Chapter 8

I stood there, dumbfounded.

“I… I didn’t know it was you…” I clutched my bag strap tightly, “I can take the bus…”

“Don’t you just need a driver? What difference does it make if it’s me or someone else?” He rested his hand on the car door and turned his head, “You’re Lv Qingqing’s sister, so you’re like half a sister to me. As your brother-in-law, giving you a ride back home is no big deal.”

I still didn’t move, but he had already walked over, took the bag from my hand without a word, and turned to head to the car door.

“If we leave now, we can make it before dark. I don’t want to drive at night.”

“Get in,” he added, with a tone that brooked no refusal.

I bit my lip and got into the passenger seat.

Those were the most grueling five hours I’ve ever endured.

Lu Zhan barely spoke the entire way, and the air inside the car seemed to solidify, making it hard to breathe.

The radio was tuned to FM121.1, a music station that Lu Zhan used to listen to when driving. It used to be my favorite station, but now it gave me a throbbing headache.

His presence was too close, the familiar yet strange pressure forcing me to turn my gaze out the window, and before I knew it, I had drifted into a daze and fallen asleep.

When I woke up, we had already passed a service area.

I sat up, and a piece of clothing slipped to the floor.

It was Lu Zhan’s jacket.

“Awake?” he asked, eyes fixed on the road ahead, “If you’re hungry, there’s a burger in the door pocket. I bought it at the service area earlier, still warm.”

I nodded, opened the burger, and found that all the green peppers had been picked out.

We arrived in An County at around six in the evening.

I glanced at him driving and softly said, “Thank you for today. We can’t visit the hospital tonight. Which hotel did you stay at last time? I can help you check in.”

He stared straight ahead, taking a moment before speaking, “The hygiene at that hotel was poor. I didn’t sleep well all night.”

“Then I’ll look for another hotel.”

“That’s already the best hotel here,” he frowned, “and with the tourism festival going on, there might not be any rooms available tonight.”

I was taken aback.

I hadn’t considered this issue when I got in the car.

“Your house…” he parked the car in front of my home, “has a room, right? The one your dad used to stay in?”

He turned to me, his expression helpless, “If you really want to thank me, let me stay for the night.”

I brought Lu Zhan home.

I had tidied up Dad’s room the last time I was back. I got clean bedding for Lu Zhan and went to the small supermarket at the door to buy him a set of toiletries.

After the five-hour drive, he was probably exhausted too, and he went to sleep early after closing the door.

I lay in bed, physically and mentally exhausted, yet unable to fall asleep no matter what.

The next morning, when I got up, he was already in the living room, with a mess of certificates spread out on the table in front of him.

Those were the various awards I had received before dropping out of high school.

“Sorry,” he looked up when he saw me, “it was a bit hot last night, and I wanted to see if there was a lighter blanket in the cabinet, but these accidentally fell out.”

He was organizing them one by one, “They should have been arranged by date. It was too dark last night, and I was too sleepy to organize them. I only realized this morning that they were certificates.”

“Don’t bother,” I stepped forward, stacking the certificates together, “they’re useless now, no need to sort them so meticulously.”

Silence ensued.

“You…” he asked softly, “why did you drop out?”

I paused, arranging the certificates, “Dad was hospitalized at the time, needed care during the day, and we needed money. I didn’t have the time or energy to study, so I thought it was better to go out and earn money.”

He lowered his eyes, saying nothing more.

“You,” I hesitated, “what do you want for breakfast?”

He looked up at me, speaking softly, “Omelet with ketchup.”

I froze.

My fingertips unconsciously dug into my palm, and I stammered, “We don’t have ketchup at home…”

“Oh,” he replied indifferently, “then never mind, anything will do.”

I walked to the kitchen, rinsed the rice to make porridge, but my mind was in turmoil.

Omelet with ketchup was my favorite breakfast, and it was the first meal I made for Lu Zhan after we got married.

Later, it became a ritual. Whenever he returned from a business trip, I would get up early to make him an omelet with ketchup.

He loved to sneak up behind me while I cooked, wrapping his arms around my waist, nuzzling his head against my neck, refusing to let go.

“You’re not helping,” I would always laugh and shoo him away, “let go, you’re distracting me from cooking.”

“No,” he would cling to me like a spoiled child, “I won’t.”

The familiar sound of footsteps suddenly approached from behind, getting closer. My body stiffened.

He stood behind me, his presence alarmingly close. I froze, wanting to move, but it was as if I had been put under a spell.

“Is there a cup for water?” he asked from behind, “I couldn’t find one in the living room.”

I closed my eyes briefly, took a cup from the cabinet, and handed it to him.

My hands were already trembling unconsciously.

After breakfast, Lu Zhan drove me to the hospital.

Seeing the person on the hospital bed, my tears finally fell uncontrollably.

“Dad.”

Father was half-lying on the bed, his hand trembling as he reached out to touch my head.

“Che…” he opened his mouth slightly.

“You’ve grown up…”

I held his hand tightly, unable to speak through my sobs.

“Dad… it’s okay,” he lifted his other hand to gently wipe away my tears, his gaze shifting to Lu Zhan.

“This is…”

I wiped my tears, “This is…”

“This is…”

“Dad.” Lu Zhan stepped forward and said.

My body froze, and my father was stunned too.

“Good, good.” In just a moment, a relieved smile appeared on my father’s face, and he held my hand tightly, “Good… that’s really good…”

He gestured for Lu Zhan to come closer, grasping his hand and placing it over mine.

“Che… has suffered a lot…” tears welled up in his eyes, “You must treat her well…”

Lu Zhan nodded.

“Don’t worry, Dad.”

After chatting with my father for a while, Lu Zhan and I left the ward.

“Just now…”

“I know,” he sighed before I could finish, “Your father just woke up, and I thought, since he already mistook me, it might as well make him feel you’re doing well, which could help his recovery. Besides,” he smiled slightly, “there’s nothing wrong with me calling him Dad, isn’t Lv Qingqing also his daughter? We can explain it slowly later.”

“…Alright.” I nodded.

“Are you… going back this afternoon?”

He checked his watch, “It’s already noon, let’s leave tomorrow morning. You still have to see the doctor this afternoon, and if I suddenly leave, your father might find it strange. I’ll stay here and chat with the old man, in case anything happens, I can help.”

By the time we left the hospital again, it was already five in the afternoon.

“Is An County’s beer famous?” Lu Zhan asked suddenly, looking at a sign by the roadside.

I looked over; An County does have a brewery, but it only sells locally. This time coming back, there were suddenly many signs along the road, probably trying to brand themselves during this tourism festival.

Lu Zhan went ahead, bought two bottles of beer, and smiled, “Last time I left in a hurry, didn’t get to try it.”

Back home, he opened a bottle and started drinking on his own.

I watched him drink more than half a bottle at once, hesitating to speak.

Getting up, I went to the kitchen, washed some vegetables, and started preparing dinner.

“Need help?” he walked into the kitchen, picking up the knife I had left on the cutting board, “Let me help you chop the vegetables.”

I was about to say no when he suddenly exclaimed, and turning around, I saw a bead of blood already forming on the tip of his left index finger.

In a panic, I quickly put down the vegetables and rushed over.

“You don’t even know how, why are you chopping? What should we do?” I was so anxious that tears almost came out, “I don’t know if there’s any band-aid left in the medicine box.”

I put down his hand and hurriedly went to my father’s room to rummage through the medicine box. I found a band-aid, but it was already expired.

With no other option, I could only stick it on him, “Should we go to the hospital to disinfect it?”

As I applied it, I said, “I don’t know how deep the cut is, how could you be so careless…”

Before I could finish, he suddenly pushed me against the wall with great force.

I stared at him blankly.

Before I could react, his uninjured hand lifted my chin abruptly, his eyes burning with intense fire, and his lips seemed about to descend.

Frightened, I closed my eyes.

But just as our lips were about to touch, he suddenly stopped.

Our noses touched, breaths mingling, I opened my eyes, and our gazes locked, my whole body trembling.

He stared at me for a long time, then gently released his hand.

“Sorry,” he stepped back, “I got a bit drunk and mistook you for someone else.”

There was no warmth in his restrained eyes as he turned to leave.

I leaned against the wall, watching his departing figure, feeling my heart tremble.

“Zhan…”

He stopped but didn’t respond.

“Don’t do this,” tears streamed down my face, “Don’t do this…”

Stop torturing me like this.

Knowing everything.

Why?

Why are you still being kind to me?

Why don’t you ask me anything?

Why don’t you blame me?

Why don’t you hate me?

Why do you pretend nothing happened?

“What did you call me?” he asked, his back still turned, each word deliberate.

“Zhan.” I looked at his back, shaking my head continuously, tears falling like rain.

He suddenly turned around, pulling me into his arms, his hands cradling my head, looking at me intently.

“Yin Lanche, do you know who you’re calling?”

I nodded while crying, eyes closed, “Zhan, Zhan…”

After a long sigh, the kisses came down like a storm.

I was engulfed by his presence, feeling both a release and a long-awaited indulgence.

I don’t know how long it was before he finally let me go.

His forehead rested against mine, and he asked, “What else?”

Tears streamed down my face, and I shook my head, unable to speak.

He leaned closer, kissing away the tears on my face, his eyes red as he looked at me.

“What else?” he asked again.

The tension in my heart finally broke, the dam burst.

I couldn’t stop crying, looking at him, overwhelmed with emotion.

“Husband.”