Chapter 228 - What's really in your mind?

When Xiao Zhihao knew that Han Ye was already awake, he wanted to go home immediately. 

"I'll eat at home," he said when Xiao Lei placed the bowl of oatmeal in his lap. He tried to put the bowl of oatmeal aside, but Xiao Lei stopped him. "Mum…"

Xiao Lei refused to give in to him, not when he was sick. "Finish your oatmeal and take your medicine first. We will go back soon."

Xiao Zhihao looked at his mother. He really did not have any appetite to stomach anything, but when he saw the worried look on his mother's face, he sighed and relented. 

Once he was done eating, they went to talk to Luo Guangying and Lin, both of whom woke up when Xiao Lei and Xiao Zhihao were in the bedroom. 

"Are you alright?" Lin asked as she looked at Xiao Zhihao, who seemed to be completely expression. 

The boy nodded as he looked at the white rabbit in her arms. 

"He's a little feverish, so I'm taking him home to rest. Thanks for letting us stay in your room last night, Lin," Xiao Lei said with an apologetic tone. She felt bad for bothering this woman whom she barely knew. 

Lin smiled. "Don't worry about it."

She then looked at Xiao Zhihao and said, "Get well soon, Zhi Hao. I'm sorry for what happened to your friend."

Xiao Zhihao nodded. He did not know what to say in this kind of situation. Everything came too suddenly, and he did not have the time to process everything yet.

Luo Guangying glanced at Xiao Zhihao for a moment before turning his eyes on Han Ye.

"I'll update you guys once Callum is back. He hasn't replied to my message yet, so I don't think he's awake yet."

Han Ye nodded. 

Once they bade farewell to Luo Guangying and his mother, they headed straight home. 

Outside Xiao Lei's house, 

Han Ye watched as Xiao Zhihao dragged himself back into his house. He then said to Xiao Lei, "Call me if there's anything."

She nodded. 

"As for the… thing about you, we will discuss more about it later on."

Xiao Lei looked at him. After a few seconds of thoughts, she nodded. She figured he was talking about her identity. 

Yes, they had to talk about it. 

Once Han Ye left and Xiao Lei went back into her house, she went to tend to her son, only to find that his door was locked. 

"Zhi Hao?"

"Mum, I need some quiet time," Xiao Zhihao said while lying down on his bed with his comforter over his bed. 

"Do you have to lock the door?"

"Please let me be for now. I want to be alone."

Xiao Lei sighed when she heard the tiredness in his voice. She hesitated for a moment before saying, "I'll call your school and apply for a couple of days of leave. Just stay home for the next few days."

There was no reply, so she assumed that he had agreed to it and went to make something for him to eat later. 

....

A few days later, Han Ye organized a small funeral for Yun Qi, which was to be held at Imperial City. Other than Yun Qi's older brother and her deadbeat father, she had no other family. Callum expediated the matter with his influence. 

The prosecutors originally wanted to charge Yun Wei with "preventing the lawful burial of the body" of his sister as well as the accessory to a murder, but after listening to the testimonials of a few neighbors, who testified that Yun Qi and Yun Wei's father was a chronic drunkard and abuser and that they had seen the man beating the sh*t out of his son, the prosecutors decided to charge Yun Wei with the lesser offense.  

Once the authorities were done with the autopsy of Yun Qi's body, Han Ye, with Yun Wei's approval, took charge and decided to bury Yun Qi in a cemetery inside Imperial City. This way, it would be easy for Xiao Zhihao to visit her whenever he felt like it.

Yun Wei, for his action as well as how he treated his younger sister over the year, felt too ashamed to even fight for the right to bury her.

On this day, Callum and Luo Guangying came to pay their respects as well. Even Lu Ziyan, who had not seen Yun Qi before, went to pay his respects. However, they left earlier because they had some work to attend to, leaving only Han Ye, Xiao Lei, and Xiao Zhihao.  

Xiao Lei looked at her son who was staring at Yun Qi's tombstone with a regretful expression. In his hand was a fresh bouquet of roses. He had been standing in front of her tombstone for a long time, and it appeared that he was having a heart to heart talk with his best friend in his mind.

Han Ye walked over with a black umbrella to shield Xiao Lei from the scorching sun. When Xiao Lei noticed that she was under a shade, she turned around and looked at Han Ye. "I'm fine." 

"I don't need you to fall sick. Don't forget that you're pregnant now," Han Ye said steadfastly. He glanced at Xiao Zhihao before saying to Xiao Lei, "Why don't you rest in the car first? Let Zhi Hao talk to his friend privately."

"I'm not that weak…"

"Mum," Xiao Zhihao suddenly called out as he touched Yun Qi's necklace, which he had been wearing ever since he returned home from Luo Guanying's place. It was a little feminine, but he wanted to keep it close to him. It made him feel as if Yun Qi was still there with him. 

He had not said more than 10 words since the morning, so when he finally spoke, Han Ye and Xiao Lei turned to him in unison.

"Yeah?" Xiao Lei looked at her son. 

"Can I have some alone time with Yun Qi?" Xiao Zhihao asked while keeping his eyes on Yun Qi's tombstone. 

Xiao Lei looked at the tombstone for a few seconds before nodding. "Han Ye and I will wait at the car."

Since the car was parked near to the grave, she could still look over her son while giving him the privacy that he wanted. 

Han Ye walked her to the car, and when they got in, he said, "You've lost weight."

"Did I?" 

"You haven't been eating much lately?" Han Ye asked. Ever since they returned on Sunday, Han Ye had been swarmed with work. There was an urgent matter that needed to be attended to in Seoul, Korea. But because DX could not bear to leave Kai Xin and the new baby, Han Ye had to go on behalf of him. Since he could not be here, he arranged for people to help him with the preparation for matters pertaining to the funeral and had everything else done online.  

Before Han Ye left, he gave Xiao Lei a few days off so that she could take care of Xiao Zhihao. Even though he arrived home last night, because of the time, he did not see Xiao Lei until this morning. When he picked them up, he was surprised, and also slightly annoyed, to see that Xiao Lei had lost some weight. 

Even Xiao Zhihao had lost weight in the short period of time as well.  

Xiao Lei sighed and looked out the window at her son, who was still standing there like a block of wood. "I don't really have the appetite to eat much when my son is so upset. He barely touched his food the entire time."

"You need to eat more. Don't forget that you're eating for more than one now." 

Xiao Lei nodded absentmindedly. 

Han Ye frowned and asked, "Did you hear me?" 

"Yeah," she murmured. 

"What did I say?" 

Xiao Lei blinked and looked at him. With a guilty expression, she shrugged. "Something about food?"

Han Ye sighed. "What's really in your mind?" 

"I…" She looked at him for a few seconds. After a moment of hesitation, she admitted the truth. "I've been thinking… No one knew what had happened to Yun Qi. If not for Zhi Hao's alertness, maybe no one would know for a long time. What if…"

She took a deep breath before saying it in a small voice, "What if something bad had happened to my husband and that he's…" 

She did not want to say it out loud, so she changed her words. "What if he's injured badly somewhere and there's no one there to help him?" 

Han Ye frowned slightly as he tried to think of an answer. 

xxx

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