"No matter how long you delay, we... can't do this!" Yu Xiao looked straight into his eyes, with determination in her eyes.
"I know, this is my last condition. Since it's impossible for us, are you still afraid of these six months?" He nodded and looked at her pleadingly, feeling uneasy. He was afraid that she would not even give him this last ray of hope.
Yu Xiao looked at his red eyes in silence for a few seconds, and finally nodded bitterly: "Okay... But... You can't change anything..."
"Yes, I know!" Hearing that she agreed to his request, he felt a little relieved.
"Then I'll go to sleep..." She lay down on the bed and closed her eyes gently.
"Xiaoxiao, after you are discharged from the hospital tomorrow, I will take you to Uncle Ming's place, okay? I have called him, and he said you can live there as long as you want. Since you are not suitable for work now, why don't you live there for a while?" Now she needs a quiet place, someone who can understand and tolerate her, so that she can slowly adapt to everything around her and face her future life positively.
Uncle Ming’s tea garden is the best place.
Yu Xiao gently opened her eyes and looked at him: "Are you leaving tomorrow?"
It must be said that Kang Shaonan really saw through her. In fact, the first place she wanted to go after leaving here was Uncle Ming's tea garden. There was no worldly disturbance there, and people could temporarily forget everything around them. The most important thing was her innate trust and intimacy with Uncle Ming.
"Well, I'll take you there after breakfast tomorrow, okay?" Kang Shaonan nodded with a smile.
"Okay..." She nodded slightly and closed her eyes again.
The night is getting deeper and deeper.
Kang Shaonan held Yu Xiao's hand tightly and fell asleep. This was a habit he had developed when sleeping since she attempted suicide. Only by holding her hand could he feel that she was safe.
Listening to his even breathing, she slowly turned her head to look at him. Looking at his eyebrows, his straight nose, his tightly closed eyes and his strong hands. Tears quietly slid down again...
When she was discharged from the hospital the next day, Yu Xiao changed into a pink dress that Kang Shaonan brought her. She tied her soft long hair into a loose ponytail and wore a pair of casual sandals. She looked much more energetic. After packing everything up, Yu Xiao followed Kang Shaonan out of the inpatient building.
All relatives and friends knew that Yu Xiao was discharged from the hospital today, but Kang Shaonan didn't ask anyone to see her off. For her, too much attention would increase her psychological burden. The two got in the car, Kang Shaonan started the car, drove out of the hospital, and drove towards Uncle Ming's tea garden.
The road to the tea garden was a bit long. Yu Xiao sat silently beside Kang Shaonan, staring blankly at everything outside the window. Kang Shaonan originally wanted to play some music, but the first song he turned on was a sentimental one. He changed several songs in a row, but none of them was suitable. In the end, he simply turned off the stereo and drove in silence.
Because he was too tired during this period and had been shot twice in the shoulder, Kang Shaonan did not drive very fast this time and even stopped to rest several times. Yu Xiao kept looking ahead silently and did not respond to any of his actions. In fact, she was very clear about the injury on his shoulder and knew that he had paid a lot for her during this period, but no matter how much she felt for him, she could only keep it in her heart. She completely ignored everything about him.
Everyone, when facing love, hopes to give all their love.
For her, leaving Kang Shaonan's world and giving him happiness and freedom is her way of loving him.
Without his own ties and burdens, he wouldn't live such a wronged life!
Kang Shaonan, I love you... For your happiness, I am willing to give up everything... including you.
No matter how far the road was, they still arrived in a few hours. When the car stopped in front of Uncle Ming's house, Uncle Ming walked to the side of the car with a smile, and watched Yu Xiao jump out of the car and run towards him with tears in his eyes. He opened his arms and hugged the poor child.
"Dad..." At this moment, she regarded him as her closest relative and cried in Uncle Ming's arms.
"Xiao girl, Uncle Ming was so happy to hear that you were coming that he didn't sleep well for several days!" Uncle Ming smiled kindly and patted her back gently, as if he was welcoming a lost child home.
Kang Shaonan nodded to Uncle Ming and greeted him silently, took out Yu Xiao's daily necessities and spare clothes from the trunk, and walked into Uncle Ming's house.
Yu Xiao cried for a while in Uncle Ming's arms, then raised her hand to wipe away her tears embarrassedly.
"Silly girl, Uncle Ming is your home here. You can cry when you want to cry, laugh when you want to laugh, eat when you want to eat, and sleep when you want to sleep. Even if you tear the roof off Uncle Ming's house, Uncle Ming won't mind, understand?"
Yu Xiao was amused by Uncle Ming's words and felt much more relaxed.
Uncle Ming raised his hand to wipe her tears and looked at her with a smile: "Uncle Ming caught a few pheasants on the mountain next door a few days ago. I stewed a pot of pheasant meat for you today. Let's go and try it!"
"Yeah." Yu Xiao nodded and followed Uncle Ming into the house.
Although Kang Shaonan and Yu Xiao also ate something at a roadside restaurant on the way here, both of them had no appetite and neither of them ate much. Looking at the big table of delicious dishes made by Uncle Ming, they were really hungry. Kang Shaonan did not treat himself as an outsider, and took a bottle of white wine and ate and drank with Uncle Ming. Sometimes Kang Shaonan talked about the army, and sometimes Uncle Ming talked about the tea garden. They did not mention the kidnapping at all. Yu Xiao ate alone in silence. She had never really had a meal in these days, and she ate this afternoon meal especially deliciously.
After dinner, Uncle Ming originally wanted Yu Xiao to go to sleep, but she insisted on going to the tea garden on the mountain to take a look. Uncle Ming agreed and took her out. Kang Shaonan stayed at home to clean up the dishes and get everything ready before going out and walking towards the mountain.
Perhaps because he had been in the hospital for too long, Yu Xiao felt more and more relaxed as he walked up the mountain road. Looking at the neatly arranged tea trees on both sides, which covered the entire hillside layer by layer, a scene of lush greenery. Looking up at the azure sky, soft white clouds, and the entire expanse of green in front of him, Yu Xiao seemed to have unloaded all his psychological burdens, and the previous gloom was washed away by the beautiful scenery in front of him.
There were still a few workers pruning tea trees in the tea garden. Uncle Ming took Yu Xiao to a woman in her thirties and asked her to teach her how to prune the trees. He told her that he would come back at five o'clock in the afternoon to check how she was doing, and then he left. He returned to the mountain road and walked up the mountain with Kang Shaonan. When they were almost at the top of the mountain, they sat down on the steps and looked at Yu Xiao in the tea garden together.
"Uncle Ming, thank you for your help!" Kang Shaonan was inexpressibly grateful to Uncle Ming for Yu Xiao being able to come here.
"What are you talking about? Xiaoxiao is my goddaughter. It's her right to be here, don't you understand?" Uncle Ming gave him a reproachful look.
"Yeah, I know! But I still want to thank Uncle Ming!"
Uncle Ming raised his hand and patted his shoulder: "Shaonan, for Xiaoxiao, you can't eat hot tofu in a hurry. Don't worry too much about her. Although I haven't known her for a long time, I can see that she is stronger than you think. It's just that she needs some time now. No one is born mature. Everyone grows up slowly through the tempering of one thing after another. If this matter will be exposed sooner or later, I think it is a kind of tempering for Yu Xiao now. If a person has everything smooth sailing from childhood to adulthood, then this person's life is too sad. Only after experiencing real pain can you know how hard happiness is to come by, and you will cherish it more."
"Uncle Ming, what you said is very good! But I still can't let her go, I'm afraid she will be depressed again..." Kang Shaonan choked up and looked up at the sky in the distance. Although he had prepared himself mentally before, he was still a little worried when he thought about leaving her here alone.
"Don't worry! Xiaoxiao will stay at Uncle Ming's place for a month. I promise that when she returns, she will be a brand new Yu Xiao. However, as for your relationship, I can't do anything about it. But don't lose heart. Xiaoxiao is kind-hearted. As long as you persevere, there will be hope!"
"Thank you, Uncle Ming! I will!" Kang Shaonan nodded heavily.
"What are your plans?"
"Uncle Ming, can you keep this a secret for me for now?"
"What? Are you still worried that I will change my mind?" Uncle Ming looked at him jokingly.
Kang Shaonan was moved by Uncle Ming's open-minded character. He sighed, looked at Uncle Ming and smiled: "I'm going to change my career!"
Uncle Ming frowned: "Change career? Have you thought about it? This will affect your future!" Although he is not a soldier, from his contact with Kang Shaonan, this young man has a lot of room for advancement. It would be a pity if he really gave up the career of a soldier because of this.
"Well, I've thought about it a long time ago! Ever since Xiaoxiao married me, we have been living apart. I owe her too much, and from now on I will make it up to her little by little." For him, life without Yu Xiao would be meaningless even if he became a general.
"Good! You are worthy of being a soldier! Dare to do it and take responsibility! No matter what decision you make, Uncle Ming will support you!"
"Thank you, Uncle Ming! But I don't want her to know about this!"
"Yes, Uncle Ming understands!"
"Uncle Ming, I have one more thing I want to trouble you with..."
"you say!"
"Last time you said you wanted Xiaoxiao to open a tea shop..."
"You mean... you want her to open a tea shop?"
"yes!"
"Don't you think that would be tiring for her?"
"If Xiaoxiao goes back to work at Yi Mo's company, I will see her very little every day. Once she opens a tea shop, there are some things she will not be able to do alone..."
Uncle Ming interrupted Kang Shaonan with a smile: "You don't have to say anything, I understand! I have wanted Xiao to do this for a long time, okay!" (To be continued)