Han Ye did not ask further as he felt that it might be something private to her. But just as he was about to take his leave, he felt that something was wrong, and after a while, he realized what it was.
Glancing toward the kitchen, he took a sniff and thought briefly before he looked at Xiao Lei. "Didn't you say that you're cooking curry tonight? But... I don't smell anything."
"I ate everything?" Xiao Lei said as she averted her glance.
Han Ye raised a brow and folded his arms as he said, "It's curry... The smell lingers for some time..."
Xiao Lei sighed and looked at him.
"I... I got lazy," she murmured. She lied about making curry earlier. It was only so that Tian Le would not worry about her and so that she could go back to being sad. After they left, she merely made herself some sandwich.
Even though she loved food, she was unable to eat much after what she found out earlier.
That was also why she was up so late at night now. She got hungry and wanted to get some snacks to eat before going back to sleep.
Han Ye sighed. He went to the kitchen and took a quick look around. He saw some bread on the floor and asked, "You ate a sandwich?"
When she nodded, he then scolded her gently, "You know, you are about to be a mother soon. You need to nourish the body now so that you'd be strong enough to carry the child."
Xiao Lei rolled her eyes at him. "I know... It's just one meal. What are you making a fuss about?"
Han Ye looked at his watch. It was almost 11.30 pm.
"I'll make something for you," Han Ye said as he cracked his fingers. Without waiting for her response, he went through her fridge. There were a variety of fresh vegetables as well as chicken. Once he gathered enough ingredients, he made a stir fry broccoli with carrots and snap peas, steamed half a chicken, and a small portion of rice.
It was something simple, but the smell was enough to cause Xiao Lei to drool.
All the while, Xiao Lei merely watched him work. She had changed her position and was now sitting on the high chair at the kitchen top. "You're pretty good at this..."
"When I was still studying, I used to work as a chef," Han Ye replied as he scooped up a bowl of rice. Once he placed everything on the kitchen top, he said sternly, "Eat now. I'll leave after you're done."
She picked up her chopsticks as she complained, "I'm not a kid. I don't need you to watch over me."
With his arms folded, he replied jokingly, "You're not really a convincing a.d.u.l.t either."
Xiao Lei sighed. Just as she was about to take her first bite, she looked up at him and said, "Eat with me."
Han Ye said as he sat in front of her, "I'm not hungry..."
"Well, I can't eat with a strange man staring at me."
Han Ye stared at her for a moment and she stared back as well. After a few seconds, he gave up and went to grab a bowl. He then scooped himself half a bowl of rice and sat opposite Xiao Lei. "Happy?"
"Nothing to be happy about... It's not like you're my boyfriend..." Xiao Lei murmured.
"You..." He wanted to say more but he felt that he would only be at the losing end, hence, he stopped himself.
While they were eating quietly, he noticed that Xiao Lei kept stealing glances at him.
"Xiao Lei... I know I'm handsome at all, but we are just acquaintances..." he joked while he placed a piece of cauliflower on her bowl.
Xiao Lei scoffed, "Don't flatter yourself, Mr. Han... I'm just..."
"Just what?"
She hesitated for a moment before she said in a small voice, "Tian Le told me... about your late wife."
"And you want to ask me something?"
She nodded.
"But you're afraid that I'm offended?"
She nodded again.
Han Ye sighed. He picked up the only drumstick and placed it in the empty plate in front of her. When she looked at him, he said, "I won't get offended at this, as long as you don't badmouth my wife."
He then raised a brow at her and asked, "You aren't going to badmouth her, right?"
Xiao Lei shook her head vigorously. "Never!"
"So, what do you want to know?"
Xiao Lei thought for a while before she asked, "Erm... When did you guys get married?"
Han Ye hesitated for a moment. He picked up a piece of chicken b.r.e.a.s.t meat and placed it on his bowl before he said, "We never officially got married. We got engaged and was about to get married 12 years ago when she got into an accident... After that, she was in a comatose state and she never woke up. But still, she's my wife no matter what."
He then gave her a sad smile. "My stubbornness in keeping her alive nearly caused my boss' daughter to cease to exist. It was also a wake-up call for me. I can't possibly keep someone who's brain dead forever..."
Xiao Lei sighed sadly. She could see the pain in Han Ye's eyes. She was angry at him earlier when she first heard from Tian Le, but now that she knew what actually happened, she felt sorry for him. For him to be the only one left, it had to be tough.
Her eyes got teary again but she hid it by keeping her head down.
She felt what Han Ye felt before. For a long time, she carried survivor's guilt... for being the only one who lived on when her parents perished in that man-made accident. Without her husband, she would have gone crazy and live a worse life than now.
Meanwhile, Han Ye did not have anyone else. She felt bad about cursing him earlier, so she quickly picked up a piece of broccoli and placed it on his bowl.
As she glanced at Han Ye, she asked meekly, "Can you... Can you tell me more about it?"
Han Ye smiled. As if they were afraid of hurting him, no one actually talked about Wu Yuexue and that itself hurt more than anything else. He was glad that there was someone who was busybody enough to ask.
He took a deep breath before he began to tell her everything that led to the event.
...
Around 12 years ago, after his wife met the accident that caused her to be declared brain dead, Han Ye could no longer function to the best of his ability at his job. Every morning before he went to his work, and every night after he got off from work, he would be at the hospital.
The toil on both his physical and mental state caused him to keep making mistakes at work. Even after he got scolded by his boss at that time, he still continued to live in the same way.
He was afraid that Wu Yuexue would be afraid if she woke up and he was not there. Eventually, his boss sacked him.
Han Ye knew that he could not be jobless. The medical bills were not cheap, and he had almost burned through his savings. While he was looking for a job, Han Ye would spend most of his days in the hospital, right by his wife's side.
One day, while he went out for an interview, his in-laws came and took his wife away.
When Han Ye got back and saw the cold, empty hospital bed, he went crazy as he asked the nurses where she was. Once he heard that his in-laws took her, he immediately rushed to their mansion.
"Give me Yuexue back!" Han Ye demanded while the guards restrained him from further approaching Yuexue's parents.
PAP!
"You! You killed her! If it's not for you, she would have been alive and well instead of a shell!" Mrs. Wu yelled at him after the slap.
PAP!
Another slap later, she continued, "You're just a maid's son, how dare you hit on our daughter! You seduced her and took her away from us! Look what you've done to her!"
Ignoring the stinging pain on his cheeks, Han Ye cried as he looked at Mrs. Wu, "Give her back to me, please... I can't live without her..."
"No," Mr. Wu, who had been standing next to his wife, said sternly as he looked at Han Ye coldly. "It's been a few months. We've asked around, and all the doctors said that she'd never wake up again... We are going to wait for a good time to send her off."
"No!" Han Ye snapped as he looked at him with fear in his eyes. "You can't do that! She will wake up again! She will... definitely will!"
He tried to pull his arms away from the guards who were holding him. Mr. Wu waved a hand and the guards immediately released Han Ye.
Han Ye, who despite his harsh life, had never knelt in front of anyone before. Yet he knelt in front of Mr. Wu.
As he kowtowed to the people who had never accepted him, he begged in a tearful voice, "Please! Don't do that! She's the only one that I have! I can't live without her, Mr. Wu! Please give... give her back to me..."
His forehead was bleeding from the harsh way he kowtowed.
"What are you waiting for?! Take him away!" Mrs. Wu yelled at the guards as she ignored him. To her, he was the ultimate reason why Wu Yuexue would drive out that night. She swore she would never forgive this man who took her precious daughter away.
The guards immediately dragged Han Ye away from the mansion and threw him outside the gate. As he slammed his fists against the gate, Han Ye yelled, "Mr. Wu, Mrs. Wu! Give her back to me! Please! She never belongs here! She doesn't like it here!"
"Arghh!!!" he yelled out of frustration.
However, his cries went unheard.