Chapter 1157 - 1129: Obediently, I’ll Let You Eat Crab

Chapter 1157: Chapter 1129: Obediently, I’ll Let You Eat Crab

Chen Xiaoqian placed the photos on the ground and handed the bottle of alcohol to Yu Minglang.

"Go on, have a drink with him. Why dwell on right and wrong between you two, drink this to sever the ties and let it go!"

With tears in his eyes, Yu Minglang grabbed the bottle and drank it all in one go. After drinking, he smashed the bottle on the ground, "Today we send you off, drink to our hearts’ content, tomorrow the memory will linger on forever, Balan, goodbye—"

The final two words, he never spoke, leaving only a lingering echo amidst the small grove, like a piece of time difficult to articulate.

That day, Yu Minglang, who had never been drunk, truly got drunk.

One bottle of alcohol was enough to make him lose consciousness. In a daze, Yu Minglang felt as if his wife was supporting him, staggering towards the car. He vaguely heard her mumbling complaints.

"You don’t have much meat on you, but supporting you feels like carrying Mount Tai!"

Yu Minglang wanted to walk on his own, but by now he was already past the point of being awake, his body long lost its senses, simply moving along with Qian’s wobbly steps. He didn’t even understand whether he was dreaming or if it was reality.

In a blur, Xiaoqian had already helped him to the car, she was opening the car door.

"One!"

Yu Minglang struggled to turn his head, only to see, not far away, Balan leaning against a tree trunk.

"Balan!" Yu Minglang suddenly perked up, pushing Xiaoqian away. Xiaoqian, who was opening the car door, bumped against the car with a forward lean.

"I’m leaving now, the wine was good!" Balan gestured with the bottle in his hand.

Yu Minglang wanted to walk towards him, but saw Balan’s figure gradually disappearing. He reached out but couldn’t touch him.

He only saw the teary smile before Balan disappeared, and heard the voice dispersed by the wind.

"The road I didn’t finish, the perseverance I didn’t hold on to, One, you must carry on resolutely, goodbye, One! Until we meet again, I can finally say to you, One, my confidant and dear friend, keep going strong!"

Balan disappeared, and Yu Minglang stood there until Xiaoqian gave him a push, snapping him out of it.

"Hey! Drunkard, what are you doing? Get in the car!"

"Oh..."

Was that just a dream or...?

Actually, it didn’t matter what it was.

On the way back, Yu Minglang leaned against the car seat, watching Xiaoqian’s profile as she drove and the scenery quickly passing by outside, his heart already calmed.

This was the path he chose, no matter how difficult it may be ahead, he would finish it, not just for the unchanging flame in his heart, but also for—

"You drunkard, you dare push me, wait until you’re sober tomorrow, you’re dead meat, you hear me, you’re dead meat!" Xiaoqian muttered as she drove.

Yu Minglang curled his lips in a smile and closed his eyes.

He had so many people who loved him and whom he loved beside him, he still had to keep walking down this path.

Balan, this time I can’t go with you, buddy, I have my own road to finish.

Balan, goodbye.

That drunken night was buried deep in the memory by Xiaoqian and Yu Minglang, as if it had never happened.

Neither of them brought it up again, life continued as usual.

The weather was getting colder, and Xiaoqian’s school went on break. Xiaoqian originally planned to go back to Q City to spend a few days with her mom, but a phone call from her mom dashed her plans.

"What? You won’t let me come home? Why? Mom, have you already kicked me out of the house?" Xiaoqian complained to her mom over the phone.

"Don’t talk nonsense, it’s because I received a call from your brother, Dalong recently got a job at Minglang’s unit! This is huge news, so you shouldn’t come back right now, you should take good care of your brother. If he doesn’t get time off during the New Year, I’ll come with your Uncle Liao and have a family celebration! And Fugui has also settled in Lishi, so we can all look out for each other."

Xiaoqian’s mom said happily, she had just received the call from her son, and immediately shared the good news with Xiaoqian.

"If it weren’t for the fact that you and Minglang had just gotten married, I would’ve wanted to come and stay for a while to take care of you both."

Xiaoqian’s mom, upon hearing that her son had passed the exam, immediately thought of going to live at her daughter’s house. Knowing that her daughter didn’t know how to cook and that her son-in-law wasn’t picky, she wanted to come and help with house chores while taking care of her son. Mr. Liao had to strongly dissuade her, opting instead to think of spending New Year together.

Although Mr. Liao was usually gentle, he was also considerate, knowing that young couples like Xiaoqian and Yu Minglang aren’t used to living with seniors. Besides, Xiaoqian’s place wasn’t that big, having the elderly couple over might cause inconvenience for the newlyweds, same with Fugui, who had just married Liumei, it was best for parents not to intrude.

"Mom, you just need to take care of me, why look after Dalong too? He’s provided for at work, and besides, during training, he can’t come out, you wouldn’t be able to see him even if you came."

Xiaoqian didn’t share her mom’s excitement. She first heard about Dalong getting the job from Yu Minglang.

"What do I need to take care of you for? What’s worth taking care of in you? Others have been married a few months, you too have been married a few months, yet they have a baby in the belly and you ate a belly full of flesh! When you get pregnant, then I’ll take care of you!"

With that, she hung up the phone with a snap.

Xiaoqian blinked innocently, wondering who her mom heard was pregnant to get so worked up?

The phone rang again, it was still her mom whose menopause seemed to have lasted for years.

"Chen Xiaoqian, have you come to your senses yet?"

"... Come to my senses about what?"

"The day before yesterday I went to your mother-in-law’s and heard Da Yi’s belly is so big already!"

"Oh, I know, I already congratulated her, I even prepared a gift for her."

"She’s due any day now, what are you up to? Also, Shuixian visited our city the other day, stopped by to see me while handling some matters, and brought a box of crabs bigger than a basin, all covered in thorns—"

"Oh, king crabs, I’ve been craving them, can’t get them here."

"Gonna eat yourself to death! All you know is to eat eat eat, if you have the ability to give me a grandson, I’ll make sure you have crabs to eat every day!"

"Eating crabs every day while pregnant is looking to miscarry, isn’t it—wait, what are we discussing again? I thought it wasn’t about crabs?" Xiaoqian suspected her mom had developed a "grandchild obsession", managing to steer any topic back to children.

"Right, what was I saying... Oh, Shuixian, Shuixian! Shuixian’s belly is pretty big too, might even be twins, twins!!! And the other day your friend Shi Tou came by, also wearing a radiation suit, made me feel so sorry..."

"Mom, this is an illness, you can’t stop taking your meds! I’ll send you some money, buy some peaceful-heart liquid, a woman going through menopause needs calm! Look at you, now it’s like you’re red-eyed, why are you so envious of others getting pregnant?"