Li vomited up what was in her stomach and leaned weakly against the wall.

Hearing Yan Shiting knock on the door, Yu Li wiped away her tears and said, "I'm fine."

Outside, Yan Shiting was silent for a moment before saying, "Take some medicine."

Yu Li rinsed her mouth and opened the bathroom door.

Yan Shiting was holding a bottle of vitamin B6 tablets, his brows furrowed. "Take the medicine and wait it out."

There really aren't any other ways to alleviate this right now.

Yu Li pursed her lips and took the medicine and water that Yan Shiting handed over.

After eating, he lay down on the bed and took a nap.

When I woke up again, the rain had stopped.

Yu Li stared blankly at the dim bedside lamp, her eyes glazed over.

He suddenly noticed something unusual about his hand. Turning his gaze, he saw that the most severe abrasion on his hand was wrapped in a small piece of gauze, and the cut on his finger from the branch was covered with a band-aid.

It was Yan Shiting who took care of him after he fell asleep.

Yu Li was slightly stunned.

Suddenly, he heard soft footsteps. Yan Shiting placed a bowl of porridge on the bedside table next to him.

"What time is it?" Yu Li composed herself and rubbed her eyes.

"Four o'clock in the afternoon."

"Huh?" Yu Li was taken aback. "Can we still go back to Y City?"

Yan Shiting sat on the edge of the bed, looking at him with a deep gaze. "You're not feeling well, let's leave tomorrow."

Yu Li fell silent and propped herself up to sit up.

He'll leave tomorrow... He already told his mother and sister this morning that he was going back to school, so he definitely can't go home tonight.

Besides... he doesn't really want to go back right now.

That means he'll have to share a room with Yan Shiting tonight.

Yu Li's hand, which was supporting her on the bed, trembled.

He tried his best not to think about it and took a few sips of the porridge.

The porridge tastes just like the one made by that private chef; it seems it was made by Yan Shiting.

In addition, because she had taken medicine at noon, Yu Li regained some of her appetite and quickly finished the bowl of porridge.

After the bowl was empty, Yan Shiting reached out and took it, saying, "I ordered some fruit, we'll have some later."

Yu Li nodded.

He thought it would be awkward to be in the same room as Yan Shiting, but after a while, Yan Shiting came back from having dinner and sat down at the table to deal with company matters.

The awkward situation he had anticipated did not occur at all.

By the time the banquet ended, Yu Li was already feeling drowsy.

Yu Li only became more awake when she heard a slight noise from the other side of the bed.

He turned his head and saw Yan Shiting lying down in a bathrobe.

The hotel beds were huge, and there was enough space between them to fit another banquet hall.

Yu Li nervously gripped the blanket, her gaze darting around.

Yan Shiting turned off the lights, plunging the room into darkness.

In the darkness, Yu Li secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

However, the negative effect of this poorly soundproofed room appeared the very next second.

A faint, unpleasant sound came from the next room.

The awkwardness of being in the same room with Yan Shiting in the afternoon but not being there appeared in another form.

Yu Li was embarrassed.

His body was tense, and he was secretly annoyed.

If he had known this would happen, he would have just gone home. If his mother and sister asked, he would have simply said that the rain was too heavy to leave.

However, if you suddenly get up and say you're going home now, that would be... even more awkward.

Yu Li's feet were a little tense.

Fortunately, Yan Shiting, who was standing nearby, seemed not to have heard anything and did not react at all.

I've heard that nearsighted people also have hearing problems.

—Yu Li comforted herself in this way.

After a while, the noise from next door finally stopped.

Yu Li gently rubbed her face, trying to relax her body and drift off to sleep, but suddenly she heard Yan Shiting's voice again:

Are you in a bad mood today?

Yu Li's body trembled, and her hands, which were on the quilt, clasped together.

He didn't ask Yan Shiting how he found out, after all, he had been spacing out several times today, and his emotions had already been revealed, so it would be hard for Yan Shiting not to notice.

Thinking of this, Yu Li softly hummed in agreement.

Yan Shiting was not one to pry into other people's private affairs.

Yu Li thought he wouldn't ask this time either, but unexpectedly, the next second he heard Yan Shiting say:

"If you want to talk to someone, you can tell me."

Yu Li's clasped hands tightened.

Perhaps because the awkwardness from earlier hadn't faded, he wasn't too down, so he wasn't resistant to confiding in someone.

Yu Li sighed softly, "Well, I miss my dad a little."

Before the age of twelve, Yu Li's family was complete and happy.

When he was twelve, his father passed away, and he had to take on the responsibility of being the older brother, promising not to cause trouble for his mother and to take good care of his younger sister.

While his mother was busy earning money, he was responsible for protecting their home and raising his younger sister well.

He never showed his sadness in front of his mother and sister, always remained strong, and even comforted them when they missed their father.

Now that there are about to be new changes in the family, he also needs to comfort his confused sister, find out if that uncle is a good person, and always remain calm and clear-headed.

But in reality, he was also bewildered and saddened by the impending changes to his family.

But being sad is one thing, and hoping that my mother and sister can have a new life is another.

Yu Li let out a long breath: "I understand, everyone has to move forward."

They cannot be trapped in the same place forever.

Yan Shiting listened quietly the whole time.

Until Yu Li finished speaking his last sentence, his hand twitched, but then he put it back in place after a moment.

“Yu Li,” he said softly, “you should also have your own new life.”

It wasn't for my mother and sister, it wasn't for my family.

Yu Li fell silent.

After a long while, he finally gave a soft "hmm".

In the darkness, he quietly turned his head and looked in Yan Shiting's direction.

Mom and my sister will both have new families, but he...

She already has her own family.