"Who knows what tomorrow will bring? Xiaonian… to Dad, I count every extra day I get to live as a blessing. I'm very content. I just want to see that you have someone to depend on, and my mind will be put at ease!"
Bai Xiaonian's father then patted Bai Xiaonian's hand and turned around to make the bed.
Actually, Bai Xiaonian's father could somewhat tell that it was indeed as Lu Jinnan had said, that he did something unforgivable, hence why Bai Xiaonian was so firm in getting a divorce.
But Bai Xiaonian's father could see how attentive Lu Jinnan was towards his daughter. He felt that… other than himself, Lu Jinnan was the person who loved his daughter the most in this world!
Moreover, he understood his own daughter well! Bai Xiaonian's father dared to wager that if Bai Xiaonian didn't have feelings for Lu Jinnan, he would chop off his head and let others play soccer with it…
Bai Xiaonian's bark was worse than her bite, and that had been the case since she was little!
Moreover, Lu Jinnan's father was really very fond of Bai Xiaonian!
Over this period, Bai Xiaonian's father had given this much thought. If the two kids didn't reconcile before he died, based on Bai Xiaonian's rotten temper and obstinate character, Lu Jinnan might tire of trying to win her back… and stop chasing or coaxing her. What would she do then?
Once he died, there wouldn't be anyone taking care of Bai Xiaonian. She would be left all alone. When she cried at home, there wouldn't even be someone handing her a tissue!
She had been spoiled since she was young and couldn't even fold her own blanket properly! How was she going to live!
Lu Jinnan was mature and steady, excellent at both his career and at taking care of the everyday living.
Only with such a person by Bai Xiaonian's side would he have no worries!
So long as they could get together, even if he died… he wouldn't have to worry about Bai Xiaonian.
Bai Xiaonian's father's eyes reddened. After laying out the blanket properly, he straightened his back and massaged his waist before warning Bai Xiaonian ferociously, "Stop throwing a tantrum at Lu Jinnan, do you hear me!"
Every time Bai Xiaonian's father mentioned the subject of death, Bai Xiaonian would yield with no strings attached. She nodded, then watched as her father exited her room. She then heard her father talking with Lu Jinnan.
"Jinnan, I've laid out the bed. Sleep in Xiaonian's room tonight…"
"Dad, how can I let you help me lay out the bed?"
"If you were to go to Xiaonian's room and lay out the bed, there's no doubt she would chase you out…"
Lu Jinnan was speechless.
He was unable to rebut that.
Bai Xiaonian's father even made a gesture to cheer him on at the end of their conversation.
He seemed to be saying with his expression—young lad, I can only help you this much!
After Bai Xiaonian's father returned to his room, the entire place became quiet.
Lu Jinnan walked to Bai Xiaonian's door. Looking at Bai Xiaonian's back view as she sat at the desk, he said, "I'll take the blanket and pillow out with me…"
Bai Xiaonian said nothing. She was focused on the computer screen, deep in her thoughts.
Lu Jinnan thought she was working, so he didn't interrupt her. After folding the blanket and picking up the pillow, he was prepared to leave. That was when he saw Bai Xiaonian get up. She took out a blanket and laid it on the floor, then pulled her pillow and blanket off the bed and said, "I don't wish to upset my dad. You can sleep on the bed, and I'll sleep on the floor…"
"I'll sleep on the floor!" Lu Jinnan said.
To Lu Jinnan, being permitted to stay in Bai Xiaonian's room was already a huge improvement and concession. Lu Jinnan wasn't planning to reach out for a yard after taking an inch.
Lu Jinnan placed his blanket and pillow on the floor and said to Bai Xiaonian with a smile, "My injury is merely superficial. My leg isn't broken… or amputated. I'll sleep on the floor!"
Bai Xiaonian didn't stand on ceremony with Lu Jinnan. She tossed her pillow and blanket back onto the bed.
Seeing Bai Xiaonian close her laptop and walk out of the room, Lu Jinnan asked, "Why aren't you resting at this hour?"
Bai Xiaonian ignored him…
After working until 5:30 am, when Bai Xiaonian returned to the bedroom, she saw that Lu Jinnan hadn't slept either. He was sitting at the desk and looking through Bai Xiaonian's photo album from her childhood.
Hearing the door open, Lu Jinnan turned around. He looked much more spirited than Bai Xiaonian.
He closed the photo album and asked, "Done with your work? Sleeping now?"
She had been dragging it out working outside until this hour… and he was still awake?
Bai Xiaonian didn't say a word to Lu Jinnan. After getting some clothes, she went into the bathroom to bathe.
Bai Xiaonian was used to taking a shower before bed if she worked deep into the night…
After Bai Xiaonian took her sweet time to shower, she came out and didn't see Lu Jinnan in the room. Instead, she saw a note on the photo album, telling her that he went out to buy breakfast.
He had folded the blankets on the floor and neatly stacked them on the chair. Bai Xiaonian climbed into bed and pulled the blanket over her, closing her eyes, but she couldn't sleep.
It was because of what her father said, as well as because of the child they lost.
While she was lying on the bed and watching as the skies brightened up, she heard Lu Jinnan returning with breakfast. She also heard her father's astonished voice as he hurriedly asked Lu Jinnan to sit, for his leg was injured.
Bai Xiaonian had no idea if it was because of the passing of time, the gradual healing of her pain of losing her baby, but towards Lu Jinnan… her heart was starting to soften.
It wasn't that she was deliberately finding excuses for Lu Jinnan, but based on Lu Jinnan's personality… he couldn't possibly have ignored Hong Jinyun back then. Although he had a vicious tongue, he was actually a very soft-hearted man, sometimes overly sentimental and loyal.
Bai Xiaonian's tears slipped past the bridge of her nose. She sniffled and wrapped herself firmly with the blanket, hand gripping the clothes at her abdomen tightly.
If the two of them hadn't acted out of spite back then… If, after Lu Jinnan asked her to stop making a fuss back then, she was able to swallow her pride and tell him she wasn't being difficult but was calling him because she was pregnant, would he have gone to her right away? Could their child have been saved?
It was both their fault that the baby was lost!
Bai Xiaonian had been pinning the entire blame on Lu Jinnan, hence denied the possibility of a future with Lu Jinnan.
She wiped her tears with a blanket and asked herself if she was the perfect example of the saying, "a good woman fears a pestering man."
…
Last night, Yun Liuli and Gu Qingcheng slept next to each other the entire night. Yun Liuli went to school with reddened eyes and dark undereye circles the following day.
At the Cloud Top Condominium, Yun Liuli had cried in Gu Qingcheng's arms countless times. It was like they would be parting forever or something. In the end, she only left because Gu Qingcheng urged her to.
In the car, she secretly grumbled about what a heartless man Gu Qingcheng was. God knows when they would get to meet again. Despite that, he had heartlessly sent her to the elevator, not giving her a chance to get close to him!
However, when she recalled the way Gu Qingcheng asked her to work hard before leaving… and his words about how he needed her to provide for him when he returned in a few years' time, Yun Liuli felt hot blood coursing through her veins, driven by motivation!