Chapter 204 - 201: Returning to the Hometown

Chapter 204: Chapter 201: Returning to the Hometown

The house was dead silent when she woke up. Zhou Lian slowly sat up, wincing at the soreness in her body. She frowned, muttered a curse under her breath, and pushed through the discomfort. Slipping on her slippers, she walked to the window and pulled open the curtains. Blinding sunlight instantly washed over her face and body. She rubbed her eyes in resignation and stepped back from the window. ’What time is it already?’

Glancing at the clock on the wall, Zhou Lian sighed and pressed a hand to her forehead. ’No wonder I haven’t heard a thing. It’s already past ten. The children must have gone to their teacher’s place with Sister Fang. As for Li Xiu... I have no idea where he could be at this hour.’

After washing up and changing her clothes, Zhou Lian gently pushed open the door and went into the courtyard. The summer sun was hot and bright. Standing on the covered walkway, Zhou Lian felt a bit dazed. The chirping of cicadas drifted in and out, and a light breeze carried the scent of flowers. It felt like an out-of-body experience.

Li Xiu was hurrying out of the garden with his head down, a bouquet of fresh flowers in his hands. It was as if he sensed something; he suddenly jerked his head up and looked toward Zhou Lian. What he saw was her, standing with her eyes closed and her face tilted to the sky. He strode over, pulled her into his arms, and hugged her tightly. Just a moment ago, Zhou Lian had been so beautiful she didn’t seem of this world. The sunlight filtering through the covered walkway and spilling onto her made it look as if she might turn to mist and vanish.

Leaning gently in Li Xiu’s embrace, Zhou Lian blinked. She reached out to wrap her arms around his lean waist and buried her face in his chest. Smelling the fresh scent on him, mixed with a hint of sandalwood, her heart instantly settled. ’This truly is where my heart finds its home.’

"Bao’er, when did you wake up? Are you hungry?" Li Xiu asked gently, softly stroking Zhou Lian’s long hair.

"I’m a little hungry. I just woke up a little while ago."

"Then let’s go eat. Bao’er, look, isn’t it beautiful? I just picked them from the garden." He held Zhou Lian as they walked slowly toward the dining room, presenting the bouquet he had been clutching to her as if it were a treasure.

Vibrant red roses, pure and elegant white roses, stately and dignified yellow roses, pink roses as beautiful as the morning clouds, and graceful, ethereal blue roses—Li Xiu had arranged the five colors of roses into a large bouquet, accented with baby’s breath. Smelling the refreshing fragrance, Zhou Lian smiled softly. ’When Li Xiu decides to be romantic, he’s truly in a class of his own.’

After Zhou Lian finished her brunch, Li Xiu brewed her a cup of tea with red dates, longan, lotus seeds, and goji berries. He sat down beside her and gently pulled her into his embrace. "Bao’er," he said, "let’s take a trip back home in a few days."

Zhou Lian froze for a moment. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she looked at Li Xiu in shock and suspicion. Seeing him nod, she said dejectedly, "In my last life, it was so sudden. We never knew the reason. It was only later that I guessed it might have been a cerebral thrombosis or a brain hemorrhage. He’s so stubborn, there’s no way he would have let us take him to the hospital for a proper check-up."

He gave her a kiss and soothed her softly, "Bao’er, don’t worry. You have me. I’m here. I’ll figure something out!"

Seeing Zhou Lian’s dispirited mood, Li Xiu said gently, "It’s okay. If we have to, we’ll coax your father to come to the Capital City. We can find a specialist to give him a thorough examination then. We still have almost half a year. In your last life, your father’s passing was too sudden, and we never heard him complain about any discomfort beforehand. It must have been a sudden illness. We’ll coax him into coming to the Capital City. With us watching over him, we definitely won’t let anything happen to him."

Zhou Lian nodded without a word. ’My father’s death in my past life was just too sudden. Mom said that just the day before, he was still worrying about me. He said my other brothers and sisters were all doing well; it was just me, born stubborn, that he worried about. He was afraid I wasn’t living well and even regretted arranging my marriage to Li Xiu. After coming back in this life and seeing my father again, all I could think about was protecting him. I couldn’t let him die so early. I just didn’t expect time to pass so quickly. There are only a few months left.’

The couple agreed to return to her hometown in three days. They decided not to take the children this time, instead leaving the two of them and Sister Fang with their teacher. They would drive back. Last year, Li Xiu had arranged to buy a military jeep. It had a powerful engine and guzzled gas, but in turn, it was also very spacious inside.

That evening, they briefly explained things to the children and Sister Fang. They also had a large room cleaned up and prepared for Zhou Lian’s parents to stay in. They even roughly settled on the future curriculum for Nuonuo and Yanyan. They would go to Professor Xiao’s house tomorrow to discuss the details with him; otherwise, if the couple dared to make the decision privately, they would definitely get an earful.

「Two days later.」

With the children and household matters all arranged, Li Xiu and Zhou Lian set off for home. Driving was much faster than taking the train; they would arrive in seven or eight hours. And that was only because the roads were poor—otherwise, it would be even quicker. They would head straight for Zhou Kun’s house in Zhou Family Village. Li Xiu had already made an agreement with Zhou Lian: this time, she was to listen to him on everything. Zhou Lian knew he possessed a Seven-orifice Exquisite Heart and a mind brimming with schemes, so she nodded in agreement.

As the car pulled up to the gate, they came face to face with Zhou Kun, who had come out to see what the noise was. Seeing his daughter and son-in-law getting out of the car, Zhou Kun froze.

Li Xiu quickly got out, walked over to the passenger side, and helped an eager Zhou Lian out of the car. He gently supported her as she got down. Seeing her rush toward Zhou Kun with tears in her eyes, he gave a slight smile. He then opened the trunk and started unloading bag after bag. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to comfort Zhou Lian, but her emotions had been so volatile these past few days. It would be good for her to release it all now that she’d seen her father.

Hearing the noise but seeing no one come in, Mrs. Zhou grew restless and came out of the house. She saw Zhou Lian clinging to Zhou Kun’s arm, tears streaming down her face like pearls from a broken string. Startled, Mrs. Zhou quickly looked toward Li Xiu. Seeing that he didn’t seem too worried, she relaxed slightly. Worried about being seen, she hurried them inside to talk. And so, Li Xiu entered the courtyard carrying all the bags, while Zhou Kun, having recovered his senses, patted Zhou Lian’s back and led her into the house.

Once the door was closed, Mrs. Zhou looked at the still-sobbing Zhou Lian, her heart in her throat, and then turned to Li Xiu. Li Xiu, ever tactful, put down the things he was carrying. He got Zhou Lian and his father-in-law settled in their seats in the courtyard before sitting down next to his mother-in-law. "Mom," he said, "let her cry it out. It’s not good for her to keep all this pent up inside."

"What’s going on? What is all this?" Mrs. Zhou asked, alarmed. ’My second daughter has never cried like this, not since she was little!’

"Mom, Bao’er has had nightmares for days, all about Dad being unwell. It’s terrified her. Once or twice would be one thing, but she’s had the same dream for seven or eight days straight. It’s given her a terrible fright. I knew she couldn’t go on like this, so I brought her back to see for ourselves. Her emotional state is a little off; I didn’t even dare bring the children this time. Mom, please, just let her have a good cry. She’ll feel better after she lets it all out!" Watching his wife cry her heart out, Li Xiu felt his own heart ache. But the real business still had to be done, so he began to spin his yarn with a perfectly straight face.