Chapter 29 Chapter 29

The disease subsided slowly, and Wen Ying's high fever took three full days to subside.

The New Year's Eve bells faded away amidst waves of uncontrollable hot flashes and tremors, and Wen Ying welcomed the new year in a daze.

She felt hot and cold, drowsy and weak, and could no longer remember how she left the township health center or how she returned home.

In my drowsiness, I only vaguely remembered that Chen Li's phone stopped ringing and then started ringing again, sometimes long and sometimes short, very frequently.

On the fourth day, she finally woke up, but her voice was still hoarse.

Wen Ying held a cup of soy milk and watched Chen Li talking on the phone on the balcony. Finally, he hung up and walked out of the balcony to sit across from her. "What are you looking at?"

Wen Ying shook her head: "Has it delayed your work these days?"

Chen Li said it was okay: "Fortunately, you didn't torture me when you were sick, and you just slept quietly. Apart from waking you up regularly to eat and take medicine, I have plenty of time to deal with work."

After drinking a small bowl of soy milk, perhaps because the temperature was just right, Wen Ying's lips regained their full color.

Chen Li had stood up to clear the dishes for her, but when he glanced, he saw the round curves that seemed to be invisible in the loose collar of her pajamas.

His breath hitched, his body tensed.

"What's wrong?" Wen Ying looked up at him and blinked innocently. Her snow-white neck was long and slender with a slender curve.

"Nothing." Shen Li looked away.

Shen Li took care of her during the days she was sick. People with fever sweat a lot, and Shen Li couldn't let her pajamas get wet and then dry, so he often changed her clothes.

She was soundly asleep, and the way she let herself be manipulated only fueled Shen Li's anger. In just three days, Shen Li didn't know how many cold showers he had taken.

He looked at her again and couldn't help it anymore. He grabbed the back of Wen Ying's neck and bent down to kiss her.

I had originally planned to give it a try, but once I tried it, I realized I couldn't quit easily. The pent-up anger in my heart poured out, and even Shen Li couldn't explain why.

Maybe it was because of the suffocating feeling of being in close contact for three days without being able to touch, or maybe it was because of Zhou Boyu's look that all men knew what was going on.

Wen Ying had just recovered from her illness, her hands and feet were weak, and she swung her arms to climb up Chen Li's neck, raising her head and allowing him to kiss her passionately.

The force of Shen Li's kiss was as turbulent as an uncontrolled wave. He held her lips, and she was completely under his control.

He put his hand into the wide hem of her pajamas, and the soft touch made Shen Li almost lose his mind.

Wen Ying was breathless and was so overwhelmed by his kiss that she collapsed completely, relying on Chen Li's arm to hold her tightly.

"The heater at home seems quite warm," Chen Li said. "Did you wear such loose pajamas on purpose?"

Wen Ying looked at him and teased him deliberately: "I don't even know how I put on these pajamas. Did you help me change?"

Her voice was hoarse, her eyes were blurry, and she had a sense of innocent desire.

Chen Li couldn't help but recall the scene of changing her clothes. The glaring white on the gray bed sheet made his eyes burn.

He took into consideration that Wen Ying had just recovered from a serious illness and forced himself to stop.

Shen Li almost gritted his teeth: "Wen Ying, you are amazing."

He took the dishes to wash, his body straight, the broad back muscles tightly and firmly fixed. Wen Ying sat in a chair and watched his back as he washed the dishes, pursing her lips and smiling secretly.

After washing the dishes, Shen Li dried his hands and asked her: "Do you want to go out for a walk during the New Year holiday?"

Wen Ying suddenly realized that it was still the Spring Festival holiday. She had a lot of things to do before the holiday and had a serious illness that made her dizzy, so she had completely forgotten everything.

Shen's father and mother had already flown to Sanya with Shen Yuan. They were busy with work, and the old people didn't want to disturb them.

Wen Ying thought for a moment and asked, "Should we buy some new window decorations and couplets?" She said, "New Year's Eve is best celebrated with a lively atmosphere. There are only two of us, so putting up some window decorations at home will make it look more lively."

Shen Li said, "For the past three years, you've been in Jiangcheng. You didn't come back for the New Year, and you didn't let me go look for you. You always had all sorts of excuses. I thought you didn't like the hustle and bustle of the New Year."

Wen Ying said calmly, "Happy New Year, happy family! It would be more lively if you were at home with your family. I'm used to being alone."

Chen Li was speechless, and suddenly recalled that every New Year's Eve when he was a child, Wen Ying was always the loudest and happiest bird on this floor.

He regretted his self-righteousness and carelessness, thinking that she repeatedly found excuses to reject his invitation to meet on New Year's Eve because she hated the word "reunion".

Chen Li thought he understood everything, and not forcing them to get together was a decent way for Wen Ying to look good, but he didn't know that he had always been wrong.

He washed the dishes and went back into the study. After a few rustles, he came out with a thin red envelope and handed it to Wen Ying.

"What?" She took it suspiciously, "Are you giving me some lucky money?"

Chen Li leaned against the door frame with his arms folded, looking at her with a smile: "Wen Lu guessed right. Congratulations on the New Year and I hope you have a smooth and prosperous new year."

"Since it's a lucky money, why are you so stingy? It's only a small amount..." Her words stopped abruptly with a smile, and she pinched the card out of the red envelope with two fingers, "Bank card?"

"To be precise, it's my savings card," he raised his hand and made a 'please' gesture, "Wen Lu, please accept it."

"Which bank card these days isn't linked to electronic payments?" she sneered. "The card is in my hand, but the money is still in your phone. It's just a formality, why make such a big deal about it?"

Chen Li explained, "This card is purely for savings, so no online payment methods are enabled. The money is literally sitting there, and the password is your birthday. Wen Lu, you have to trust my sincerity."

Wen Ying was stunned for a moment, then chuckled, as if she had heard something funny. "Prosecutor Shen, have you forgotten that I'm a lawyer? A lawyer specializing in marriage and inheritance cases?"

Shen Li raised an eyebrow: "What?"

"Half of the savings during the marriage belong to the other party. Even if you don't give it to me, I will still enjoy half of your savings over the past three years." Wen Ying saw the light in Chen Li's eyes dim, and realized the rigidity and stiffness of her tone. She pursed her lips and changed the subject, "Thank you, Chen Li."

Chen Li stood up straight, his expression no longer as relaxed as before: "I will write a special gift agreement and give you my other half as a gift. Next time I will remember to give you the bank card and the gift agreement together."

Wen Ying stood up somewhat bewilderedly: "Sorry, Shen Li, I didn't mean anything else. It might just be... an occupational disease."

She raised her hands in surrender: "It's my fault. Maybe I had a fever for too long and my head is still not clear. Don't be angry."

"I'm not angry," Shen Li turned and went to the bedroom, "Pack up and go out soon."

------

"After two intersections, you looked at me six times," Chen Li said, steering the car. "You're really affecting my driving."

Wen Ying apologized: "I really didn't mean to dampen your spirits. I know it's a real letdown..." She felt a little lost. "You're angry."

Shen Li didn't say anything. He only stopped the car when he encountered another red light and turned to look at her: "Wen Ying, I'm not angry."

"Then why do you have a stern face?"

"In your mind, is there any difference between me and your client?" he asked.

Wen Ying instinctively wanted to say, "Of course there is," but for some reason the words couldn't come out.

The light turned green, and Chen Li turned his gaze back and stepped on the accelerator. "You have to unravel the narrative of the person involved and find the false part. The same goes for me. Wen Ying, you never believed that I loved you."

Wen Ying said nothing.

Shen Li added: "But, I just 'thought' that I loved you."

Wen Ying was surprised and looked at him sideways.

Shen Li's facial features are sharp and handsome, and the ups and downs are smooth when viewed from the side. It is the most perfect oriental statue among ancient Greek statues.

Chen Li smiled, a little bitterly: "It's like... I thought I loved you 10 points, but in fact my actions were only 7 points. So, Wen Ying, I'm not angry, I'm just frustrated by this sudden discovery of the truth, and I feel guilty for not realizing it until now. You don't believe I really love you because I have never given you my full love. I owe you."

Wen Ying was already regretting this, and felt even sadder when she heard this.

"No, Shen Li, it's not your fault," she said. "Perhaps 'love' is the subject I need to study for the rest of my life. Not only do I need to learn to believe that someone can truly love me unconditionally, I also need to learn to love others. Shen Li, if I have to say who I owe you, I owe you more."

Neither of them spoke anymore.

The car stopped in the parking lot on the commercial street and the two people strolled side by side.

Spring Festival couplets are all similar, with auspicious words repeated over and over again, randomly combined and matched into couplets placed on the ground.

From a distance, each family's New Year's blessing characters may appear slightly different, but upon closer inspection, they are all identical. They simply feature vivid cartoon images of various zodiac animals, with a large, powerful character placed in the center.

Wen Ying was more serious than Shen Li had expected. She lowered her head to select, occasionally picking something up to test it, and then asked Shen Li for some advice.

What she chose were not perfect prints, but handwritten Spring Festival couplets with a faint trace of ink on them.

"Both are good," Shen Li pointed at two of them, "both are good, you can choose one."

Wen Ying took a quick look and chose one of them, then squatted down and carefully selected a dozen window grilles and six or seven "Fu" characters.

Shen Li thought he would still choose from them, but before he could say anything, Wen Ying had already scanned the code to pay.

He was surprised: "Buy so much?"

Wen Ying was dazed for a moment. She looked down at the pile of things in her hands, then suddenly realized what was going on and said a little embarrassedly, "I'm used to it..."

Shen Li took the thing from her hand, with confusion and doubt in his eyes, but he didn't ask any more questions.

He put his things back in the car and asked Wen Ying, "Do you want to go shopping again?"

Wen Ying hadn't been out for a long time. Seeing the bustling market, she felt itchy and nodded in agreement.

They passed stalls selling Spring Festival couplets and Chinese characters for good fortune, and further on, they arrived at a pedestrian street resembling an antique. Taking advantage of the special Lunar New Year tours, the pedestrian street was decorated like it had been transported back to the 1990s.

Wen Ying only has a few memories of visiting temple fairs during the Spring Festival.

Children of eight or nine are still willing to follow Wen Lin to experience the hustle and bustle of the New Year, but girls of fifteen or sixteen have begun to care about "tone". The crowded temple fair is obviously no longer a place where trendy girls should appear.

When she turned twenty, she finally realized that the so-called "accent" was nothing more than an exaggerated and clumsy mask at a masked ball, and understood the value of returning to nature. But by then, Wen Lin had already fallen ill and never took her to the temple fair during the New Year.

Wen Ying was curious about everything, looking left and right. It didn't seem like she was here to buy anything, but rather to visit tourist attractions.

A peddler in front was holding two handfuls of balloons. Wen Ying looked up and saw the sunlight shining brightly on the balloons.

She exclaimed, "Balloons are so advanced nowadays?!"

It was indeed a high-end design, with smaller balloons nestled inside larger ones. Some were filled with water, others with sequins. As the balloons swayed in the wind, the glittering glitter merged into a dazzling display, a feast for the eyes.

Shen Li had already chosen the one with the simplest and most elegant pattern, paid for it, took it from the vendor and handed it to Wen Ying.

?

She was a little dazed.

Shen Li made a small loop of rope and put it on her finger: "It looks good. I'll give you one."

Wen Ying said that he was making a fuss, but it was just a balloon. However, a smile appeared on her face, and she looked up to see the balloon shining in the blue sky.

A strong wind blew over and Wen Ying sneezed unexpectedly.

Shen Li reached out and tightened the scarf around her neck. Just as he was about to speak, he heard a familiar voice beside him tentatively ask, "Old Shen? Sister-in-law?"

.