Love in the Midst of Mistaken Identities

“Dad, I know.” Chu Lui agreed as he placed down a white chess piece. No one found out at those places not known was filled full of his bitterness and pain.

Would they still have grandchildren?

Actually, he could pretend that this matter did not exist. No one in the world would know that he, Chu Lui, was not a man anymore—that he lost his fertility. His parents would have their grandchild and would never find out the pain of not having any descendants, spending their late years peacefully.

Yet, was this possible? His pride and dignity did not allow for him to have such a failure and did not allow for such deceitful acts to appear around him. He believed that his parents were not willing for such things to happen either, for they were all prideful people who condemned such things.

When he left his parents’ house to return to the place he’s staying—as he stepped in, there was some kind of suppressing force and hollowness all of a sudden.

He turned on the lights. There was no evidence of humans at home at all. Suddenly, he missed the girl who would leave the lights on for him. It was only until now that he realized that was not a normal lamp, but the guiding lamp for his heart.

He opened the door to his study room, switched on the lights, and sat in front of his table before opening his laptop and habitually clicking on Penguin. Searching for that person, the results turned out to be that the avatar was dark. He couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh. How could he have forgotten...? The current timing was after 12 midnight, but that girl’s lifestyle was always so structured. She was probably asleep by now, but he was still sitting here like a fool, enduring the long lonely night.

...

Xia Ruoxin opened her pair of eyes, reaching out her hands to find the alarm clock at the bedside. Picking it up, a look told her that it was almost 12 midnight. Rainy, who was next to her, was already in deep sleep, falling asleep early after tiring out from playing with her doll.

Sitting up, she picked up the doll that fell on the floor before placing it back into her daughter’s embrace and then carefully got off the bed. She opened the door before lightly stepping out. The moment the door closed—for some unknown reason, she felt an inexplicable feeling of loneliness.

It was as if the house was too big, making her feel alone.

She entered the kitchen, which contained Gao Yi’s dinner that she left for him. Today, he was on the night shift, thus returning home slightly later. She realized that she knew better than Gao Yi what shift he was on, what time he had to leave, what time he would return, and even knowing the timing that they would change shifts.

The moonlight was slightly obscured, the cars driving outside dwindling down to an occasional few. Even if it was those who liked the nightlife, they had all already returned home, except for those forced to wake up earlier and sleep later because of their jobs.

She preferred a regularly structured life and didn’t like working overtime. The body would be in better condition if it was to sleep and wake up early.

She cooked some porridge and two light dishes. Just as she finished cooking the dishes, there was a sound from the outside. Gao Yi had returned.

She walked out from the kitchen, placing the dishes onto the table. Indeed, Gao Yi had changed into slippers, carrying his weary body. From his facial expression, it was evident that he was really tired.

“Is there something to eat?” He immediately asked when he entered. After a few hours of surgery, he was exhausted... and starving.

“Yup.” Xia Ruoxin then walked out again from the kitchen, carrying a bowl filled with porridge. The porridge was cooked relatively thinly so as to aid digestion at night. As for Gao Yi, this meal was equivalent to today’s dinner and tomorrow’s breakfast.

It was plentiful, and Gao Yi was obviously pleased towards today’s dishes. After washing his hands, he sat down, eager to eat.

“Have some, too.” He pushed the dishes on the tables towards Xia Ruoxin. So many dishes; indeed, he probably couldn’t finish.

“I’ve already eaten. You have it.” Xia Ruoxin then walked into the kitchen again, bringing out a glass of apple juice for him to drink. Gao Yi used to love drinking tea, but drinking it at night might result in poor sleep quality. Although being very tired—even if it’s ten flasks worth of tea, he probably would still be able to fall into a deep sleep. Later on, Xia Ruoxin changed his tea to fruit juice. She used her own first month’s paycheck to purchase a relatively good blender; there were apples, peaches, bananas, and watermelon. Sometimes, there was yogurt, too. Rainy was not picky and seemed to like drinking it as though she liked drinking the juice over milk.

“Thank you, this was just what I needed.” Gao Yi received the glass of juice. After a few mouthfuls, almost half of the glass was gone.

“Have your dinner. I’ll take a look at my laptop first,” Xia Ruoxin spoke as she opened her laptop to see if there was work for her to do. Checking her email inbox—indeed, there were a few emails. Recently, her business was doing not bad, having accepted more than ten pictures. Furthermore, Teacher Su Li let her become an assistant teacher. Although the monthly salary wasn’t high, she could come into contact with drawing-related things, letting her learn a lot. There was not much time left every day, but she spent her time productively. Only until did she realize, time could be spent like this.

She took over the pen, noting down all the requests on her book. Tomorrow—after Rainy goes for school, she would start with work. Accidentally, her fingers touched the bottom right Penguin, which opened the Penguin app.

On her Penguin, there weren’t many people; and it wasn’t something she cared about daily. Yet, she found out that at this timing, that person was still there.

Summer’s Not Over, “You’re still here?”

A Sunny Day Will Come sent out a shocked expression: “Why, you’re not asleep?”

Summer’s Not Over, “Nope, just woke up. He just returned from work so I cooked something for him and came to check my email inbox on the way.”

A Sunny Day Will Come, “You’re really a good woman.”

Summer’s Not Over, “It’s not like that. If others treat me well, I would naturally treat them well, too.”

A Sunny Day Will Come, “What if they don’t treat you well?”

Xia Ruoxin took her pen and tapped lightly on the table. What to do, an eye for an eye? She wouldn’t.

She typed a line of words, but it didn’t feel suitable so she deleted it and retyped another line of words.

Summer’s Not Over, “That unhappiness, forgetting it will do.”

A Sunny Day Will Come, “Even past love—can that be forgotten?”

Xia Ruoxin’s fingers paused for a while, there was an inexplicable feeling. It was as though there was something far away, lightly poking at her heart. The place where it was torn apart, obviously, still hurt.

Summer’s Not Over, “It will ultimately be forgotten. It’s impossible to remember something forever; humans are often forgetful.”

A Sunny Day Will Come, “Is it... humans are forgetful? Then what if I’m unable to forget it forever—you say, can I still receive forgiveness?”

“Ruoxin, is there still food? I still want to eat.” Gao Yi, who was at the side eating, placed his bowl down and directed his question to Xia Ruoxin. That bowl down didn’t have many effects. It was imaginable how hungry he must have been.