All night, Wan Donglin stayed with her.
These days, his patience was remarkable.
The pain didn’t last more than half a day. By the next morning, Yan Xixi felt pretty much fine, though her face was still remarkably pale. She wanted to leave the hospital, but Wan Donglin disagreed, so she had to stay for a few more days.
「She didn’t return ho until three days later.」
That night, both of them were preoccupied but said little to each other.
Tossing and turning until midnight, Wan Donglin finally sat upright and grabbed her hand. "Xixi, don’t worry, we’ll have children in the future."
She held his hand but did not respond.
The next morning when she woke up, Yan Xixi saw that Wan Donglin was dressed impeccably, apparently set to embark on a long journey.
When he saw her open her eyes, he walked over to her, his tone gentle as he said, "Xixi, take good care of yourself. I have to go out for a while, and this trip may take a bit longer."
"Will it be very long?"
"Probably more than a month."
She calculated that by then, all the graduation procedures would have long been completed.
Wan Donglin suddenly asked, "Xixi, do you still want to pursue your graduate studies?"
She was taken aback.
"I have seen your cumulative grades for the past four years. You were consistently in the top three. If you want to continue with your graduate studies, I can pull so strings and help you get direct admission," he offered.
She shook her head. "Thank you, Mr. Wan, but I do not wish to continue."
He looked at her, and she seed to have more to say, yet hesitated.
"Mr. Wan, by the ti I receive my diploma, you might not have returned, and after I get it, I won’t... with you..."
Before the words "say goodbye" even left her lips, he interrupted her, his tone still gentle, "Let’s wait till I return to discuss this."
When she was discharged, the doctor warned that a stillbirth was far more harmful than an abortion. Its damage to the body even surpassed that of a full-term pregnancy. He stressed that she shouldn’t take it lightly and must recuperate well. Therefore, Wan Donglin hired an experienced postpartum caregiver to look after her, making sure that she didn’t touch anything cold or eat any cold foods for a month.
Yan Xixi stayed in bed for one week, and for the half-month afterward, she rarely went out.
She was given nourishing foods like bird’s nest, fish maw, and chicken soup every day, but to Yan Xixi, everything tasted bland. After half a month, she grew restless staying ho all day. Just then, the school announced it was ti for graduation photos and diploma collection, so she changed her clothes and headed out.
This was Yan Xixi’s first ti participating in a group event, and many of her classmates found this girl in a shirt and jeans rather unfamiliar. Only then did Yan Xixi realize that during her past year and a half of studies, she had not participated in any group activities at all, which explained why she was unfamiliar with everyone.
Yan Xixi watched her classmates laughing, joking, and horsing around, asking each other about job prospects and salaries, and of course, sharing farewell sentints. She couldn’t find a way into their conversations, suddenly feeling a vast gap between herself and them—not just because she was several years older, but in ntality as well.
However, when it ca ti to put on the black cap and gown, she was still a little excited. Although the gown had been worn by countless people before her and wasn’t particularly flattering, she faced the cara, earnestly smoothed her hair, and for the first ti, truly hoped to look her absolute best in the photo.
When classmates asked to take group photos, she didn’t refuse them. Boys and girls alike enthusiastically snapped many photos together.
After a flurry of continuous shots, they stopped. She then took several more photos with her diploma and degree certificate in hand, even striking a few cheesy poses.
A boy blew a whistle and ran over. "Hey, Yan Xixi, hello."
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