I am hungry.
Qing Yanshen spoke with little expression, interrupting the conversation that the two had been having.
Jiang Qingmi immediately said, Ah, okay, then goodbye Xiao Wu.
Xu Wu stood at the door, watching the closed door across from him, staring for a long moment.
Little apprentice, I finally found you.
But it seemed she had forgotten him.
It did not matter. He would help her remember.
He was no longer the struggling apprentice in the yarn factory.
What do you want to eat? Jiang Qingmi asked as she led Tuantuan to the mat and tidied up the scattered toys.
Qing Yanshen deliberately avoided looking at her and said in a calm tone, Cabbage and lean pork porridge.
Okay, you go sit on the sofa and rest for now. I will be ready soon. Jiang Qingmi felt confident and did not notice anything unusual about him. She turned and went to the kitchen.
Qing Yanshen watched her back, sitting silently on the sofa.
The angry and resolute voice of Jiang Qingmi in his memory was like a nightmare, while the woman before him now was gentle and considerate.
Jiang Qingmi was still unsure of her own identity, still waiting until she had money to do the paternity test, and had no idea he had recovered a memory—the memory of their breakup.
Once she regained her memory, she would leave, right?
Qing Yanshen felt as though he could be abandoned at any moment, his chest tightening painfully, and a faint headache started.
He leaned his head back and closed his dark eyes.
He could not understand why they had broken up.
He had thought that regaining his memory would mean a family reunion, that the three of them would be happy together.
But it was not so. Jiang Qingmi did not want him.
That blank confusion after amnesia started to creep in again. He could not think of anything, and his head ached.
Just then, Jiang Qingmi’s voice came from above:
Is your head starting to hurt again?
Qing Yanshen opened his eyes and saw Jiang Qingmi standing in front of him, holding a cup of water. Her brow was slightly furrowed, and her gaze carried worry.
Drink some water.
Qing Yanshen took the cup in a daze.
The porridge is already cooking, it will be ready soon. I will make the bed for you, she said, without waiting for his answer. She turned to start tidying the wooden floor along the wall of the living room. She wiped it with a cloth and then brought clean bedding and pillows from inside.
Qing Yanshen sat frozen on the sofa, holding the cup, his body unmoving, only his eyes following her actions, watching her make the bed for him, watching her straighten the corners, watching her busy herself for him, walking back and forth.
Soon, along the wall of the living room, a bed appeared, complete with a strawberry-patterned duvet.
The water in the cup was warm, and the temperature seemed to flow through his palms, down his arms, and into his heart. Soon his heart felt warm.
Qing Yanshen felt an unusual calmness. He thought: Before his amnesia, he must have been a jerk, done things wrong to her. It must have been his fault that she broke up with him.
Jiang Qingmi was so good. How could it be her fault? She was so gentle, so considerate, so caring.
After knowing he was injured, she had not left. She had invited him to stay at her home.
She said she would take care of him.
She even said she would support him.
She did not see him as a burden.
She cooked cabbage and lean pork porridge for him, she made the bed for him.
She could not have been wrong.
Being dumped was definitely his fault.
The vegetable and lean pork porridge was delicious. Her cooking was excellent.
That night, Qing Yanshen lay in the living room, just a wall away from Jiang Qingmi, his heart growing resolute.
No matter how much of a jerk he had been before amnesia, from now on, he would treat her well, treat the baby well, turn over a new leaf.
He would give her hope, make her reconsider leaving, so that even if she regained her memory, she would not want to leave him. She would stay and live well with him.
However, imagination is beautiful, reality is harsh, and the human body is not invincible.
Since waking from his injury, Qing Yanshen only had an ID card with him. He saw a construction site recruitment notice near where he fell. Meals and lodging were included. He went immediately, filled out the form, and quickly became a construction worker.
From injury to now, almost three months had passed. He had never stopped, always overexerting himself. After Jiang Qingmi came with the baby to find him, he became even more driven, running between the dormitory, the construction site, and her rented place every day.
When Jiang Qingmi was hospitalized, he stayed up all night to care for her. His body had long been at the breaking point.
After another round of overthinking, perhaps due to the extremes of joy and sorrow, he recovered a memory but it was better he had not.
Through all these actions, even his strong body began to show signs of strain.
Perhaps he was truly exhausted. Qing Yanshen slept until 10:30 a.m., his head still hurting, his body still weak.
When he turned, he saw Tuantuan sitting beside him, blinking her big dark eyes, staring curiously.
Adorable.
Qing Yanshen curved his lips at the baby. Before he could say anything, Tuantuan opened her mouth in a soft, babyish voice: Uncle is awake, Mommy, uncle is awake.
Jiang Qingmi hurried over from the kitchen. Seeing Qing Yanshen awake, she breathed a sigh of relief.
If you did not wake, I would have had to take you to the hospital again.
How do you feel? Does your head still hurt?
It hurts, Qing Yanshen said, realizing that whenever he said this, Jiang Qingmi became especially gentle with him.
My body feels weak.
Since his amnesia, moving bricks at the construction site, enduring the pain from his injuries, and the fatigue of his body, he could endure all of it. Nobody cared, nobody noticed.
But now, someone cared.
Moreover, it was okay to show weakness and helplessness. Jiang Qingmi would not leave.
I will first help you wash up, then eat, take your medicine, and then lie down and rest, okay?
Okay.
See, how could Jiang Qingmi be at fault? Being dumped was entirely his fault.
Those harsh words must have been her limit. A person so gentle would only speak sharply when pushed.
It was clear that he had been a jerk to make her speak so cruelly.
Last night, he had been so cold to her. Not a single word on the way home. Too much.
Why did he think the person who brought up the breakup was at fault?
Qing Yanshen reflected on his mistakes, feeling guilty. Last night, I am sorry.
Huh? Sorry for what? Jiang Qingmi looked confused.
He thought to himself that she was not holding a grudge, and he felt she was even more considerate and gentle.
After a moment of silence, he said seriously, Qingmi, from now on, I will never let you down again.
Jiang Qingmi was puzzled. What was wrong with him? His gaze was so determined, as if pledging himself to the party. Who provoked him?
Next, under the gaze of mother and daughter, Qing Yanshen washed up, ate, took his medicine, and lay down.
After all, it was true that his body was weak. He needed to recover to earn money properly.
Jiang Qingmi sat on the sofa, knitting shoes.
In the kitchen, a pot bubbled, stewing pork feet. When the time was right, she poured in the soaked soybeans.
The pork feet were bought this morning, costing sixty yuan. Now, there were three of them at home: a two-year-old baby and two adults with weak bodies.
Although expenses needed to be controlled, health was the foundation. Nourishing the body was more important.
So much had happened this month: entering the book’s world with no money, anxiety about supporting the baby, rushing to the domineering CEO, then furiously knitting sweaters to survive in the hospital, and now Qing Yanshen collapsed from exhaustion.
Strangely, she did not feel pressured or anxious.
Yarn passed through her fingers stitch by stitch, and she felt calm.
Unknowingly, her heart settled.
Money could always be earned. Take it slow, no rush.
As long as the body is well and one does not become lazy, nothing else is a problem.