Chapter 137 – Estranged (1)

At dawn, there was a cool breeze occasionally blowing. Lan Jinyao was sitting on a bench in the park, allowing the breeze to caress her long hair, while not far away, a grey-haired couple were walking hand in hand.

The old couple’s youthful features were long gone, and one could only see their wrinkled appearances, but the smiles on their faces looked so genuine.

Lan Jinyao found that it had been a while since she’d sat alone on a park bench, just watching the scenery. In the stillness, everything surrounding her seemed extremely beautiful.

Shortly after, her gaze landed on the empty spot beside her, and the smile on her lips twitched, gradually disappearing while a trace of desolation surfaced in her eyes.

‘To hold hands and grow old together’, for the current her, how seemingly distant was this motto?! If they couldn’t even get past the present barrier, how could they talk about the future? Fu Bainian, he…was he now planning to let go of her hand?

Then, all of a sudden, her phone rang and interrupted her wandering thoughts. She picked up her phone and stared at the screen; it was a call from Chen Meile.

Lan Jinyao recalled that ever since Chen Meile had found out about the truth, she hadn’t called her anymore. So, when she picked up the call, she felt somewhat nervous.

“Sis…” she tentatively called.

Chen Meile coldly said, “There’s currently no one else around me, so you don’t have to address me like that. Hearing that makes me feel bad.”

The first person Lan Jinyao had seen when she’d opened her eyes was Chen Meile. She knew Chen Meile’s personality better than anyone else. Although her temperament seemed fierce, and she did things decisively and ruthlessly, she was very affectionate and caring towards her family members. When Lan Jinyao had stayed as Chen Meimei, she’d received a lot of scolding from Chen Meile, but Chen Meile had also shown her no less concern. When it was necessary to beat around the bush; she would, and when she had to be straightforward; she would do so as well. She was a very frank person.

Even though she knew Chen Meile’s temper, to hear such words so suddenly, she still felt a little sad in her heart.

Lan Jinyao then lowered her voice, and said, “I’m sorry, I’m already used to calling you this way, so it’s a bit difficult to change this in such a short period. For you to call me, is there anything I can help you with?”

Chen Meile remained silent on the other end of the phone for a while before replying, “Dad will have his birthday banquet in a few days. I didn’t tell the old man about all this, so this time you have to be there, and you can’t let the cat out of the bag. If need be, I’ll help you.”

Lan Jinyao smiled. At least Chen Meile didn’t tell Old Chen about this.

“Thank you. I’ll be there when the time comes.”

Chen Meile then added, “Bring Fu Bainian along with you. That scandal Fu Bainian got in gave Dad a headache. I don’t care what method you use, but even if it’s just putting on a show, you have to pretend to be a happy and loving couple.”

“Alright, I understand.”

Their relationship was currently in a very bad state; perhaps this was an excellent opportunity to mend it. Even if she wasn’t doing it for her own sake, she had to do it for their baby’s sake.

As the sun gradually rose above the horizon, Lan Jinyao put away her phone and stood up, slowly walking back home. The park was very closeby, only a few minutes away from her place. As she was walking, Lan Jinyao decided that from now on, she’d take a walk in the park every day to relax her mind. Only with a happy mood could she give birth to a jolly baby.

At night, Fu Changning called her again and said that she’d come over to accompany her but, in the end, her good intentions were rejected by Lan Jinyao. Fu Changning had accompanied her all these days, but even if it were annual leave, she’d have used up all of her days of leave already, right? Which company would want an intern who asks for a leave of absence every day?

She said that she’d be fine on her own, and told Fu Changning to go to work before hanging up.

After dinner, Lan Jinyao went to bed and not long after she lay down, she heard a noise coming from the main door. Initially, she was scared out of her wits, thinking that it was a thief. Then, she remembered that there was no way a thief could come into this neighbourhood to steal things as there were security cameras at every corner. There were no overlooked areas nor blind spots.

In that case, who was it?

It was Fu Bainian! Lan Jinyao heard the sound of familiar footsteps, cautious and solemn, as if afraid of disturbing her sleep.

At this moment, Lan Jinyao herself didn’t know what she was thinking, but she immediately closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep.

Not long after, the door was opened, and Fu Bainian came in. In the pitch-black room, Lan Jinyao closed her eyes, but there was a narrow slit through which she saw a tall figure walk towards her.

Fu Bainian sat down on the bedside and gently caressed Lan Jinyao’s forehead with his hand. The warmth of his palm made Lan Jinyao’s heartbeat lose its usual rhythm, and she tried hard to suppress her own breathing, trying to make it as light and slow-moving as possible to make it appear as if she was in a deep sleep.

Fu Bainian remained silent, and only after a long time had passed did he retract his hand and bend down, lightly planting a kiss on Lan Jinyao’s lips. Soon after, he stood up and walked away, gently closing the door behind him.

As soon as the sound of his footsteps faded, Lan Jinyao opened her eyes. Her palms were soaked in a cold sweat, and she extended her hand to caress her lips, feeling somewhat perplexed.

“Fu Bainian, what exactly do you want? If you still love me, then why would you do that? If you don’t love me, then…why did you kiss me?”

At this moment, her initially calm heart was utterly thrown into disorder.

Baby, could you please tell mummy what exactly is on your daddy’s mind?

Lan Jinyao’s lips slightly opened and then closed again; she knew that she couldn’t get an answer to her question.

The next morning, Lan Jinyao woke up early. She walked to the guest room next door to have a look, and then lowered her head in disappointment.

Fu Bainian didn’t sleep in the guest room last night. He’d only come back for a short while, and then he’d left again. Lan Jinyao didn’t even need to think about where he went; she was confident that he must’ve gone back to the hotel. As to whether Yin Yun was there or not, she didn’t know.

However, the more she thought about it, the sadder she felt. Lan Jinyao forced herself to stop thinking about it. She sorted out her emotions and then went to prepare breakfast.

Chen Meile had said that the day after tomorrow would be Old Chen’s birthday. His birthday banquet this time must be very grand, so she ought to choose a beautiful evening dress to wear. She then gently rubbed her abdomen, and her lips slowly curled up into a smile. She estimated that it would still take a while before her belly would show, so she would wait until then before telling Fu Bainian.

If Fu Bainian still wouldn’t show any restraint when the time comes, then she wouldn’t insist on it any longer.