“Sis… I want to go now, I want to leave immediately.”
“Zhixin…” Huo Mian suddenly felt terrible, but she didn’t know what to say to her brother.
Everyone understood the bigger picture, but… they wouldn’t feel better just because they were consoled. After all, his recent experience was painful and unbearable.
Huang Yue’s death was a heavy emotional burden on Zhixin. He was still only 19 years old, no matter how strong he might appear to be.
This was also why Huo Mian didn’t want Zhixin to hurry into an immature relationship.
Initially, he fell in love too hard and thought of everything too optimistically. He hadn’t seen through all the darkness and the sorrows in life, along with the pain and despair that came with it.
“Sis… I really can’t take the pain anymore, I feel like I’m about to die.”
Huo Mian didn’t reply to him…
“Sis… let me go. I swear that in a year or two… or in three or five years… Time will heal all wounds, but I really need to leave right now.”
“Mom and I will miss you very much.”
“I know, but I won’t be gone forever. I only want to study abroad, like what my brother-in-law did back then.”
“Is there a country you want to go to?” Huo Mian finally began to compromise.
“It doesn’t matter, as long as it’s not here. The quicker, the better.”
“Fine, I’ll discuss it with your brother-in-law.”
Huo Mian’s heart sunk heavily as she logged out of WeChat…
She looked at Qin Chu, who was reading beside her.
“Honey… Zhixin wants to go abroad.”
“Good idea, he should,” Qin Chu was very calm.
“But I’ll miss him so much.”
“Boys should go out and experience things, you can’t protect him for his whole life… There are so many things in life that you can’t help him with. Like a bird, one day, he has to grow up and leave his nest… Just like me, he’ll become a man with responsibilities, a husband to a woman, and a mighty father of his children, so… there really isn’t anything you shouldn’t be able to let go of. I think it’s a great idea for him to go out and see the world.”
Qin Chu put down the book in his hand as he quietly comforted Huo Mian.
“Then… where do you think he should go? I’ve never been abroad, and I don’t know where to go, this happened so suddenly…”
Zhixin’s idea came too suddenly, and Huo Mian wasn’t even prepared for it, so she was still in quite a mess.
She asked for Qin Chu’s help…
“Singapore or New Zealand.”
“Didn’t you say that America and Europe were more developed?” Huo Mian was a bit doubtful.
“Europe and America are more developed, but not as safe. Zhixin’s personality is better suited to safer and happier countries. Both Singapore and New Zealand are famously known for their safety, and I know that he will enjoy highly-civilized places with beautiful sceneries.”
“Sounds good.”
“Then I’ll help him arrange the documents to go abroad at work tomorrow.”
Huo Mian nodded exhaustedly…
“Does Auntie know?”
“Not yet, I’ll tell my mom when it’s a done deal.”
“Sure… when does he want to leave?”
Huo Mian sighed, and said very quietly, “He said the faster, the better. Best if it was now.”
“Okay, I got it.”
Then, the married couple fell asleep in each other’s arms…
Luckily Qin Chu was around, so Huo Mian didn’t have to run around for a lot of things, making her life much easier.
She felt that it was definitely better to share the burden of sorrow two people than to deal with it herself…
She was very grateful that Qin Chu was by her side at this very moment…
When Huo Mian went to work the next day, Yingzi forcefully admitted Ni Yang to the hospital.
Huo Mian and Ni Yang spoke as they walked together…
“Sister Mian, Sister Yingzi is overreacting… I have digestion problems, why do I need to be hospitalized? Why do I have to stop working… It’s crazy, hurry up and tell her that.”
“You’re not so busy lately anyways, so it’s fine if you stay in the hospital and rest for a while. Just treat it like a vacation.”
“Uhm… are you kidding me? Why are you taking her side? Sister Mian… are you guys hiding something from me…?”
Ni Yang followed by Huo Mian, protesting fiercely about his hospitalization.
Just then, as they turned the corner, they ran into Xie Juan, who was on her way back from buying fruit for Shuai Shuai.
She wore an old red shirt and a pair of torn black pants as she carefully carried a few apples in her hand.
“Why are you here?” Ni Yang’s expression froze upon seeing Xie Juan.
Xie Juan was surprised as well; she wasn’t prepared for this at all…
She looked at Ni Yang, her expression seeming very indecisive…