Does Chapter 38 make him appear tall?

After bringing Zhou Yao home, she set her sights on the pillow on the bed, picked it up and wouldn't let go, muttering to herself. Chen Yao listened carefully and realized that she was calling Chen Zhou Qin's name.

Did she use the pillow as a substitute for Chen Zhouqin?

This has never happened before.

Chen Yaoan coaxed Zhou Yao to take the medicine, and half an hour later she finally drifted off to sleep.

Xu Jialan and the others were still waiting in the living room. When they saw her come out of the bedroom, Shi Xinyu stood up first and walked towards her, "How are you? Is Auntie alright?"

"It's nothing serious. I've already taken my medicine and gone to sleep. I shouldn't be making a fuss tonight."

The group fell silent for a moment.

Chen Yaoan said, "It's getting late, you should go back too."

Shi Xingyu held her hand, somewhat worried, "Do you want me to stay with you tonight?"

"Yes, let her stay and keep you company," Gao Hou agreed.

Shi Xinyu nodded hurriedly.

Chen Yao'an forced a smile and reassured them, "It's really nothing, you can go back now."

She persisted and eventually escorted them to the front door.

Xu Jialan stood silently to the side the whole time.

Chu Yao'an opened the door and said, "Go back quickly, I'm really fine."

Shi Xinyu was clearly still worried. She kept turning back to look at herself as she left the gate, and then turned back again to say, "Call us anytime if you need anything."

Gao Hou urged her, "Alright, Yao'an knows what to do."

Xu Jialan slowly lagged behind, and as he passed by her, he suddenly brushed against her hand. Chen Yao'an assumed it was an accident.

"They're gone."

Watching them walk away, Chen Yaoan turned around and locked the door, though her hand was a little unsteady as she closed it.

After locking the door, she stood at the door for a while before going inside.

She glanced at Zhou Yao again, and seeing her sleeping peacefully in bed, she sat down on the sofa in the living room, somewhat lost in thought.

She felt a voice constantly ringing in her head, disrupting her thoughts.

She sat on the sofa in a daze for a while, feeling a little better, before going into her bedroom. As she closed the door, a tear involuntarily rolled down her cheek and landed on the back of her hand.

She walked to the bedside, but instead of getting on, she sat on the floor next to the bed and turned on only one of the bedside lamps.

The transition from heaven to hell seemed to happen in an instant, leaving her somewhat disoriented.

She didn't know how long she had been sitting there when her phone, which she had kept in her pocket, suddenly rang.

She didn't move.

Then, the phone rang again.

She slowly pulled it out of her pocket, opened WeChat, and glanced at it. It was a message from Xu Jialan.

Outside the door, Xu Jialan waited for a while, but there was no response. He took out a pack of cigarettes, opened it, took out a cigarette, lit it with a lighter, and tilted his head to light it.

He lit the lighter with a click, but didn't put it back in his hand, his thumb habitually rubbing the pattern on it.

After I sent the message, my phone didn't ring. He was too lazy to take it out and look at it. He had no idea how much time had passed. He only felt that the night had gotten darker and a few stars had disappeared from the sky.

Suddenly, there was a "click" sound from the door behind me, the sound of a lock being opened, followed by a "creak" as the door opened.

A head popped out from inside the door; it was Chen Yao'an.

He took the cigarette out of his mouth, threw it on the ground, and stubbed it out with the toe of his foot.

Noticing his actions, Chen Yaoan glanced at the ground and saw that there were quite a few cigarette butts on the ground, at least seven or eight if not a dozen.

Chen Yao'an bit her lip. "You just keep waiting."

Xu Jialan looked at her, her eyes even darker than the night, "Otherwise what? I already told you to decide for yourself."

Chen Yaoan lowered her head, then widened the gap in the door a little more. "Come in."

Xu Jialan entered the room, and Chen Yaoan turned around and closed the door again. He stood aside and waited for her.

After locking the door, the two went inside together. As they passed the living room, the lights were off, and Xu Jialan glanced at Zhou Yao's bedroom.

The bedroom was locked, and it was very quiet inside.

Chen Yao'an did not linger in the living room, but led him into her bedroom.

There was only one table lamp on the floor in her bedroom, and the light was dim.

Chen Yaoan sat down in the same spot she had been sitting in.

Why aren't you sleeping?

"I can't sleep."

Xu Jialan sighed almost imperceptibly and sat down beside her.

Chen Yao'an asked him, "Why are you back? Where are Shi Xinyu and the others?"

"I sent them back, and then I came back."

"Why?" Chen Yaoan looked up at him.

Xu Jialan raised her hand and patted the top of her head, "It's because I'm worried about you."

"I'm fine," she stubbornly insisted.

Xu Jialan tilted her head and looked at her. "Are you sure you're fine? Who was it that was laughing so awfully just now, with hands as cold as an icebox?"

As he spoke, he reached out and touched her hand, and she did not resist.

"It's much better now than before."

Chen Yao'an lowered her head, and for some reason, she could no longer hold back her tears, which fell in large drops onto her hands, legs, and the ground.

She didn't know why Xu Jialan could break through her defenses so easily now, when it wasn't like this before.

She tried hard to appear strong, to be able to support the family, and not to let outsiders see her vulnerability.

However, none of these apply to Xu Jialan now.

Even though she didn't say anything, he seemed to know everything.

Xu Jialan handed her a tissue, and she finally looked up at him, took the tissue and wiped her face. Her eyes were swollen like they had blisters.

“Xu Jialan…”

Her hoarse cry, tinged with tears, was filled with grievance and helplessness, as if she were pleading for his help.

Xu Jialan's usually hardened heart softened.

"Don't worry, I'm here."

The tears on her face seemed impossible to wipe away; even after wiping them off, a large amount would fall again. Xu Jialan reached out to help her wipe them away.

"From now on, I will be your strong support, no matter what happens." He seemed to be making a promise.

Chen Yao'an's anxious heart finally seemed to have found some support.

Exhausted from crying, Chen Yaoan felt completely powerless and buried her head in Xu Jialan's shoulder, rubbing against his clothes until they were soaked.

He didn't chase her away, but instead reached out a hand and gently patted her back, rhythmically.

Chen Yao'an gradually calmed down.

She said in a muffled voice, "Actually, seeing my mom like that scares me. She's never been like this before. It's like she's trapped in a nightmare from the past. Before, she would only think about it occasionally, but most of the time she forgot about those things."

“Have I told you? My younger brother’s name was Chen Zhouqin. He was only eight years old when he passed away. That day, my mother asked me to play with him, but I was so focused on drawing that I didn’t pay attention to him. He ran away by himself and fell into the river.”

"At the time, neither my parents blamed me after the accident, but I felt incredibly guilty..."

"This is not your fault."

"It's my fault." Chen Yao'an closed her eyes, as if she had suddenly entered that dead end again.

Xu Jialan lifted her head with her hand and looked at her seriously. "Chen Yaoan, you can't think like that. This was just an accident. It has nothing to do with you, okay?"

"Do you know how dangerous your thinking is?"

Chen Yao'an's gaze remained stubborn.

Xu Jialan grew anxious and shook her, "Do you fucking understand? That was just an accident. Even if you stopped him that day, does that mean he wouldn't go again in the future?"

Seeing how anxious he was, Chen Yao'an's eyes gradually cleared.

"I know, I've figured it out all these years ago."

However, I still occasionally get caught up in my emotions.

Xu Jialan breathed a sigh of relief.

"You're too tired, go to sleep."

"Can you stay with me?" Chen Yao'an rarely said such vulnerable words, but she was indeed a little fragile today.

"Okay, but aren't you afraid I might have some ulterior motives?"

Chen Yao'an paused in her climb into bed, glared at him, and after a long while said, "You're not that kind of person."

Xu Jialan chuckled softly, "You trust me that much?"

Chen Yao'an climbed onto the bed, turned to look at him, her eyes full of sincerity, "I believe you."

Xu Jialan paused for a moment, then said, "Go to sleep."

Chen Yao'an shook off her earlier gloom and laughed.

She lay down on the bed and looked at Xu Jialan again, "Could you wait until I fall asleep before you leave?"

"I'm not leaving. I'll sleep in your room tonight."

"No, it wouldn't be good if my grandma saw it."

"What's wrong with it! I slept at your house last time too."

“That’s different.” Chen Yao’an was a little anxious and wanted to sit up to talk to him, but he pressed her back down.

"I'm not teasing you anymore, go to sleep. I'll leave once you're asleep."

Perhaps because she had someone with her, Chen Yao'an fell asleep relatively quickly this time.

When she woke up the next day, Xu Jialan was nowhere to be found, and all that remained on her phone was a message he had sent the night before.

I left the key to the main gate on the fence.

Today, Chen Yaoan didn't rush to work. Instead, she observed Zhou Yao's condition. Just like yesterday, after Zhou Yao woke up, she hugged her pillow and wouldn't let go. She wouldn't eat when called, so Chen Yaoan had to feed her.

Before leaving, she instructed Yan Shumei to call her immediately if Zhou Yao showed any unusual behavior.

However, she changed her mind before leaving. "Grandma, forget it. I'll stay home today and check on my mom."

Yan Shumei was happy to have some free time.

Remembering something, Chen Yao'an walked to the gate, looked up at the wall, but it was too high for her to reach. She could only step onto the flower bed next to it and reach out to touch the key.

Yan Shumei looked behind her and asked, "What are you doing?"

Chen Yao'an jumped down from the flower bed, "Get the key to the gate."

Yan Shumei was puzzled, "Don't you always keep the keys? Why did you put them up there?"

Feeling a little guilty, she didn't know how to explain for a moment. After a long while, she came up with a lame excuse: "I put it there casually when I dropped Shi Xinyu and the others off yesterday."

"Is it convenient to use up there?"

Chen Yao'an: "..."

Fortunately, Yan Shumei didn't keep asking questions and turned to do something else.

Chen Yaoan looked up at the high wall again. Xu Jialan was really something. Why did he put the key up there? Did he want to make himself look taller?

Zhou Yao's condition has not improved since that day. She used to be able to eat on her own, but now she seems to have no sense of hunger and has no desire to eat at all, so she can only be fed by others.

Chen Yao'an couldn't stay at home all the time, so the task of feeding her was handed over to Yan Shumei, while she went to the shop.

In the past few days, Shi Xinyu and Gao Hou have both sent her WeChat messages to inquire about Zhou Yao's situation, and Chen Yaoan has replied to them one by one.

Xu Jialan also sent her a WeChat message, asking where she was.

She said she was in the store.

Chen Yaoan did not refuse.

Xu Jialan arrived quickly, appearing at Youye's door shortly after the end of her workday.

Chen Yaoan had nothing else to do, so she tidied up and left work.

The two got into the car together, and Xu Jialan asked her, "Should we go to the market first?"

Chen Yaoan nodded. "Mm."

The two went to the market to buy groceries before returning home.

Xu Jialan had been observing Zhou Yao's condition ever since he arrived at the Chen family. He quickly realized that something was wrong. The current Zhou Yao was very different from the Zhou Yao of the past, and the situation seemed to have become serious.

“After thinking about it carefully for a few days and consulting with the doctors here, I decided to take my mother to Beijing for treatment.”