After I Lost My Memory, My Ex-Husband Became My Caregiver - Chapter 7
Chapter 7
After Zhou Yan was taken away, Zhou Yinghuai went to have his wound bandaged.
I sat in the hospital room with my old phone resting on my knees.
Xu Jianing said, “You scared me to death just now.”
I said, “I scared myself to death too.”
She glanced at me.
“Then how did you manage to look so calm?”
“My legs went weak. I couldn’t stand up.”
Xu Jianing couldn’t help laughing.
After she laughed, she sighed again.
“Qingyu, don’t rush into making a decision.”
I hummed in acknowledgment.
She said, “Hating someone is exhausting. Learning to trust someone again is exhausting too.”
I looked out the window.
The rain had stopped.
There were puddles downstairs outside the hospital. The lights fell into them, shimmering so brightly it made my eyes ache.
“I know.”
When Zhou Yinghuai came back, his arm was wrapped in gauze.
When he saw Xu Jianing, he gave her a polite nod.
Xu Jianing picked up her bag and stood.
“I’m leaving. You two talk.”
After the door closed, neither Zhou Yinghuai nor I said anything.
He set the medicine on the table, then started peeling an apple again.
This time, the peel broke.
He lowered his head and stared at the strip that had fallen into the trash can, looking a little lost.
I said, “Your skills have gotten worse.”
His fingers stiffened.
“Mm.”
“You never used to break the peel.”
He looked up at me.
I said, “I remembered a little.”
He didn’t press me.
He only set down the knife.
“Does it hurt when you remember?”
I froze.
Three years ago, if he had asked that first, maybe so many things wouldn’t have ended up the way they did.
I said, “It hurts.”
Zhou Yinghuai lowered his head.
“Then don’t think about it today.”
He cut the apple into small pieces, stuck toothpicks in them, and placed them where I could reach.
I asked, “Why aren’t you asking what I remembered?”
He said, “You’ll tell me when you want to.”
I looked at him, and somewhere in my heart felt like it had been gently touched.
Not hard.
Just a little sore.
I picked up a piece of apple.
“I remembered the baby.”
Zhou Yinghuai’s shoulders trembled ever so slightly.
I said, “And I remembered you holding me.”
He closed his eyes.
“Qingyu.”
I cut him off.
“But I also remembered what you said in the parking garage.”
He fell silent.
I said, “Zhou Yinghuai, I know there was another half to that sentence.”
“But the moment I heard the first half, I didn’t want to listen anymore.”
Bit by bit, the color drained from his face.
“I know.”
I said, “So this wasn’t only Zhou Yan’s fault.”
“Mm.”
“Back then, you didn’t believe me.”
“Mm.”
“You made me carry our child alone while looking for evidence to prove my own innocence.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed.
“Mm.”
My eyes burned.
“Stop saying ‘mm.'”
Zhou Yinghuai raised a hand and covered his eyes.
At last, he cried.
He didn’t sob out loud.
Tears just fell in silence.
It was the first time I had ever seen him like this.
This man who always hid everything away was like a wall that had finally cracked.
I didn’t comfort him.
He didn’t beg me either.
After a long time, he lowered his hand. His voice was terribly hoarse.
“I’ve already signed the divorce agreement.”
I looked at him.
He took a document from the inner pocket of his coat.
“Once you’ve recovered, you can sign it anytime.”
I took it.
The pages were thin, yet they weighed my wrist down.
I flipped to the last page.
His name was already signed.
The line for my signature was still blank.
I asked, “Didn’t you say you didn’t want a divorce?”
Zhou Yinghuai looked at me.
“I don’t.”
“Then why did you sign it?”
His voice was very soft.
“Because you want one.”
It wasn’t a pretty sentence.
But it meant more than every apology he had ever given me before.
I closed the agreement.
“I’ll keep it with me for now.”
He nodded.
“Okay.”
I said again, “Zhou Yinghuai.”
“Mm.”
“From now on, you’re not allowed to make decisions for me.”
He looked at me, very seriously.
“Okay.”
“And you’re not allowed to pretend to be a caregiver.”
He said quietly, “Okay.”
“You can keep peeling apples.”
He froze.
I turned my face away.
“I didn’t say I forgive you.”
He smiled faintly.
His eyes were still red.
“I know.”
