The holiday came quickly, and it went just as fast.
After one final meal at Ping Jie’s restaurant, it was time to say goodbye.
Liu Qingyan and Sun Ce were returning to Gusu, while Li Tang and Zeng Yan also had to head back to Yangcheng.
At the airport plaza, Lin Xinyuan hugged each of her two departing friends in turn.
“A Yuan, Sister Wei, we’ll see you when we have the chance…”
Li Tang reluctantly held Yu Xiaowei’s hand as she spoke, then turned her gaze toward Lin Xinyuan.
Watching little Xiao Yiyi, who was throwing a small tantrum and insisting that her mommy carry her—and who had just been taken from the handsome man’s arms by a helpless Lin Xinyuan and was now being coaxed—she couldn’t help but lean over and tease the little one: “And Xiao Yiyi, see you next time~”
Seeing this, Liu Qingyan also leaned in, gesturing with her hands in a way that made her intent clear—she wasn’t just saying goodbye to her friends, but also greeting Xiao Yiyi.
As if understanding what the two aunties were saying, a big smile immediately spread across Xiao Yiyi’s adorable face, and she began to giggle “hehe” with delight.
The little one’s clever demeanor instantly amused everyone present, and they couldn’t help but laugh along.
Li Tang and Liu Qingyan couldn’t resist pinching the little one’s chubby cheeks, and the melancholy mood from before lifted considerably.
After a bit more playful teasing and a few more exchanged pleasantries, it was finally time for a real farewell.
“Goodbye.”
Lin Xinyuan held her daughter with one arm while bidding farewell to the four who had walked some distance away, dragging their suitcases.
Li Tang turned back one last time to wave, smiling brightly, as if there was no sorrow in this parting: “Next time we’re free, let’s go out and have fun together!”
“Okay…”
After watching Li Tang and her group’s figures disappear into the crowd, and exchanging a few words with Yu Xiaowei and Chen Ze, Lin Xinyuan finally followed Qin Nanfeng, carrying her daughter.
After all, they were all in Tianbei City, not far apart—if she wanted to see Yu Xiaowei and the others, she could always meet up with them anytime…
After getting into the car, the family prepared to head home.
The vehicle cruised steadily along the city roads. Because she had to take care of the child, Lin Xinyuan usually sat in the back seat now.
She held her daughter like this, playing with the little one who wasn’t sleepy yet, sometimes clapping hands, sometimes telling stories.
Though the little one couldn’t understand, she kept smiling happily, like a little angel…
Mother and daughter had been apart for five days and had only reunited today, which made Xiao Yiyi even clingier than before.
Otherwise, when Qin Nanfeng drove her to see Li Tang and the others off at the airport, they wouldn’t have had to bring the little one along—it was because their daughter was crying and fussing in her grandmother’s arms that Lin Xinyuan had no choice but to take her.
“Waa… waa… waa waa waa~”
As if tired from playing, Xiao Yiyi was now babbling something incomprehensible in her mother’s arms, her little lips pouting in dissatisfaction.
But Lin Xinyuan quickly realized her daughter was hungry.
She felt a bit helpless, but there was no choice—she had to feed the child, afraid that Xiao Yiyi might go hungry.
Fortunately, the car windows were privacy-tinted, so there was no worry about being seen.
Otherwise, given Lin Xinyuan’s nature, she would truly feel embarrassed and terribly shy…
Just as she was thinking this, she was about to move, pulling at her clothes, but she instinctively glanced at the rearview mirror—and by coincidence, her eyes met someone’s gaze in the very next moment.
The moment she saw those eyes that always carried a hint of a smile, Lin Xinyuan couldn’t help but think of all sorts of scenes from the past few days.
That guy was even getting more outrageous, actually pulling her outside to… mm… like that…
Thinking of that scene, all those chaotic moments seemed to surface in her mind, causing her heart to race instantly, her heart pounding like a startled deer.
Thankfully, no one had noticed… otherwise, she really felt like she wouldn’t be able to live anymore…
At the thought, a flush crept across Lin Xinyuan’s otherwise calm little face. She found it hard to speak of it, and the undeniable soreness in her body also told of how wild this period had been.
“You… focus on driving! Don’t… don’t look back!”
Lin Xinyuan scolded him with a fierce tone, her little face puffed up in irritation, looking somewhat angry.
It was all this guy’s fault—he’d left her exhausted every single day these past few days, unable to even sleep well!
If it weren’t for the fact that coming home today gave her a reason to refuse him, she really didn’t know how she’d face him. She felt like she was being driven crazy by this guy…
So right now, she really wanted to stay as far away from him as possible…
“Oh, fine.”
Qin Nanfeng shrugged, not bothering to argue with Lin Xinyuan.
After all, he really had been quite rough on this girl lately—each time, he wouldn’t stop until he’d completely drained his little wife of all her strength.
So sometimes, he actually thought to himself: if only the girl’s body were normal, how wonderful that would be…
Thinking of his wife’s rather frail constitution, a trace of worry involuntarily surfaced in Qin Nanfeng’s eyes.
Although Lin Xinyuan had been taking care of her health over the past few years, consuming plenty of supplements, in the end, the impact of her congenital immune deficiency was too great, causing her to be fundamentally weaker than ordinary people.
The effects of her health regimen were slight, but at least they were effective…
But ever since giving birth to Xiao Yiyi, all those years of careful nurturing had essentially been undone in one go—her body was even worse than before.
Yet Qin Nanfeng had no choice. The situation at the time was uncertain; he was afraid the girl would leave him, so the only way was to use a child to keep her tied to him…
As it turned out, his plan had been very effective, stabilizing the emotions of the person who had just fully recovered her memories and lost control.
And now, since “she” had been brought under control, he naturally couldn’t let his wife give birth again.
So he’d been taking precautions all this time, simply not wanting Lin Xinyuan to go through that kind of suffering again, which might weaken her body even further!
Without realizing it, he thought back to the painful moans he’d heard outside the delivery room, and his fingers gripping the steering wheel tightened involuntarily, turning slightly pale…
In the back seat, seeing that the man truly wasn’t sneaking a look, and with the little one in her arms already starting to cry, Lin Xinyuan finally relaxed, quickly turning her attention back to soothing her daughter.
“Xiao Yiyi, be good… Mommy’s going to give Xiao Yiyi some milk, okay…”
With that, she had already unbuttoned her clothes, and after opening them, began to breastfeed her daughter.
By now, Lin Xinyuan had grown accustomed to the strength of her daughter’s suckling, and although the little one sometimes used too much force and caused her pain, it was still bearable.
But perhaps because she hadn’t had her mother’s breast milk in five days, this time Xiao Yiyi was especially forceful.
The moment she latched on, she started sucking hard, causing Lin Xinyuan to involuntarily let out a soft “hiss.”
But fortunately, Xiao Yiyi quickly seemed to notice her mother’s discomfort, and gradually eased up her intensity.
Once the little one got the tasty milk, she quickly stopped crying, just gulping it down contentedly.
It was only then that Lin Xinyuan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Without meaning to, her gaze toward her daughter grew even more tender and affectionate.
Actually, sometimes Lin Xinyuan was very grateful that Xiao Yiyi was her daughter. It wasn’t like she hadn’t seen the neighbor’s kid upstairs.
That child was a year older than her own daughter, but always crying and fussing, incredibly annoying.
But Xiao Yiyi seemed naturally different from other children. She rarely cried or made a fuss, quiet as a little lady, which saved her mother a lot of trouble.
Thinking this, a gentle smile curled at the corners of Lin Xinyuan’s lips as she watched her little kitten.
In this moment of quiet peace, she radiated both a mother’s tenderness and a young woman’s shyness, blending together seamlessly—not the least bit incongruous, but rather more alluring, impossible to ignore.
Qin Nanfeng, taking advantage of the brief pause at a red light, couldn’t help but steal a glance through the rearview mirror.
One glance was all it took to last forever. The corners of his mouth curled upward, involuntarily forming an adoring arc.
Before she could notice, he quickly averted his eyes, staring straight ahead with a composed expression—but his mind was filled with that image from just moments ago.
Xiaoyuan…
So cute…
(End of the Xunmeng Chapter)