The hospital ward fell into a silent hush.
Nan Yu said nothing, her tears streaming down ceaselessly.
"You should hate me, Yu Yu."
Tan Linyuan's thin eyes fixed on her intently, repeating, "It's all my fault. You should hate me for the rest of your life."
Nan Yu shook her head desperately.
She had harbored so many beautiful dreams, yearned so much for the arrival of this child, and even made detailed plans for the future...
But the child was gone.
She was completely unprepared and couldn't bear such a heavy blow.
After ten months of pregnancy, her blood had already merged with the child's.
Originally, she should be sitting with Tan Linyuan, laughing and playing with their baby.
But now, they could only look at each other in silence.
Should she hate Tan Linyuan?
At this moment, she seemed to understand why Tan Siqi hated him so much.
If the prophecy was true, then the child's death was indeed related to him.
But this was also his child.
He must be suffering just as much.
This self - blame would be even more intense and profound than her pain.
She didn't know who to blame.
But the child was truly gone.
Nan Yu remained silent.
Tan Linyuan didn't wait for her answer. He just moved his wheelchair forward slightly, leaned over, and hugged her.
Her body was stiff.
Although it was an expected reaction, Tan Linyuan still felt his heart tremble.
She was rejecting him.
Not saying the words "I hate you" might be her last bit of kindness towards him.
Tan Linyuan took a slow breath, then slowly let go of her. His voice was hoarse: "You should take good care of yourself during this period. I'm going back to Jiangcheng."
Nan Yu didn't call him back until the door closed behind him.
Her eyes were empty.
...
After leaving the ward, Tan Linyuan couldn't hold back his emotions and fell from his wheelchair.
Liang Yi was waiting outside. Seeing him come out in such pain, he quickly stepped forward to support him: "Is she awake? How is she?"
After a long silence, Tan Linyuan took a deep breath. "Give me a cigarette."
Liang Yi was stunned.
He had known this friend for more than a decade and had never seen him smoke, nor did he drink much.
In a way, he was truly like a monk.
But now he was asking for a cigarette.
Liang Yi hesitated for two seconds but still handed him one. "Go ahead. Celebrate your first time."
He was used to making jokes, which was a kind of humor in a way.
On a normal day, Tan Linyuan would have given him a speechless look.
But today, he took the cigarette expressionlessly, took a light puff, and exhaled a puff of smoke.
It was almost the end of the cigarette when he finally said, "She will never forgive me."
Liang Yi was surprised. "How could that be? It's not your fault. She just can't accept it for the moment. Give classmate Nan some time."
"No need." Tan Linyuan's voice was calm. "I'm going back to Jiangcheng tomorrow."
"What about classmate Nan..."
"I'll send someone else to take care of her. When she recovers, it's up to her."
His mind was made up.
...
Nan Yu was hospitalized in Jingbei for more than half a month.
When Qu Jiaran heard that Nan Yu had an accident, no one could stop her. She immediately took a flight to accompany her.
Since her due date was approaching, Qi Zhu had to make a new appointment for Qu Jiaran at a hospital in Jingbei for the delivery.
Qu Jiaran burst into tears the moment she saw Nan Yu.
Nan Yu quickly handed her a tissue, but Qu Jiaran cried even louder and almost fainted.
"Yu Yu, I told you Tan Linyuan is a jinx. It's all his fault that you've suffered so much and lost the baby..."
Although Nan Yu was heart - broken, she could only comfort Qu Jiaran at this moment, saying that it was all in the past.
Qu Jiaran wiped her tears and said, "It's good that you're okay. Anyway, you can have a baby again in the future. You mustn't have any problems."
The words were crude but the reasoning was sound.
But Nan Yu still couldn't get over it.
When she was in a daze, she often thought that if it weren't for this accident, maybe her baby would have been born.
There were still a lot of baby products and little clothes in Yenanwan, but now they were all useless.
Qu Jiaran comforted her, "They'll be useful. When my baby is born, I'll let her use them. I'll say it's a gift from her elder brother."
Not long ago, Qu Jiaran also checked the baby's gender.
Although Qi Zhu thought it was unnecessary, Qu Jiaran insisted on knowing in advance.
It turned out to be a girl.
Nan Yu said helplessly, "I bought all the clothes for baby boys."
"What do kids know?" Qu Jiaran waved her hand. "Besides, I like blue. Whatever I like, she'll wear."
This was so typical of Qu Jiaran.
Although Nan Yu kept telling Qu Jiaran that she didn't need to accompany her, Qu Jiaran wouldn't listen. She said she was idle anyway and it was just right to chat with Nan Yu.
Qu Jiaran said she was afraid that Nan Yu would overthink if she was alone.
And that was indeed the case.
When Qu Jiaran was not around, Nan Yu was always in a low mood.
If Qu Jiaran didn't urge her, she wouldn't even want to eat a single bite.
As long as she was quiet, she would think of her baby.
Countless fantasies were shattered by reality.
For more than half a month, Nan Yu didn't contact Tan Linyuan.
It wasn't that she didn't think about it, but every time she picked up her phone, she didn't know what to say.
They were both victims, and she really couldn't say any words of comfort.
Empathy was so simple yet so painful.
She decided to give herself some time, and also give them both some time.
One day, Nan Yu suddenly received a call from Zhou Yu.
Zhou Yu sounded surprised on the phone. "Nan Yu, are you in Jingbei?"
Nan Yu replied, "Yes, I'm here for something."
She subconsciously concealed the truth, not knowing that Zhou Yu already knew everything.
But Zhou Yu didn't ask her about it. Instead, he changed the topic. "I'm also in Jingbei recently. Do you have time to go out for a cup of coffee?"
Nan Yu's body had almost recovered, but the doctor advised her to rest for another week.
Nan Yu had to say it was inconvenient, but Zhou Yu still insisted on coming to the hospital to see her.
Seeing that Nan Yu had lost a lot of weight, Zhou Yu's eyes were full of pity. "Schoolmate, you've lost weight."
Nan Yu smiled. "It's good to be thinner. It looks better on camera."
They both tacitly avoided mentioning the accident and didn't touch on Nan Yu's pain.
Zhou Yu took the initiative to start a conversation and said that he had opened a new studio in Jingbei and would develop here in the future.
"What about you? What are your plans for the future?" Zhou Yu asked.
Nan Yu was stumped.
She didn't know what her future plans were.
She used to have them.
She remembered the house she and Tan Linyuan bought in Jingbei, and remembered him holding her hand and saying he would take her away.
But all of this had been completely disrupted by an accident.
She opened her mouth blankly. "I... haven't thought about it yet."
She didn't know where to go.
"Do you want to come to my place?" Zhou Yu looked into her eyes. "My studio has just started and I'm short of staff."