Han Qing’s words had caused Yan’s face to turn red. She forgot about the other matters and kept pushing him away.
“Don’t be so frivolous. I’m talking about something very serious.”
“Frivolous?” Han Qing’s eyes darkened slightly as his tone became hoarser. “Which part of it was frivolous? Is it considered frivolous for me to not go to the company and accompany you for the day? Or… you’re the one who is having frivolous thoughts?”
“Don’t say another word!” said Yan.
She pushed Han Qing away, but her hand was suddenly grasped by his palm. He held her hand and pulled her into his arms, then put her arms around his slim waist. Lowering his head toward her, he said, “I’m just saying… How long have you left me out in the cold? At first, it was because of the kids. Then? How can you let other people’s matters affect our relationship? Even if his marriage is broken, that’s his problem. It has nothing to do with you.”
Yan pouted her lips and stared at him. “Why are you so cold toward them? He’s our friend after all.”
“Friend?” Han Qing sighed helplessly. “You’re friends with him, but I was never friends with him.”
Since he used to like Yan, they were probably considered love rivals rather than friends.
Han Qing had a cold temperament in the first place, so naturally, he wouldn’t be warm toward Xiao Su. He was even distant toward his own brother-in-law Ye Moxuan. This was probably due to his upbringing since he had lost a lot when he was young and had largely raised himself.
When one had to shoulder a lot of burdens, one’s temperament would be different.
Thinking of this, Yan felt rather sorry for him. So she reached out to hug him tightly.
“Don’t be like this. You have to try to accept others. Xiao Su does not have any enmity toward you, and it’s always good to make friends.”
Keeping Yan by his side was already a surprise to Han Qing himself. He hadn’t even thought that he would do so, let alone keeping other friends.
But it was true that after being with Yan, his heart had opened up slightly. Before this, he wasn’t used to people being close to him. But now, a girl was hugging him to sleep every night. Sometimes, when she kicked off her blanket in her sleep, he would get up to put it back over her for fear of her catching a cold.
Most importantly, there were those two kids as well. Han Qing finally had a few more blood relatives in this world.
Yan had brought with her the kids, her parents, and herself.
Luo Huimei and Mr. Zhou also became somewhat of Han Qing’s parents as well. They would remind Han Qing to take care of his health every now and then, and their concern toward him felt good to him.
All this while, he was the oldest in the family, and thus he was the one full of concern for his sister, never the other way round.
Therefore, Yan’s parents’ concern felt warm and fulfilling to him.
“Actually, you alone are enough,” said Han Qing.
“It’s not enough. You can’t just have me in your life.” Yan shook her head and spoke earnestly to him. “You need other people too. After all, I can’t be by your side all the time.”
Hearing this, Han Qing frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Life and death are unpredictable. Accidents may occur at any time, and I cannot guarantee that I can live a safe and long life. Perhaps one day I’ll…”
Before she could finish her sentence, Han Qing had covered her mouth. The remaining words stuck in Yan’s throat, and she had no choice but to swallow them.
She stared at Han Qing with her big eyes.
“Don’t talk nonsense.” Han Qing knitted his brows as his frown deepened. “You’re not allowed to say this kind of nonsense from now on.”
He had sent many close relatives away. If even the only woman he loved left him too, he wouldn’t be able to bear it.
Yan saw that he had believed what she said and couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
“Why are you so panicked? I’m not serious about it. In any case, it’s a fact, and I’m just stating a hypothesis. I didn’t say that something bad will definitely happen to me. I just want you to accept other people outside your circle and not be so lonely.”
“Okay, I promise you. But you shouldn’t say these things in the future.”
Originally, it was Han Qing who was trying to talk sense into Yan, but it suddenly became the other way round. Hence, he decided that he wouldn’t talk about this matter anymore.
Time passed by slowly. Jiang Xiaobai and Xiao Su’s son finally had his own name.
Xiao Wangzhi.
The name was given by Jiang Xiaobai. When Xiao Su heard it for the first time, he was startled. But then he quickly agreed to it without saying anything further.
Then, the two of them went off to register the kid’s name. Liang Yahe didn’t think too much and even said smilingly that her daughter-in-law was talented at giving names, that the baby’s name was great, and that it was much better than her son’s name and so on.
Xiao Su had no choice but to sigh in his heart.
Liang Yahe didn’t care about anything. As long as they didn’t get a divorce, her grandson could have any name. Even ‘Doggie’ would be great.
The days flew by in a carefree way, like water flowing down a stream.
A month later, Xiao Su still did everything meticulously. It was so perfect that he was like a robot. Jiang Xiaobai was anxious at first, but after a while, she got used to his daily routine.
She even realized that Xiao Su was serious about making it up to her.
However, during this period, darker and heavier eyebags started forming under Xiao Su’s eyes. This was probably due to him having to sleep late and wake up early to look after her.
One morning, when Xiao Su woke up at the crack of dawn and prepared to get off the bed so that he could get things ready for Jiang Xiaobai, someone caught hold of his hand suddenly.
Xiao Su was startled and turned to look at Jiang Xiaobai in disbelief.
He dared not think too much and only asked her in a low voice, “You’re awake? Did I wake you up?”
Jiang Xiaobai shook her head and looked at him without a word.
Xiao Su felt guilty under her gaze and looked away. “You… should sleep for a while longer. I’m going to prepare breakfast.”
“No need.” Jiang Xiaobai pulled his hand again. “From now on, you don’t have to wake up so early to do these things.”
Hearing this, Xiao Su’s breathing became ragged as his face crumpled.
“Why? Did I do something wrong recently? Or are you dissatisfied with something I’ve done? If you’re dissatisfied, then I…”
“It’s not like that!” Jiang Xiaobai interrupted him quickly. She pursed her red lips, then drew in a deep breath before saying, “Don’t panic. Lie down and listen to me carefully.”
Her expression was calm, so it didn’t look like she was dissatisfied with him. But Xiao Su was terrified, as if he was dragged up to the guillotine. However, he had no choice but to lie down on the bed and listen to her.
His heart felt like it was being barbecued on the spot.
“You’ve done very well for the past month, and I do see your determination. But I’ve thought about everything you’ve done, and I feel that when you’re doing these things, it’s rather unfair to you.”
“No, it’s not. I volunteered to do these for you.”
“Let me finish.”
Xiao Su pressed his lips together and stopped talking.
“Relationships should be equal on both sides. No matter if it’s feelings or other aspects, if one side keeps giving but not receiving, the relationship will become imbalanced. In the past, I loved you deeply, but your feelings toward me were shallow. After a while, our relationship became imbalanced. Although you’re making it up to me now, things will become imbalanced after some time. I’ve given it some serious thought, so please don’t do these things anymore in the future.”
