The baby slapped me, and I said, "Sit on my lap and slap me."

Chapter 161 Business Trip for a Period of Time

Wen Yu frowned and refused without hesitation, without even thinking.

"I'm not going."

"I want to stay with my baby, I'm not going anywhere."

Looking at the stubborn light in his eyes, Ruan Xinhe felt as if something had clenched her heart.

"Don't you think," she said slowly, "that your mental state is already teetering on the brink of collapse?"

Wen Yu did not refute. He lowered his eyes and looked at his hands, which were wrapped in bandages.

After a long pause, he finally spoke, "Mom, I can't live without her."

His voice was soft, "I want to be with her forever. I love her, I love her madly."

Wen Yu looked up at Ruan Xinhe, her eyes filled with a vulnerability and helplessness she had never seen before.

"I know I have a problem."

His voice was hoarse. "I'm trying my best to control myself, Mom. I don't want to be separated from the baby, not even for a moment."

Ruan Xinhe's eyes welled up with tears. She reached out and gently stroked his hair, just like when they were children.

"Yu Bao." She looked at him, tears streaming down her face, "You're not like your father."

Wen Yu moved his lips, as if he wanted to say something.

"Yaoyao loves you no less than you love her."

Ruan Xinhe interrupted him, her voice choked with emotion, "If you love someone, you have to give her freedom, respect her independence, and let her spread her wings and fly."

She looked into his eyes and asked him, word by word.

"Don't you think you're starting to resemble your father?"

Wen Yu was startled.

Something inside him suddenly shattered, and he stood there frozen, unable to calm down for a long time.

The ward fell silent.

It was so quiet that I could hear the dripping of the IV tube, the wind outside the window, and my own heartbeat.

A very, very long time passed.

Wen Yu raised his uninjured hand and covered his eyes.

His shoulders trembled slightly.

Ruan Xinhe's heart broke at the sight. She bent down and pulled him into her arms.

"Yu Bao".

She hugged him, saying, "It's okay."

My hand gently stroked his back, and I could feel his trembling even through his hospital gown; he was desperately suppressing his pain and sorrow.

"Everything will be alright."

Wen Yu turned his head and buried his face in Ruan Xinhe's arms.

"Mom is here."

"Just like your mother was with you a year ago, you will get better and return to normal."

"You and Yaoyao will have a future, a very, very long future."

Wen Yu's shoulders trembled suddenly.

"Trust your mother."

Ruan Xinhe tightened her arms, hugging him even closer. "Trust Mommy, okay?"

The person in his arms stirred, and the hand covering their eyes slowly lowered, revealing a pair of red and moist eyes underneath.

Wen Yu looked up at her.

There was so much in those eyes: vulnerability, helplessness, and a cautious, desperate hope, like a drowning person grasping at a piece of driftwood.

Ruan Xinhe met his gaze and smiled, a smile so gentle that she gently wiped away the tear stains from the corner of his eye with her thumb.

"Mommy's here, Yu Bao, don't be afraid."

Wen Yu hugged Ruan Xinhe tightly, and fell into a deep sleep in her warm embrace.

Ruan Xinhe sat there, holding him, watching the sky outside the window gradually brighten.

Only when the person in her arms was completely asleep and the hand that was clutching her clothes slowly loosened did she get up to cover him with the blanket.

After taking a deep breath, she took out her phone and walked to the window.

Across the street is a top-tier American mental health institution. A year ago, Wen Yu suffered a bipolar disorder, and it was they who helped control and treat it.

After agreeing on a time and finalizing the details, she stood there, helplessly closing her eyes.

She really likes Su Qingyao.

The girl has bright eyes, a crescent-shaped smile, and a soft voice, yet she possesses an unyielding resilience and courage that no one can break.

If possible, she hopes the two young lovers can stay together happily, without breaking up or suffering, and without experiencing things they shouldn't have to bear.

But she had seen Wen Yu's bipolar disorder episodes.

Hysterical, out of control, disarray, manic and irritable.

One second he was smashing things, the next he was kneeling on the ground, banging his head against the wall until his forehead was covered in blood.

He would laugh wildly in that state, a laugh that sent chills down your spine.

Moreover, he gets excited whenever he sees blood, as excited as a monster.

He's capable of anything—self-harm, suicide, injuring others, injuring himself—as long as it brings pain or bloodshed.

She knew her son well; Wen Yu would never allow his beloved to see him in that inhuman, ghostly state.

If they didn't separate, Wen Yu would find all sorts of excuses to go to Su Qingyao; his obsession and stubbornness were no less than Wen Tianyao's.

The illness will then recur.

It will never get better; I'll be stuck in this quagmire forever.

Therefore, it's better to have a short, sharp pain than a long, drawn-out one.

-

Wen Yu woke up at around nine o'clock in the morning.

He blinked, his consciousness and reason gradually returning. Remembering the excuse Ruan Xinhe had come up with for him, he reached for his phone on the bedside table.

The moment the screen lit up, dozens of unread messages popped up.

All of them were written by Su Qingyao.

One by one, the queue stretched from 10 p.m. last night to 7 a.m. this morning.

As Wen Yu looked at the messages, his heart skipped a beat. He replied to each one, a smile unconsciously curving his lips.

The message had just been sent when Su Qingyao called, her voice sullen and angry.

"Wenyu! Why are you only replying to my messages now? You didn't come home all night, that's so mean!"

Hearing the familiar voice, Wen Yu's eyes welled up with tears.

"Does the baby miss me?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

"Hmph, I don't want to."

Su Qingyao remained defiant, but the longing in her voice was impossible to hide. "If you don't miss me, how am I supposed to know you do?"

Wen Yu closed his eyes. "Baby, you're talking nonsense."

His voice was soft, but trembled slightly, "You know perfectly well that I miss you, I miss you so much."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. When she spoke again, Su Qingyao's voice softened, tinged with a hint of heartache.

"Why is your voice so hoarse? Did you stay up all night last night?"

"Yes, this project is quite tricky, otherwise why would I not go back to be with you?"

"Okay, okay, I forgive you."

Su Qingyao puffed out her cheeks, "Who told me to be so understanding~"

Hearing her smug and arrogant voice, Wen Yu felt as if something was gripping his heart tightly.

He closed his eyes, paused for a while, and then managed to speak, "Baby, take good care of yourself during this time."

"I...I'm going to Nanjing on a business trip for a while."

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.

"Is it in such a hurry?" Su Qingyao's voice was filled with doubt. "The New Year is almost here."

Wen Yu gripped his phone tightly, trying to make his voice sound normal. "It's because it's almost New Year's that I have to get it done quickly."

"I'll come back before the New Year to celebrate with my baby. Don't miss me too much, baby."

"real?"

Su Qingyao felt that something was off, though she couldn't quite put her finger on it.