Young Master Gu, Please Be Gentle

Before her tears even trickled down, An’an quickly lifted her head and looked at the sky far away.

Her tears flowed right back.

She wasn’t going to cry.

Before Ah Yan came back, she wouldn’t cry.

She would stay strong.

An’an had a good appetite, finishing an entire bowl of rice and a big bowl of pork rib soup. Ever since she learned of her pregnancy, she would finish an entire bowl of rice every meal, ensuring that the baby and her could absorb all of the nutrients.

At night, she slept on the bed.

She could hear a familiar, gentle voice in her ears. “An’an.”

An’an slowly opened her eyes, standing on a beautiful green lawn. There was beautiful greenery all around the place.

“An’an.”

That person continued calling her name.

An’an lifted her eyes to look, an imposing figure stood in front. It was Lu Yan.

Ah Yan.

Her Ah Yan.

Lu Yan smiled at her, slowly opening up both arms as he beckoned to her. “Come over, let me hug you.”

He said, come over, let me hug you.

An’an moved her legs, walking over towards him. She looked at his chiseled features dazedly. “Ah Yan, is that… really you?”

Lu Yan nodded his head. “It’s me.”

“Ah Yan, you’re back?”

“Mm, I have come home.”

An’an’s eyes watered and she ran over, charging into his broad embrace. But in the next moment, Lu Yan dissipated, just like a cloud of smoke.

He was gone.

He left.

An’an stood on the spot, looking for him everywhere. The flowers rapidly withered and the blue skies were replaced with dark clouds. Her entire world darkened in an instant.

She couldn’t find Ah Yan.

She couldn’t find him.

An’an woke up.

…

Even though she had woken up, she still didn’t open her eyes.

There were the sounds of the morning physical training outside. It was five in the morning and she had woken up from that dream.

For the past 16 nights, she had been waiting for him every single day, waiting for him to stand in front of her eyes the moment she woke up in the morning.

But she had been disappointed every morning.

She had been disappointed over and over again, not even daring to open her eyes in the morning. She was afraid that she would be let down once more.

Feeling as though a knife was stabbing her heart, it hurt so much, she went breathless. Stretching out her trembling hand, she touched his spot on the bed.

It was empty, it felt so cold.

No, he hadn’t come back.

With her lashes fluttering, she bit down on her lower lip till it bled. Grief overcame her, huge drops of tears started streaming down her cheeks.

16 days.

She had persevered for 16 days.

On the morning of the 17th day, she collapsed.

16 days felt so long, as though it was an entire lifetime without him.

I’m sorry, Ah Yan.

She told herself that she would stay strong and not cry at all. But there wasn’t anyone here to see her, the burning hot tears just trickled down her cheeks uncontrollably. She sobbed weakly.

Ah Yan, where have you gone?

Ah Yan, could you please come back?

Ah Yan, I miss your hugs. I miss you.

Her heart ached so much, she would just die the next moment.

As she lay there, she stretched out her arms to hug her own shoulders, sobbing softly yet so helplessly.

…

In the bathroom. An’an stood in front of the counter and looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were puffy and red.

Knock knock. She could hear Li Si’s voice from outside. “An’an.”

Brother Li had come so early?

An’an had an ominous feeling in her heart. She quickly stepped out of the bathroom to open the door for him. “Brother Li, what’s the matter?”

“An’an, a male corpse had been discovered in a small state. It has been soaked in seawater and fully corroded.”

An’an was stunned by his words.

…

One hour later.

The Jeep parked in front of the police station and An’an walked into the mortuary.

“We discovered this body in the river this morning. The deceased has passed away for almost two weeks. Please come over and identify the body,” the police officer said.

Two weeks.

The dates matched.

Li Si and Jian Dao looked at the corpse that had been covered with the white cloth. It was a tall and brawny figure that resembled Lu Yan.

It really resembled Lu Yan.

An’an walked over beside the corpse. The officer stretched his arm out, wanting to lift the white cloth when An’an suddenly said, “There’s no need. It’s not him.”

“An’an,” Li Si lowered his voice and said, “We understand your feelings but, you must at least check, what if…”

“What if?” An’an turned her head around to look at Li Si, her eyes glinting angrily.

Li Si froze.

The officer had noticed the atmosphere was getting tense and he quickly said, “We’ve already collected the deceased’s DNA sample, you can do a test to check.”

Li Si reached his hand over to take the file.

The next moment, An’an reached her arm over, hitting the file away and it dropped on the ground.

“Sister-in-law!” Jian Dao burst out as he started to tear up.

Li Si’s eyes also turned watery.

“I’m sorry.” An’an placed her hand on her forehead while apologizing with a soft volume. She was feeling light-headed.

“An’an, are you alright?”

“I’m fine. I’m not being emotional, but it’s really not him. If you don’t believe me, you can take the DNA sample back and check.”

After speaking, An’an strode away. “I’m going out for some air. Don’t follow me.”

…

An’an left the police station and walked along the streets aimlessly. That wasn’t Lu Yan, she could tell even without checking. It didn’t matter to her that Li Si and Jian Dao weren’t convinced.

She suddenly felt her stomach aching a little. Her baby.

An’an’s face went pale. She wore a floral maxi dress paired with a pale yellow cardigan, her entire look feminine but she hadn’t been feeling well the entire day.

Her vision slowly turned darked, and she almost fainted.

“Hey, young lady, are you okay?” Two middle-aged women appeared in the nick of time and held An’an up so she could stand properly.

An’an managed to regain her footing, the giddiness gone in just a few seconds, but she didn’t dare take another step. “I’m fine, thank you.”

After that, An’an sat on a bench at the bus stop and waited for Li Si to come and pick her up.

The two middle-aged women only turned around to leave after ensuring An’an’s was fine. They started talking while walking—-

“I heard your old man saved someone two weeks ago.”

“Yeah, just two weeks ago my old man was being crazy. The hurricane had just left and he went into the jungle to pick pine mushrooms. It was flooded almost everywhere and do you know what my old man saw? The waters were a few meters high and there was a man stuck between a rock. The waters rushed over so furiously, but he hadn’t been flushed away. He was just stuck there!”

“Oh god, that person really was not meant to die! If he were to be flushed away into the ocean, he would definitely die.”

“That’s right, he was so lucky. When my old man brought him back, he was filled with injuries all over and we thought that he wouldn’t have been able to survive, however, he only spent two weeks recuperating and could already move around freely. It’s definitely a miracle.”

“Where is he now?”

“There!” The middle-aged woman pointed at the road opposite them. A bus passed by and an imposing figure with those deep-set, chiseled facial features appeared.

Lu Yan!

After so much difficulty, he had finally returned.