Chapter 240 If you are not here, I will never live alone (8)

Huo Qingfeng understood that she was right. However, this was the woman he loved most, his lifeblood. How could he bear to watch her go into danger? In the end, he had underestimated Gu Tianze, and all of them had underestimated Gu Tianze and the Gu family.

Gu Tianze wasn't just seeking revenge against Huo Qingfeng; he was seeking revenge against the army and the entire nation. However, Huo Qingfeng was the first enemy Gu Tianze needed to eliminate!

"Qingfeng, let me go. There are still three days, right? We still have time to plan. Maybe we can catch Gu Tianze by then, right?" Ling Ruoke knew in her heart that this was impossible; she just wanted to persuade Huo Qingfeng. If Gu Tianze were so easy to catch, none of this would have happened.

Huo Qingfeng held her hands; her hands and feet were terribly cold. "Ruoke, since we still have three days, let's not think about the worst. Let's give ourselves three days to think of a solution. Maybe things will turn around. Don't even mention three days; when we're defusing the bomb, even a second could turn the tide, right?"

"Okay, I'll listen to you." Ling Ruoke nodded with a smile. But that smile was more painful than a grimace.

The couple embraced, silent for a long time. Each had their own thoughts, both racking their brains, hoping to change the situation.

At dinner, Ling Ruoke had no appetite at all and only forced herself to eat a couple of bites.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Ping An, who was already speaking quite fluently, slid off the chair and pounced on his mother's lap.

Ling Ruoke bent down and picked him up, looking at his adorable face. She thought of Li Chen and Chen Xinyi; how heartbroken their parents must have been when they saw the DVD. If someone had hurt her peace like that, she would also be heartbroken, wishing she could take their pain upon herself.

Thinking this way, she couldn't hold back her tears again. She managed to take a deep breath and force the tears back. Crying alone wouldn't help; she had cried enough.

"Mommy? Who bullied you? Did Daddy bully you?" Little Ping'an asked sweetly, blinking her big eyes. Seemingly noticing the tears in her mother's eyes, she reached out to touch the corner of her eye.

Ling Ruoke tried her best to smile at him. "No, no one bullied Mommy. Come on, Xiao Ping'an, give me a kiss. A kiss will make Mommy happy."

"Really?" Xiao Ping'an's eyes widened, and before she could answer, he quickly gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Ling Ruoke, her eyes still wet, lowered her head and kissed him twice forcefully. "Alright, Mom's happy now, let's go back to eat." Saying it was about eating was really just a joke.

Ping An smiled sweetly as his mother put him back in his chair. He then lowered his head and focused intently on his food.

Ling Ruoke silently looked at him, then at her husband, feeling as if the knife in her heart was being stabbed away again. The pain was truly excruciating.

Huo Qingfeng chewed his food, silently meeting her gaze. His face was expressionless, but his eyes were gentle and sorrowful. His sadness was no less than hers.

Ling Ruoke understood this fact, so she forced a smile at him, picked up her rice bowl, and continued eating. For the sake of the person she loved, she couldn't go against her own body. Besides, things hadn't reached the point of certain death; she shouldn't be so pessimistic!

People are always like this, subconsciously trying to comfort themselves. But as soon as they've finished comforting themselves, they remember it again, and fall back into that vortex. This cycle repeats itself, leaving them exhausted.

Tan's mother tried everything she could to coax Ping An to sleep with Lele, giving the couple some space to talk.

Ling Ruoke was soaking in the bathtub when she gradually drifted off into a daze. If Huo Qingfeng hadn't noticed in time, she would have definitely caught a cold. The water in the mountains is cool, and it gets even colder at night; it's easy to catch a cold if you're exposed to the wind.

Ling Ruoke lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, listening to the sound of water in the bathroom. Their wedding photo hung on the wall. In the photo, she smiled radiantly, a smile as intoxicating as wine. Although the colonel's face wasn't fully visible, her happiness was evident. Looking at this photo, she thought of Xia Mo again. Was he also looking at the wedding photo by his bedside, remembering his tormented wife in the DVD? How did he spend those long nights?

When Huo Qingfeng came out, he saw his wife staring blankly at the ceiling, tears streaming down her face. How could a woman have so many tears? Was she really made of water? He couldn't help but sigh inwardly; women and men were ultimately different. Men, no matter how much they suffered, generally didn't express it with tears, but instead tried even harder to find solutions. Women, on the other hand, found it harder to control their emotions, and tears became their best outlet. But these tears were like knives, each one cutting into his heart.

Ling Ruoke noticed her husband had come out, so she quickly wiped away her tears and sat up. "It's late, go to bed early."

Huo Qingfeng then got into bed and hugged her tightly, holding her close in his arms. His face was nestled in the crook of her shoulder, inhaling her delicate fragrance, and he said to himself in his heart, "Ruoke, I won't let anything happen to you, absolutely not!"

Ling Ruoke hugged his head, stroked his short hair, and whispered, "It's late, you must be tired, go to sleep."

Huo Qingfeng looked up at her. "I'm not tired. If possible, I want you."

Ling Ruoke paused for a moment, then smiled slightly, hugged his neck, and offered her lips. No one knows what will happen in three days; life is often unpredictable. If that's the case, instead of wasting time wiping away tears, she should enjoy the happiness she still has in the moment.

This passionate encounter, fueled by Ling Ruoke's unprecedented initiative, was even more intense and passionate than before. She even let loose, letting out loud cries of pleasure in sync with his movements, as if she had become a completely different person.

Huo Qingfeng understood her thoughts and stopped trying to persuade her. Instead, he used all his strength to entangle with her until she was on the verge of death before ending their lovemaking.

Even though her body and mind were utterly exhausted, sleep was still impossible. Ling Ruoke nestled in her husband's arms, enduring the agony of insomnia and the torment of her conscience. She barely slept a wink all night.

As dawn approached, she finally lost consciousness and drifted into a hazy dream. Even in her dream, she saw blaming faces and heard angry accusations. She struggled instinctively, making painful sounds, tears welling in her eyes.

Tan Peishi entered the bedroom and saw the scene she was struggling in her dream, unable to wake up. In a daze, it was as if she had returned to the time when she was imprisoned by Cang Weiwo. Back then, she had watched Ruoke suffer, yet was powerless to save her from that cage. Now, once again, she watched Ruoke suffer, still powerless to do anything.

Tan Peishi sat down by the bed, took Ruoke's hand in hers, and gently patted Ruoke's shoulder and back with her other hand. Whether it was really effective or the nightmare had temporarily subsided, Ling Ruoke fell asleep again and stopped struggling and shouting.

After sitting by her bedside for a long time, Tan Peishi finally left with a heavy heart.

She had just left when Ling Ruoke slowly opened her eyes. She hadn't slept all night and felt a splitting headache. Her mind was already somewhat muddled, yet things she should have forgotten were vividly clear in her mind.

Ling Ruoke lay in bed for a while before getting up to wash up. She hadn't eaten much last night, so she didn't feel hungry. When she was in a bad mood, it seemed that all her other senses, except for feeling uncomfortable, had faded away.

"If you can, come and eat something, at least eat something," Tan's mother called out, looking at her with concern.

Ling Ruoke forced a smile, responded, and obediently sat down at the table, eating a little something. During her pregnancy, she hadn't experienced much morning sickness. But now, as if she were, she turned and rushed into the bathroom, vomiting violently.

Looking at her, Tan's mother frowned deeply. She sighed inwardly, feeling sorry for the child.

Ling Ruoke squatted in the bathroom, as if she were about to vomit her insides out. After vomiting for a while, tears streamed down her face. The feeling was unbearable!

"Come on, child, rinse your mouth quickly." Mother Tan handed her a glass of water.

Ling Ruoke took the bottle and rinsed her mouth, feeling a little better. Tan's mother helped her up and led her back to the living room, where she sat on the sofa. She felt extremely weak, as if she had just been ill.

Mrs. Tan took her hand and gently patted the back of it. "Child, most people will encounter various misfortunes in their lives, so we need to broaden our minds. Kindness is not a bad thing, but excessive kindness is bad for oneself. Some things are coincidences; even without your involvement, things would eventually go in the same direction. In the end, many times it's fate. One cannot accept fate, but sometimes one must admit defeat, do you understand?"

"Aunt Tan, I understand, I'm just feeling bad." Ling Ruoke looked at her, speaking pitifully like a daughter to her mother. Her eyes were filled with tears, revealing so much grievance.

Mrs. Tan sighed and put her arm around Ling Ruoke's shoulder. Ling Ruoke then rested her head on Mrs. Tan's stomach. "You child, you're just too kind-hearted, you make yourself suffer."

Ling Ruoke remained silent, staring blankly at the ground. She spent almost the entire day curled up on the sofa, seemingly lost in thought. Even when Ping An came over asking her to play, she barely paid him any attention, managing to trick him away with a few words.

Surprisingly, Ping An didn't fuss, seemingly aware that her mother was in a bad mood. Upon seeing Aunt Tan, she even asked in a childish voice, "Grandma, is Mommy unhappy?"

Mrs. Tan patted his head and said with a smile, "Yes, Mommy is tired and needs to rest. Ping An, be a good boy and don't bother Mommy, okay?"

"Okay. I won't make a fuss, I'll play with my brother." Little Ping'an obediently agreed and really didn't bother her mother anymore.

Around noon, Li Jun arrived. Standing at the door, the two looked at each other from a distance without saying a word. Later, Li Jun put the children down to play with Ping An and Lele, and then sat down next to Ruo Ke.

Ling Ruoke didn't dare look at her at all. It was already incredibly lenient of Li Jun not to rush over with a knife and settle scores with her. If it were her, she might really have grabbed a knife and attacked someone.

"Sister Ruo, I heard from Jingwen that you want to exchange yourself for my brother and President Xia's wife. Sister Ruo, I don't know what to say. I want you to exchange yourself for my brother's safety, but I also don't want anything to happen to you. I know how kind and good you are, and you would never intentionally cause trouble. But my brother was indeed kidnapped because of you. I feel it's only right that you exchange him for him, but thinking about it, I feel like I'm being too selfish. I'm so conflicted, I don't even know what I want anymore... Sister Ruo, why does God like to torment people like this?" As she spoke, Li Jun began to choke up and shed tears again.

Ling Ruoke also burst into tears when she spoke. She knew how difficult it was for Li Jun, whose brother was being tortured, to be able to say these words. A slightly more cruel person would have roared loudly, asking Ling Ruoke to trade her life for her relatives. But precisely because Li Jun and Xia Mo were so tolerant, she suffered even more. She would rather they scold her severely or even beat her, that might feel better.

Xia Mo and Li Jun were only able to calm down because Ling Ruoke wasn't in front of them when they saw the video; otherwise, they would have pounced on her like madmen, tearing her apart and demanding to know why she had provoked such a demon to bring pain to her loved ones. It was precisely because they had time to process things that they were able to calm down.

Three days is far too short to save someone, especially when the enemy is a treacherous scoundrel like Gu Tiance. But for Ling Ruoke, it felt like three years. Every minute and every second was tormented by her conscience. The images she had seen on DVDs, the sounds she had heard, and the fantasies about Chen Xinyi and Li Chen's parents' reactions became the source of her nightmares, constantly haunting her.

Ling Ruoke seemed to have figured things out, no longer dwelling on these things, and began to enjoy these last three days. She remembered what the wolf had said: We must have the courage to face bad outcomes.

So why not cherish these three days? If everything goes well, that would be the best outcome; if it ends badly, then there's no point in wasting this last bit of time.

Having figured things out, Ling Ruoke temporarily put aside her self-reproach and a smile appeared on her face. Huo Qingfeng was busy planning with his superiors and colleagues to deal with Gu Tianze, while she stayed at home, spending quality time with Ping An.

Little Ping An tilted his head in a rather strange way because his mother hadn't paid much attention to him these past few days, only hugging him when he started making a fuss. But today, his mother had been playing with him the whole time, smiling so gently, which made him incredibly happy.

After a whole day, Xiao Ping'an stopped playing with his brother and started clinging to his mother, making all sorts of requests he wouldn't normally dare to make. And you know what? This little guy, despite being under two years old, is incredibly clever.

Tan's mother and Tan Peishi simply took Lele out for a walk around, letting the mother and son enjoy their time together.