I woke up to find I have a child - Chapter 97
They stayed in Iceland until the 17th before returning home, by which time the fervor surrounding the car accident/murder attempt had gradually subsided.
The first thing Han Feixu did upon returning was to spread the news of her upcoming wedding.
As the first person to receive this news, Shen Sangluo was somewhat confused, “A wedding?”
Han Feixu confirmed, “Mhm!”
“When is it?”
“March 14th, our seventh wedding anniversary.”
Shen Sangluo’s dark circles were rather pronounced as she tugged her blankets closer. After hearing Han Feixu’s response, she yawned loudly, “Oh ok, got it. I’ll be there.”
Han Feixu was unsatisfied, “Your best friend is getting married, can’t you be a little more excited?”
Shen Sangluo gave Han Feixu, someone who had suddenly shown up at her house in the middle of the night, an unimpressed look, “I might have given you some face if you had come at a time normal people are awake.”
Han Feixu: “…”
She sheepishly smiled, “I’m still jet-lagged, so I’m not sleepy at all, and I came straight over because I was just too excited.”
Kicking off her slippers, she climbed directly into the bed. Shen Sangluo was lying on the left side, leaving plenty of space on the right. Han Feixu snuggled under the covers, which were very warm due to Shen Sangluo’s body heat.
Leaning against the headboard with bright eyes, Han Feixu asked Shen Sangluo, “Where’s Director Jiang? Why isn’t she here?”
“She’s on a business trip and won’t be back for a couple of days.”
Han Feixu nodded in understanding, “So you’ve been alone these past few nights?”
Shen Sangluo gave her a look, “If you have something to say, then get to the point. Don’t beat around the bush.”
“It’s nothing big…I was just thinking, with these long, lonely nights, why not join me in planning the wedding?”
“…Your wedding isn’t mine to plan. Go discuss it with your wife.” Shen Sangluo sounded quite resigned.
“We’ve discussed what we needed these past few days. I’m here to talk about things the bride and maid of honor need to plan together, like how many people we’re inviting, which classmates to invite, what wedding dress I should wear, what makeup to go for, and what bridesmaid dresses you’d like to get…”
Shen Sangluo had been listless, Han Feixu’s words sounding like a lullaby to her sleepy mind, causing her to close her eyes. However, with the mention of bridesmaid dresses, she snapped awake and turned swiftly to look at Han Feixu, “Bridesmaid dress?”
Patting Shen Sangluo’s thigh, Han Feixu reassured, “Don’t worry, it’s on me. I’ll buy you the most beautiful bridesmaid dress in the world. How about Vera Wang? And not their existing designs, but something custom-made just for you.”
At that moment, Shen Sangluo no longer saw Han Feixu as someone bragging about their wealth, but as a precious and cute resource. She immediately sat up, “How many maid of honors are you having?”
Han Feixu answered matter-of-factly, “Just you. Ye Mingxin and I discussed it and decided to just invite you and Jiang Lingyan. And having more bridesmaids isn’t necessary; I just need someone to hand me the rings and vows.”
Shen Sangluo, now excited, lunged forward and hugged Han Feixu tightly, “Feixu! You’ve finally grown up!”
Han Feixu: “…”
Why does that sound so strange…
Han Feixu had gone straight to Section Chief Shen’s place after she got off the plane. Ye Mingxin didn’t go along because her presence would probably scare Section Chief Shen into silence, so she went home first.
Han Feixu happily walked back home after her conversation with Shen Sangluo. Happy people tend to find happiness in everything they do, so even when the neighbor’s silly dog, Mr. Sydney, barked furiously at her like he usually does, she didn’t give him her usual icy stare. This time, she went over to the fence and shared a look with the silly little dog. After gazing at the dog for a long while, she smiled.
“Good night, silly dog.”
Mr. Sydney, the so-called silly dog: “???”
Lunar New Year quickly came and went, and everyone went back to work again. Since Han Feixu suddenly took off to Iceland during the holidays, Liang Zhu had to postpone several of her schedules. Now that she was back, Liang Zhu wanted her back to work right away. But as soon as Liang Zhu picked up Han Feixu’s call, she learned that the latter plans to take another half-month off to prepare for her wedding.
Liang Zhu thought she had misheard and asked twice before going silent. Once she realized she really, really hadn’t misheard, she started getting excited. The thought of a wedding makes any girl’s heart flutter, regardless of whether it’s related to her or not. Even the anti-marriage, anti-kids, Liang Zhu was not exempt from this.
She excitedly asked, “So am I the maid of honor?”
“No.”
“…..”
Although Liang Zhu wasn’t the maid of honor, Han Feixu and Ye Mingxin decided to let her officiate the wedding. Their wedding was to be a Western-style one, although without a reception host or any other more miscellaneous segments. Instead, it would be a simple ceremony that would make up for past shortcomings.
Liang Zhu was registered as an online minister while studying in New York, not to mention she had a nice voice. Even though she could no longer sing, when she talked her voice came out much smoother and more beautiful than most people.
Normally, planning a wedding takes at least six months, but they finished planning their wedding, from booking the hotel to sending out invitations, in just seven days.
When Han Anni received the email from Han Feixu, she immediately called back and said emotionally, “I never thought I would get the chance to attend the wedding of one of my students in this life.”
Han Feixu had gotten married at an early age and without a ceremony. Her other student, Liang Zhu, had no intention of finding a partner, let alone getting married.
Hearing her aunt’s familiar voice, Han Feixu felt like a child again, “Can you come? If you don’t, I won’t have anyone on my side…”
“Of course, I will come,” Han Anni replied with a laugh. “I’ll book the tickets right away and then take leave from the university. Nothing can stop me from attending my niece’s wedding.”
Han Feixu smiled happily, and after a pause, Han Anni added, “I watched Ye Mingxin’s live stream over the Lunar New Year. Is that Dumont woman also your aunt? Is she that person’s niece?
Han Anni didn’t mention Serge’s name, she knew better than to bring him up in front of Han Feixu, and the other party quietly replied, “No, she’s his daughter.”
Han Anni was slightly surprised and after a moment finally spoke, “Then you…”
“She’s a good person,” Han Feixu quickly interrupted, hastily explaining before falling silent, not knowing what else to say, “Aunt, I know what I’m doing.”
After a brief silence, Han Anni asked, “Feixu, have your memories returned?”
Han Feixu paused, “Not yet.”
“And here I thought such a mature decision could only be made by the twenty-six-year-old Han Feixu. I didn’t expect the sixteen-year-old Han Feixu to be capable of it too,” Han Anni said softly, her eyes curving, “Our Feixu is amazing, it’s all thanks to my older brother and sister-in-law’s good teachings.”
The last sentence was spoken very softly and tenderly. It felt different hearing her aunt mention her parents than when others mentioned them. Other people didn’t really know her parents, but her aunt was a part of the family and had known her parents for many years. When she spoke of them there was a hint of sadness and nostalgia in her tone that others didn’t have.
Han Feixu almost cried at her words, quickly blinking away the tears in her eyes, “Aunt, make sure you come early. I want you to walk me down the aisle”
“I know, brat. Don’t worry, when has this aunt of yours ever broken her word?”
After a few more words, Han Feixu hung up. On the other side of the world, Han Anni sat quietly on her sofa as the snow fell lightly outside. She sat there sitting quietly for a long time before sighing.
It would be great if Feixu could remember everything.
The current Feixu was great too, but if there was to be a wedding, she still hoped the Feixu who remembered everything could be the bride. After all, this wedding wasn’t just for the sixteen-year-old Feixu, but for the twenty-six-year-old Feixu as well.
Shaking her head, Han Anni stood up and walked to the upstairs study.
At home, Han Feixu felt a sense of loss after hanging up the phone. Ye Mingxin, sitting beside her, noticed and moved closer.
She wrapped her arms around Han Feixu, letting her lean on her shoulder.
“What’s wrong?”
Han Feixu replied gloomily, “Nothing, just missing my parents a bit. If they were still here, they would have been the ones to walk me down the aisle and hand me over to you.”
If it were anything else, Ye Mingxin could have offered some words of comfort, but she was at a loss for words when it came to Han Feixu’s pain. Some pains just can’t be soothed by the comforting words of others.
Ye Mingxin tightened her embrace, tilted her head, and kissed Han Feixu’s forehead. After a long silence, she asked, “Do you want to go see them?”
Han Feixu considered for a moment before shaking her head, “Let’s go in a few days, we’re quite busy these next few days.”
Busy was an understatement.《The Sleeper》 had just finished production and was ready for promotion. The lead actors and creators were ordered to attend several press conferences and since the international release precedes the domestic one, they will have to join the director abroad for several film festivals as well.
In the end, they were only able to enter one of the three major film festivals, and that one wouldn’t be till the second half of the year. The film festivals in the first half of the year tended to be smaller ones, but they still had their benefits. After all, winning any awards in advance would help during the main competitions and festivals later in the year.
Thus, both Ye Mingxin and Han Feixu’s schedules became extremely tight. They had to plan their wedding while attending press conferences, not to mention the honeymoon. They planned to spend a few days in Greece for a honeymoon. Then, they’d head to Portugal to meet up with Dugu Yuehua and the others.
After basking in Ye Mingxin’s embrace for a little longer, Han Feixu stood up and wanted to call the catering service for their wedding. They had booked a hotel for their venue, but the food would be catered by an outside provider. Supposedly, this catering service employed a chef who had received Michelin star ratings, although that remained to be seen.
There were going to be a total of 16 dishes, and there would be some samples sent to them in the coming two days for them to taste test. However, they never did say an exact time for when the food was arriving.
Just as Han Feixu was about to step out of the room, she paused, “By the way, how is Han Yiren doing? Do you know anything?”
Hearing that name, Ye Mingxin immediately felt annoyed, but she still obediently answered Han Feixu, “She went abroad.”
Han Feixu was taken aback, “Went abroad? But isn’t she the victim?”
“Yes, but now that the investigation is over she can go wherever she wants. She’s not a suspect after all so the police have no right to stop her. Right after the investigation ended, she bought a ticket to New Zealand. Given how things turned out for her in China, I guess she had no face to stay here.”
Han Feixu felt somewhat regretful, “She’s not going to continue her studies? Although I went abroad too, I at least completed my senior thesis abroad and got my degree in the end. But for her… isn’t this equivalent to dropping out?”
Ye Mingxin looked at her with an inscrutable gaze, “Why, are you so concerned about her?”
Han Feixu fell silent for a moment then said, “Can you not get jealous over every single person? What could I possibly have to do with her? I dislike her, and she probably dislikes me too. Forget it, I’m going downstairs.”
Ye Mingxin watched her leave, waiting until the sound of her footsteps faded away before she huffed coldly.
Han Yiren dislikes her? Ha. To use a phrase from the internet, Han Yiren’s feelings towards Han Feixu is “love so deep it naturally turned black”. The deeper her love, the darker it gets!
She should be thanking her lucky stars that she went abroad of her own volition. Otherwise, even if she stayed in China, Ye Mingxin would have found a way to force her out of the country.
What Ye Mingxin didn’t know was that Han Yiren may have gone abroad because she was being cursed by the netizens of China, but it was really because she had accidentally confessed to Han Feixu in front of Ye Mingxin…
Initially, her trip to New Zealand was just for a change of scenery and she planned to return after a month or two. But now, she didn’t plan on coming back for the rest of her life.
Their wedding anniversary was also Yiyi’s birthday. They didn’t want their wedding to overshadow Yiyi’s birthday, so they planned to hold the wedding in the morning and then throw a big birthday party for Yiyi in the afternoon. Then, by evening, they would set off for Greece.
For ordinary newlyweds, such a packed schedule might drive them to despair, but for Ye Mingxin and Han Feixu, two very popular actors with very busy schedules, this was just a normal day.
Five days before the wedding, Han Feixu finally attended her last press conference and could take a little break before her wedding.
Although she was done with her duties, Ye Mingxin wasn’t. As a producer, she had a dinner to attend that evening. After returning home with Han Feixu, she changed her clothes and was ready to leave again, “I might come back quite late tonight. You go to sleep first. Don’t wait up for me.”
Han Feixu nodded, “I know, and make sure to drink less! If it’s not interesting, come back early. You don’t have to be so polite with other people
Ye Mingxin enjoyed receiving these words of care and concern from her lover. She smiled, leaned in for a kiss, and then left.
Han Feixu looked after Yiyi while also reviewing the guest list for the wedding. She had only now realized how tiring planning a wedding could be. Thankfully, this would be a once-in-a-lifetime event for her.
After checking all the guests’ names, she looked up at the clock. It was 10 p.m., and Ye Mingxin still hadn’t returned yet.
Han Feixu wanted to wait for her, but she was struggling to keep her eyes open. After some internal debate, she decided to take a shower and go to bed!
Since it was winter and she didn’t sweat much, she took a quick shower. After stepping out of the bathroom, Han Feixu picked up a bottle of lotion. This was a new brand she was trying, and it was recommended by Chloe. It was a very niche brand in France, but still highly regarded.
Han Feixu didn’t know how this brand differed from the lotion she used before. She had switched brands simply because this bottle looked nice.
The bottle looked almost like a crystal with a light pink shade that satisfied Han Feixu’s inner girly girl feelings. Even the cap was a crystal ball with a ring on top. After unscrewing the crystal ball, which could be used as a decoration, the ring could be worn directly on her finger.
She unscrewed the crystal ball cap and admired it for a while before setting it aside on a nearby table.
But she didn’t place it properly, and with a clatter, the crystal cap rolled off onto the floor.
The carpet in their house is a light tan color and the crystal ball cap is almost transparent. So when the cap fell, it merged into the carpet’s color. With just her eyes, Han Feixu couldn’t tell where the crystal ball cap was even if she stared so hard she went blind.
So she had no choice but to kneel on the ground and feel around for it.
Maybe it rolled under the bed?
So she crawled halfway under the bed. She placed her right hand on the bed, rummaged around, and then grabbed her phone. She turned on the flashlight before looking closer under the bed.
With the flashlight on, the ground under her bed immediately became brighter. She looked around for the crystal ball but ended up finding another circular-shaped object instead.
After crawling forward a little more, she finally grabbed the object and then wiped the dust off of it. She exclaimed loudly in surprise, “Oh, ping an kou! So you were here this entire time!” (*T/N: Already explained in earlier chapters, but ping an kou is this jade disk that represents good luck that Han Feixu used to wear on her necklace.)
In her excitement, she moved to stand up, only to realize too late that half of her body was under the bed. With a BOOM sound, she hit the back of her head against her wooden bed frame.
Han Feixu gasped and sucked in a breath of air, “Ouch….that hurts…”
She covered the area she hit with one head as she gritted her teeth in pain. Suddenly, everything stopped.
Like a movie flashing across the big screen, pictures and images flashed before her eyes. Starting from Youth Day of 2008 to when she met Ye Mingxin, when she decided to take the entrance exams for the Beijing Film Academy, and so on. Like the scenes of a long movie, they ran through her mind all at once.
Han Feixu froze under the bed and didn’t move for a long time.
A voice suddenly sounded behind her, “Mama, what are you doing?”
Hearing her daughter’s voice, Han Feixu quickly came back to her senses. Gripping the jade in one hand, she crawled out from under the bed. Han Feixu, now a bit dirty, looked up to find Yiyi standing behind her in her pajamas, curiously watching her, “Mama, are you searching for treasure?”
Han Feixu gazed at Yiyi for a few seconds before smiling gently, “Yes, Mama is on a treasure hunt. Look at what Mama found?”
She opened her hand to reveal the moderately sized ping an kou resting quietly in her palm. Yiyi glanced at it and quickly lost interest, “It’s just the ping an kou. Mama, I can find this without a treasure hunt. I just have to look through your closet.”
Han Feixu lightly flicked Yiyi on the forehead, “Have you learned to sneak around in my things now? You deserve a punishment.”
After a moment of silence, Han Feixu dusted off her clothes, knelt down, and looked up at Yiyi, “Why are you awake?”
Yiyi was sleepy, so her voice wasn’t as energetic as usual as she answered, “I heard noises from your room and came over.”
Han Feixu gently stroked her head, “Did I scare my little baby? Don’t worry, Mama just accidentally bumped into the bed frame. You should go back to sleep. Do you want Mama to read you a bedtime story?”
Yiyi shook her head and started to walk obediently back towards her room. Having taken only a few steps, she paused and turned back with a puzzled look, “Mama?”
“Hmm? What is it, honey?”
With a very faint smile on her face, Han Feixu watched as Yiyi blinked at her mama. Yiyi could sense that something was different about her mama, but she couldn’t pinpoint what it was. After a brief contemplation, she decided to just not think about it. No matter how her mama changes, whether she is different or not, she is still her mama in the end.
Yiyi went back to her room, and Han Feixu followed her to the door and waited until she heard the rustling of the covers of Yiyi settling into bed before she closed her door. As the door gradually shut, the smile on her lips also gradually faded.
She stood at her bedroom door, looking around the entire room before sitting down in front of the dressing table. She stretched out her arm and opened her palm, letting the ping an kou fall out onto the table where it spun slightly before coming to a rest.
Han Feixu remained sitting there quietly, never changing her position or posture, until Ye Mingxin came back.
Ye Mingxin returned at half-past eleven pm. She walked into the bedroom only to find Han Feixu still up and not in pajamas but also in different clothes than what she had worn earlier. She looked over in confusion and Han Feixu, having heard the door open, also raised her head to stare back at her.
Ye Mingxin opened her mouth, frowning slightly, then decided to swallow the words she was about to say and instead asked, “Why are you dressed like that?”
Han Feixu didn’t answer; she just gently studied Ye Mingxin from top to bottom.
“What’s wrong? What are you holding in your hand?”
In Han Feixu’s hand was a dark object. Hearing the question, she turned her hand over and quickly placed the object into the pocket of her coat that was lying on the dressing table
Even though Han Feixu was the one sitting and Ye Mingxin standing, Ye Mingxin felt as if she was being overpowered. Han Feixu turned back towards her and slowly uttered three words, “Ye Mingxin.”
Her tone was different from how Han Feixu usually called her. Normally, Han Feixu’s tone was casual and lively, with a slight upward inflection that revealed her good mood. But today, there was no emotion in her tone, instead, it was a cold and detached voice that called her name.
Ye Mingxin’s gaze towards her changed gradually.
Her hands that were hanging by her sides were now tightly clenched into fists. She tried to appear calm, but no matter how much she pretended, she couldn’t escape Han Feixu’s piercing gaze. Han Feixu glanced down at Ye Mingxin’s hands before hearing the other party ask her, “Little Xu, do you…remember?”
Han Feixu nodded.
“How much do you remember?”
Han Feixu stood up and looked Ye Mingxin straight in the eyes. She smiled faintly, “I remember everything.”
At that moment, Ye Mingxin’s mood could be best described as someone who fell through a hole in a frozen pond.
Han Feixu picked up the coat on her dressing table and draped it over her left forearm. She ran her fingers along the lines of the wool coat, smoothing out the wrinkles as she raised her head, “Regardless of what happened, I thank you for taking care of me during this time. You weren’t obliged to do so, yet you did. So, thank you.”
Ye Mingxin’s heart contracted. She stepped forward, “What do you mean?”
Her gaze shifted to the coat in her hand, “Where are you going? It’s so late, where do you want to go?”
Han Feixu didn’t want to talk to her. In the final stages of their arguments, Han Feixu and Ye Mingxin hardly spoke. After all, if they spoke it would only mean more arguing. Every time it only ended in one of them shouting at the other. After so many occurrences, Han Feixu grew tired of talking to her. Instead, she would simply listen but never respond.
This version of Han Feixu almost drove Ye Mingxin to break down several times.
Now Ye Mingxin felt as if she returned to a year ago. No matter what she said, Han Feixu would act as if she hadn’t heard. Han Feixu’s indifference made her hurt more than any arguing would.
“Move.”
Ye Mingxin blocked her path, so Han Feixu uttered a single word. Han Feixu’s voice was very quiet, her tone almost devoid of energy.
Ye Mingxin was fixedly staring at her, “I won’t move. Why should I let you through? Why do you have to leave? Han Feixu, don’t you even want to talk? Let’s talk it out. Let’s talk and clear the air first and then you can make your decision, okay?”
Han Feixu slightly frowned, “There’s nothing to talk about. Now, move aside.”
Once Han Feixu made a decision, no one could change it. Regarding this point, Ye Mingxin knew it better than anyone else. She didn’t speak, but she also didn’t move aside. Han Feixu looked at her and decided to just walk past. Their shoulders brushed as Han Feixu walked by her.
From the corner of her eye, Han Feixu could see that Ye Mingxin’s gaze was deep and heavy as if the owner of those eyes had fallen into an abyss.
At that moment, Ye Mingxin grabbed her sleeve.
Ye Mingxin turned her head. Her expression hadn’t changed much, but her dark pupils were churning with numerous profound emotions. She opened her mouth, closed it, and then opened it again, finally uttering two words that were barely above a whisper, “…Don’t go.”
Han Feixu paused. She could hear a desperate plea in those words.
That made her hesitate for half a second. She looked at Ye Mingxin blankly but did not stop in the end. She gently shook off Ye Mingxin’s hand and continued to walk out.
Ye Mingxin was left alone in the empty bedroom, a feeling of bitterness and helplessness about to overwhelm her as her tears fell without warning.
Yet, despite all this, she felt an urge to laugh.
The sayings “extreme joy turns sorrow” and “after extreme misfortune comes happiness” couldn’t be more true to her. Just ten minutes ago, she thought she was about to welcome the happiest moment of her life, but now, the illusion had shattered.
Ye Mingxin closed her eyes, letting more tears fall to the ground. After a long while, when she opened her eyes again, her blurred vision caught sight of the ping an kou that Han Feixu had been searching for a long time.
What Han Feixu was holding just now was a set of keys. She went to the garage, found her car, and quickly started it as she pulled out of the driveway. As she drove away, she looked into the left rear view mirror where she could see the window to her bedroom. Behind the window stood a slender figure. She sighed deeply and then withdrew her gaze.
T/N:
The sayings mentioned above are “乐极生悲” and “否极泰来” in Chinese. The first one has a more complicated meaning along the lines of “don’t celebrate too soon as something could go wrong and your happiness can turn into sorrow”. The second one is more simple and literally just means “good luck will come after your bad luck reaches an extreme”.
Anyhow, enjoy some angst before we move on to the final two chapters 🙂
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