“If I can restore your sight within three days, can you promise me something?” Jiang Ziyu asked tentatively after a long silence.
Three days?
Di Mingjue found it amusing. It seemed this woman was holding back from him. Was she delaying her recovery for the matter she was about to mention?
“What is it?” he asked, his expression serious.
She hesitated, wondering if it was the right time to speak.
Jiang Ziyu looked at him, her heart uncertain.
Di Mingjue’s brows furrowed, and not receiving a response, he showed his displeasure. “You can’t say it now?”
Jiang Ziyu met his deep gaze and then turned to look at the clock. “Time’s up, you can take them off now.”
As her words faded, the door was pushed open a crack.
Yuze poked his small head in, blinking at Jiang Ziyu.
“Have you chosen?” Jiang Ziyu asked.
Yuze nodded, holding up the fairy tale book in his hand.
The needle removal became quicker. Jiang Ziyu neatly packed her acupuncture kit and said, “I’ll take Qianqian to rest. You should rest early too.”
As she walked towards the door, her arm met opposing force.
“I’ll go with you,” Di Mingjue said, pulling the door open wider.
The three of them entered Yuze’s room with a somber atmosphere. On the narrow children’s bed, their bodies were packed closely together. Yuze, sandwiched in the middle, was beaming, a smile plastered on his face.
Jiang Ziyu glanced at Di Mingjue and began flipping through the fairy tale book.
The story was short, yet it felt long. Usually, Yuze would close his eyes and rest after one story, but today he kept his eyes wide open, excitedly asking for another.
“Just one last one. After this, you need to sleep. You have kindergarten tomorrow,” Jiang Ziyu said sternly.
Yuze realized she was displeased. After a moment’s thought, he moved from his sitting position to lying down. Clutching the blanket, he covered half his face.
Jiang Ziyu put down the book and stroked Yuze’s hair. “Sleep now.”
Unable to speak, Yuze nodded in response.
The indoor lights were adjusted to night mode. As Jiang Ziyu shifted to lie down, she noticed Di Mingjue remained unmoving.
Not sleeping?
She didn’t ask.
Avoiding eye contact, Jiang Ziyu turned her back to Yuze, facing the window.
Under the warm yellow light, a flicker of warmth ignited in Di Mingjue’s heart. This was the life he wanted, yet the person beside him occupied the place in his heart that belonged to another.
Was it right or wrong to let things continue like this?
Di Mingjue worried that Jiang Ziyu’s presence threatened Qianqian’s biological mother’s position, but how could he stop her selfless love?
His heart felt heavy. Di Mingjue lifted the covers, quietly got off the bed, and left the room.
As the door closed, Jiang Ziyu’s eyes instantly opened.
Di Mingjue went to the study and sat at the computer desk, his hand reaching for his phone.
After a few rings, the call was answered.
Shen Lin, who had just finished his nightly routine and was about to rest, received Di Mingjue’s call.
“President Di?”
“Any leads on her?”
“Not yet.”
After searching for three years, was she deliberately hiding, or were their efforts insufficient?
Di Mingjue on the other end remained silent. Shen Lin’s sleepiness vanished, replaced by tension.
Shifting the phone to his other hand, Shen Lin prepared himself for overtime work, moving from the bedside to the wardrobe. As he took out his going-out clothes, Di Mingjue spoke.
“I understand. For now, that’s all. Don’t search too actively.”
“President Di, did I hear you correctly? We’re not looking anymore?”
Di Mingjue recalled Jiang Ziyu’s life-saving rescue not long ago. He nodded and continued, “Yes.”
After three years of searching, if they were truly destined to be together, why couldn’t they find each other? Moreover, if she cared about her daughter Qianqian, why hadn’t she come to see her secretly for three years?
Now that Jiang Ziyu was genuinely treating Qianqian as her own child, how could he deny Qianqian the right to enjoy maternal love?