68 1.2.31: Confrontation

When Xiao Yunhua finally arrived at Wang Yaowan's mansion, she was startled to find both Ni Ming and Wang Yaowan in the garden, as though they expected her.

"Had fun?" Ni Ming's playful tone was replaced with cold monotone. Her face that always held a smile was now frigid, disappointment evident.

"I..." Xiao Yunhua felt her words stuck in her throat as she looked at their looks of silent anger. Especially Wang Yaowan, it was almost like she had gone against his wishes. His anger was unfathomable to Xiao Yunhua until she realized that he probably didn't like her disappearing without any note like Ni Ming.

In the end, she could only stare at them in guilt. Maybe leaving a voicemail and disappearing off the bat was too impulsive.

"I'm sorry." She swallowed back her pride and apologized. She was twenty-two, but at this moment, she felt like the insecure sixteen year old that had met both of the people who helped her.

Live a better life.

Be a better person.

Ni Ming's harsh expression softened when she heard her apologize. But Wang Yaowan continued to coldly look at her, expecting an explanation.

"I... I felt a bit reckless that night," Xiao Yunhua bitterly admitted, crossing her arms as though she was remembering unpleasant memories. The scene of her breakup with Zhou Lang flashed through her mind and her guilt intensified.

"Why?" This time, it was Wang Yaowan's deep voice that questioned her.

"I broke it off with him..." They didn't need specifications on who 'him' was. Immediately, they understood why the young woman felt so melancholic. This was, after all, her first breakup.

Ni Ming immediately stood up and wrapped her arms around Xiao Yunhua to comfort her. Despite being shorter than Xiao Yunhua, she patted her head like one would pat a child.

Xiao Yunhua chuckled. "Ni Ming, I'm fine now. I feel guilty, but better."

"I'm glad that the breakup blues aren't affecting you anymore!"

"Do you mean springtime blues?"

Ni Ming stubbornly shook her head. "Breakup blues!"

"...But that's not a thing—" Xiao Yunhua sighed and shook her head, not wanting to ruin the older woman's mood.

"Where is Mrs. Bao?"

"She has retired." Wang Yaowan spoke, shocking Xiao Yunhua.

She was gone for just two weeks, yet it seemed like many events have occurred!

"I didn't get to say goodbye..." She frowned, to which Ni Ming comforted, "No worries! She'll still visit."

"Alright..."

Xiao Yunhua explained to them pretty much everything that happened on the trip, leaving out the night that she almost lost her virginity and the mystery man. They went from astonished to angry to realization when she told them that Qiang Yue stood her up.

"But Yunhua..." Then Ni Ming has proceeded to tell her that Qiang Luo had a heart attack.

As much as Xiao Yunhua wanted to feel bad for the old man, she couldn't because he had taken part in the attempted murder of Han Mi many years ago. And it was due to this attempted murder that she was forced to leave to protect herself.

Instead of showing her true emotions on her face, she pretended to be sympathetic.

The couple had only found due to the fact that the private wing of the hospital had been occupied by Qiang Luo. Through some convincing, Ni Ming managed to get a nurse to expose it—mainly because the nurse was only an intern and didn't know that she wasn't supposed to reveal any patient information.

But anxious and young, she revealed it anyways.

Ni Ming had only gone to the hospital because she hadn't been feeling well recently, tending to throw up. At first, she was ecstatic because she assumed that she was pregnant, but then she remembered that the percentage of her becoming pregnant was almost zero.

The fact that Wang Yaowan was willing to be with her despite her inability to give him a child made her love him all the more.

They had gone yesterday, and the doctor had said that he could contact Ni Ming with the results. Ni Ming brushed it off as a stomach bug because it couldn't be anything else.

Wanting to change the conversation, Xiao Yunhua asked, "How is everything at Riverside?"

"Everything is alright, although there are many that miss the masked beauty." Knowing that Wang Yaowan was referring to her, she felt shy.

She really did miss singing there... it was the only place that she felt truly confident despite her false persona.

"Care to sing for old times' sake?" Ni Ming nudged, winking.

Wang Yaowan shook his head at his wife's silly suggestion. "No. Safety hazard. I doubt her body can take another coma..."

Ni Ming tsked but agreed. Xiao Yunhua meant too much to them and they didn't want to lose her.

"By the way, how did you guys sit here in the garden like you anticipated my arrival?"

Ni Ming scoffed, "If you're sneaking away, make sure you don't use your passport and other identifications because we could easily track you in the airport. But hearing your voicemail, we knew that you needed a breath of fresh air." Ni Ming sighed as she reminisced how Xiao Yunhua sounded on the phone. "You sounded like a mess."

"I was..."

"But are you now?"

Xiao Yunhua shook her head. "I'm okay... for the most part at least. Emotionally stable..."

"I feel like you should meet with Qiang Yue and let the man explain why he stood you up in person. Hearing the reason from us may not be the legitimate reason. You know, he could always be having other problems..." Ni Ming's suggestion made Xiao Yunhua nod.

Talking with Qiang Yue was the right thing right now. There doesn't need to be any unnecessary misunderstandings or else there'd be trust, no matter if it was friendship or a relationship.

An hour later, Xiao Yunhua had taken a shower and gotten ready in new clothes, looking fresh. The jet lag hadn't affected her yet hence why she didn't rest much and immediately went to the hospital.

When she arrived, she was stunned to see someone that she never expected...