Wu Jiangyue gritted her teeth and walked to the rear parking lot. Only when she was there did her rigid back slump, and she silently let out a sigh of relief.
She adjusted her breathing, put on a smile, and walked towards the electric bike. A little tot poked his head out from under the raincoat. Seeing her, he showed a sweet smile.
Looking at this familiar face, Wu Jiangyue couldn't help but be in a daze for a moment.
"Mom," the little tot stretched out his chubby hand and waved it in front of her. "What's wrong with you?"
Wu Jiangyue came back to her senses and smiled at him. "It's okay. Let's go."
She wrapped the child tightly with the raincoat, got on the electric bike, and left the Wanchao Building.
By the time she got back to the store, her clothes were soaked through. When the store owner saw her park the bike in front of the store, she quickly grabbed an umbrella and rushed out to greet her.
"Jiangjiang," she fished the child out from under the raincoat, held him in her arms, and carefully checked him over. Seeing that his clothes were dry, she felt relieved and carried the child back into the store.
She fetched a dry towel and handed it to Wu Jiangyue, scolding her, "I told you to leave the child in the store, but you just wouldn't listen. Now you're all wet!"
Wu Jiangyue took the towel and wiped her hair. "You were so busy just now. It wasn't convenient for him to be here."
The store owner didn't argue with her. She put the child on a chair and fetched a cupcake for him. "Jiangjiang, play by yourself for a while. I need to talk to your mom."
"Okay." Jiangjiang took the cupcake and obediently sat down beside them to eat it.
The store owner walked to the cash register, took out an envelope, and handed it to Wu Jiangyue. "It's time for you to pay the rent, right? I'll settle your salary for this month in advance."
Wu Jiangyue took it and was stunned. "Why is there so much?"
"Just now the store got a big order," the store owner couldn't hide the joy on her face. "The client said it was a business introduced by you."
Wu Jiangyue roughly guessed who it was, but she didn't want to have any more involvement with Jiang He.
She took out half of the cash from the envelope and returned the rest to the store owner. "Sister Lin, I'm resigning."
Sister Lin was taken aback. "Why?"
Before Wu Jiangyue could answer, she seemed to think of something. "That man is the child's father, right? Jiangyue, it's so hard for you to raise a child alone. You..."
"Sister Lin," Wu Jiangyue softly interrupted her. "Thank you for taking care of me all these years."
Seeing her firm attitude, Sister Lin didn't force her. She walked back to the cash register again, took out a stack of cash, put it in an envelope, walked over, and stuffed it into her hand. "Take this."
Wu Jiangyue quickly refused. "Sister Lin, I can't take this."
She was already very grateful that Sister Lin had taken her in when she was pregnant and had nowhere to go.
"It's for Jiangjiang. Don't let the child suffer," Sister Lin stuffed the envelope into her hand without any room for argument. Her eyes quietly turned red. "Come back and visit with the child often in the future."
Holding the envelope, Wu Jiangyue felt as if it weighed a thousand jin. It made her heart ache. "Okay."
After leaving "Journey Home", Wu Jiangyue found a job as a delivery person, delivering flowers from the flower market to shopping malls and hotels. Although it was more tiring than delivering takeaways, she didn't have to be exposed to the sun and rain, so her life was quite comfortable.
After she left the Wanchao Building that day, Jiang He still couldn't help but go to "Journey Home" to look for her, but was told that she had resigned and even changed her phone number.
He knew that she was avoiding him.
This city was so big. Since she was determined to avoid him, he really never ran into her again.
In a blink of an eye, half a year had passed. One day, Jiang He went to inspect a newly opened shopping mall. Just as he got out of the car, he was bumped into by a child.
"Sorry," the child rubbed his forehead and looked up.
Their eyes met, and both of them were stunned for a moment.
Looking at the mini-version of himself in front of him, Jiang He had thousands of thoughts flashing through his mind for a moment. Finally, he squatted down and asked with a smile, "What's your name?"
The child replied in a milky voice, "My name is Jiangjiang."
Jiang He looked around but didn't see Wu Jiangyue. "Where's your mom?"
The child answered every question. "She's gone to make a delivery."
Jiang He took the child's hand and gently negotiated with him. "It's too cold here. Uncle will take you upstairs to eat something. Okay?"
The child shook his head and took a half step back. "No. Mom said I can't go with strangers."
Looking at the child's soft eyes, Jiang He's heart melted. "I know your mom. Her name is Wu Jiangyue, right?"
The child nodded. "Yes."
Jiang He stroked his head and smiled at him. "Then I'll go and find your mom for you. Okay?"
The child thought for a while and shook his head. "No. Mom will cry when she sees you. I don't want her to cry."
Jiang He was stunned. "How do you know mom will cry when she sees me?"
The innocent child immediately spilled the beans about his mother. "She cries every time she sees your photo."
Hearing this, Jiang He's heart suddenly ached.
During those long more than a thousand days and nights, she had cried alone in places he couldn't see.
"It won't happen again," he endured the soreness in his throat and picked up the child. "I'm back. I won't let her cry anymore."
When Wu Jiangyue finished delivering the flowers and came to the parking lot, she didn't see Jiangjiang's figure. She quickly ran to look for him nearby.
She searched the whole shopping mall and the surrounding area but couldn't find Jiangjiang.
It started to rain heavily. Standing in the torrential rain, Wu Jiangyue suddenly broke down and cried.
Jiang He waited upstairs for a long time but didn't see Wu Jiangyue come up to pick up the child. Seeing that it was raining, he took an umbrella and went downstairs. As soon as he reached the parking lot, he saw her squatting in the rain, crying heart - rendingly.
His heart was suddenly stabbed. He quickly strode over and held the umbrella over her head. "Are you looking for Jiangjiang?"
Wu Jiangyue slowly raised her head. It took her a while to ask hoarsely, "Where is he?"
"He's in the office upstairs," Jiang He felt a bit guilty seeing her like this. "I left you a note on your car door..."
Wu Jiangyue suddenly stood up. Her legs were numb from squatting for too long, and she almost fell.
Jiang He quickly reached out to support her. "He's my child..."
As if being burned, Wu Jiangyue suddenly withdrew her hand. "No!"
Even now, she still wanted to avoid him.
Jiang He grabbed her arm and didn't give her a chance to escape. "Since you don't admit it, then let me take him for a paternity test first!"
Wu Jiangyue suddenly froze. The tears that had just stopped welled up again. "Jiang He, please, give the child back to me. He's all I have."
She cried because of him again.
All of Jiang He's determination turned into不忍. He let go of his hand and said gently, "Don't cry. I'll ask Assistant Chen to bring the child down."
He took out his phone and made a call. Soon, Assistant Chen brought the child down.
"Mom, it's... this uncle..." Jiangjiang didn't finish his sentence. Seeing Wu Jiangyue's red - rimmed eyes, he looked guilty and self - reproachful. "Sorry, mom. I won't run around anymore."
Wu Jiangyue took his hand and smiled at him. "Let's go. We're going home."
Jiang He stepped forward and blocked their way. "Wu Jiangyue, the child is still young. You can't always let him wait for you outside. It's too dangerous."
Wu Jiangyue was stunned for a moment. She let go of Jiangjiang's hand, bent down, and asked him, "Jiangjiang, mom is asking you. Do you want to go home with me or with this uncle?"
Jiangjiang was stumped by her question and showed a hesitant expression.
Wu Jiangyue smiled at him and encouraged him. "It's okay, Jiangjiang. You can choose whoever you want. Mom won't be angry."
Jiangjiang thought seriously for a while, stepped forward, and took Wu Jiangyue's hand.
"I choose mom. Mom only has me, but uncle has a beautiful big house."
Wu Jiangyue felt both gratified and sad. She took his hand and walked forward. Just as she took two steps, she heard Jiang He say, "Sorry."
"I didn't expect that meeting me would make your life so unfortunate."
Half a year ago, he had gone to the outlying island to look for Wu Jiangyue but didn't find her. Instead, he met Chen Cheng.
It turned out that they weren't married. Not long after he left that year, Wu Jiangyue got pregnant.
Getting pregnant before marriage was an unmentionable thing on that closed and backward small island.
But Wu Jiangyue refused to abort the child no matter what and had a big fight with her father. Her father went out to sea that time and never came back.
After finishing her father's funeral, she left the outlying island and didn't go back for a full five years.
Chen Cheng had said, "Because of you, you've ruined her originally happy life."
But no one knew that he wanted to bring all the happiness in the world in front of her so that she didn't have to drift from place to place and be in a hurry.
Wu Jiangyue turned around. The two of them looked at each other through the thick rain curtain. Suddenly, she was stabbed by the sadness in his eyes.
"Jiang He, I don't blame you. I just can't forgive myself."
All of this was her choice. He was also an innocent victim.
"Seeing you, I'll think of the look in my dad's eyes when he left. He left with disappointment in me."
She lowered her eyes, not wanting him to see her red - rimmed eyes. "I'll never deserve to be forgiven."
Jiang He watched as they turned around, walked to the pickup truck, opened the door, got in, started the car, and left the parking lot, disappearing into the vast rain.
He wanted to hold her back, but he couldn't say a word.
He had become the deepest thorn in her heart. As long as she saw him, she would think of her father who died a sudden death.
If he forced her to stay by his side, the rest of her life would be spent in self - loathing. He didn't want her to live such a miserable life.
Life was probably like this. Parting was always easier than getting together.
They had taken a wrong step in their best years and thus missed each other for a lifetime.