Give Me Another Smile

Luo Hui was extremely satisfied with her new "daughter-in-law," and, of course, she was very considerate not to disturb his son's alone time with his lover. So, when her son arrived, she handed him the warm cup of honey water in her hand, smiled meaningfully at him, and silently left the room.

After seeing her mother leave, Gao Rang took over his mother's seat and locked eyes with Zhao Yu, completely ignoring Yin Zhao-an, sitting across from him, as he asked, "Does your throat hurt?"

Zhao Yu shook his head, his voice becoming unusually obedient as he answered, "It doesn't hurt."

Hearing this, Gao Rang dotingly pat Zhao Yu on the head.

Yin Zhao-an: "..."

Sob, sob. I also want to go home to look for my wife QAQ.

Subsequently, Zhao Yu and Gao Rang fell silent, communicating only with their eyes.

Sitting nearby, Yin Zhao-an felt like she was about to go blind as she looked at the two's interaction. If not for Zhao Yu still recovering, Yin Zhao-an suspected the two might do more than stare at each other right now.

Fortunately, Zhao Yu was not that cruel of a person. When Yin Zhao-an was about to roll her eyes in exasperation, Zhao Yu spoke up, "Why don't you go back first, Brother Zhao?"

Yin Zhao-an couldn't be happier to comply.

"Then, I'll stop disturbing you two."

…

As soon as Yin Zhao-an stepped out of the hospital, she took out her phone and dialed the first entry on her contact list, ready to hear her wife's voice to console her wounded heart. Yet…

"Hello, the number you dialed is currently busy. Please try again later. Sorry...."

Standing next to a busy street, a young girl felt her heart dropping and shattering on the ground.

Fortunately, not all was bad news, as Tang Yu returned Yin Zhao-an's call in no time. Seeing the caller ID, Yin Zhao-an answered the call with great urgency and…

"Tang-Tang!!!"

Tang Yu instinctively moved her phone away and looked at the contact name on the screen with a complicated expression. It was An-An, no mistake about it. But...

After a roundabout and melodious "Tang-Tang," Tang Yu finally heard a slightly dejected voice on the other end saying, "I miss you..."

…Sure enough, she forgot to take her medicine again, Tang Yu thought to herself. However, she quickly pushed the inappropriate thought aside and asked with concern, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Yin Zhao-an didn't know what had gotten into her, but she suddenly felt a surge of grievances welling up from her heart. It was a sour and uncomfortable feeling that made her want to cry.

"I miss you so much... I want to see you... really..." Yin Zhao-an's calm voice gradually became shaky and ended up turning into a soft cry.

Tang Yu's heart ached, and her breathing became shallow. She was at a loss as she clutched her phone. She opened her mouth to try to say something, but no words came to her mind or mouth. She wanted to hug Yin Zhao-an and tell her how much she missed her as well, but they were too far apart for her to do so right now.

Yin Zhao-an wiped away the tears on her face, finding herself a little silly for crying like a fool on the roadside where people came and went.

Fortunately, Yin Zhao-an had a strong mind. After taking a deep breath, she smiled brightly under the dazzling sunshine as she regained her composure and said, "Forget about what just happened. You just need to remember one thing."

"What… What is it?" Tang Yu asked, a little stunned by Yin Zhao-an's rapid transition.

Holding the phone close to her mouth, Yin Zhao-an said in a low voice, "I, love, you!

"That's all. Did you hear me clearly, Tang-Tang?"

Tang Yu felt warm in her heart, a warm current replacing the sour feeling. It was as if a ray of sunshine suddenly shone into a small and cramped storage room, and even the tiny dust danced in the sunlight.

"I heard you clearly," Tang Yu said. Then, she took a deep breath and stated, "I love you too."

After this brief but meaningful exchange, Yin Zhao-an put their conversation on hold for a moment to hail a taxi. Only after getting into the taxi and telling the driver her desired destination did she continue talking to Tang Yu.

"Zhao Yu is awake now and on his way to make a full recovery. Doctor Gao is also taking good care of him," Yin Zhao-an said, placing emphasis on the words "good care.

Tang Yu could feel Yin Zhao-an's envy even through the phone. Smiling, she bent her knees and rested her chin on her knees, pulling out the weeds on the ground as she said, "The two of them had to go through a lot of trouble to be together, so let them have their time together."

"We also had to go through some hurdles to get together, but we're now separated and living in two different cities…" Yin Zhao-an said, looking sad and dejected as she stared at the passing scenery outside. Her acting was so realistic that even the driver felt sorry for her when he saw her behavior through the rearview mirror.

After trying to think of a response for a moment, Tang Yu suddenly remembered something more important. Immediately, she told Yin Zhao-an about the argument she overheard by Willow Lake in the morning to get her opinion on the matter.

After listening to Tang Yu's encounter, Yin Zhao-an stroked her chin and frowned slightly. "If you're unsure about her personality, then be careful. If she's really such a scheming person, it probably won't be a pleasant experience to interact with her."

After a short pause, Yin Zhao-an continued, "Just endure it a little longer. Once I pass my entrance exams, we'll apply to live off-campus and ignore those people."

"Mhm." Tang Yu also had a similar idea. Though, even without Yin Zhao-an reminding her, she never had any intentions of interacting much with Wu Na or her other roommates as she wasn't fond of interacting with others.

When the taxi arrived outside the villa district, Yin Zhao-an didn't have the driver enter the gated community. Instead, she paid the driver and walked the rest of the way.

After concluding her conversation with Tang Yu, Yin Zhao-an suddenly realized that it had been a while since she last spoke to Wen Tao. More specifically, they had stopped contacting each other ever since Wen Tao moved to S City to further his studies. At this realization, she couldn't help but wonder how his life was over there.

However, after staring at her rose-gold phone for a moment, Yin Zhao-an ultimately returned her phone to her pocket, deciding against calling Wen Tao.

People were bound to start new chapters in their lives, was what Yin Zhao-an thought.

…

Li Beiyu visited the lesbian nightclub again. It was almost dusk outside, so the nightclub was starting to get lively. Even the music had started to grow more restless.

It had been a while since Hua Qian had last seen Li Beiyu in the nightclub. So, when she saw the young lady, she warmly smiled and asked, "It's been a long time since you last visited. Have you been busy studying?"

Li Beiyu didn't say anything and leaned on the bar counter, resting her chin on her arms as she observed the people coming and going in the nightclub. However, even after scanning every face in the establishment, she didn't see the person she was looking for.

Hua Qian sensed that Li Beiyu was in a bad mood, so she tactfully kept quiet and handed the girl a colorful drink. Naturally, it was an "alcoholic" drink.

Li Beiyu idly stared at the drink for a while. Then, she asked Hua Qian for a straw and began sipping on the drink while gnawing on the straw.

"I'm all alone in Z City now, Big Sis Qian. I feel so miserable," Li Beiyu said as she languidly lay on the counter, looking desolate.

Hua Qian didn't understand what the girl meant exactly, but she still kindly replied, "If you feel lonely, you can come here more often. Everyone here can keep you company so long as you ask for it."

In response, Li Beiyu pouted, "My brother left."

Hua Qian paused, looking at the young girl seriously. "Do you mean that the young master has left Z City?"

"That's right. He applied to manage the subsidiary company in S City with my uncle. He never cared about the family business all these years, yet he's suddenly showing interest now." Li Beiyu was unhappy with her brother's behavior, but she could do nothing. After all, it wasn't easy to manage the largest real estate company in the country.

"By the way." Li Beiyu propped her head up with one hand, staring at Hua Qian. "Did you keep an eye out for the guest with blue eyes?"

"I've seen a few with blue eyes, but most of them are foreign women with non-black hair. There were some with black hair and blue eyes, but those customers are regulars, so I know for a fact that they're wearing blue contact lenses. Just in case, though, I've written down their names for you to check. Do you want to take a look?" Hua Qian asked while reaching for a notebook under the bar. However, before she could offer the notebook to Li Beiyu…

"Hey! Wait a minute!" All of a sudden, Li Beiyu put down her glass, jumped off the bar stool, and ran into the crowd.

More and more customers poured into the nightclub, and Hua Qian was too busy to spare any attention. So, she quickly sent a message to the manager to keep an eye out for Li Beiyu. After all, if anything happened to the young lady, everyone working in this establishment would have to pay the price.

Meanwhile, a person wearing a black hoodie calmly stepped out of the nightclub, the cool night breeze blowing her hood off and revealing a pair of captivating blue pupils.

Li Beiyu struggled to push through the crowd but was hindered by the surging people and could only watch the person's figure disappear from the entrance, her jet-black hair blending into the night.

Li Beiyu's eyes gradually turned red, a thin mist clouding her vision as a surge of helplessness and grievance expanded within her.

"Fuck...why should this happen." Li Beiyu wiped her tears with her hand as she muttered to herself, her words drowned out by the booming music in the background.

Finally squeezing her way out, Li Beiyu stood dazedly on the busy street, facing the endless stream of traffic and the dazzling neon lights coming from the surrounding buildings. However, even though a world of revelry and debauchery surrounded her, she felt like the world had lost its color, leaving only an endless blackness.

She had nearly been violated in that storage room, had her first kiss taken away by force on New Year's Eve on the riverbank, and now the culprit had shown up in front of her, only to leave as if nothing had happened. Did the other party think she was a fool to be played with? Was it amusing to see her being toyed around like that?

Li Beiyu had never experienced this kind of grievance before. She surveyed her surroundings with red, moist eyes filled with anger.

The person must still be here, secretly watching her and laughing at her.

Suddenly, Li Beiyu sneered and began walking westward. The east road led to the bus stop, while the west road led to the overpass. However, to reach the overpass from here, one had to go through a tree-lined area without streetlights, where small gangs often waited for lone pedestrians to attack.

Li Beining had purged this area of filth in the past, so no one dared to cause trouble here now. However, there were bound to be exceptions.

Li Beiyu wasn't afraid to enter this wooded area. She had fought alongside Li Beining for so many years, so she was confident she could handle herself as long as she wasn't going up against a group. With that in mind, she instinctively felt her thigh, where a small dagger was concealed under her skirt. From an outsider's perspective, one would think it was merely a decoration if one did not look closely.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew behind her. Li Beiyu thought it was a gangster and quickly turned around, ready to make them pay with blood. However, the person moved akin to a ghost, instantly circling around to her back, leaving behind a faint minty scent that flowed into her nostrils.

"You're too slow."

This was the last thing Li Beiyu heard before losing consciousness, the voice sounding exactly like the one on the riverbank that night.