As expected, Suo Tian didn’t come back even by the next morning.
After going downstairs with everyone for breakfast, I took Xiao Hu and Tingyun to play in the backyard.
After not seeing me for two or three days, Xiao Hu had grown a bit distant.
He no longer clung to me like before, and instead spent more time running to Uncle Gazi’s side.
I couldn’t help but feel a little jealous.
I spent the whole morning playing with them absentmindedly.
Around noon, when Uncle Gazi called us in for lunch, I was lost in thought when I suddenly heard a loud splash.
I looked up—and in that instant, it felt like my soul left my body.
Tingyun, who had been playing by the pool with Yiyi, had fallen headfirst into the water.
The pool wasn’t extremely deep, but it was more than enough to submerge two Tingyuns.
I didn’t hesitate for even a second.
I jumped to my feet and rushed over, almost stumbling as I ran.
Without thinking, I leapt into the pool, flailing around underwater until I grabbed her arm.
I yanked her up to the surface, splashing wildly before finally pulling her into my arms.
People inside the house immediately rushed out upon hearing the commotion.
Han Xue was the first to arrive, and upon seeing the scene, she shouted, “Oh my god! It’s so cold—why would you take a child into the water?!”
Annoyed, I shot her a glare and struggled over to the edge of the pool.
After placing Tingyun on the side, I climbed out with effort.
I hadn’t been too slow.
Tingyun had probably swallowed a bit of water, but it wasn’t serious.
After coughing violently a few times, she burst into loud sobs.
By then, everyone else had come out too.
Uncle Gazi still had a serving ladle in his hand as he rushed over.
Seeing both of us drenched, he looked confused. “What happened? What happened?”
Wiping the water off my face, I held the still-crying Tingyun and apologized, “I didn’t watch her carefully… she fell into the pool. I’m sorry…”
Uncle Gazi hurried over and crouched down, checking her over carefully.
After a long moment of frowning, he finally relaxed when he saw she was fine.
“What are you apologizing for? Kids are mischievous. Even several people together can’t always keep an eye on them—how could you manage alone? Anyone can get distracted.”
Lili, holding Xuanxuan, looked at me for a moment.
Then she handed the baby to Taozi and came forward, taking Tingyun from me and passing her to Uncle Gazi.
“It’s cold. Take her upstairs to wash up and change her clothes.”
After Uncle Gazi carried Tingyun away, Lili turned back to me, frowning.
“Come upstairs with me. There are some things I need to talk to you about.”
…Watching Lili walk back inside, Han Xue and I exchanged glances.
Why did so many people suddenly want to “talk” to me these past two days?
In a room on the third floor, Lili sat on the sofa, waiting until I had showered and changed into clean clothes.
Then she cleared her throat and asked, “Did you argue with Suo Tian?”
I froze for a moment, pausing as I dried my hair.
After thinking, I said, “No. How could he argue with anyone? Even if I wanted to, he probably wouldn’t respond.”
Lili let out a heavy sigh. “What right do you even have to argue with him? What has Suo Tian ever done that gives you anything to criticize?”
Thinking it over, I sighed too. “Sister Lili, actually, about today…”
I told her everything that had happened the previous night.
As she listened, her brows stayed tightly knit.
After I finished, she was silent for a while before speaking.
“At least you still have some conscience—you know how to regret it today.”
She stood up, walked to a cabinet, and picked up a small steel knife that Suo Tian had left there at some point.
Turning back to me, she said, “There’s something wrong with your mindset.”
“Huh?” I blinked. “My mindset?”
“Yeah.” Lili nodded. “I’ve actually wanted to talk to you about this for a long time. But for a while, you seemed completely normal, so I didn’t know how to bring it up. But Chen Yang, haven’t you noticed? When it comes to Suo Tian—and even other people—you can never seem to find your proper place.
“Anyone with eyes can see how special Suo Tian treats you. All of us freeloading here, Yangyang and Shen Feng joining the training camp—none of that would have happened without his feelings for you. And what about you? You often come across as completely dependent on him, unable to live without him—but at the same time, I barely see you giving anything back. Things you’re willing to do for others, you always seem unwilling to do for him.”
I looked at Lili and stayed silent, signaling for her to continue.
“To put it simply, the reason you answered him like that last night was because Yangyang’s attitude made you uneasy. So when Suo Tian asked you afterward, you responded with those detached words out of guilt toward Yangyang.
“But Chen Yang, what kind of person is Suo Tian? Even standing at the center of a crowd, with everyone calling him ‘boss,’ he always feels alone to me. For a while, seeing you two grow closer made me genuinely relieved. But your constant half-alive, half-dead attitude—I just can’t understand it. What exactly are you thinking?”
“I…” Every word she said hit me right where it hurt. “I don’t even know what I’m thinking.”
“If you ask me, you’re just being difficult!” Before Lili could respond, the bedroom door was suddenly pushed open.
Xu Shu barged in, dragging Han Xue along with her.
“You’ll keep this up until the day Suo Tian turns around and leaves you—stops wanting you, stops caring about you—and only then will you feel satisfied!”
“When did you two get here…?”
“We got here the same time you two came in—we’ve been listening at the door the whole time,” Han Xue replied, completely unapologetic about eavesdropping.
“Honestly, how could you say something that hurtful? A couple of days ago in the mall, you were risking your life. I was even praising you in my heart, thinking that these comfortable days hadn’t turned you into someone who only relies on Suo Tian—you knew how to protect yourself and others. But now it seems that’s not entirely a good thing. Deep down, what you believe in is still relying only on yourself.” Han Xue sat beside me and hooked an arm around my shoulder.
“Little lamb, this won’t do at all.”
“Yeah, not at all,” Xu Shu added.
“There’s nothing wrong with knowing how to protect yourself—this world is already like this. But at the very least, don’t shut yourself off so tightly. You can’t even face the person sleeping right beside you honestly—don’t you feel exhausted living like that?”
Their words left me with a swirl of emotions.
Some of those hidden mindsets—I hadn’t even been aware of them myself.
If they hadn’t pointed them out so directly, it might have taken me a long time to realize.
Seeing that I had started reflecting, Han Xue quietly patted my back.
Then she turned to Lili and Xu Shu and suddenly said, “Speaking of which, it’s really frustrating. I think compared to Mr. Bruno and Mr. Shen Feng, Suo Tian is actually much luckier.”
“Huh? I get Bruno, but what does Shen Feng have to do with this?” Xu Shu asked, puzzled.
Han Xue tilted her head and gave her a mischievous look. “You know exactly what I mean—don’t pretend to be innocent.”
The moment Han Xue said that, Lili’s expression changed.
She quickly glanced at Xu Shu before cutting in, “Han Xue, don’t talk nonsense. Let’s go downstairs first. I’m not comfortable leaving Xiao Hu and Xuanxuan to Taozi alone.”
As she spoke, she stood up and pulled Xu Shu along, making small talk as if to change the subject.
“By the way, what’s been going on with Xiao Pu lately? I hardly see him these days. Didn’t he not get accepted into the training camp?”
“He said he didn’t want to stay cooped up all day and wanted to go out and wander around,” Xu Shu replied, her voice slightly subdued.
Hearing that, Lili thought for a moment. “Still, he shouldn’t be running around outside all the time. He’s just a kid—it’s not safe.”
“I don’t know what’s gotten into him lately,” Xu Shu sighed helplessly.
“I say one thing, and he talks back ten times. He won’t listen to me at all.”
She glanced back at me. “Yangyang may be a bit childish and not very mature, but at least he listens. Unlike Chen Pu—that one is impossible to deal with.”
…
I stayed downstairs with everyone for the rest of the day.
By evening, when it was time for dinner, Yangyang and the others gradually came back from outside—but there was still no sign of Suo Tian.
After dinner, everyone else went upstairs to shower and rest.
I sat alone in the living room for quite a while, then went outside and stood there for a long time.
But even after the power went out, Suo Tian still hadn’t returned.
I went back to my room and collapsed onto the bed, feeling utterly drained.
I couldn’t help but feel discouraged.
Irritated, I shook my head, wrapped myself tightly in the blanket, and forced myself not to think about all those troubling things.
Eventually, I fell asleep in that tangled state of mind.
The next day, I woke up and spent the whole day forcing smiles along with everyone else.
That night, I crouched by the door until long after the lights went out—but Suo Tian still didn’t return.
On the third day, after everyone had gone upstairs, I sat by the door until the middle of the night.
He still didn’t come back.
By the fourth day, I could no longer fake a smile.
From early morning, I simply sat at the door in a daze, staring at the distant gate of the residential area.
Suo Tian had rarely ever been gone this long.
By the fifth day, I couldn’t sleep at all through the night.
Even Shen Feng and the others, who went to the training camp every day, began to notice something was off.
After quietly asking Han Xue and learning that Suo Tian hadn’t returned for so long, they all frowned.
That evening, Bruno—who hadn’t shown up in quite some time—came over again to mooch a meal.
When he saw me sitting by the door and learned what was going on, he shook his head and said, “I’m afraid… he won’t be back for at least a month.”
Hearing that, my nearly numb mind suddenly stirred.
I turned to look at Bruno and slowly stood up from the ground. “Do you know where he went?”
Bruno glanced at Lili, then shook his head at me.
“No idea. The task of building safe routes has been handed over to other teams. All I know is that almost everyone from Team C was deployed this time. Dozens of helicopters left on the same day—must be some kind of important mission.”
— The end of the Chapter–
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