Chapter 123

As dusk approached, pedestrians hurried home, but Yun Kai didn't know where else to go. He simply stood on the street, gazing at the Lan family's gate until the sun set. He ignored the puzzled glances from passersby, his gaze fixed intently on the closed door. Finally, it opened, and Feng Xiaosai hurried out, exchanging a few words with Ai Ye and Ye Hu, who had left with him. Then they separated, Feng Xiaosai to the left, Ai Ye and Ye Hu to the right.

No one noticed him standing under the eaves of a street shop. He didn't call out to them, he wanted to wait a little longer, to see if Yueming would also rush out to look for him in a panic.

He waited and waited, his legs stiff, but Yueming still didn't come out. He knew this was inevitable, but it still made him feel bad. He dragged his stiff legs to a grocery store where he could make a phone call and pulled a slip of paper with a phone number written on it from his pocket. Feng Xiaosai had slipped it to him before he left. It had Lan's house number on it. He was told to call back if he got lost so they could pick him up.

When the call was connected, Yueming's anxious voice came: "Is it Ai Ye or Xiao Sai? Has the second young master been found?"

Yunkai's throat choked, and he almost cried because of the concern expressed in these few words. He said in a hoarse voice, "Yueming, it's me."

Yueming was stunned for a moment when she heard it was him on the other end of the phone, then she said angrily, "Where have you been? Everyone in the family is out looking for you."

Home! He couldn't hold back the tears after hearing these two words. He wiped them with his sleeves, cleared his throat and said, "I have a lot to say to you, but I know you don't want to see me, so I can only call you. If I say something you don't like, don't be impatient or interrupt me, just listen quietly, okay?"

Yueming on the other end of the phone was extremely angry: "If you have anything to say, come back and tell me."

Hearing the beep as the phone was hung up, Yun Kai's heart felt as hot and sweet as boiling syrup. He hung up the phone and hurried back to Lan's house.

Yueming walked around the living room with her hands on her hips, looking very angry. When she saw Yunkai come in, she was stunned for a moment and said in surprise, "So soon?"

Yun Kai said honestly: "I called you from the corner across the street."

Yueming gritted his teeth and cursed, "You spendthrift bastard! Why are you calling me when you're already at the door? Did you break your leg and ask me to pick you up?"

Yun Kai was scolded until he was completely exhausted, but he still said to her with a pitiful look: "I have a lot to say to you, but you have been avoiding me these days, I can't help it."

Yueming sighed, pulled a chair over and sat down, saying to him, "I'm not trying to avoid you. You saw what happened on that bridge. There were too many wounded soldiers and refugees. I was very busy."

Busy? Busy racing with Du?

Yun Kai didn't expose her excuse, but nodded and apologized, "I'm sorry, I misunderstood you!"

He admitted his mistake so quickly that Yueming was confused and could only ask, "What do you want to tell me?"

Yun Kai also pulled over a chair and sat down next to her before saying, "First of all, I have to thank you for saving Shi Yue. You hated him so much in Bangkok, but you still lent a hand when he was in trouble. I thank you on his behalf."

Yueming told him to be polite: "No need to thank me, after all, we've been together before. If he gets into trouble, I can lend a hand, so how could I just stand by and watch him die?"

"The second thing..." Yun Kai looked at her affectionately: "I want to tell you that I miss you very much."

Yueming bit her lip and said nothing, looking at him disapprovingly: "Your son is afraid of having a lot of children, and you still say such things to me! It's not good! My father will beat you."

Yun Kai was shocked at first, then furious. "Who is so eloquent as to spread rumors about me? I'm not even married, so who can I have a son with?" He added, "If I have to have a son, it'll be with you."

Yueming chuckled, "Don't be embarrassed. The news has spread all over Zhangwai New City. Your cousin has been living in the Tusi Mansion for a year, and you haven't chosen an auspicious date for the wedding yet?"

Yun Kai pretended to be confused: "There are two cousins ​​in the mansion? Who are you talking about?"

Seeing Yueming's face full of disbelief, he laughed and said, "I'm just kidding! There's nothing going on between me and my cousin Gan Ying, and Se Manli is even more impossible."

Yueming had a blank expression on his face: "Why are you telling me this? What does it have to do with me?"

Didn't you bring up this topic first?

Yun Kai was helpless: "Can't you just speak properly?"

Yueming choked. "That's right!" Her tone and attitude now sounded like she was jealous.

She took a deep breath and tried to remain calm. "Actually, I'm very happy to see you. Because of this war, those close and vibrant lives have disappeared one by one. Seeing you still standing in front of me, I'm really relieved. My indifference towards you is not because I hold a grudge against the past, but because I don't know what to say to you. I know that in a family, there must always be someone who disregards gains and losses and withstands pressure. So, it doesn't matter who is sorry between you and me! What stands in the way of our love is an unshirkable responsibility. I understand that you feel unwilling and want to fulfill those regrets that cannot be let go. But Yunkai, that is your regret, not mine. I have moved on a long time ago, and you shouldn't still be there."

His clenched fists couldn't stop shaking. Yun Kai lowered his head and asked, "You don't love me anymore, do you?"

Yueming didn't answer his question, but simply lowered her head and said, "We both have our own missions now. You have to shoulder the great cause of the family's prosperity, and I want to do my part in the anti-Japanese war. Let's leave it at that!"

Yun Kai didn't want to hear her heartless words. He hugged her and said in a muffled voice, "What do you mean by let's just leave it at that? Have you forgotten everything about our past?"

Yueming didn't push him away. Feeling the scorching breath rushing towards her, she held back her tears and whispered, "Yesterday's sun can't dry today's clothes. We have to look forward!"

Yun Kai asked in a sad voice, "Why do you say you understand me, but still push me away so cruelly?" He held her face and said humbly, "What do you want in exchange for my forgiveness? Beat me up? I'll let you beat me, please don't abandon me."

Yueming turned her face away, pushed him away and said with gritted teeth, "You were the one who didn't want me first. Since you don't want me anymore, why don't you let me go?"

Yunkai grabbed her hand and placed it on his cheek. Hot tears fell on Yueming's palm. Yueming felt that her heart was also burned. She wanted to pull her hand away, but Yunkai held it tightly.

"I often have a dream. I dream that my father and eldest brother are still alive, that you and I are married, and that we have a daughter. During the New Year's holiday, everyone is having a lively dinner together. Because you gave birth to a daughter, my sister-in-law is finally proud of you, and everything she says is full of pride. My father sits on his left knee with his grandson and his granddaughter on his right, and he is so happy that he can't stop smiling. He dipped chopsticks in wine and fed the child to her. When my wife saw him, she pulled his ear and scolded him. My eldest brother can't stay idle. He pulled me aside to talk in private. He also found a very beautiful little girl singing a zhangha, and after the banquet, he found an excuse for me to sneak out with him to listen. Every time I wake up, I am in a trance for a long time, and I really don't want to leave this dream. Yueming, I can't get out!"

As Yunkai described it, Yueming remembered! She remembered the first time she wore Dai clothing and Han Tusi praised her for her beauty, and she remembered Li Yang telling her ghost stories to scare her.

Who doesn’t want to end it cleanly and decisively? But memories are like this, you never know when they will jump out and hit you hard.

Captain Du came to look for Yueming and found her squatting in the corner of her house smoking. He asked with a firm look on his face, "Is your father not home?"

Yueming took the cigarette out of his mouth and said expressionlessly, "My dad is reading in the study!"

Captain Du found it odd. How dare she smoke outside her own doorstep when Lan Yingde was still home? Either she was feeling itchy, or something was bothering her. He pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and squatted beside her, asking, "What's wrong? Is your ex-fiancé causing trouble again?" Ever since her ex-fiancé's arrival, Lan Yueming's face had been like the weather in July or August: cloudy more often than sunny.

Yueming blew out a puff of smoke in a melancholy manner and asked unhappily, "How do you think you can make a man give up?"

"It's easy! Can't you just find someone to marry?"

It sounds simple, but where are the people?

Yueming looked at him with a sad face: "At this moment, you are the only decent man around me. Otherwise, I will marry you."

Captain Du almost blurted out "Good" before calming himself down and saying calmly, "Now that you remember me, I'm telling you, it's too late! You ignored me back then, but now I'm too high for you to reach."

Yueming narrowed her eyes at him and said, "I've condescended to ask you to marry me, and you're actually using Qiao as an excuse? Come on, tell me, what's so unattainable about you that I can't marry you?"

"My lofty ideals put me beyond your reach." Captain Du looked at her with a haughty expression. "I'm an excellent soldier. My highest ideal right now is to defend my country. I don't have time to think about romantic matters."

Yueming was speechless after being rebuked. He stood up, patted his legs that were sore from squatting, and walked leisurely towards the door. "I am indeed marrying above my station! But I also tell you, if you miss this opportunity, you will never get it again."

Looking at her angrily back, Captain Du said bitterly, "This kind of desperate proposal is rare."