It was the weekend, and the amusement park was incredibly crowded. Fortunately, some people had already had their fill of fun and left in the morning; otherwise, it would have been even more packed.
Most of the people who come here are families of three. They are dressed in all sorts of matching outfits, which looks particularly pleasing to the eye.
Ling Ruoke is the kind of sentimental woman who especially loves these heartwarming scenes. Some babies are particularly cute, and the matching outfits they wear are also adorable, making it hard for her to look away.
Throughout the journey, Pei Shi played the whole time, while she found a place to sit nearby and watched the children do adorable things. She didn't find it boring at all; on the contrary, she kept smiling. She carried Pei Shi's camera with her, snapping photos of anything she liked. The children were all so cute that her arm ached from taking so many pictures.
Suddenly, a little baby wearing a blue Pleasant Goat t-shirt, dark denim shorts, and open-toed sandals entered her frame. The baby, seemingly looking for something, blinked its big eyes and looked right at the camera.
Ling Ruoke couldn't miss this great opportunity and snapped a picture. Thinking of the adorable scene in the photo, she couldn't help but smile. However, she didn't move the camera away immediately after taking the first picture; instead, she followed the baby, wanting to take a few more.
A moment later, a man and a woman appeared in the frame. They both bent down, seemingly talking to the baby.
Ling Ruoke kept pressing the camera, capturing this heartwarming scene until she felt she had enough. Meanwhile, the family of three gradually squeezed into the crowd.
With a bright smile, Ling Ruoke began to admire the photos she had taken. Suddenly, one photo made her freeze in shock.
In the video, the man is seen picking up the baby, his face slightly turned towards the camera. Although it's not a full frontal view, it's enough for her to recognize the man.
Huo Qingfeng!
Ling Ruoke stared blankly at her profile in the camera lens, her mind completely blank. She remained there for a long while, unsure how to react.
Suddenly, she quickly stood up and ran in the direction the family of three had gone. The crowd was dense, and she searched for a while before finally finding them.
Once I was sure I wasn't mistaken, I dared not linger any longer and stumbled back to my original seat. My heart was pounding, my chest was constricted, and my mind was blank.
"Ruoke, Ruoke?" Tan Peishi excitedly ran back to Ruoke's side, only to find her in a daze. So she waved her hand in front of Ruoke's eyes. After moving for a while, Ruoke still didn't react.
Tan Peishi panicked and quickly grabbed her shoulders, shaking her body. "Ruo Ke, what's wrong?"
"Huh?" Ling Ruoke woke up as if from a dream, and looked at her friend's face so close to hers.
"Ruo Ke, you don't look well. What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Ling Ruoke forced a smile. "I feel a little dizzy, probably from heatstroke. Peishi, I want to go back, I feel unwell."
Hearing this, Tan Peishi dared not delay any longer and quickly helped her to her feet. "Come on, let me help you, let's go back right away!"
"Um."
The amusement park wasn't far from where Tam Pui-sze lived; the two of them arrived in less than half an hour by taxi.
Back in the house, Ruoke drank a large glass of water, took a shower, and then locked herself in her room, saying she was tired and wanted to sleep.
Tan Peishi assumed she was just tired, told her to call out if she felt unwell, and then went to take a shower and rest herself.
Ling Ruoke could copy the photos to her computer and find them.
In the photo, a family of three—the baby is adorable, the father is tall and handsome, and the mother is beautiful and slim—look very pleasing to the eye. Yet, it's like a series of needles pricking Ruoke's eyes, causing her great pain.
At the same time, Ruoke recognized the baby in the photo as the child she had mistaken for her mother at Nuanting Pavilion that day. So, he did have a mother after all. Looking at the woman, with her straight hair reaching her waist and an oval face, she did resemble Ruoke somewhat. Perhaps that was why the baby had mistaken her for someone else.
Ling Ruoke slowly closed her eyes, feeling a little breathless, not knowing when the air had suddenly become thin.
I didn't want to think about it anymore, so I climbed into bed and lay down. I was in a daze, and I didn't even know if I was asleep; my mind was just a jumbled mess.
In a daze, I remembered how I had been so affectionate with Cang Wei the day before, and how I had hurt her so badly the next day.
Is all love this painful?
...
Fu Peigang did not return that evening.
Ling Ruoke didn't have much of an appetite to begin with, but in order not to worry Peishi, she got up and ate a little. However, she felt unwell after eating and felt a bit nauseous.
"Ruo Ke, your complexion seems worse than when you came back. Should we go to the hospital to get it checked out?" Tan Peishi reached out and touched her forehead. It didn't seem to have a fever; instead, it felt cool.
Ruoke took her hand away and smiled. "I'm fine. I've just been lying in bed for so long, and suddenly going out for a walk feels a little strange. Don't worry, I'll definitely tell you if I'm really feeling unwell."
Although Tan Peishi still had some doubts, she nodded. "It's good that you haven't forgotten."
After finishing my meal, I went back to my room. I turned on my computer and stared blankly at the screen.
After a moment of stunned silence, Ling Ruoke realized it was time to find a job. She couldn't keep living off Pei Shi, even though they were good friends; there had to be a limit. It seemed Huo Qingfeng had been paying for all the medical expenses; it was time to find a way to pay him back.
While browsing job postings online, Tan Peishi was banging on the door.
"Ruoke, it's the captain's phone. Come out and answer it. Ruoke..."
Ling Ruoke looked at the knocked door but didn't respond. She didn't know what to say to him, afraid of saying something unpleasant.
"Could she have fallen asleep so quickly?" Tan Peishi muttered to herself as she went to return the call.
Ling Ruo was afraid he would use the key to open the door, so she quickly went over and locked the door from the inside. Avoidance wasn't the solution, but she didn't want to face him yet.
When I sat back down at the computer, I suddenly lost all interest in looking at job postings.
The image of that family of three was etched into her mind, impossible to erase. In fact, that was the happiness she longed for most: a loving couple, a lovely baby, forming a happy family of three.
So whenever she went out or played, if she encountered a family of three, she couldn't help but glance at them a few more times. Sometimes, the woman of the house would misunderstand and glare at her, thinking she had designs on the man.
But what would the man in that family of three feel if he had just become her lover?
Ling Ruoke tried desperately to convince herself that he was a soldier and wouldn't do something like this, juggling two relationships. But in the end, she couldn't be convinced. Just like how she had repeatedly tried to convince herself that it was just a dream, and that Cang Weiwo would never treat her like that. So she forced herself to sleep, but when she woke up, it was all real.
Ling Ruoke closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
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