Chapter 544: The Singing Voice on the Embankment
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Xia Ling was feeling uncomfortable and laid on the bed. Soon, she fell asleep.
She slept in the afternoon and only woke up at 9:00 PM. When she opened her eyes, she saw Li Lei on the bed, looking at her with a pair of sad and quiet eyes. Xia Ling moved and asked Li Lei, “What are you doing?”
Li Lei smiled gently, and the sadness in his eyes disappeared. “It’s nothing, just seeing if you slept well. You must be very tired.” He said again, “Want to get up for dinner?”
Xia Ling replied, “I don’t want to eat.”
“Then lay down for a while longer.” Li Lei didn’t insist.
Sure enough, Xia Ling laid on the bed for a while. It was night time in the countryside. Outside the window, unknown insects were buzzing, and there was the faint sound of children playing. She listened attentively and remembered her dead baby. Her eyes gradually teared up.
Looking at her, Li Lei reached out and hugged her.
Her body was slightly stiff. The scene of her coming out from the graveyard flashed through her mind. Then, she felt that his comfort was not so sincere anymore.
She told herself that she should not give Li Lei such a requirement. She only hid everything because she did not want him to be hurt.
However, when he was really excluded, her heart felt empty.
She gently parted from his hug and sat up. “I’m going to eat.”
Li Lei watched as she got out of bed and looked at his hands bitterly.
He was also tired after sitting with her in a five-hour car ride, renting a house, cleaning it and asking the chef to prepare her favorite dishes. He also could not lose his composure in front of Pei Ziheng and attack him covertly. Li Lei accompanied her to the dining area to eat a few mouthfuls and had a deep sleep in the night.
When he woke up in the morning, Xia Ling was no longer there. The bedding beside his body was a little messy and cold.
She seemed to have gotten up a long time ago.
Li Lei quickly got up, hurriedly washed up, and asked the chauffeur who was cleaning the yard. “Where is Miss Ye?”
“Miss Ye went out early in the morning and said she was going to distract herself. Ah Nuo and Ah Si are following her in secret.” The chauffeur said. “Boss, you should eat breakfast first.”
“No.” Li Lei asked which direction she headed and went out.
The air was fresh in the early morning of the countryside. It was verdant, and the river bank was quiet, but Li Lei was in no mood to admire it and hurriedly walked for a long time. Golden sunlight emerged from the east. Following the sunlight, he found her at the riverbank.
She was back facing him and sitting on a large rock surrounded by a group of children.
In the coconut scented breeze, she sang melodiously with an angelic voice.
“Sister, you sing very well.”
“That’s right, sister. Sing another song.”
The children, who were either standing or sitting, looked at her eagerly.
Thus, Xia Ling said, “Ok.” She sang again. Her voice was very peaceful without any dazzling techniques or momentum. She sang the simplest children’s folk songs—A Day in Spring, A Solitary Flower, and My Home is in the Grasslands…
The group of children listened transfixed.
Li Lei was also captivated. He slowed down, quietly hid behind a big willow tree, and looked at her side view. Her cheeks were as white as jade, and there was a faint golden glow due to the morning sun. She sang so beautifully. Her eyes were soft, and people couldn’t help but like her singing.
She sang one song after another.
Some children said to her, “Sister, when you have a baby in the future, he will be so lucky because he can listen to such good songs every day.”
“Exactly.” The other children agreed.
She bitterly smiled.
Not far away, a couple called for their children to eat. The children bid Xia Ling farewell and cleared the area. The riverbank’s tranquility was restored, and only the rustling of leaves in the breeze could be heard.
Xia Ling sat quietly on the big stone. She looked at the sparkling river with a gloomy expression.
Li Lei walked out from behind the tree and sat beside her.
She noticed someone beside her and turned over to see him. She quietly turned away to look at the river again.
“When we get back to the city, I will contact a few good hospitals to treat you. Maybe you can still have children in the future.”
“Do you want a child?”
“I can see that you really like children.”
Xia Ling stopped talking and lowered her head to look at her toes. She was not a qualified mother because she could not even protect her child. Now, how could she rush to be treated so that she could have another child when Shaohui’s body was just buried?
“No one can replace Shaohui.” She said.
Not to mention, she was not fertile anymore. Even if she were and gave birth to another child, every child was unique, and no one could replace the one who died.
Li Lei was silent for a moment before saying, “Let’s go. The riverbank is cold. Let’s go back to eat some breakfast and then go to the cemetery to see Shaohui.”
Xia Ling nodded and obediently followed him back.
After eating breakfast, he took her to the cemetery. Today was not the day of Shaohui’s funeral, and there was no need to clear the area. There were a few family members who came to mourn for their deceased relatives. Wives were accompanied by husbands, and the elderly were accompanied by children. They looked sad and peaceful.
Li Lei gently held Xia Ling’s hand.
Xia Ling struggled a bit in futileness before just going with him.
Li Lei held her even tighter before he could feel at ease. He felt that they looked like a family on the surface as they came to visit their child like a normal couple.
That was good.
When they arrived in front of the child’s tomb, the word “Pei” that was engraved on the tombstone was like a thorn that pricked Li Lei’s heart. However, he acted nonchalant because that was her child.
He heard Xia Ling ask, “Why are there flowers here?”
In front of the tombstone, there was a bunch of fresh white daisies with faltering petals covered in morning dew.
This was a VIP tomb, so many staff members accompanied them as they walked over. At this time, the staff respectfully told her, “Mr. Pei instructed that we put them there yesterday. He wants us to give the child a new bunch of flowers every day for 365 days without interruption.”
Pei Ziheng already knew that she would visit the child when he was not there. Since he couldn’t stop it, he spent more effort decorating the scene so that whenever she came, she would feel that he treated her and her son well. He wanted her to have him in her heart forever.
Xia Ling did not expect Pei Ziheng to be so considerate. This was not his child, but he paid attention to the minor detail of giving him new flowers every day.
Li Lei frowned. Why was this man’s presence everywhere?!
He bent down and placed a few toys, fruits, and snacks that he bought in front of the child’s tombstone. He said, “Shaohui, you must live well in Heaven and ensure that your mother lives happily and healthily.”