Yu Lili was still panting, and her voice sounded slightly nasal . She tried her best to steady her breathing; then she put the phone to her ear .
“Yu Lili . ”
It was Ou Ming’s voice!
Hearing Ou Ming say her name made her head ache . “Yeah . Ou Ming, where are you?”
There was a beat of silence on the other end before Ou Ming replied, “I’m at home! It’s the New Year after all . When I left just now, I forgot to inform you . Are you home yet?”
“Yeah . ”
“Have you eaten?”
“Yeah . ” Yu Lili wanted to cry, so she bit down on her lip hard to prevent the dam from breaking, and sniffled instead .
“What did you have?”
“I had steak, a western meal . ” Her voice was very nasally .
When Ou Ming heard her, he calmed his emotions before asking, “Did you catch a cold?”
“Yeah . I was out in the cold today . I’ve taken some medicine . I should be fine by tomorrow . ”
“Make sure to take care of yourself . I probably won’t be able to see you for a while . I just recalled that there’s something very important I left undone at work . I’ll have to work overtime and go overseas after the New Year to complete it . ”
Yu Lili had already prepared what to say, and she knew what he was going to say next . But each word she spoke was like a stab to her heart . Again and again . It was so deep and so painful .
“When will you be coming back then?”
“I don’t know . I’ll contact you again when I’m back . ”
“Alright . Whose phone is this?”
“My mom’s . Don’t call this number if you can help it . Otherwise, she might scold you . ”
“Mmhmm . ”
“I’m hanging up . ”
“Mmhmm . ”
“Sleep early . ”
“Mmhmm . ”
“Good night . ”
“Mmhmm . ”
Each reply Yu Lili gave made her feel as though her heart were being dug out–so searing was the pain .
So very searing the pain was!
Right after Yu Lili hung up, she covered her mouth with her hand and dropped to her knees . Tears started rolling down her face, and she bit her fist to prevent any sound from escaping .
They had just been discussing earlier that afternoon what each of them would do if the other lost the use of their arms and legs .
She had stood by Matchmaker’s Lake for a long time pondering that . If something really happened to him, she would never leave him . She wasn’t as fickle-minded and weak as his mother had made her out to be .
But it had never crossed her mind what she would do if he lost his sight .
At present, she couldn’t even enter his hospital room . What could she do?
Ou Ming heard the unhappiness in Yu Lili’s voice and knew that she was upset . But he didn’t dare probe further, and he couldn’t either .
It was all his fault . He had left without a word; it was only normal that she’d be upset .
He put the phone down and used the feel of his hands to press the middle button, but he ended up activating the speaker by mistake .
The disengaged tone was amplified to everyone’s ears .
Ou Ming felt lost, and the memories of his conversation with her earlier in the afternoon came floating back to him .
“What about me? If I lost my limbs, what would you do?”
“I’m with you only because you’re good-looking . If you no longer have your hands or legs, you won’t be good-looking anymore . If that day comes, I’ll leave you and won’t be with you any longer . ”
Ou Ming put the phone down and lay back on the bed, his eyes closed and his heart was hurting . “Dad, take Mom home,” he said .
This quiet Ou Ming was completely irreconcilable with the crazed man moments before .
Jiao Ziqing remained worried, but Wen Fenglin, who was standing to the side, spoke up as well, “Lao Ou, Xiao Ou is right . Take Xiao Jiao home first . Xiao Jiao was in a car accident today as well . She must have gotten quite a fright . Take her back first, and I’ll watch over Xiao Ou here . ”