Chapter 97: Stinging Pain

Lu Yan was such a perceptive man; how could he not know what his wife wanted to discuss with him?

“Did your mother come to see you?” Lu Yan steadied his emotions and asked once more, seeking confirmation.

“Yes,” Shen Qingyi answered without hiding anything, then asked, “How did you know?”

He wanted to say that Han Lanzhi had come to see him as well, but if he revealed that, he wouldn’t even have those two months left. Clearly, his wife hadn’t yet decided to share that news with him.

“My supervisor told me. You two didn’t argue, did you?” Lu Yan tried to listen to her voice as much as possible, doing his best not to let her sense anything unusual.

“No, she just asked about us. If you need anything over there, I’ll buy it and send it to you.”

“I don’t need anything. They’ve gotten everything ready for me. Is An’an doing well?” Lu Yan asked again.

Shen Qingyi glanced at her son beside her. “He’s doing well. Do you want to talk to him?”

He was about to say no when his son’s excited voice burst through the receiver, “Daddy, I miss you so much!”

“I miss you too. You’ll be going to school in a few days—are you ready?”

An’an’s childish voice was brimming with excitement. “Tomorrow Mommy will buy me a new backpack and a water bottle. There’s not much else to prepare.”

Then, unable to hold back, An’an shared, “Uncle Xia gave me a recording pen. It’s amazing—it can record everyone’s voice! I really don’t understand how such a tiny pen can do that. Daddy, do you know?”

Lu Yan suppressed the ache in his heart and explained patiently to his son, “Digital recordings work by simulating and sampling sounds, encoding them, then converting your voice into a digital signal, which is compressed and stored. Even after multiple copies, the sound information doesn’t degrade and remains unchanged. That’s how recordings are made.”

An’an scratched his head. “I don’t really get it, but I’ll remember what you said, Daddy.”

Lu Yan already knew his son’s memory was formidable and smiled. “That’s alright. When Daddy’s work is finished and I come home, I’ll do a little experiment for you.”

“Yay!” An’an shouted, dancing with joy.

When his son calmed down, Lu Yan said, “Give the phone to Mommy. Daddy still has a few things to tell her.”

An’an obediently handed the phone to Shen Qingyi. She picked it up. “Hello?”

“Qingyi, if you have time, maybe you should install a phone at home,” Lu Yan suggested, unable to suppress a cough.

Hearing his cough, Shen Qingyi asked softly, “What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing. The weather here is dry, and my throat feels a little uncomfortable,” Lu Yan explained.

Shen Qingyi didn’t think much of it and replied to his earlier suggestion, “Let’s wait until you come back to install the phone. It’s not inconvenient to take calls here, and I’m home every day. The supply store is close by.”

“Alright then,” Lu Yan replied, his hand trembling slightly as he held the phone. Someone on the verge of leaving probably had no heart left to make any more arrangements for the family.

“Take good care of yourself. If there’s nothing else, I’ll take An’an home now.”

“Alright.” With Lu Yan’s final reply, the busy tone sounded from the other end.

He sat by the phone in his office, staring into space for a long while, only returning to himself after Su Yang called his name three times.

“I got your meal for you. You’ve kept me waiting so long, so I brought it here. Take it to the dorm to eat,” Su Yang said, placing the lunchbox on Lu Yan’s desk.

“Thank you… cough… cough!” he said, standing up, grabbing the lunchbox, and leaving the office.

Su Yang noticed his pallor and asked with concern, “You’ve been coughing for nearly half a month and it’s not getting better. Shouldn’t you see a doctor?”

“It’s nothing.”

Su Yang frowned. “You work overtime every night. Of course it’s something. The supervisor told me to take care of you. Don’t let anything happen.”

Lu Yan didn’t reply, carrying his lunchbox back to the dormitory.

He sat at the desk, opened the lunchbox, took a couple of bites, found the food tasteless, and covered it again, pushing it aside.

He took out his manuscript from the drawer, turned to the last page. His long, bloodless fingers gripped the pen, the veins on the back of his hand pulsing faintly with the rhythm of his writing.

The lamp cast his focused brows and eyes as a shadow on the wall, long and slightly drooping, unmoving, as if frozen in time.

He didn’t know how much time passed before someone knocked on the door. Lu Yan put down his pen and opened the door, seeing Su Yang.

“Is something wrong?”

Su Yang wordlessly raised his wrist and pointed at his watch. “Are you mad? Look at the time—it’s already half past one. I woke up to use the bathroom and saw your dorm light still on.”

Only then did Lu Yan look at his own watch—half past one. He pressed his lips together. “Alright, I know. Go rest. Cough… cough…”

He clenched his fist, covering his mouth as he coughed again.

Su Yang shook his head helplessly and reminded him before leaving, “Turn the light off!”

Lu Yan closed the door, gathered up his manuscript, turned off the light, and lay in bed, but sleep eluded him.

His mind was filled with images of his wife: her calm and graceful singing at the Qian family home, the way she deftly handled his father’s traps, her focused painting, her attentive selection of his clothes, and her gentle touch when applying medicine.

Thinking of her final decision to divorce him, he felt as if even breathing hurt, and he couldn’t help but sit up and cough violently.

He didn’t sleep at all that night.

By five o’clock, he was up, washing and getting ready.

Shen Qingyi had also woken early. Lu Caiqing was anxious to set up her stall, so she was up before dawn making breakfast.

After breakfast, An’an was still asleep, so Shen Qingyi began carefully selecting the bags she would sell today.

Lu Caiqing said, “I’ll go to the supply store and buy a bedsheet later.”

“There are only twenty bags. A tablecloth will do,” Shen Qingyi replied.

“Alright.”

The two finished checking their goods and packed everything up. Shen Qingyi glanced outside—the sky was still dark. She folded the tablecloth from the coffee table and put it in the bag with the purses. “The supply store won’t open for another two hours, I’m afraid. You go ahead. If I don’t come find you, come home at half past ten.”

Lu Caiqing described again the spot she had her eye on. Shen Qingyi smiled. “I’m not afraid I won’t find you. I just want to scout for a spot myself. If I finish early, I’ll come find you.”

“Alright!” Lu Caiqing agreed happily and went out.

Shen Qingyi waited for An’an to wake up. After breakfast, she took him out.

Holding An’an’s hand, she walked to a nearby textile factory, where most workers were young women.

Around the factory, small vendors sold eggs, pancakes, and there was a little stall selling hair accessories. From time to time, young women stopped by to have a look.

Some bought things outright.

Shen Qingyi couldn’t help but go over and look, asking about prices. The items sold for a few cents more than in regular stores.

But the textile factory paid well, so everyone could afford the prices. More importantly, there were few vendors, so there was no need to fight for a spot. She thought it was a good location.

After scouting, she checked her watch—ten o’clock. Just enough time to help with closing up the stall. Taking An’an with her, she quickly found the spot Lu Caiqing had mentioned.

Just as she was about to approach, she saw that Lu Caiqing’s purses were already gone. Standing in front of her was a woman chatting with her.

That woman was none other than Chen Haixia.