The ambulance siren grew steadily closer, finally coming to a shrieking stop at the entrance to Chen Family Village.
Under the personal supervision of village Party secretary Chen Guoguang, and amid the villagers' undisguised looks of contempt, several white-coated medics expressionlessly hauled the man and woman into the ambulance. Both had lost their minds completely and could do nothing but gape and drool.
Chen Lin did not let Li Xiaoyue witness that final scene.
He took her straight back to the Farmhouse Courtyard.
There was an unused spare bedroom upstairs that had usually served as a storage room.
Chen Lin spent the entire morning cleaning it until it was spotless, then drove into town himself to buy brand-new bedding and every daily necessity she would need.
As he spread a pink four-piece bedding set patterned with cute strawberries over the soft, brand-new mattress, Li Xiaoyue stood in the doorway, staring blankly.
Watching that tall figure bustle around the room for her, she felt her cheeks burn as though they had been set alight by the fiery clouds of sunset.
From today onward, would she and Xiao Lin... be living under the same roof?
The thought fell like a pebble into the lake of her heart, sending out ripples of bewilderment and sweetness.
"Sister Xiaoyue, take a look. Is anything missing? If there is, I'll go buy it right away."
Chen Lin dusted off his hands and turned to her with a smile.
"N-no, nothing!" Li Xiaoyue seemed startled. She waved her hands frantically and lowered her head, not daring to meet his eyes at all. "Nothing's missing..."
Seeing how flustered she was, Chen Lin assumed she had yet to fully recover from the horrors of the previous night, and his heart filled with compassion.
To him, Li Xiaoyue was his