Xi’an was truly a city filled with history.

  Wei Shuyi and Jiaren Wu went to the Great Tang Hibiscus Garden. Jiaren Wu said that Hibiscus Garden was very beautiful, but Wei Shuyi said that she was even more beautiful than the Hibiscus Garden. Jiaren Wu got so happy that she hugged and kissed him.

  They even went to see the terracotta soldiers. Jiaren Wu said that the terracotta soldiers looked quite tattered and scary. Wei Shuyi laughed at her for not knowing history.

  Then, they went to Huimin Street. Jiaren Wu said that Huimin Street was quite fun and had too much good food. She would come again in the future. Wei Shuyi called her a foodie.

  After staying in Xi’an for four days, the two of them had to go back.

  On the day he left Xi’an, Wei Shuyi sat at the airport and thought for a while before sending Ye Xi a message.

  Wei Shuyi: [Chen Jingxi always wanted to see Xi’an… I came on her behalf. Xi’an is very beautiful, even more beautiful than I imagined.]

  The player was still aloof and didn’t reply.

  Two hours later, Wei Shuyi’s plane arrived at Binjiang City.

  On the way home, Wei Shuyi remembered the message he had sent to Ye Xi and opened Weibo. He didn’t see Ye Xi’s reply but saw that the player had updated his Weibo.

  Ye Xi: After so many years, I’ve learned how to bake cookies. Today, I sent the cookies to the girl I like. She said the cookies were delicious. She thought it was a blessing. I feel blessed too. [Attached: A picture.jpg.]

  He clicked on the picture and saw two people holding hands

  In an instant, Wei Shuyi was completely relieved about the failed surgery that year.

  People had to look forward.

  ***

  Jiaren Wu had originally planned to spend the night with Wei Shuyi, but at eight in the evening, she received a call from Dongli Shenghua.

  “Mr. Dongli, my—”


  “I saw your post on WeChat. You’re back. Can you come over? Xiao Ao’s stomach is hurting in the middle of the night. I have to send him to the hospital. He’s been calling your name…” Dongli Shenghua sounded apologetic and was pleading. “Miss Wu, can you come and see him?”


  Upon hearing that Dongli Ao was sick, Jiaren Wu could not refuse. “Which hospital?”


  “City One Hospital.”


  “I’ll be right there.”


  After hanging up the phone, Jiaren Wu walked out of the room and stood at the entrance of the kitchen. She stared at Wei Shuyi’s back as he cooked.

  As if sensing something, Wei Shuyi turned around and saw her standing behind him. He didn’t know how long she had been standing there for, so he asked, “Are you hungry? If you wait a while longer, there will only be a garlic pork rib left.”


  Jiaren Wu said, “Brother Wei, I have to go.”


  The smile on that person’s face quickly dimmed.

  “What happened?” He sounded calm and peaceful.

  He was always like this, suppressing his emotions and rarely speaking loudly to her. This was his gentle and easygoing nature.

  Jiaren Wu’s gaze subconsciously shifted downwards and landed on the floor. This was a sign that she couldn’t bear it.

  She looked at the floor and softly explained, “Mr. Dongli’s son has a stomachache. He has been sent to the hospital. The little guy wanted me to accompany him.”


  Wei Shuyi’s expression turned cold.

  He washed his hands, removed his apron, and turned off the gas stove. “It’s too late,” he told her. “I’ll send you there.”


  “No need. I’ll ride my bike…”


  “I’ll send you there.” Wei Shuyi’s tone became unyielding, and Jiaren Wu eventually agreed.

  On the way to the City One Hospital, Wei Shuyi didn’t say much.

  Jiaren Wu wanted to say something, but when she turned around and saw Wei Shuyi’s silent and beautiful side profile, she felt that saying another word would hurt him. When the car arrived at the entrance of the hospital, Wei Shuyi said, “We’re here.”


  Jiaren Wu suddenly reached out and held his hand. “Brother Wei, go back. If it’s alright, I’ll be back tonight.”


  Wei Shuyi finally turned to look at her.

  When he saw her uneasy expression, he couldn’t bear to see her like this. “Alright.”


  Jiaren Wu got out of the car and entered the hospital.

  Wei Shuyi watched as she walked further and further away. He lowered his head only when her figure disappeared into the crowd.

  ***

  When Jiaren Wu went to the medical department building to look for Dongli Ao, the doctor was performing an abdominal examination on the kid.

  Dongli Shenghua was still wearing his home clothes. From the looks of it, Dongli Ao’s stomachache had come too quickly and he hadn’t even had time to change his clothes.

  Jiaren Wu guessed that Dongli Ao was suffering from acute inflammation.

  A moment later, the doctor brought Dongli Ao out. The boy was in so much pain that he could not straighten his back. Dongli Shenghua immediately stood up and bent down to carry Dongli Ao in his arms. Dongli Ao’s little hand tugged on his father’s shirt. He was in so much pain that his face turned pale. He did not have the strength to cry and could only groan.

  “Daddy, it hurts.”


  Dongli Ao’s arrogant voice was filled with pain.

  Dongli Shenghua was somewhat anxious, his eyes filled with helplessness.

  Jiaren Wu sighed. She walked over and pressed down on Dongli Ao’s lower right abdomen. Dongli Ao immediately shouted, “It hurts!”


  She drew back her hand and joined Dongli Shenghua and the doctor.

  “It’s acute appendicitis,” said the doctor. “It’s better to operate.”


  When Dongli Shenghua heard that his son needed surgery, he subconsciously frowned.

  Appendicitis was not a serious illness, but it was very painful.

  Dongli Shenghua lowered his head and looked at the child in his arms. In the end, he nodded and said, “Then arrange the surgery.”


  “Sure.”


  Only then did Dongli Shenghua lower his head and say to Jiaren Wu beside him, “Miss Wu, I’ll have to trouble you to stay here and accompany him.” Not wanting to hear Jiaren Wu’s excuses, Dongli Shenghua said, “I’ll also stay here. Protecting me is your duty. I’ll pay you according to the contract.”


  His words completely cut off Jiaren Wu’s path of retreat.

  Dongli Ao’s situation made her uneasy.

  Putting aside the fact that this child was quite cute, Jiaren Wu could not ignore him as he was her aunt’s child.

  “Okay.”


  Jiaren Wu called Wei Shuyi.

  The call was suddenly cut off.

  Thinking that Wei Shuyi was sulking again, Jiaren Wu stopped calling him.

  Wei Shuyi stood at the other end of the hospital corridor. He watched as Dongli Shenghua carried Dongli Ai and Jiaren Wu walked toward the hospital ward. The three of them were so close to each other that for some reason, Wei Shuyi felt as if they were a family of three.

  His phone rang. Afraid that Jiaren Wu would find out he was here, he hung up immediately.

  Before Dongli Ao was pushed into the operating theater, he was especially uncooperative. He shouted, “Daddy! Can you accompany me? Sister Jiaren, can you accompany me too?” He was especially cowardly. Although he looked like a cold child, he was especially afraid of pain.

  Dongli Shenghua’s forehead was full of black lines. He wanted to reject Dongli Ao, but Dongli Ao’s screams were too tragic. The entire floor could hear his cries.

  Jiaren Wu asked the doctor, “Can we accompany him?”


  Could the doctor refuse?

  He could.

  However, it was better for him to not reject the person in front of him.

  “Change your clothes and come in together.”


  Hence, the doctor performed the surgery on Dongli Ao while Jiaren Wu and Dongli Shenghua accompanied him.

  Dongli Shenghua could not bear to watch the knife slice across his son’s stomach, so he turned his head and looked at Jiaren Wu’s face. Jiaren Wu, on the other hand, had been watching the surgery on the operating table the whole time. She was very calm, and she did not show any signs of heartache.

  Dongli Ao shivered in fear when he saw the blade approaching his stomach.

  He suddenly stretched out his right hand, wanting to grab onto something to give himself some peace of mind.

  At this moment, Jiaren Wu quickly held his hand.

  Dongli Ao seemed relieved, and the panic on his face faded a little.

  Dongli Shenghua looked at the woman and the child’s tightly clasped hands. He narrowed his eyes, and a look of determination flashed across his eyes.

  Appendectomy was only a small surgery, and it was not dangerous. However, the surgery took more than three hours. When he returned to the ward, Dongli Ao’s nervous emotions gradually relaxed. When the anesthesia wore off completely, he started to hum.

  Jiaren Wu sat at the side, listening to him hum and act coquettishly with his daddy.

  “Then tell me a story about mermaids.”


  Dongli Shenghua said, “You’re already six years old. You’re no longer suitable to listen to such stories.”


  “I want to hear it.”


  When Dongli Shenghua remained unmoved, Dongli Ao suddenly frowned and whispered, “It hurts…”


  There was nothing he could do.

  Dongli Shenghua sat down at the corner of the bed and expressionlessly began to tell a story.

  “In the past…”


  Dongli Ao and Jiaren Wu pricked up their ears.

  Dongli Ao was interested in the story while Jiaren Wu was interested in Dongli Shenghua’s ability to tell the story.

  “There was a little beauty. She was the underwater princess. One day, she saved the prince of the Fallen Sea and fell in love with him. Then, the little beauty changed her fins into her legs at the cost of her voice and walked ashore to get close to the prince. However, the prince misunderstood that it was another girl who saved him in the Fallen Sea, so he wanted to marry that girl. The beauty wanted to tell the prince that she was the one who saved the prince, but she couldn’t speak. In the end, she could only watch as they got married.

  “After that, the sisters of the beauty gave her a dagger that could kill the prince. If she smeared the prince’s blood on her feet, she could return to the sea. But the beauty couldn’t bear to kill the prince, and in the end, she turned into foam.”


  The story ended just like that.

  Jiaren Wu thought that the story was too simple.

  Dongli Ao said, “The little mermaid is so kind.”


  Dongli Shenghua snorted and said, “She could only watch the person she loved marry someone else while she turned into foam because she was kind. This story tells us that all kind people die.”


  Dongli Ao was shocked.

  “This story also tells us that different species shouldn’t love each other. That’s wishful thinking.”


  Dongli Ao couldn’t help but say, “But our teacher didn’t say that…”


  “That’s why your teacher can only be a teacher while I’m a boss.”


  Dongli Ao felt that what Dongli Shenghua said made sense.

  Jiaren Wu could not bear to listen any longer. She quickly walked over and took the opportunity to change her proud outlook. She said, “Your daddy is talking nonsense. Loving someone is a silent sacrifice and fulfillment. She fulfills the prince’s wish to marry the person he loves because she loves the prince. She can’t bear to kill the prince and would rather become foam because she loves the prince.

  “This story tells us that love is about fulfilling others and giving.”


  Dongli Ao nodded.

  He thought for a while before saying, “I think Sister Jiaren’s words make more sense.”


  Ever since Jiaren Wu started speaking, Dongli Shenghua had been staring at her.

  After listening to her speak, Dongli Shenghua asked, “Miss Wu, do you think that love is a sacrifice?”


  Jiaren Wu nodded.

  Dongli Shenghua sneered.

  “Is that so?”


  Jiaren Wu did not reply.

  Dongli Shenghua said, “But in this story, I admire the girl who married the prince. She did nothing but she gained the prince’s love and the throne of his consort.” As he spoke, he took Dongli Ao’s small foot and squeezed it.

  He added, “I think that love is about getting someone to your side by any means.”


  Jiaren Wu’s expression did not change. She only said, “You can get anyone just because you want them.”


  “Is that so…” Dongli Shenghua’s fingers gently caressed Dongli Ao’s skin, but he said, “How would I know if I don’t try?”


  Dongli Ao could not understand what they were talking about.

  ***

  The next morning, Dongli Ao was famished and wanted to eat.

  After asking around and learning that he could drink a small amount of liquid, Jiaren Wu fed him some thick rice soup.

  Dongli Ao blinked and softly sighed. He then said to Jiaren Wu, “Sister Jiaren, come and be my mother.”


  Jiaren Wu immediately refused. “You’re talking nonsense again.”


  Dongli Ao shifted his gaze to his daddy.

  Dongli Shenghua glanced at him and only smiled.

  A day later, Dongli Ao had to get out of bed.

  Jiaren Wu accompanied him as the two of them walked slowly along the hospital corridor.

  Dongli Shenghua was not around today. It was unknown what he was busy with.

  Jiaren Wu still had Wei Shuyi in her heart. She took some time to call him.

  Wei Shuyi was probably busy and didn’t answer the call.

  In reality, Wei Shuyi was indeed busy. He had a surgery to perform.

  It was already three in the afternoon when he finished his surgery.

  After washing his hands, Wei Shuyi decided to go out and eat something. He looked at his phone as he went downstairs. He saw that there was a missed call from Jiaren Wu. He thought for a while and decided to call her.

  The call went through, and Wei Shuyi walked out of the elevator. When he walked out of the hospital building, he saw a familiar man standing at the entrance.

  The man was wearing a black shirt and black pants as he leaned against a black Bentley. His gaze and expression were cold and indifferent.