Chapter 14 The Eve of Farewell

After dinner, Lin Xiaoguai and Shen Chi both returned to their room.

"Wanwan, I'm leaving tomorrow. Don't you have anything you want to say to me?" Shen Chi leaned against the bed, quietly watching Lin Xiaoguai, who was knitting wool.

—She had bought it to knit clothes for the child.

"...Say what?" Lin Xiaoguai paused imperceptibly and looked down indifferently.

"I know you hold resentment towards me." After saying this, Shen Chi paused for a long time, seemingly wanting to see Lin Xiaoguai's reaction. Seeing none, he continued, "You probably don't want to hear me apologize, but I promise you, incidents like this will never happen again."

He didn't mention the unscrupulous methods he used to marry her.

In this era, Shen Chi's emotional intelligence was definitely enough to be envied by many. In fact, when he had decided early on to obtain the girl he fancied by dubious means, he had thought about the future.

3,000 yuan as a dowry payment was the biggest hint he had laid down; in fact, at the time he could have managed to reduce the price to two-thirds, but he didn't leave himself any leeway.

3,100 yuan, that was all the assets he had at the time. After deducting the dowry, the remaining money was spent on the wedding banquet and household items, nearly all of it.

He understood the difference between men and women, especially young and naïve girls like Wanwan—emotional and unwilling to think ill of others, holding beautiful fantasies about love and marriage.

He was handsome, his personal circumstances were not bad, and he had married her by spending all his assets because he loved her; he didn't believe she could harden her heart to blame him.

Even if she could at the beginning, under the premise that their status was already established, he also believed he had enough time to soften her heart.

Thus, on their wedding night, even though Wanwan was delirious with a high fever, he insisted on consummating their marriage. Time was not on his side, and constrained by social conventions, he couldn't give her a chance to go back.

Even when he was suddenly urgently called back by the military, despite not expecting such extremity when he came back with many things, it was no surprise that Wang Zhaodi would mistreat Wanwan. He basely thought with Wang Zhaodi's prior belittling and bullying, the kindness he later showed her would be unexpectedly reciprocated.

Plus, his original plan was to support her in continuing with college.

But…

Plans couldn't keep up with changes.

He hadn't expected the one-month marriage leave to be suddenly canceled, nor had he expected Wanwan to become pregnant, and his negligence almost led to a grave error.

Originally, he had decided at first glance that Wanwan would be his wife, but knew very little about her. Thus, even though he knew there were issues between them, without being clear about her character, he did not know where to start.

All he could do was give her a promise.

Lin Xiaoguai knew that Shen Chi was telling the truth, he had never broken a promise he made, and she felt she should be more compliant and show some gratitude, but the truth was, she couldn't control her tears from falling.

She cried silently, her face devoid of any expression, but Shen Chi was somewhat flustered, "Don't cry..."

He hesitated then embraced her, her slender body in his arms slightly stirred him, he wanted to say something but ended up just sighing, his lips gently touching her forehead through her bangs.

This kiss, full of pity, was like a switch that made Lin Xiaoguai's emotions spiral out of control.

"I feel so bad..." Lin Xiaoguai choked up, covering her face as tears gushed out.

She had gone through too much pain—the death of her father; when she found out she had been "sold" by her brother; the excruciating pain while unconscious during their marriage consummation; being insulted by Wang Zhaodi; intense abdominal pain when Shen Xiaobao pushed her into the table corner; being told she lost her child and was infertile for life; and when she wanted to escape but was tightly held by Shen Chi...

She had clenched her teeth and endured each of those moments, yet now she had broken down under Shen Chi's gentleness.

Lin Xiaoguai continued sobbing and expressing her pain, initially Shen Chi could remain calm, but as Lin Xiaoguai began to retch violently, he couldn't sit still any longer.

"Wanwan, what's wrong? Don't scare me." Shen Chi lifted Lin Xiaoguai, who was lying beside the bed, cradling her in his arms and wiping her tears anxiously, "Tell me where it hurts?"

"Nauseous..." As soon as she started to speak, Lin Xiaoguai began retching again, and it took a while before the episode eased and she managed to speak: "Nauseous."

Shen Chi paused briefly then dashed out, coming back with a slice of fresh ginger, placing it near Lin Xiaoguai's mouth, "Chew."

—Since learning of his wife's pregnancy, he had researched what pregnant women needed to be aware of.

Lin Xiaoguai was in too much discomfort to refuse, so she put the ginger in her mouth and began to chew.

After a while, feeling the nausea in her chest and stomach subside, Lin Xiaoguai spit out the chewed ginger and exhaled in relief.

Seeing her recover, Shen Chi breathed a sigh of relief. He carefully carried her onto the bed, his tone filled with concern, "Weren't you fine before? Why did the morning sickness suddenly start?"

Lin Xiaoguai, feeling quite exhausted, closed her eyes, and spoke faintly, "I'm okay." She knew that the recent bout of morning sickness was more due to psychological factors.

Shen Chi opened his mouth as if to express his concerns, harboring many questions, such as Wanwan's unexpected reaction just now, but observing her lightly furrowed brows and tired face, he couldn't bring himself to ask.

He actually understood that his little wife wasn't frank with him.

However, he didn't want to pressure her, especially after she had suffered so much because of him.

"Have some water." Shen Chi poured a cup of warm water and brought it to Lin Xiaoguai's lips.

Lin Xiaoguai obediently took two sips before refusing to drink more, and Shen Chi, not forcing her, drank the rest of the water in one gulp before going outside.

"Take a nap, I'll go get a basin of water to wipe your face." He thought that after crying, her eyes must feel uncomfortable.

Lin Xiaoguai gently hummed in response.

"What's wrong with Wanwan?" In the outer room, Luo Yufang waited after hearing the noises inside.

"She's been retching repeatedly and only felt better after chewing on a slice of fresh ginger," Shen Chi softly replied while washing the cup.

"Why did she suddenly start retching?" Luo Yufang was somewhat anxious.

"I'm not sure," Shen Chi hesitated before saying, "I mentioned some unpleasant things, then she started crying and complaining of discomfort. Not long after that, she began to retch." He couldn't bring himself to tell his elder about the "sweet nothings" he had said to his wife, so he remained vague.

"Why would you bring up those things?" Hearing this, Luo Yufang misunderstood and said with a frown of dissatisfaction, "The emotions of pregnant women are already fluctuating, and you just had to stir the pot, didn't you? Isn't that obviously making her unhappy?"

"Grandma, do you mean that Wanwan started retching because she remembered those unpleasant things?" Shen Chi felt something was off.

Luo Yufang, however, was certain. "What else could it be?" she said, patting her grandson's shoulder. "Aren't you always sensible? Why aren't you bright this time?"

Shen Chi thought about it for a moment but still felt grandma's explanation was not quite reliable, though he kept quiet.

"Wanwan? Wanwan?" When Shen Chi returned, Lin Xiaoguai was already dozing off, so he carefully nudged her shoulder, trying not to startle her.

"Mmm…" Lin Xiaoguai rubbed her eyes and sat up.

Shen Chi wrung out a hot towel and covered her face with it; Lin Xiaoguai let out a comfortable sigh and asked somewhat indistinctly, "What time is it?"

"It's still early." Shen Chi clumsily wiped her face and checked the clock, "It's not even eight o'clock yet."

Lin Xiaoguai nodded, "I'm hungry, is there something to eat?" She found it strange herself; her appetite had not increased much during her pregnancy. She had even been worried previously about whether this was bad for the baby, especially since the meals of the time were less oily, and what she considered a "normal" amount of food might not give the baby enough nutrients. Luckily, the meals at home had been decent recently, continually providing eggs and fish.

"Just a moment." Shen Chi didn't go out but walked to the camphor wood chest by the window and took out a paper package for Lin Xiaoguai.

She opened it to find, surprisingly, five egg cakes inside.

"I saw someone selling these in Licheng and thought you might like them, so I bought them," Shen Chi said somewhat sheepishly.

Of course, his embarrassment wasn't because he'd bought snacks for his wife, but because this was the first time he had kept something from the elders.

It wasn't that he begrudged the cost; rather, most of the money he had saved was being used to buy stock. It had been difficult to spare some money for his wife's snacks, and he didn't want Xiu'er, who had a sweet tooth, to eat most of them.

He wasn't being unfair; it's just that Wanwan was pregnant now. As for Xiu'er, there would be plenty of opportunities to make it up to her once his financial situation improved.

Lin Xiaoguai lowered her gaze and pursed her lips, feeling an indescribable emotion. She lifted an egg cake and, after thinking for a moment, broke it in half and handed one half to Shen Chi. "You eat this."

Shen Chi felt warmth in his heart, yet he declined, "You eat it, I'm not hungry."

"I can't eat all of this."

"Then save it for tomorrow." Saying this, Shen Chi put the half back into the paper package and wrapped it up carefully.

Seeing this made Lin Xiaoguai's feelings even more complicated. In her previous life, Shen Chi had been good to her, constantly offering her rare delicacies, but that felt like he was "shutting her up." He'd always warn her with his gaze not to bring up the topic of divorce again.

Back then, she had felt he was cold and indifferent to her wishes, but she had never considered that this man might also have such simple and genuine contributions.

Watching Lin Xiaoguai eat the egg cake in small bites, Shen Chi felt satisfied.

Why did he fight so hard in the army? Wasn't it for his wife and child, for his own family?

Not for those insatiable people at the old house, nor was it for...

Thinking of those unpleasant people, a shadow quickly passed through his eyes.

"When are you leaving tomorrow?" Feeling the room was too quiet, Lin Xiaoguai asked softly.

"The train is at three in the afternoon, I've already bought the ticket," Shen Chi said, looking at her with an exceptionally gentle gaze.