Sweet slice-of-life love story: Wife, Let's love again
Chapter 239 - 235: Tugging at the Heart

Chapter 239: Chapter 235: Tugging at the Heart

It was past eight in the evening.

He City had not seen any snow, the chilly moonlight spilling onto the streets, where every household’s lights shone brightly, laughter occasionally escaping into the night.

There was an air of New Year’s festivity.

Having not slept well all night and after driving all day to reach He City, Qin Guanglin sat wearily in his car, the window rolled down, quietly watching the night outside without immediately getting out.

The night breeze blew gently, his fingers tapping lightly on the steering wheel.

What was she, a teacher, afraid of?

Every day, teaching classes, writing novels, grocery shopping after work, cooking, sometimes watching a movie or strolling down the streets together.

What was she anxious about?

Turning his head, Qin Guanglin glanced at the black bag on the passenger seat, his thoughts tumbling and intertwining in his mind.

He feared He Fang wouldn’t tell the truth.

He needed to think carefully about how to start the conversation—or perhaps... just take her straight to the hospital?

The more he recalled He Fang’s calm and indifference in the past, the colder he felt inside.

It was those silent, quiet people who sought depression and death; if one could shout it out loud amidst rage and fuss, it might actually be better.

The more one pretends that everything is fine, the greater the suffering becomes.

As the memories of their time together kept flashing before his eyes, Qin Guanglin was lost in thought.

Knock knock.

Knock knock knock.

The glass on the other side was tapped.

He Fang stood outside the car, peering in while bundled up in a thick down jacket.

"How did you get here?!"

As he opened the car door, she looked at him with a mix of surprise and delight, her eyes wide open and brows slightly raised, leaning into the car, "I was just thinking of you, let’s kiss—"

She stopped mid-sentence.

Qin Guanglin followed her gaze downwards; her hand was resting on the plastic bag that held the medicine bottles, with several pills already spilled out.

"..."

"..."

Seeing He Fang’s smile fade, Qin Guanglin felt a sudden panic inside, lowered his head, and stumbled over his words, "Well... why did you come down?"

This feeling of prying into someone’s privacy was really uncomfortable.

Perhaps... it would have been better to slowly lead her to confess bit by bit rather than confront her abruptly like this, almost as if telling her: I already know about your issues, and I’m here to get them cleared up.

No one wishes to be sick; it isn’t within one’s control. Since He Fang chose to conceal it, she didn’t want him to know she had a problem and wanted to solve it secretly by herself.

Now he had blatantly lifted that veil, placing the medication right before her eyes, exposing her issues in broad daylight—he felt that this too was a form of harm.

Seeing He Fang lower her head without a word, Qin Guanglin was about to speak again when she suddenly squeezed into the car, shut the door, and tossed the medication from the seat into the backseat in a hurry, then glanced at the wide-open car window next to him.

"I’m cold, close the window."

"Oh."

"...I was about to draw the curtains and lie down. I saw this car from the window and thought it might be you, so I came down to check."

He Fang spoke as if it were nothing, no longer asking how he came here, her hands intertwined, rubbing each other for a moment before she pursed her lips, "Aren’t you going to kiss me? It’s been so many days..."

Qin Guanglin had been carefully observing her as she spoke, trying to pinpoint what was wrong. When he heard this, his heart inexplicably lightened, and he hesitated before leaning in.

All the wild speculations he had entertained seemed like misconceptions; now that he was confronted with the real person, his instinct was to dismiss his previous suspicions. How could someone as amiable and kind as Teacher He possibly rely on medication to get through each day?

An anxious, fear-ridden, insomniac person, could they really look like this?

He was uncertain in his heart,

For a long time.

Lips parted.

Qin Guanglin and He Fang quietly faced each other, neither speaking, both trying to read something from the other’s face.

"Did you come because of that?"

In the end, it was He Fang who broke the silence, gesturing towards the bag she had thrown onto the back seat with her hand.

"...Not entirely."

"Hm?"

"I missed you too."

"I knew it." He Fang chuckled softly, watching as he averted his gaze once more, his fingers fiddling with the corner of his clothes. After a quiet moment without hearing Qin Guanglin speak, she slowly continued, "Those pills... um... they really were mine..."

Driving all day without a word of notice suggested that Qin Guanglin already knew what the medication was for; hiding it would only deepen the suspicions in his heart, potentially leading to more problems. It would be better just to be upfront about it.

Besides, it was already over now, even if she told him—it wouldn’t matter much—she hadn’t taken any for a long time, she was fully immersed in the days they spent together, almost having forgotten them in the corner, if not for them being suddenly unearthed...

"Insomnia?" Qin Guanglin asked.

"Mm... Yes."

"Was it severe?"

"Pretty much, but it’s better now. You’ve seen me sleeping every night, haven’t you?" He Fang smiled at him, her eyes drifting back to the bag on the rear seat, "Mainly because the pressure was pretty intense before graduation from school... and some anxiety, but after moving out, things gradually improved, and now there’s no issue at all, those pills can be thrown away."

Qin Guanglin felt slightly relieved listening to her, but he wasn’t completely reassured. The stress before graduation... that reason seemed a bit far-fetched.

Those months were when they had just started dating, and if she was under such stress, how could their relationship have progressed so smoothly, and why did she keep teasing him?

Could this be a way for her to relieve stress?

That seemed a bit far-fetched.

"Is that really the case? Why have you never told me before? ... I feel like there’s something you’re hiding from me, you’ve never been rushed about your work, and in the meantime, you even published a novel..."

"Stop overthinking it, I’m just worried internally, how could I let you see that—I also don’t want to get you too worried," He Fang interrupted, not wanting to dwell on this any further, quickly changing the subject: "Where are you staying tonight?"

"I’ll have a look at the hotel to see if there are any vacancies. Tomorrow, I’ll buy some gifts before visiting..." Qin Guanglin realized He Fang was shivering slightly, only then remembering that he had left the window open the entire time, the temperature inside the car almost the same as outside, so he quickly started the car and turned on the heater.

"Mm... Tomorrow afternoon I’ll take you to the hospital for a check-up."

"Hm?"

"Otherwise, I won’t be at ease... Forget it, when we get back to Luo City, we’ll go to the city hospital for a check. I don’t trust the hospitals here in He City."

"It’s not necessary, I’m really fine..."

"No, you have to go." Qin Guanglin reached for the medicine bag on the back seat, pulling out several packs of pills, asking, "I heard this one is highly addictive, you’re not hooked, are you? And this medicine, others sell it in small quantities, how come you have so much?"

"Stop nagging, hand it over, I’ll throw it away."

He Fang snatched the bag and got out of the car, walking a few steps to a trash bin to dispose of it, then hurried back with light, scuttling steps, tugging at her collar and saying, "Let’s go, check the hotel for a room, if there’s none, you’re going to have to keep sharing a bed with my dad... you could have given me a heads-up before coming, a phone call or something..."

She was talking when suddenly she stopped, suspiciously eyeing Qin Guanglin, "If I hadn’t seen your car, were you planning to sit here all night?"

"No... how could that be, I was just about to call you to come down."

Qin Guanglin still felt something was off, how could such a serious matter be downplayed to a minor ailment in just a few words?

"When was the last time you took that... sleeping pill?"

"Before we went to Chou Mountain."

Chou Mountain... that was over half a year ago. Qin Guanglin pondered a moment, then nodded without saying anything more, he started the car and slowly drove towards the hotel.