Chapter 163: Unconcealable Concern

Chapter 163: Chapter 163: Unconcealable Concern

She was granted a lenient sentence in court.

Beijing was snowing again.

This time, the snow was heavy, blanketing everything in white.

Song Yao had just pushed open the window when she heard that Li Hanchen had arrived.

Yao Yuzhen was the ringleader among the people who had abandoned her on the roadside back then.

Song Yao had told Li Hanchen about it over the phone.

It had been weighing on Li Hanchen’s mind ever since. He’d gritted his teeth and squeezed out a two-day leave, hopping on a train to Beijing the first chance he got.

But the moment he arrived, snowflakes like goose feathers started pelting down.

By the time he stepped through the Shen Family’s gate, his hair and eyebrows were caked with frost.

Song Yao hadn’t even left the house yet.

She was tying on an apron, about to brew a pot of ginger and jujube tea.

Hearing a noise from the entryway, she wiped her hands and turned toward the door.

This damn weather in Beijing was even more bone-chilling than in previous years.

Her baby bump was also getting more obvious by the day.

Director He had simply told her, "Just rest when it’s snowing or raining. Wait for the sky to clear and the wind to stop before you come back to work. There’s no rush."

Song Yao was never one to make trouble, so when she was told not to go to work, she really didn’t go.

Who would have thought that Li Hanchen would pick this exact moment—the coldest and most chaotic time—to show up.

After coming inside, he shook the snow from his shoulders. He looked up and saw Song Yao standing at the kitchen doorway, and his lips twitched.

The second Shen Songyao saw him, her heart skipped a beat.

Li Hanchen had also been missing her so much he was frantic.

No matter how composed he usually was, right now, he couldn’t care less that the Shen family was in the dining room, eating and watching the show.

He swept her into his overcoat, holding her tightly in his arms.

Song Yao snuggled her face against his chest.

"Why did you come without saying a word?"

"Were you secretly planning to surprise me?"

She didn’t even wait for his answer, spilling the beans all on her own.

"I made three bowls of noodles this morning: one for Shen Zhenwu, one for Uncle Shen, and one for myself—and I messed them all up! Can you even imagine how much I’ve been missing you?"

Li Hanchen just stared at her, his gaze clear and burning hot.

Where was the slightest trace of his usual cold, hard demeanor?

All that remained was a longing he could no longer hide.

He only stayed at the Shen Family’s house for one night.

「The next day, just after four in the morning.」

The sky was still dark when he quietly got out of bed.

Without turning on the light, he moved with extreme quietness, putting on his coat and fastening the top button at his collar. He reached out and felt the space beside the pillow.

That was where her hair tie lay, one she had casually taken off last night. It was a loop of light pink velveteen woven with silver thread.

Song Yao grabbed his wrist, tears streaming down her face as she sobbed.

"You were only here for a day, you might as well have not come at all! You just whet my appetite but don’t let me eat my fill... Ahem, you just make my heart ache!"

Her words were choppy as she spoke, sniffling between them.

Li Hanchen opened his mouth but said nothing.

Only after a few seconds did he speak, his voice hoarse.

"I just wanted to see you."

He wasn’t just saying that.

From the day he heard that Yao Yuzhen had been the one to personally abandon her, it was as if a hand had been squeezing his heart.

Song Yao looked down at her round belly and mumbled under her breath.

"What if... I just pack my bags and go with you?"

Li Hanchen knew she wouldn’t actually leave.

"Don’t sulk."

Song Yao pouted.

"Then give me a kiss. Just one kiss. It’ll sweeten my mouth, and I’ll swallow back my angry words."

Li Hanchen really did lower his head and even closed his eyes, looking as if he were completely at her mercy.

Shen Songyao immediately grabbed his collar.

"SMOOCH! SMOOCH!"

She gave him several kisses in a row, making the tips of his ears turn bright red.

She stood on her tiptoes, her forehead pressed against his jaw.

Just before he left, his voice was low.

"When you’re ready to leave, let me know in advance. I’ll pick you up at the station."

After speaking, he paused, then added another sentence.

"I’ll buy the ticket."

Song Yao insisted on seeing him downstairs, but he stopped her with a raised hand.

"The floor is slippery. Just stay here."

He turned and left without a single look back.

The motion-sensor light in the stairwell turned on, then off again.

By the time Yao Yuzhen walked out of the detention center, Shen Zhenwu’s orderly was already waiting outside.

He handed her a car key and said, "The chief said you can move back into your own house whenever you’re ready."

"The chief also asked me to give you this."

Yao Yuzhen ignored the orderly’s polite words.

But she stretched out her hand and took the envelope.

There was no note inside the envelope, just three neat stacks of bills—three hundred yuan.

She glanced down at it, her fingertips pinching the corner of the top bill.

"Go back and tell Shen Zhenwu I’ll take the money, and I’ll pay him back when I earn it. The house? No need to keep it for me. I won’t be living there."

Her tone was hard, without the slightest hint of softening.

The orderly nodded, then pulled a brass key from his right pocket and offered it to her, palm up.

"Your old things are all still kept in the old house."

Yao Yuzhen glanced down at her own cotton-padded jacket, which was faded from washing.

She had no desire whatsoever to see anyone from the Shen family again.

The north wind blew a few strands of hair across her forehead, and she brushed them away.

When the orderly relayed the message verbatim, Shen Zhenwu just grunted in acknowledgment after hearing it.

"Let her be."

’We were husband and wife once. I’ve done everything I was supposed to.’

Just as that scene ended, Yang Wanqing was on the phone with Shen Jiajia.

"That wife of your brother’s was released today!"

The moment Shen Jiajia heard this, her anger flared. She yelled that she was going to buy a ticket and rush back immediately.

"I swear I’m going to slap her twice across the face!"

Yang Wanqing quickly tried to stop her.

"She’s already gone. Who are you going to take your anger out on if you rush back?"

"Gone? Good! Serves her right! She should have gotten eight or ten years, the ungrateful wolf!"

After cursing out Yao Yuzhen, she finally remembered Song Yao and quickly asked, "What about Song Yao? How is she? Is she eating well? Is the baby giving her any trouble?"

The moment her granddaughter-in-law was mentioned, Yang Wanqing’s face lit up with a smile.

"Oh, Song Yao is doing so well! The pregnancy is very stable, not giving her any trouble at all. The little one is so considerate, knows how to take care of its mommy!"

"Not suffering is better than anything."

"For the New Year, is she planning to stay in Beijing?"

Shen Jiajia asked again.

Yang Wanqing paused, not answering immediately.

In her heart, she hoped Song Yao would stay.

A reunion, after all. Who wouldn’t want that?

Outside the window, the sky was growing dark, and one by one, the streetlights below began to switch on.

But on second thought, Song Yao was a married woman.

Li Hanchen was still at his post in Ning City and couldn’t get leave.

You couldn’t just force the young couple apart, could you?

"Li Hanchen can’t get away. She’ll definitely have to go back to Ning City."

Shen Jiajia grew anxious again upon hearing this.

"Then get Big Brother to pull some strings! Are we really going to let Song Yao give birth in Ning City?"

The scraping sound of a chair moving came from the other end of the line, followed by her hurried breathing.

"None of us will be there with her. How can she manage on her own? If something goes wrong, who’s going to take responsibility?"

Her speech grew faster and faster, and the last few words were practically trembling.

Yang Wanqing replied, "Alright, I’ll discuss it with your brother."

She raised a hand to rub the spot between her eyebrows. The skin beneath her fingertips felt cool, and the fine lines at the corners of her eyes were especially clear under the light.

"Second Sister and I will come back early too!"

Shen Jiajia decided on the spot. "We’ll return to Beijing a month early, specifically to help Song Yao with her postpartum confinement!"

She paused, and her tone suddenly became cheerful.

"I guarantee we’ll have her looking rosy-cheeked and chubby!"

After hanging up the phone, Yang Wanqing leaned back on the sofa.

When Shen Zhenwu walked in, she raised her hand and beckoned, "You, come here!"

Seeing his mother’s secretive expression, Shen Zhenwu didn’t ask any questions and obediently moved closer.

Yang Wanqing lowered her voice and whispered in his ear, "Li Hanchen’s job—is there any way to get him transferred to Beijing? You have connections. Help me ask around."