Lin Huai accompanied Li Liner and stood guard by her sister’s coffin. On the day of the funeral procession, Li Liner burst out crying. She seemed to spend all her energy on the final day and Lin Huai just watched on silently from the side. He knew that Li Liner vented out all her pain and anguish but hatred was growing within her.
Both of them left the funeral parlour after storing Li Caier’s remains away. Then they went to the new house that Lin Huai rented the past two days when he was free.
Lin Huai had another home he rented in Tongcheng City. However, that was his secret hideout. Wherever he went, he had the habit of looking for a place he liked to serve as a base. That place served as a backup plan in the event that something went wrong or whenever Lin Huai needed it.
Both of them arrived at the home that Lin Huai just rented. The owner of the house was waiting and he was a middle-aged man. The owner winked at Lin Huai when he saw their presence. However, Lin Huai shook his head as a sign that the owner should not joke around as Li Liner was in a bad mood.
The owner was quick on his feet and he knew what Lin Huai meant. Thus, the process of passing the keys was completed very quickly. Then he said, “If there is any problem within the house just give me a call.”
“Alright, thank you.
“You’re welcome. I will make a move first and shall not disturb you all.”
The owner left. Lin Huai and Li Liner were the only ones left in the spacious apartment.
The apartment had two floors and multiple rooms. Li Liner toured the house and said, “Isn’t this place too big? It’s a waste of money.”
Lin Huai smiled and said, “This place is going to be our house in the future so of course I have to look for a nicer place. Don’t worry about the fee, I will settle the rent.”
Li Liner sighed and said, “I just feel that it’s a little wasteful. Brother Huai, are you not going to live in the dormitory?”
Lin Huai said, “Yup, I am not living there anymore. I might return back once in a while. Let me accompany you today. I will then head back to college for a while in order to settle all the issues back there as well as to inform certain people of my whereabouts. Otherwise I would be worried as well.”
Li Liner said, “Actually you don’t have to accompany me. I am able to take good care of myself. I don’t want to trouble you any further.”
Lin Huai smiled and said, “You foolish girl. Don’t have to be so courteous with me in the future. You are part of my family from now on, alright?”
In a serious tone, Li Liner asked, “Alright… But can you let me be courteous with you one last time?”
Lin Huai gave a bitter smile and replied, “Alright then. This will be the last time.”
“Thank you. If it wasn’t for you, I have no idea what would have happened to me. I might have broken down already and gone crazy,” Li Liner said with tears in her eyes as well as a look of appreciation. Suddenly she tiptoed and gently kissed Lin Huai on the lips. She then sincerely thanked him, “Thank you very much.”
Lin Huai was stunned for a brief moment before grinning. He said, “Have a good rest. You must be exhausted over the past few days.”
“Okay.”
Lin Huai said, “Let’s take a look at which room you prefer.”
Lin Huai then brought Li Liner to her room and got her settled in. He then forcefully advised Li Liner to lie down on the bed and solemnly said, “You are not allowed to go anywhere today. You have to rest at home. Hurry and go to sleep.”
Li Liner pouted her lips and said, “The sky is not even dark yet.”
“You can sleep till the sky turns dark. Then you should wake up for dinner after and head back to sleep again. You have been exhausted over these past few days. If you don’t rest well, your body would not be able to take it.”
Li Liner saw the determined look on Lin Huai’s face and knew there was no room for discussion. She gave an acknowledging hum and had no voice but to agree with Lin Huai.
Lin Huai asked Li Liner to lie on the bed. He sat next to her and waited till she fell asleep before quietly leaving the room.
Oh right, I have a lot of things to prepare. I have to go and get some necessities such as toiletries and bedsheets. Then I have to get kitchen utensils and groceries for dinner tonight.
Lin Huai walked out of the room and left to purchase toiletries, vegetables and kitchen utensils from nearby shops. Then he sneaked into the room and saw that Li Liner was still sound asleep. She had been worn out for the past few days. As such, she had a sound sleep today. Lin Huai left the house again and planned to head to a nearby shopping mall to get two sets of new bedsheets and pillows.
By the time he finished all the errands, it was already night time when he arrived home, so he rushed and prepared dinner in a hurry. Although it was already late, Lin Huai still planned to celebrate housewarming as they had just moved into the new house. Therefore, he whipped up four dishes and one soup. He placed the dishes on the dining table before heading into the room and waking Li Liner up.
Li Liner opened her eyes while still in a daze. She saw Lin Huai next to her with a huge smile on his face. He said, “It’s already eight pm, time to wake up for dinner.You must be famished.”
“Oh… It’s so late already? I am still not hungry.”
Lin Huai smiled and said, “Give me a moment.”
Lin Huai went out and brought the new bed sheets that he bought into the room. He tossed them onto the bed and, with a smile, said, “These are bed sheets that I bought in the afternoon so hurry up and put it on. You can throw away the old bed sheet that is currently being used.”
“Oh, alright.” Li Liner was embarrassed as she said, “Brother Lin Huai, you must be exhausted today. I didn’t help you with anything at all.”
Lin Huai smiled and said, “It’s only the first day and you should also have a good rest. I can get everything done myself so there is nothing you could have help with.”
Li Liner said, “I will cook for you everyday in the future.”
Lin Huai laughed loudly and said, “Sure thing. I want to taste the food you make.”
LIn Huai then brought Li Liner into the kitchen. Just as they sat down, Lin Huai’s phone rang. He took his phone out and saw that it was a message from Li Qianqian. The content of the message was: ‘Why didn’t you come over to my house last weekend?’
Since Lin Huai had been occupied dealing with Li Caier’s funeral arrangements, he also forgot to inform Li Qianqian about it. Now that they were about to have dinner coupled with the fact that it was inconvenient to discuss such matters in front of Li Liner, he simply replied. ‘Let me talk to you later.’
Li Qianqian replied, ‘Alright.’
Lin Huai put his phone away and with a smile he said, “How does the food taste?”
“Well it looks pretty appetizing.” Li Liner then took a bite and she nodded profusely saying, “It’s really delicious!”
Lin Huai smiled and said, “My cooking skills are not too shabby, right?”
Li Liner looked at Lin Huai and said, “It is delicious. Brother Huai, the girl that marries you in the future will be really fortunate. She must have accumulated all the blessings over her previous lifetimes.”
Lin Huai smiled and said, “Really?”
“Yes. It isn’t easy to find a guy like you who knows how to cook and looks handsome.” The glow in Li Liner’s eyes turned dim and with a bitter smile she said, “However I do not have such luck. After all, I came from a parlor as a prostitute.”
Lin Huai quickly reassured her, “You shouldn’t say that. I feel that you are a kind person as well. After all, you didn’t have a choice as you were captured and sent to such a place. Furthermore, it’s not like you did anything over there.”
Li Liner shook her head and sighed. “Let’s not talk about that. Brother Huai, I will work hard to repay you in the future.”
Lin Huai felt much pity for her. He said, “You don’t have to repay me, you really don’t… I have not thought about how I wanted you to repay me. As long as you live your life happily, it makes me feel like everything I did was meaningful. That would be enough for me.”
Lin Huai took another bite of the food and with a smile he said, “The food is rather delicious. By the way, do you want to drink?”
Li Liner said, “Yes! I would like some.”
“Alright!”
Lin Huai opened up a bottle of red wine. He said, “I also just purchased this in the afternoon.”
Li Liner was shocked. She said, “How many things did you buy this afternoon? The utensils are also new right?”
Lin Huai smiled and agreed, “Yes, it’s new. I purchased them today. I have bought utensils, bed sheets, toiletries and basic groceries already. It is enough for the both of us. If there is anything that needs to be bought in the future, we could always head to nearby shops and purchase them.”
Li Liner said, “You must have spent the entire afternoon on that. Brother Huai, thank you.”
Lin Huai smiled and said, “Eat, eat.”
Lin Huai said that while putting food into Li Liner’s bowl. He said, “Eat more and take care of your health. That way you would be energetic and healthy. Otherwise, you would not be able to repay me even if you wanted to. Here, let me pour you some wine.”
Lin Huai took out two glasses and filled it with red wine. He passed a glass to Li Liner and with a smile he said, “Liner, let me drink with you.”
“Alright.” Li Liner agreed and raised her glass of wine to have a toast with Lin Huai. In one shot, she drank half of the wine in the glass. Then, she started coughing violently.
Lin Huai frowned and said, “Drink slowly.”
“I am fine.” Li Liner’s eyes turned red but she had a bright smile. She said, “I am happy today so I want to drink more. I am also delighted that I have a new home.”
Sigh. Are you really happy or are you just covering the sadness within you and putting on an act in front of me?
Lin Huai knew that Li Liner would not walk out of her emotional state of grieving just yet. After all, the one that passed away was her sister that she had depended on throughout her entire life.
Lin Huai nodded and said, “Since you are happy, you can drink as much as you want. I will just accompany you.”
“Thank you, Brother Huai.”
“How many times have you thanked me today? You are not allowed to say that in the future.”
“Alright then.”
Li Liner was determined to get drunk. As such, she continued drinking non-stop. Very soon, both of them finished the entire bottle of red wine. Li Liner was drunk and had collapsed on the table.
Lin Huai sighed and went to support Li Liner. He hugged her by the waist and walked into her room. Then, he lifted her up and tucked her into bed.
Lin Huai looked at Li Liner who was sound asleep and sighed. He murmured, “Getting drunk clears up all the sorrows. This might be a good thing for her. I just hope that you can walk out of your pain soon.”
Lin Huai sighed once more before leaving her room. He walked back to his own room and gave Li Qianqian a call.