Watching the sea from the shore

Chapter 5 Go Back To The Past
A 14-inch double-layer cake, the old man blew out the candles and made a wish, watched the excitement, and ate the bowl of longevity noodles on the table.

The cake was only welcomed by children. Ni Manhua cut the cake for them and heard them calling "aunt" and "aunt" one after another. Only then did he realize that he had reached such an age and was being pushed to have children because he was senior. It becomes a matter of course.When I visit relatives during the holidays, other families have juniors and it’s lively. But when I go to Lu Guanhai and Ni Manhua’s place, I can’t hear a sound.

Ni Manhua was immersed in his own world and didn't realize that Lu Guanhai came over and shared the task with her with a knife.After a while, a child shouted in a loud voice: "I want this cake, I like this puppy."

Lu Guanhai chuckled lightly and asked him, "Who do you belong to?"

"I am a pig."

"Then you can only eat piglets. Aunt Man is a dog, so this is for her to eat."

Ni Manhua loves sweets, and prefers those with bright colors and beautiful shapes, but he hasn't reached the point of fighting with children.She tilted her head unexpectedly and looked at Lu Guanhai's serious look.The words of rejection came to my lips, but I couldn't say them out.

Lu Guanhai handed the cake in front of her: "Go and eat, I'll share it here, you worked hard today."

Ni Manhua didn't argue with him. Today was their home field. She was an outsider and had nothing to argue with.

Ni Manhua sat aside and watched Lu Guanhai patiently cutting the cake. Occasionally, two children would grab a small piece, so he would let them guess the game and play with them.

Lu Guanhai likes children very much, Ni Manhua has always known, but he hopes that he can play the role of a father well, but he is not willing to sacrifice even a little time at work.So over the years, time has become the biggest conflict between them.But time is a consumable. Ni Manhua will be thirty in two years, and she doesn't know if she can still afford it.

There was a table of old people sitting in the box, and they couldn't stop chatting about household matters. Ni Manhua's father was invited to drink, and his mother felt a little out of place sitting nearby.

Most of the relatives of Lu Guanhai's family came from the town and the countryside. They used to speak in dialects when talking, which Ni Manhua's mother couldn't understand. Amidst the noise, her old headache recurred.

Ni Manhua wanted to help his mother to the rest area downstairs and help her stand up. Uncle Lu's uncle said he was anxious to go home for something, so Lu Guanhai's father asked them to see her off.Lu Guanhai drank at the dinner table and could not drive.Ni Manhua called him over: "I'll get the car. You help mom downstairs, press her temples, and be sure to guard her."

"Okay." Lu Guanhai responded, wiped his hands and came over to hold the old man's arm: "Leave this to me. You drive slower on the road."

Lu Guanhai's uncle came from the countryside. His son broke his leg when he went out to work a few years ago. His granddaughter is only a few years old. She has been resting at home due to a cough these days, so he had to rush back to accompany her.

Ni Manhua sent him to the bus station. On the way, he heard him say that it was too hot a few nights ago and the air conditioner was turned on all night, and the child couldn't get up the next morning.

Ni Manhua sighed: "It's not easy to raise children. Parents have to be very nervous and can't neglect anything."

"That's right." The uncle patted his leg and agreed, "My daughter-in-law was originally going to look after the store, but now she is not allowed to go and has to spend money to hire someone. The money is enough, and you can't work hard for money."

It took 10 minutes to go to the bus station. Ni Manhua saw his uncle off at the station. When he returned to the parking lot, he glanced at the time, which was eight o'clock in the evening.

Go back now, it won’t be long before it’s time to leave.Ni Manhua was thinking this, and his phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket.She picked up the call and heard Lai Hongtu yelling loudly: "Manman, how are you doing over there? Come back as soon as you're done. We're at the Central Hospital."

At eight o'clock in the evening, there were not many patients in the hospital, but the elevator stopped on the tenth floor for a long time. Ni Manhua kept pressing the up button with trembling hands, and finally turned around and ran to the emergency exit.

At the entrance of the emergency room on the third floor, Lai Hongtu was sitting on a bench bent over. He stood up the moment he saw Ni Manhua: "Don't fall if you run so fast."

Ni Manhua ran up to him and gasped, a fishy smell rising from his throat: "How is my mother?"

"Still inside, the doctor said he is out of danger." Lai Hongtu stretched out his forearm to support Ni Manhua's hand, giving her a point of support: "Don't worry, just wait with peace of mind."

"Where are my dad and Lu Guanhai?"

"Brother-in-law just came over and was a little uncomfortable in a hurry. The nurse took him to the general ward to lie down, and Xiao Hai went to pay the fee to contact acquaintances."

Ni Manhua listened panting, she ran all the way, and then her knees began to feel weak, and she squatted down slowly.

Lai Hongtu looked at her worriedly: "Shall we sit on a chair for a while?"

Ni Manhua shook her head and pressed her forehead against her knees to make her feel better.

After a while, she heard hurried footsteps beside her.

"Manman, you are here, I..."

Ni Manhua's only remaining judgment ability was that he could identify that it was Lu Guanhai's voice, and the rest of the content was completely inaudible.

She forced herself to stand up, and when she saw his apologetic face, she didn't know where she got the strength to push him against the wall.

Lai Hongtu quickly reached out to stop him: "Manman, what are you doing?"

Lu Guanhai leaned his back against the wall. He must have been hurt by the impact. He pursed his lips tightly, but did not cry out.

In the afternoon, Lu Guanhai took Ni Manhua's mother downstairs and sat down, pressing her temples for a while. The old man said he wanted to go to the pool to see goldfish, so he helped her go.

but……

"The director called me, it was about work, I just went out for 2 minutes..."

No one expected that she would suddenly faint by the pool, and the back of her head hit the stone beside her.

The hair on both sides of Ni Manhua's cheeks fell down, covering part of her vision, and she looked at Lu Guanhai's face in the gap, which became more and more blurred.

Ni Manhua laughed softly: "Yes, because of work. You are so busy that you don't care about anything, and you can leave everything behind."

It was precisely because of his indifference that all her fantasies about marriage disappeared. Because of his indifference, their lives had undergone earth-shaking changes.

She's had enough of this.

Lai Hongtu pulled Ni Manhua to persuade him: "Manman, please calm down, Xiaohai didn't mean it. If you do this, you have to go to work tomorrow, so go back and rest first. I'll keep a vigil today."

Ni Manhua didn't speak, she looked at Lu Guanhai for a long time, and finally turned to Lai Hongtu and said, "Take me to your house."

Lai Hongtu was taken aback when he heard this, and couldn't help but look at her in astonishment: "What are you doing at my house?"

"What else can I do?" Ni Manhua glanced at Lu Guanhai one last time, then turned and walked towards the elevator.

Facing and escaping have always been a game without any suspense.

Once people fail, they want to do it again.

People long to go back to the past in order to escape reality.

(End of this chapter)