novelraw Chapter 295
Chapter 295
Chapter 295: Mom, I’m Coming Clean
The second week after returning to Qingcheng City was New Year’s Eve.
This year’s New Year came much earlier than usual. Xia Li’s attention had been entirely on Lucia recently. It wasn’t until he received a call from Fang Xia asking where they would celebrate the New Year this year that he realized…
A year had already passed.
Last year’s New Year’s Eve, Fang Xia had brought a basin of dishes to Xia Li’s home to make the New Year’s Eve dinner.
This year, after discussing with Lucia, Xia Li decided to go directly to Miyang City to celebrate the New Year.
However, considering the dragon’s nature, if Fang Xia was busy in the kitchen all day, she would definitely go and help. Xia Li didn’t want the dragon in her current state to do any housework.
Whether it was squatting on the ground picking vegetables, standing by the sink washing dishes and vegetables, or holding a spatula stirring in the pot… all these actions, in Xia Li’s opinion, would hurt the baby and make the mother uncomfortable.
After comprehensive consideration, Xia Li communicated with Fang Xia over the phone and finally decided that he would be in charge of this year’s New Year’s Eve dinner, eating out.
For fear that Mrs. Fang would change her mind halfway and decide to make some fresh dishes for Lucia, Xia Li booked a restaurant on the same day and sent the reservation information to Fang Xia. Fang Xia always felt that this child was being too proactive.
But after discussing it with Old Xia, she thought about it.
He’s a grown man with a family now, it’s normal to have his own initiative in doing things, so let him be.
New Year’s Eve.
The streets and alleys were decorated with lanterns and colorful lights. Red lanterns had been hung on streetlights and big trees in the green belts early on. The festive atmosphere of the New Year was becoming increasingly strong amidst this joyous red.
Early in the morning, Xia Li bid farewell to his friends and drove to Miyang City with Lucia.
Lucia’s belly was getting more and more obvious now. Even if Xia Li found the thickest down jacket for her to wear, it was difficult to conceal it.
Xia Li had already made up his mind. If Fang Xia recognized it at a glance, he would confess under duress.
Anyway, Lucia now had an ID card, and she also held a valid domestic visa. After the New Year holiday, he would go to the embassy to get a certificate.
Passport, identity, and certificate of no spouse.
With these three documents, they could get their official marriage certificate.
Once they got the marriage certificate, it would be easier for Lucia to stay in the country.
Not only would it be easy to apply for a permanent residence permit, but even direct naturalization wouldn’t be a problem.
Xia Li held the steering wheel, happily planning his future plans in his mind.
Everything would be smooth sailing from now on.
So, it wouldn’t be a problem to come clean to Fang Xia directly.
That’s right, Mom, Little Lu is not mixed-race, she’s a foreigner!
She didn’t have an ID card before, so we couldn’t get a marriage certificate.
Why were we in such a hurry to have the wedding banquet?
Of course, it’s because your daughter-in-law is pregnant!
If he said these things out loud, wouldn’t Fang Xia’s jaw drop?
Just thinking about it made Xia Li’s lips curl up.
Lucia, sitting beside him, was playing with her phone. After playing for a long time, she felt dizzy, so she put down her phone, adjusted the chair, and went straight to sleep.
“Why aren’t you as excited for New Year’s this year as you were last year?”
Xia Li glanced at her gently and then concentrated on driving again.
The evil dragon touched her dragon belly and said, “This is my second time… and I’m a little nervous because I’m afraid Fang… I’m afraid Mom will find out about my belly.”
“It’s okay, even if we come clean to her directly, it’s not a problem.”
“Then we’ve been hiding it from her for more than half a year, will she be angry?”
“Definitely not.”
Xia Li knew Fang Xia’s character too well and guaranteed it.
“With her personality, she’ll be overjoyed, how could she blame us for hiding it from her?”
Hearing him say that, Lucia thought so too.
This wasn’t a shock for Mom Fang, but a pleasant surprise.
“Speaking of which, where are Qin Chuan and Yivni going to celebrate New Year’s? I asked Yivni today, and she hasn’t replied yet.” Lucia looked down at her phone again and asked with some concern.
“I asked Qin Chuan a few days ago, and he said he was planning to celebrate the New Year in Qingcheng City, probably finding a restaurant to have New Year’s Eve dinner with Yivni.” Xia Li replied.
“That’s good too.” Lucia nodded.
“Do you want to hang out with Yivni?” Xia Li glanced at her.
Lucia shook her head and sighed, “Didn’t Yivni come to our house to play yesterday… and she asked a lot of questions about Qin Chuan.”
“What kind of questions?” Xia Li asked.
“Questions about his parents and friends… Qin Chuan only has you as a friend, and she said she never heard him mention his parents, so Yivni is very concerned.”
“What did you say?”
Hearing this, Xia Li also became concerned.
Taking advantage of the time waiting for the traffic light ahead, he stepped on the brake and looked back at Lucia.
“…I said I didn’t know, I never heard Qin Chuan mention it either. I lied to her.” Lucia lowered her head.
In fact, both Lucia and Xia Li knew about Qin Chuan’s family situation.
Because of Qin Chuan’s sudden departure, his parents couldn’t accept the blow of losing their son…
It was a tragedy.
So, Lucia didn’t choose to tell Yivni, but lied to her.
Lucia still felt guilty about this.
Deceiving her good friend, every word she said at that time was cautious.
“I was just afraid I couldn’t fool her… I don’t know if I controlled my expression well, but her expression at that time seemed very sad.” Lucia recalled.
She kind of understood the meaning of the phrase ‘white lie’.
Sometimes, people have to lie under certain circumstances.
The two-hour drive ended quickly.
Dinner time for the New Year’s Eve dinner was 6 pm.
Xia Li took advantage of the current free time to buy some gifts for his parents to pay New Year’s greetings.
After all, he was already a member of society. Although these social courtesies didn’t need to be used on his own family, basic filial piety couldn’t be neglected.
Xia Li brought two packs of Chunghwa cigarettes for Old Xia and a bottle of Wuliangye liquor to drink together in the evening.
For Xiao Xia, it was a set of skincare products and a bottle of perfume.
Xia Li wasn’t very good at choosing women’s products. These were all chosen by Lucia.
“Is there anything you want?”
The two stood downstairs in the mall. Xia Li suddenly remembered that he had been busy choosing New Year gifts for his parents, but he hadn’t taken care of his wife.
“I want that.”
Lucia didn’t hesitate, she hooked her finger and pointed to a small vendor outside the mall.
Xia Li looked up and found it was a small pinwheel.
“A dragon over a hundred years old…”
He sighed and paid for the pinwheel for Lucia.
The cold winter wind blew, and the small pinwheel spun rapidly in Lucia’s hand.
“Heehee~”
Lucia stared at the colorful light strips on the pinwheel. As it rotated, the lights seemed like a vortex, bright and interesting.
She smiled and snuggled into Xia Li’s arms. Xia Li hugged her helplessly.
A broken pinwheel could make this dragon so happy…
Lucia’s happiness had always been so simple.
At 6 pm, restaurants and hotels in Miyang City were packed.
Nowadays, more and more families choose to have their New Year’s Eve dinner outside. This way, they can enjoy the lively atmosphere and avoid the trouble of cooking and washing dishes. Especially for families who are not good at cooking, the customized New Year’s Eve dinner from restaurants is a lifesaver.
Sitting in the bustling hall, Xia Li looked at the crowds coming and going and couldn’t help but think, if China could undergo such earth-shaking changes in just ten years, what about in another hundred years, a thousand years?
“Dad~ Mom~”
While his thoughts were wandering, a sweet girl’s voice brought Xia Li back to his senses.
Fang Xia had specially styled her hair today. Her slightly curly short hair fell on her shoulders, and she carried a small square bag in her hand. To match the festive atmosphere, she also changed into a brand new red woolen coat.
The saying ‘wear new clothes for the New Year’ is used for children, but it also applies to Fang Xia.
It can only be said that Xiao Xia is still young at heart.
“Hey~”
“Hmm.”
Fang Xia and Xia Yuanjun nodded at the same time.
Old Xia still had that indifferent look, but the corners of his mouth, which were the same as Xia Li’s, couldn’t be suppressed anymore.
“Mom, Happy New Year~”
Lucia took out the prepared New Year gift from under the table. Seeing this, Fang Xia beamed with joy.
“Oh, why did you bring a gift… Come, come, Mom has a big red envelope for you, put it in your pocket!”
Fang Xia also took out the red envelope she had prepared beforehand and stuffed it into the pocket of Lucia’s down jacket.
“This is too much…”
Lucia’s face flushed. This kind of gift-giving scene was difficult for her to handle.
The evil dragon looked at Xia Li with pleading eyes. She didn’t know whether she should accept the red envelope or not.
“Mom, we’re adults now.” Xia Li sighed.
Not only adults, but also married.
There’s no saying that married people should still take lucky money from their family.
“Go, go, go, I’m happy to do it. What’s wrong with being an adult? I just like to spoil my daughter-in-law!” Fang Xia said to Xia Li with disdain.
Xia Li didn’t dare to say anything this time.
He caught a glimpse of Xia Yuanjun digging into his inner pocket out of the corner of his eye, then took out a red envelope identical to Fang Xia’s.
“Here’s your lucky money too.” Old Xia said to Xia Li.
There was no reason for father and son to be polite to each other. Xia Li directly opened his pocket and accepted Old Xia’s red envelope without hesitation.
You two just keep giving them out.
Next year, you’ll have to give red envelopes to your grandson and granddaughter.
The family of four sat down in order, and the dishes began to be served one after another.
New Year’s Eve is the busiest day for restaurants and hotels. Many dishes are prepared in advance in large pots, and even some pastries are pre-made, so the taste is slightly worse. But on this joyous day, everyone is very tolerant, eating and drinking, and the whole hall is filled with joy.
Lucia picked up her chopsticks and ate meat in big mouthfuls. Fang Xia stuffed chicken legs and duck legs into her bowl, and she didn’t refuse, just lowered her head and ate.
I have to say, being with someone who doesn’t spoil the fun of eating seems to make even your own appetite better.
The twelve dishes on the table were swept clean by the four of them, and Lucia also ordered an extra glass of freshly squeezed peanut juice.
After finishing the peanut juice, she was almost full.
The hall was a bit noisy and stuffy. Lucia felt sweaty and casually took off her thick down jacket.
She was wearing a fitted knitted dress inside. The dress not only showed off her curvy figure, but also revealed the prominent outline of her abdomen, which could no longer be hidden.
Fang Xia was the first to notice something was wrong.
She tugged at Xia Yuanjun’s sleeve and winked at him.
Xia Yuanjun’s mind wasn’t as delicate as a woman’s, but he somehow sensed that his wife had something to say.
Seeing Old Xia’s bewildered look, Fang Xia disliked him and turned her gaze to Xia Li.
Xia Li lowered his head and took a sip of baijiu, sweating profusely.
“Mom… I toast to you!”
Xia Li wanted to distract Fang Xia, but she wasn’t so easily led by the nose.
She raised her juice glass and clinked it with Xia Li very perfunctorily. Then, when Xia Li was caught off guard, she grabbed his sleeve, her eyes excited and a little urgent.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“What’s going on?”
Xia Li pretended he didn’t understand anything and drank the baijiu in his small glass in one gulp.
“Mom, do you think there’s enough food, should we order more… Oh right, it’s almost eight o’clock, why don’t we go back and watch the Spring Festival Gala? Oh right, we don’t watch the Gala at home, then have you made an appointment with your mahjong friends? It’s getting late, don’t be late…”
Xia Li talked non-stop.
He felt as if his arm had been pinched by Fang Xia and quickly retracted it, stopping talking.
Originally, Fang Xia only had a little suspicion, but after Xia Li’s evasive and rambling attempt to change the subject, she was basically certain.
Something was fishy.
To be honest, she had already noticed something was wrong earlier.
Although Little Lu looked like she had gained some weight, most of it was on her belly.
Fang Xia thought it was normal for young people to sit for a long time and gain weight on their belly… but today she saw Lucia’s belly after she took off her coat.
That was too abnormal!
It was like… like she was carrying a ball!
Whose child only gains weight on their belly, and it’s so round.
It’s round to the point of being ridiculous!
Fang Xia had also been pregnant before. She could tell at a glance that Little Lu was most likely pregnant.
Although Little Lu didn’t look like the kind of girl who showed her pregnancy easily, she was so small that even during pregnancy, she wouldn’t gain much weight, and her belly wouldn’t be very obvious.
But because of this, when Fang Xia saw the obvious outline on Lucia’s body, she became even more suspicious… that she had actually been pregnant for a long time!
“Mom, here’s the thing…”
Xia Li was sweating profusely.
He originally thought that Fang Xia would be shocked after learning about Lucia’s pregnancy, but it turned out that Xiao Xia seemed to be a little angry at Xia Li for deliberately hiding the truth from her.
Speaking of which.
This dragon, did it on purpose, right!
Why take off your clothes in the middle of dinner!
Xia Li only told her in the morning that if she was found out, then so be it, but he didn’t say to come clean directly!
“Whoosh, whoosh~”
Lucia took out the small pinwheel from her bag and blew on it twice.
While blowing, she also touched her belly.
That happy little expression seemed to be saying: Baby, this is the toy Dad bought for you!
“Mom…”
Turning around, facing Fang Xia’s furious expression, Xia Li couldn’t hold it anymore.
He came clean with everything.
◈◈◈
“Do you know how important the first three months of pregnancy are?! A little carelessness can easily lead to problems!”
“You even dared to hide it from me, we’re family now, what’s there to hide!!”
“It’s lucky that you’re fine! If you were a little less lucky, you wouldn’t even have time to cry!”
“Go with me tomorrow to schedule a prenatal checkup!”
“What’s wrong with being a foreigner? Your dad told me everything on the day of your wedding, do you think I don’t know your little secret?!?! ”
On New Year’s Eve, what greeted Xia Li was a barrage of lectures from Mrs. Fang.
Xia Li sat at the round table like a child who had done something wrong, lowering his head and not daring to speak.
Mrs. Fang in front of him was gesturing, almost wanting to punch her son.
In the end, it was Old Xia, the ‘traitor’, who stepped forward to smooth things over and pulled his wife away. Otherwise, this meal wouldn’t be finished until midnight.
As for Lucia, who was immune to all negative influences, she drank juice and then milk, and finally was coaxed by Fang Xia’s gentle voice to drink a bowl of bird’s nest.
Looking at the hero who was completely suppressed by his mother, Lucia felt both distressed and amused.
The only time she could see the hero bowing his head was at times like this.
Hehe…
The hero was defeated!
Coming out of the restaurant.
Fang Xia canceled all her scheduled mahjong games and insisted on driving Xia Li and Lucia home.
Xia Li had some drinks with Old Xia and couldn’t drive. Among the four of them, only Fang Xia could drive.
She said that pregnant women should rest early and that staying outside wasn’t as comfortable as staying at home, so she had to personally send Lucia back.
Lucia had originally planned to set off fireworks with Xia Li, but seeing Mom Fang’s ‘protective’ look, she chose to accept her kindness.
Being carefully protected by a family… made Lucia feel happy.
It seemed that this happy mood affected the baby in her belly. On the way back, Lucia clearly felt the little dragon in her belly turning over.
She gently stroked her bulging abdomen with her palm, her heart filled with unspeakable sweetness.
“Xia Li, the baby is moving.”
She leaned close to Xia Li’s ear and said in a very soft voice.
The two were sitting in the back seat of the car. It was almost midnight, and fireworks were constantly going off on both sides of the window. Accompanied by the sound of blessings, the fireworks exploded at the highest point, presenting a colorful and dazzling spectacle.
“Really?”
Xia Li turned his head and saw the changing colors in Lucia’s eyes. He couldn’t help but embrace Lucia in his arms.
“Is the baby saying she’s hungry?”
“No…”
Lucia really felt the baby moving in her belly, but she couldn’t resist Xia Li’s temptation to bring out food. She shook her head halfway and immediately changed her mind.
◈◈◈
She nodded and said, “Yes, a little.”
“What does the baby say she wants to eat?” Xia Li asked again.
“The baby says she wants to eat the braised beef instant noodles that Daddy makes…”
“Shh.”
Xia Li raised a finger and placed it in front of Lucia.
He couldn’t say this in front of Mrs. Fang.
Otherwise, Xia Li would get another scolding.
‘Instant noodles’ were a big taboo for Mrs. Fang.
Not to mention giving them to Lucia, this pregnant dragon.
Lucia blinked and playfully stuck out her tongue, licking Xia Li’s raised finger.
Xia Li frowned and withdrew his finger at lightning speed.
Are you a puppy?!
Your finger is so dirty!
He glanced at Fang Xia, who was driving, and made sure she was concentrating on driving and hadn’t noticed what was going on in the back seat.
Xia Li grabbed Lucia’s slender white hand, made a few ‘ahh’ sounds, and said he wanted to eat her hand too.
The two of them were fooling around in the back seat.
Fang Xia looked at them through the rearview mirror several times, but in the end, she didn’t say anything.
Forget it, it’s good that the young couple has a good relationship, let them have some fun.
Back at the Shangdong Chaoyang Residential Complex, Fang Xia, carrying the fruits, vegetables, and free-range eggs she had just brought from her own home, went upstairs with a clang.
As they passed the second floor, their neighbor, Zhao Qin, opened her door and looked at the family’s procession with great curiosity.
“Didn’t you go back to Miyang City for the New Year? Why are you back so late?” Zhao Qin asked curiously.
Fang Xia hurriedly dumped the things in her hands into Xia Li and Old Xia’s hands, then turned around excitedly and grabbed Zhao Qin’s hand.
“Qin!” Fang Xia said loudly.
“I’m going to be a grandma!!”
Xia Li: “…”
He knew that once these things were revealed to Fang Xia, she wouldn’t be able to keep it to herself.
With Xiao Xia’s personality, if there was anything worth being happy about, she would want to share it with all the neighbors in the complex.
“Holy crap!”
Chen Tao, who was standing at the door holding his dog back from pouncing on people, let out a cry of astonishment.
Let alone Fang Xia just finding out, even Chen Tao, as Xia Li’s best friend, had just found out.
This was too sneaky!
Such a big thing, and he didn’t even tell his brother!
Chen Tao frantically winked at Xia Li.
Xia Li stood at the door, speechless.
Chen Tao knew this kid was feeling guilty, so he was so angry that he took out his phone and sent this explosive news to their group chat.
As expected, the F4 group chat exploded.
Everyone was shocked by this and strongly condemned Xia Li’s unethical behavior of hiding it from his brothers.
Peach: What did I say last time when Boss Xia was shooting arrows outside the amusement park?
Peach: I said he was very accurate!!!
After a brief exchange of greetings with their neighbor, the family of four… now a family of five, returned home.
Fang Xia started making the bed for Lucia.
Xia Li wasn’t very good at taking care of people in this regard. The cotton quilts they had been sleeping on were all flattened, so Fang Xia replaced them with warmer down quilts.
Before leaving, she also stewed a pigeon for Lucia, so they could just turn off the heat after an hour and eat it directly.
Fang Xia wished she could just live here and take care of Lucia every day.
But their apartment was too small, it wasn’t convenient for her to live here, and she had left in a hurry this time and wasn’t prepared.
Fang Xia planned to stay at her best friend Zhao Qin’s house in a few days, after the booming business at the teahouse had subsided. She would come up every day to cook for Lucia, making sure she got enough nutrition. It just so happened that after the New Year holiday, Chen Tao and Zhao Qin’s husband would both go to work, and her house would be empty.
Finally seeing Fang Xia off, Xia Li collapsed on the sofa, exhausted.
He had to admit, after coming clean, he didn’t have to hide anything anymore, and this feeling was quite refreshing.
But Fang Xia’s lecture really made him speechless. It had been a long time since he had been reprimanded like this by his mother. Doing it today, on New Year’s Eve, made him feel drenched in sweat.
“…”
While Xia Li was lying on the sofa contemplating life, Lucia came over.
She tugged at Xia Li’s sleeve, and he knew without thinking what this dragon wanted to do.
“The pigeon won’t be ready for a while.”
“I’ll eat the pigeon…” Lucia said, “But can I also eat braised beef instant noodles?”
Xia Li: “…”
Seeing the dragon’s cautious and embarrassed expression because she had eaten too much tonight, Xia Li sighed, rolled up his sleeves, and sat up.
“Tell me, does the baby want instant noodles with an egg?”
“Yes!”
Lucia’s eyes lit up:
“With an egg, and also add some vegetable leaves, make the vegetable leaves crispy!”
A sky full of fireworks and a sumptuous New Year’s Eve dinner were the standard for New Year’s Eve.
But for Xia Li, the standard for this day, besides fireworks and dinner, was this sleeping dragon in his arms.
It was late at night.
The booming sound of fireworks made Lucia moan from time to time. She nuzzled her head into Xia Li’s arms, found a comfortable sleeping position, and fell fast asleep again.
Xia Li just held her like this. Even though his arm was numb from being pressed, he didn’t move.
Time came to morning.
It seemed that every New Year’s Day was unexpectedly cold.
Outside the window was a hazy scene.
After the hustle and bustle of last night, the city was still immersed in fatigue and hadn’t woken up.
It was rare for Qingcheng City to snow. Snowflakes drifted down from the sky like grains of salt, melting before they could accumulate.
Xia Li pulled out his hand, which had gone numb from being slept on by the dragon, and took out his phone to check the time.
He didn’t know until he looked, and he was shocked when he did.
In the middle of the night last night, dozens of messages had been sent.
The sender was the same person.
Qin Chuan: Yivni is gone!
Qin Chuan: We made New Year’s Eve dinner at home, and she was fine during dinner. After washing the dishes, she said she was sleepy and wanted to go to bed. I wanted to take her out to see the fireworks, but considering she might be tired, I didn’t force her to go out. After dinner, we watched TV for a while and went to bed.
Qin Chuan: At four in the morning, she disappeared from my side.
Qin Chuan: There’s no one in the complex.
Qin Chuan: There’s no one in the park.
Qin Chuan: Her phone could be reached at first, then it rang twice and hung up. Now when I call, it says it’s turned off.
Qin Chuan: What should I do, what should I do…
Xia Li scrolled through the messages, and as he scrolled, he sat up.
It was seven in the morning now, three hours had passed since Yivni disappeared.
Qin Chuan sent Xia Li a few messages every twenty minutes or so. He had searched many places, every place he thought Yivni might go, he had searched.
Xia Li quickly called him.
“Old Xia!!”
Qin Chuan’s tired voice was a bit hoarse. It was the first time Xia Li had heard him cry in such a suppressed way.
The two of them briefly synchronized their timelines.
Xia Li’s first reaction was that Yivni had returned to the other world.
But then he thought again.
If that were the case, her phone shouldn’t have been able to get through the first time.
If it could get through, it meant Yivni was still on Earth.
Not to mention, according to Qin Chuan’s description, Yivni’s phone rang a few times before it was disconnected.
In this case, it could only be a manual hang-up, not a signal loss or phone shutdown.
This situation easily made people think of dangerous events like kidnapping.
But, Yivni knew magic.
With her powerful magic, no one in this world could put her in danger.
“Don’t panic yet.”
Xia Li got out of bed to change clothes. Lucia, who was sleeping next to his pillow, was awakened by the movement and opened her eyes drowsily.
“Let’s go look for her together. If we can’t find her, I can use summoning magic to force her back… but I suggest not doing that at first. The possibility of Yivni being in danger is very small. I think she’s most likely ‘run away from home’. It’s normal for girls to throw a tantrum. Did you have any arguments before this?”
Xia Li held the phone to his ear and put on his sweater.
“No, we didn’t have any arguments!” Qin Chuan was anxious.
“But I did feel that her mood has been off these past few days. She’s always worried, as if she has something on her mind. I asked her, but she wouldn’t tell me.”
“…A woman’s heart is the hardest to guess.”
Hearing Qin Chuan’s words, Xia Li also felt anxious for him.
He had also tried to guess girls’ thoughts before, only to find that guessing their thoughts was like searching for a needle in the ocean, no matter how many times you scooped, you couldn’t get to the point.
Fortunately, Lucia was very straightforward in this regard and rarely did things that made Xia Li guess.
“Why don’t you ask Dragon Sister for me? Yivni often came to your house to play with Dragon Sister these past few days. Did they talk about anything?” Qin Chuan on the other end of the phone said.
After hearing this, Xia Li put down the phone and turned to ask Lucia.
Lucia had sharp ears and had already heard the voice on the phone.
She thought for a while before recalling.
“We didn’t talk about anything…”
“Right,” Lucia remembered the key point.
“Yivni kept asking me about your family, but I didn’t dare to tell her the truth… I just brushed those topics aside.”
“But, her eyes were very subtle at that time, as if she had seen through my lies. I was a little scared when I looked at her… I wasn’t quite prepared.” Lucia said.
After hearing her finish, Qin Chuan, who was running on the other end of the phone, gradually stopped.
He looked at the sparkling snow crystals floating in the morning light, held up his phone, and said word by word.
“She can read minds.”
“…”
“…”
Xia Li and Lucia fell silent at the same time.
Lucia’s face turned pale.
She recalled her inner thoughts when she was talking to Yivni.
At that time, Yivni tried again and again to get the answer from her. Lucia knew she couldn’t tell the truth, but the more the other party asked, the more it would intensify Lucia’s thoughts about those things.
Lucia was thinking at that time:
Qin Chuan’s parents had already passed away in the two years he was gone.
The cause of death was suicide by drowning.
The sudden disappearance of their son, leaving them, must have been a big blow to them…
After Qin Chuan came back from the other world, the parents he had been looking forward to seeing became cold tombstones.
If only he had come back earlier…
Now, he had no parents.
I’m sorry, Yivni… what you were looking forward to, wanting Qin Chuan’s parents to bless your relationship, no one can respond to you now.
As Lucia thought about it, she suddenly felt tears welling up in her eyes.
Yivni must have heard all these thoughts of hers.
Xia Li quickly walked over and patted her back to comfort her.
He mouthed a word to Lucia.
It’s not your fault.
After saying that, he picked up the phone again and said to the person on the other end.
“How about…”
“You go back to Chongqing… go back to your hometown and have a look.”
“She should be there.”
◈◈◈
New Year’s Day, bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new.
On this day full of blessings, people always had kind smiles on their faces.
Chongqing, Cangshou District.
In an inconspicuous ordinary village, children in new clothes were running happily on the ridges of the fields.
Some of them held newly bought toys in their hands, some held firecrackers, chasing each other, having a great time.
Amidst this laughter and joy, a thin figure seemed out of place.
A child stopped running, wiped the frozen snot from his face with his sleeve, and looked back at the figure.
The older sister was wearing a strange pure white long dress. Her skirt was stained with mud. The dress was very thin and looked a bit frail on her body in this winter.
Her shoulders were trembling, she held a strange golden staff in her hand, knelt in front of two graves, and kept chanting something.
“Heal…”
“Heal…”
“Heal…”
Her voice was intermittent, like a robot repeating itself.
“What a strange person.”
The child shook his head and rejoined the laughter and joy with the toy in his arms.
It was almost noon.
Yivni had been kneeling here for a whole night.
She had used all her magic to try to awaken the people buried in the ground.
Unfortunately.
There was no magic in any world that could bring people back to life.
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t change this fact.
Her brave hero had saved the world.
But this world, no one could save him.
It’s not fair…
“Heal…”
“Heal…”
Yivni cried her heart out, but no matter how much she shouted, no one would answer her.
Until she heard footsteps running towards her from afar.
The sound came closer and closer.
Even though the owner of the sound didn’t speak, Yivni could recognize his identity just by the sound of his footsteps.
Qin Chuan pushed aside the weeds in front of him.
When he saw Yivni kneeling in front of his parents’ graves, he also lost control.
“I’m sorry…”
Yivni turned around, her eyes already red and swollen from crying.
She looked at the man in front of her.
But, at this moment, she knew that no one could forgive her in place of the deceased, she would not be redeemed.
Qin Chuan didn’t say anything, he just knelt down and hugged her tightly.
“I’m sorry…”
“I’m sorry…”
Yivni’s cold body was trembling. Kneeling and casting spells for a whole night had almost exhausted all her strength.
Qin Chuan kowtowed three times in front of the tombstone.
After that, he simply picked Yivni up horizontally and said with a choked sob.
“Come home with me.”