"Where's Dad?"
Ning Anmiao mustered a great deal of courage to ask this question.
She knew that her mother was always soft - hearted, but her father wasn't.
Once Ning Zhijing made up his mind to kick her out of the house, he would surely never want to see her again in this lifetime.
However, she still asked, not willing to give up.
"Didn't Dad come? Did you come alone?"
"Ah... Your dad..." Sure enough, Bai Jiaying's expression flickered.
The answer was self - evident.
Ning Anmiao's eyes dimmed a bit, and the smile on her face faded: "I know, Mom."
"Your dad has to go drinking with your Uncle Zhou. Uncle Zhou saved you this time, and your dad owes him a favor. He has to pay it back somehow."
Seeing Ning Anmiao looking dejected, Bai Jiaying knew she had misunderstood and quickly explained, "You know these men can't stand owing others. Your dad is even more so!"
So that's how it was.
It was Uncle Zhou who had saved her.
" Oh, right." Bai Jiaying remembered something, quickly took out her phone, found Ning Zhijing's number and dialed it, then hurriedly stuffed the phone into her hand.
"Your dad said to call him when you wake up. Be polite."
Ning Anmiao was startled. She didn't expect it to be so sudden. She was just about to hang up when the person on the other end of the line answered: "Hello?"
It was Ning Zhijing's voice.
Hoarse, steady, with a unique sense of his era.
She hadn't heard it for a long time.
Ning Anmiao almost cried. She sniffed and said in a muffled voice, "Dad."
She had so many things she wanted to say to her father, but the moment she heard Ning Zhijing's voice, she couldn't say a single word.
"Awake?" Ning Zhijing's voice was calm, without any extra emotions.
"Yeah." She didn't know what to say and could only answer stupidly.
"Since you're awake, take good care of yourself. Why are you calling me?"
An impatient voice came from the other end of the phone: "Don't think too much. I haven't forgiven you yet."
"If it weren't for your mom crying her eyes out, saying that the Ning family can't have no descendants, I wouldn't have bothered to humble myself to find someone to save you!"
Ning Anmiao listened quietly, tears streaming down her face, but she bit her lip tightly to hold back her sobs.
"Thank you, Dad. I know."
Once the old man got angry, it wouldn't go away overnight.
It was the first time his daughter didn't talk back to him. Ning Zhijing was a bit unaccustomed. His previous toughness softened a bit: "Take good care of yourself. Don't call me if it's not necessary. I haven't recognized you as my daughter yet."
With that, he hung up the phone.
Bai Jiaying didn't hear what was said on the phone, but seeing Miaomiao's face looking normal, she let out a sigh of relief.
"Your dad is always like this, acting so high - and - mighty. After he heard you were in trouble, he was more anxious than me."
Ning Anmiao smiled.
"I know. Thank you, Mom, and thank you, Dad."
Her eyes were glistening with tears. Looking at Bai Jiaying, who had more wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, she felt a complex mix of emotions. Bitterness and sweetness were intertwined, and for a moment, she didn't know how to express herself.
"Okay, okay. Talk less and take care of your throat." Hearing her hoarse voice, Bai Jiaying poured her a glass of water.
Watching the scene of their mother - daughter reunion, Lu Yan smiled self - deprecatingly and subconsciously reached for the cigarettes in his pocket.
Recently, he had wanted to smoke more and more frequently.
Since that night when he shed tears for no reason, he had found that his emotions were too easily influenced.
He had always regarded emotions as insignificant and never thought he would be disturbed by anything.
Even in the face of life and death, he would just make rational judgments and choices based on the closeness of the relationship.
But for some reason, he had become very vulnerable.
Even watching the happy reunion of the mother and daughter made his eyes inexplicably sour.
Maybe he was really getting old.
At this time, Ning Anmiao turned to look at the man standing at the end of the bed.
Lu Yan was dressed in his usual elite style. His suit was a bit wrinkled, indicating that he had been wearing it for a long time. There were also traces of exhaustion between his eyebrows.
Suddenly, the scene before she passed out flashed through Ning Anmiao's mind -
Her eyes darkened immediately.
Naturally, Lu Yan didn't know what Ning Anmiao was thinking. He said calmly, "Do you want me to call a doctor for you?"
"No need. I'm fine now."
Ning Anmiao's voice was cold. There was no emotion in her eyes when she looked at him. She was as indifferent as a stranger.
This cold look chilled Lu Yan's heart.
He seemed to have already guessed that he had no chance at all.
Bai Jiaying was sitting beside them. Sensing the cold atmosphere between the couple, she was even more convinced that they should get divorced.
"Miaomiao, Mom thinks you and Mr. Lu... are not suitable." Bai Jiaying said in a timely manner, her eyes filled with worry. "In these three years, the grievances you've suffered..."
"Mom, I know."
Ning Anmiao drank half a glass of water. Her throat was getting more used to it, and her words became clearer: "When I'm discharged from the hospital, we'll go through the divorce procedures."
Lu Yan pursed his lips. He didn't seem surprised by this answer and maintained his usual expression.
But if you observed carefully, you could notice that his hand hanging by his side was trembling slightly.
"Have you thought it through?"
"Didn't you agree?" Ning Anmiao countered him calmly, which was astonishing.
Even Bai Jiaying didn't expect her daughter to be so calm and decisive. She was also very surprised.
Then, her meaningful eyes fell on Lu Yan.
It seemed that this Lu Yan had really hurt Miaomiao's heart.
After a long time, Lu Yan slowly spoke.
He used almost all his strength to utter a single word.
It was also the word he least wanted to say.
"Okay."
...
After leaving the hospital, Lu Yan drove back to the neighborhood of the house he and Miaomiao used to live in, but he didn't go home.
Suddenly, he felt in the mood for a stroll and started walking along the road.
Behind the mansion was a whole area of high - rise residential buildings. It was already eight or nine o'clock at night, and the lights were on in every household.
The high - rises were evenly and densely distributed. Each square window emitted light of different intensities, but all of them radiated warmth.
In some of these families, the whole family was sitting together, having a harmonious dinner; in others, a single light was on, waiting for the late - comer to return.
The lit lights were the taste of home.
Lu Yan stood there for a long time, looking up at the lights shining from the high - rises. He even felt a bit dazzled and couldn't open his eyes.
Among the myriad of lights, not one was for him.
On the rather empty road, his shadow was stretched long by the streetlights, lonely and desolate.
Although it was almost summer, Lu Yan still felt inexplicably cold.
This chill seemed to penetrate his clothes and go straight to his heart.
He shivered and reached for the cigarette case in his pocket.
The cigarette case was empty.
He bit his teeth irritably, walked to the trash can, and threw the empty case into it.
He didn't know how long he had been standing outside. Finally, he summoned up the courage to take out his phone and dial a number he knew by heart.
"Miaomiao, don't leave me."