Chapter 374: Pass By

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Rainy curled into a ball and burrowed into her mother’s arms. Another injection? She hugged the doll in her arms tight. The sharp needle pointed at her, making her recoil back.

All children fear injections, and that included Rainy, too.

“Gao Yi, another one?” Xia Ruoxin’s arms tightened around her daughter, too. One more injection… Rainy would be fine, but she might faint instead.

“Yes, one last one.” Gao Yi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at this pair of mother and daughter. It was just an injection. Did they have to be so scared? It wasn’t like he was going to chop their heads off.

“Ruoxin, stretch out your arm.” He smiled and said. Xia Ruoxin stretched out her arm obediently. Gao Yi grabbed it, and the thin needle pierced into her arm, and then another. Xia Ruoxin’s face wrinkled slightly. She finally understood why Rainy was crying. It was indeed painful.

“Don’t look at me. I never said it was for Rainy. You need it, too.” Gao Yi pulled the needle out and removed his hand. Adults needed to be vaccinated, too.

“Mommy, it hurts right?” Rainy opened her eyes, which she had squeezed shut. “Pain, pain, go away,” she said as she blew air on her mother’s arm, her cheeks huffing and puffing.

“It doesn’t hurt. See, Mommy’s not crying.” Xia Ruoxin wiped away the tears on Rainy’s face. Rainy tilted her head, puzzled. It hurt for her, though; but it probably didn’t hurt for adults because they had grown up? If that was so, then she would eat more rice next time so she would grow up faster.

“All done.” Gao Yi put away all the things in front of him and lifted Rainy from Xia Ruoxin’s arms and carried her to the resting area in his office. He patted her cheeks. “Go to sleep, Rainy.”

Rainy rubbed her eyes and hummed obediently in agreement. Her life was extremely regulated. She was already tired. Gao Yi tucked Rainy in bed and waited for her to fall asleep before standing up. Ruoxin was still standing at the door motionless.

“Let’s go, Ruoxin.” Gao Yi walked quietly for fear of waking the child. She was slightly naughtier once she was awake. He took Xia Ruoxin’s hand and led her out.

“Where are we going, Gao Yi?” She let Gao Yi pull her along, unsure where they were heading towards.

“We’re going to check up on your arm?” Gao Yi pointed at her left arm and smiled composedly but gently. “I want to try and see if there’s a faster way to put this arm in use.”

Xia Ruoxin’s eyes misted. There was actually someone in this world who would always think about her, and not just her smiles—but her pain as well.

“Don’t worry. I’m here. It’ll be fine.” Gao Yi squeezed her hand. Her left arm had always bugged him. He couldn’t take not being able to cure it.

“Yeah, I’m not worried.” Xia Ruoxin shook her head. She was feeling better now, and it didn’t hurt as much as before. She knew it couldn’t recover to how it was before, but she was already contented with the pain ceasing.

Gao Yi slowed his pace, as did Xia Ruoxin.

There were some people in the world that one would always meet no matter how much one didn’t want to. There were also things that happened in this world despite how much one didn’t want it to.

Chu Lui supported Li Manni carefully. Li Manni’s baby was unstable, and so they needed to be more careful. Yet, he didn’t think that he would meet her here and him as well.

Xia Ruoxin and the man beside him looked well. Her complexion looked good, and it seemed like she was living a good life. His eyes trailed to their connected hands. Suddenly, his eyes felt like they were being pricked like a needle. It was a sour and bitter pain, almost unbearable.

Li Manni pursed her red lips, the displeasure clear on her face. However, the corner of her lips curled up when she saw the man beside Xia Ruoxin. She already had another man. That was good. Since she had another man with her now, she’d better not steal her husband away.

Gao Yi tightened his grip on Xia Ruoxin’s hand as the four of them walked past each other. The respective couples had their own paths to take. It might be an arduous road, or it might be an easy one. However, they would walk down their paths with their own legs.

Chu Lui clenched the hand at his side as he steadied Li Manni, but he could only heave a huge sigh in the end and strode away.

Xia Ruoxin hung her head low. The moment they passed by each other, she felt a cold gust of air from his clothes flapping. The cold seeped into her heart.

“Ruoxin…” Gao Yi asked her worriedly, afraid that she would be affected.

“I’m fine, don’t worry. I’ll forget him very soon.” Xia Ruoxin forced a smile. However, she really tried her best, but it wasn’t that easy to forget. She tried for four years and claimed that she had forgotten, but the truth…

Despite being more hurt than happy, she still couldn’t forget him.

Gao Yi stopped in his tracks and moved his hand to her shoulder. “Alright, stop thinking about it. You don’t have to force yourself to forget him. You’re going to be miserable like that. Just go with the flow of time. No one is forcing you to forget it. No matter what you experienced in the past, it was all a part of your life, after all.”

Warmth spread from Xia Ruoxin’s shoulders to her heart like a spray. It was tender and not pressurizing in the least.

“Okay, I will try my best.” She nodded. Gao Yi’s hand tightened around her and pulled her into his arms. “Ruoxin, I will be by your side.” He gently stroked Xia Ruoxin’s hair, but his eyes dimmed.

“Let’s enter. Don’t be afraid. It will be alright.” He placed his hand on Xia Ruoxin’s face and assured her.

“Yeah. I’m not scared.” Xia Ruoxin knew that it was a just a small check-up consisting of a few x-rays. There was no pain involved.

Gao Yi took her hand again, but he turned and looked back towards the wall near them. That line of vision never left them.

The door closed and separated each other from view. Chu Lui stood at the same spot until they walked in. It was the orthopedic so she must be here to look at her left arm. He stared at the closed door with a dark expression. He pursed his lips and looked down at his hand. It was these hands that broke her left arm.