misfortune
He was just a pawn to be discarded; it would be good enough if he died with a whole corpse!
For the next few days, Ruan Yun's words kept echoing in Wen Xubai's mind, making him extremely annoyed. He closed the bookstore for a few days and chose to rest at home.
It has only reopened today.
The bookshelves hadn't been organized for almost a week, and the store was in disarray with a lot of accumulated stuff. Chen Fang could tell he was tired during their phone call, so she simply asked Zhou Yi to come to the store to help him.
Zhou Yi had taken leave during this period, and since he had nothing to do anyway, he readily agreed.
But to Wen Xubai's surprise, Zhou Yi wasn't the only one who came.
Fang Yue, heavily pregnant, smiled at him and greeted him, "Brother."
Zhou Yi, supporting her, sweat beading on his forehead, complained, "Brother, I told her to stay home and wait for me, but she wouldn't listen and insisted on coming!" He then nervously turned to Fang Yue, saying, "Tell me, you're almost due, and instead of staying home, what if something happens to you...?"
"Alright," Fang Yue interrupted helplessly, "It's precisely because I'm about to give birth that I need to get out and about more, otherwise it will be difficult to have a natural birth. Besides, with you here, what could possibly happen to me?"
Zhou Yi was at his wit's end. He couldn't bear to see his wife standing all the time, so he quickly found two chairs and helped Fang Yue sit on the one with a backrest. He placed the water cup, snacks, and other things he had brought from home on the other low stool so that Fang Yue could reach them easily.
Watching her husband bustling around, Fang Yue couldn't help but smile sweetly.
Once he was sure everything was in perfect order, Zhou Yi squatted down in front of his wife and instructed her, "Then you sit here and don't wander off. Call me if anything happens."
"Okay, I know." Fang Yue gave Zhou Yi a sweet kiss on the cheek, which stopped the man's nagging.
Wen Xubai watched the two of them "showing off their affection" quietly, and shook his head helplessly.
The two then remembered that Wen Xubai was still standing there. Zhou Yi scratched his head sheepishly and quickly got up to get back to work.
Wen Xubai glanced at Fang Yue and saw her casually eating snacks, occasionally looking out the window, seemingly quite content.
The woman's figure had changed quite a bit due to her pregnancy; her originally oval face had become much rounder, but she didn't look bloated. Instead, she exuded a feeling of contentment and happiness.
Perhaps because her belly was too big, the burden on her waist was a bit heavy. Wen Xubai took in Fang Yue's secret movements of massaging her waist and silently handed her a pillow, saying, "It will feel better if you lean on this."
Fang Yue was taken aback for a moment. Seeing that Zhou Yi was busy sorting books not far away and hadn't noticed what was happening, she smiled and took the cushion, leaned against it, and said gratefully, "Thank you."
"It's nothing." Wen Xubai went over, wiped a book clean, and put it in the bookcase next to her.
Sure enough, the next second, Fang Yue said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "I saw a familiar figure nearby a few days ago..."
"Is that Ruan Yun?"
Wen Xubai silently took out another book and said calmly, "Hmm."
Hearing this, Fang Yue sighed softly, already guessing why he had come. She frowned and whispered, "Brother, don't go back."
"We both know exactly what kind of place the Wen family is. Are we really going to give up the peaceful life we've worked so hard for just a little bit of profit?"
Wen Xubai paused, but did not answer immediately.
If it's just about profit, then it's easy to handle.
Fang Yue noticed his hesitation and said helplessly, "Brother, are you still thinking about him? Are you worried about his safety?"
"No." Wen Xubai immediately denied it, but the book in his hand accidentally fell to the ground with a "thud".
"What's wrong?" Zhou Yi poked his head out.
Wen Xubai hurriedly went to pick it up, but Fang Yue turned around and smiled, "It's okay, I accidentally knocked the book down."
Wen Xubai had already stood up. "No, it was my hand that slipped."
"Are you alright?" Zhou Yi asked with some concern.
"No." Fang Yue shook her head.
"That's good." Zhou Yi was relieved and continued to look at the labels on the book.
"Brother." Fang Yue grabbed Wen Xubai's hand and said, word by word, "You have to believe in him, believe that he can stand on his own two feet."
Seeing that Xu Bai had lowered his eyes, Fang Yue continued, "Although my eldest brother has the support of the Song family, the Song family is not what it used to be, and they no longer have the ability to reach the heavens. And no matter how ruthless my second brother is, he still carries the name of 'illegitimate child'. Once it is exposed, he will never be able to hold his head up again."
"As for Xiao Yi..." Fang Yue's expression was somewhat forlorn, "He was spoiled by his mother and has no real skills; he's nothing to be afraid of..."
At this point, Fang Yue shifted her gaze back to Wen Xubai, tears welling in her eyes, her gaze filled with remorse. "I'm so sorry about what happened back then. I apologize to you on Xiao Yi's behalf..."
She was referring to the time when Wen Xuyi wanted him to take the blame for someone else.
"And that car accident... I know Mother must have been angry with you, but... I really couldn't help it, I'm sorry..."
Mentioning this, Wen Xubai's fingers unconsciously tightened...
Verbal abuse, insults, beatings… each and every one of these things truly happened to him. For a time, he genuinely resented Wen Xuyao, but now, finding himself in the same situation, all his grievances and resentment could only dissipate into a powerless sigh…
If he were in Wen Xuyao's position at that time, what would he have done?
He thought he would also choose to disappear without a trace.
“It’s all in the past.” Wen Xubai put down the last book and turned to go back to the counter.
"Brother!" Fang Yue anxiously tried to stop him, grabbing his sleeve.
Hearing the sound, Wen Xubai turned his head and saw a tear sliding down Fang Yue's beautiful face. She opened her mouth and mouthed, "Let's leave here."
Fang Yue stroked her prominent belly and smiled gently, "After I give birth, let's leave here and go somewhere no one knows us, to completely break free from their control."
Wen Xubai did not answer and silently walked back to the counter.
As the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, the sunlight inside the store brightens and dims until it gradually fades into darkness, the warm glow of the sun dissipates, and the bright white lights inside the store take its place.
Chen Fang came once during this time, bringing food to the three of them and chatting with Fang Yue for a while, expressing concern for her health.
Fang Yue smiled and responded to Chen Fang's concerns, saying that everything was going well and reassuring her not to worry.
The meals were the same as always, simple yet delicious home-style dishes.
At the dinner table, Chen Fang kept serving food to the younger generation, while she only served herself some vegetarian dishes.
It seems to be an inescapable curse for all middle-aged women: always thinking of others and feeling that they can only get the worst, while reserving the best for their families.
Zhou Yi still chose to use "magic to defeat magic"—whatever Chen Fang put on his plate, Zhou Yi put on Chen Fang's plate in return.
A warm and harmonious atmosphere filled the dining table. Wen Xubai and Fang Yue exchanged a glance, and seeing the undisguised smile in her eyes, they seemed to understand why she was so unwilling to lose...
After finishing their meal, Chen Fang gave the group a few instructions, wiped the table as usual, and went home with the empty lunchboxes.
Satisfied and revitalized, the group worked even harder, and soon the books in the store were almost all organized.
Zhou Yi felt as if he had returned to his high school days, when Chen Fang watched him do his homework all day. He rubbed his sore neck, stretched lazily, and then returned to Fang Yue's side. Fang Yue then lovingly massaged his shoulders.
Soon, Wen Xubai finished his work and, feeling that it was getting late, told Zhou Yi and the others to go back and rest.
Zhou Yi agreed, helped Fang Yue up carefully, and slowly walked to the store entrance, where he helped his wife wrap her scarf.
Wen Xubai escorted the two to the intersection. As they parted, under the dim streetlights, Zhou Yi carefully supported Fang Yue's waist, while Fang Yue freed her hands and waved to Wen Xubai with a smile, saying, "Brother, we're leaving."
Zhou Yi also laughed and said, "Brother, I'll come help you again tomorrow!"
"Okay." Wen Xubai nodded with a smile and said to the two of them, "Be careful on the road."
Zhou Yi withdrew his gaze, exchanged a glance with his wife, and the two walked together toward home.
At this hour, there were hardly any people on the road. Wen Xubai stood still by the roadside for a while, watching the two figures gradually disappear into the distance, pondering what he would do later.
Should we go back to the store and clean it again?
Or should we just go home and rest?
He was exhausted after a long day, his back and waist ached. But after thinking about it, he decided to go back to the bookstore to check the catalog again so he could open early tomorrow.
Zhou Yi and Fang Yue had already reached the intersection, talking about something, their faces beaming with smiles, seemingly very happy.
Wen Xubai couldn't help but smile, thinking to himself that he had to hurry back.
Just as he turned around, he suddenly heard a sharp scraping sound, and the blinding headlights instantly covered Wen Xubai's entire vision!
Wen Xubai was startled and quickly dodged to the side of the road. The next second, a car sped past him!
Why is there a car here?
Although vehicles are allowed to pass through this section of road on weekdays, it is a commercial area with many people and a lot of traffic, so few cars drive in. Most drivers will tacitly choose to detour to the more accessible main road.
Even if a car accidentally drives in, it always drives carefully and slowly, afraid of hitting someone. It would never be like this car, which drives like it's speeding!
The car seemed to have lost control, crashing into many roadside objects with a clatter, its wheels leaving continuous tire tracks on the ground as it sped towards the two people on the sidewalk!
His mind went blank for a moment, and Wen Xubai shouted, "Watch out!!!"
But it was too late.
Zhou Yi was the first to react and shoved Fang Yue backward!
The next second, there was a loud "bang!"
A dark figure shot into the air like a kite with its string cut, only to fall heavily to the ground in an instant!
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