Chapter 24 - He walked over to them. He hesitated for a moment before picking up a nearby blanket and gently covering Ruan Xia with it. (2)
After waiting for the chubby kid to fall asleep, Ruan Xia suddenly said, "I won't do something like this again. I know you must be feeling very doubtful about my actions today, but don't worry. This will be the last time."
Right now, she knew the plot so she wanted to change it. Song Tingshen had avoided his tragic end, which meant that the story had changed. Even if it was only a minor change in the context of the novel's plot, once any deviation occurred to the storyline, she couldn't accurately predict what would happen next. She could save him this one time, but she probably wouldn't be able to save him a second time. What the situation would be like in the future and what would happen in the future, that would depend entirely on Heaven's will.
Hearing these words, Song Tingshen only murmured an acknowledgement.
Although it was true that her behavior was very strange, he was okay with accommodating with her whims at the current level.
"But, there's still one more thing I want to say to you. Perhaps, a dream might not mean anything, but there is a grounded reason for my worries. Little Wang and I both depend on you for our livelihood." Ruan Xia calmly said these words. Her words did some truth in them. The novel Ruan Xia and the little Song Shuyan relied on Song Tingshen. "You frequently go on business trips. Even if it's not for my sake and only our son's, I hope that you can take good care of yourself when you're away from home."
These were her genuine thoughts.
In the novel, after Song Tingshen had died, the novel's Ruan Xia had found someone that loved her and was willing to provide her the lifestyle that she wanted, but what about their son?
In the end, should people live for themselves or their loved ones? No one could give a clear answer to this question.
Song Tingshen didn't expect this type of words to come from Ruan Xia.
He stayed silent for a few seconds before finally slowly saying, "You don't have to worry about this."
Ruan Xia thought; it didn't matter if she was feeling reassured or not. The important thing was Song Shuyan.
Although she had already mentally prepared herself for the possibility of being a single mother if Song Tingshen died, it wouldn't be that same to Song Shuyan. Even though she was willing to raise Little Wang, in all fairness, it would leave behind an unerasable shadow in a child's heart if his father died early. Just like how a father couldn't replace a mother, a mother couldn't replace a father in a child's heart either.
The two of them were unfamiliar with each other to begin with. Ruan Xia had already used all her words to express her feelings and thoughts. It was unusual for Song Tingshen to reply too. After this short exchange, there was only silence left.
What she should say, what she should do, she had done it all. As for what would happen in the future.... it was beyond her control.
---
Although the conditions on the train were so-so, Ruan Xia and the chubby kid still slept sweetly. But, Song Tingshen, who was sleeping in the neighboring sleeper bed, was unable to fall asleep.
His sleep quality wasn't good to begin with, and he frequently had bouts of insomnia. Right now, the combination of sleeping in the uncomfortable bed along with Ruan Xia's earlier words and the rumbling sounds from the train left him unable to sleep even at 2 AM.
He wasn't worried about Ruan Xia's unusual behavior, and he didn't want to spend time to figure out what had caused this change in her. And yet, there were indescribable feelings in Song Tingshen's heart because of her words and actions during the past two days.
With his mind cluttered up with these messy thoughts, he wasn't able to fall asleep until 3AM.
---
Although a soft sleeper wasn't as noisy as a regular overnight train, once it was daytime, it wasn't quiet either. Seeing that Song Tingshen hadn't woken up, Ruan Xia whispered to the chubby kid, "Let's keep quiet to not wake up dad."
Their movements were light, but they still woke up Song Tingshen when they were getting their toiletries. However, he didn't open his eyes.