Chapter 315
Yet Zhou Yueshen remained in that half-reclining, boss-like posture, not moving an inch.
"Lao Jiang told me your wife and children were coming to visit and asked me to arrange things. I didn't expect them to arrive so soon," Chief Yang said.
Zhou Yueshen's gaze towards him was cold, as if looking at a stranger. "Yes, thank you for your trouble, Chief. This is my wife, Si Nian, and my three children."
His expression softened considerably when he looked at Si Nian. "Nian Nian, this is Chief Yang."
Si Nian subtly withdrew her gaze and offered a greeting. After all, he was a Chief; she couldn't afford to be disrespectful.
At that moment, Yang Yujie rushed in frantically, losing her usual composure. "Zhou Yueshen, you're not—" Her words cut off as she spotted Si Nian and the others standing to the side.
Si Nian stared back at her, with a hint of a spectator's amusement.
Yang Yujie was stunned.
She had just returned from a mission and learned the news of Zhou Yueshen's team's successful rescue. Hearing he was injured, she had rushed to the hospital immediately.
She never imagined that Si Nian and his three children, who should have been thousands of miles away, would be here.
Yang Yujie was completely bewildered.
Chief Yang withdrew his gaze, gave the pale-faced Yang Yujie a once-over, but said nothing.
He then turned to Si Nian with a sigh. "Little Zhou is a fortunate man. In that case, I won't disturb your family reunion. Yujie, come out. I need a word with you."
Yang Yujie bit her lip, glanced at Zhou Yueshen once more, and seeing him with his eyes downcast, followed Chief Yang out with a grim expression.
Zhou Yueshen hadn't looked at her once from start to finish.
The ward fell into a deathly silence.
"Daddy, Daddy, is she the auntie who secretly wrote you letters?" It was Zhou Zehan's curiosity that finally broke the quiet.
Zhou Yueshen snapped back to reality, remembering his two sons had also seen Yang Yujie's letters before, and felt a pang of awkwardness.
He cleared his throat with a fist, momentarily at a loss for how to respond, silently pleading with his son to stop.
As it was, Si Nian was still angry with him.
Si Nian, however, withdrew her gaze and said, "Little Han, you still remember that after all this time?"
Zhou Zehan huffed, "Writing letters to Daddy... I don't like her." He looked puzzled at Zhou Yueshen. "Daddy, do you like her?"
Zhou Yueshen choked slightly. "Of course not."
"Then why did she write to you?" Zhou Zehan didn't understand.
Zhou Yueshen felt a headache coming on.
Si Nian pinched his little cheek. "Stop grilling your father. He needs to rest."
The sky darkened quickly. In the northwest, night fell later. Back home, the children would have been asleep by now.
Knowing Zhou Yueshen needed quiet to recuperate, Si Nian didn't let the children bother him. She asked Yu Dong, who had come by, to take them back to sleep.
They hadn't rested since taking the train during the day, and the children could barely keep their eyes open.
Yu Dong was perceptive. Knowing the couple hadn't seen each other for almost two months, they must have a lot to talk about.
After all, absence makes the heart grow fonder. He immediately assured her he would take care of everything properly.
Si Nian watched him leave before sitting down to tidy up the food containers.
Zhou Yueshen kept glancing at her. When she looked back, he would avert his eyes.
He seemed to be hesitating to speak.
Si Nian sighed. "Just say whatever you want to say. Why do you look like I'm forbidding you to speak?"
Did she seem that fierce?
Really, this old man in his thirties was putting on such a weak, helpless, and pitiful act.
Yet he sat there solid as a mountain.
Zhou Yueshen, caught out, flashed a look of embarrassment. "Nian Nian, still angry?"
Si Nian sat beside him. "Not anymore."
"I'm not that petty, Zhou Yueshen," she added.
"If you keep this up, people will think I'm mistreating you." Just look at the pitying glance Yu Dong had thrown him on his way out.
Zhou Yueshen's low voice rumbled. "How could they? I'm just worried you're unhappy, that you'll upset yourself."
Si Nian glared at him. Seeing the many unbandaged wounds on his face, the broken skin and red scratches, she felt a shameful softness in her heart. "I'm not angry anymore. When I saw you back and you spoke to me earlier, I thought, you being alive is stronger than anything."
Hearing this, Zhou Yueshen felt a wave of tenderness in his heart, and his mood lifted unconsciously.
He didn't know why he felt so happy.
"It must have been hard on you. Did you suffer much on the way here?" he asked.
Si Nian complained, "Of course. My backside still hurts from sitting. I thought I could rest a bit once we arrived, but we'd just gotten here when you returned. I rushed over non-stop to see you, bought you food... I'm utterly exhausted now."
Her voice carried an unconscious note of grievance and petulance.
Truthfully, having been lying around for days on the train, she had slept quite comfortably.
But she couldn't let the old man know she slept well, or she'd seem heartless.
So she added, "Mm, I couldn't sleep well on the train at all."
Zhou Yueshen's gaze grew even more guilt-ridden. "My fault."
He knew that him being overdue for so long without returning or sending letters must have worried her.
He just never imagined she would travel thousands of miles to come.
His heart beat uncontrollably. Listening to her recount the events on the train with that aggrieved tone, he felt a sour, unbearable ache.
He reached out, pulled her into his arms, and held her tightly.
Si Nian, afraid of touching his wounds, quickly pushed against him. "Your injuries."
Zhou Yueshen tightened his arms around her, as if only this could prove she was truly here before him now.
He had never imagined a day would come when someone would travel such a distance for someone like him.
At this moment, he would die willingly.
"Minor injuries. Don't worry."
His deep voice fell from above her head. The night was chilly, but his embrace was wonderfully warm.
It had been too long since they'd held each other, and with the children around, it felt awkward.
Now, she found herself somewhat addicted to it.
"Is everything alright at home?" he asked.
Si Nian, her attention diverted, began softly recounting the events of the past period.
She didn't hide the incident of the Second Child being kidnapped, telling him how truly scared she had been at the time.
Zhou Yueshen's arm around her tightened further. Finding the sitting position uncomfortable, Si Nian simply climbed onto the bed, pulled the blanket over them, and leaned against the man's shoulder as she talked.
Both of them savored this moment of intimacy.
Zhou Yueshen, with his injuries, couldn't move much, lying stiffly straight.
Seeing him immobilized, a mischievous thought arose in Si Nian's mind. Her hand wandered, rubbing against his chest one moment, then touching his Adam's apple the next, quietly laughing at the way it bobbed unconsciously.
Hearing her laughter, Zhou Yueshen took her hand and turned his head to look at her helplessly. "Stop messing around."
Si Nian immediately put on a wronged expression. "After being apart for so long, I can't even touch you anymore? Our feelings have cooled after all."
Zhou Yueshen, resigned, placed her small hand back on him. "It's not that."
It wasn't that she couldn't touch him, it was just that his current condition made movement difficult.
"I don't believe you. You're not as good to me as before. You used to kiss me first. Now when I take the initiative, you complain. Fine, fine... I'll leave tomorrow."
She began her tea-scented talk.
Zhou Yueshen drew in a sharp breath, lowered his gaze to look at her for a few seconds, then suddenly reached out, his hand cupping the back of her head. He kissed her fiercely, his lips grazing hers as he murmured, "Nian Nian, you always provoke me."
—S—u—p—p—o—r—t— t—h—e— A—u—t—h—o—r—. What, you ask why the village chief is still doing this even after the competition is over? Well, every little bit helps.