Wandering in the vast darkness

Chapter 92 Sends a WeChat message to Cao Fang (Thank you for becoming the third leader from the top!)

Yu Wenhao sent Cao Fang a WeChat message, saying, "I have something to do in Xiasha, I'll be back later."

He knew that Cao Fang should have already taken a nap and was sitting on the bed waiting for him to come home. Sure enough, Cao Fang immediately replied to his WeChat message, asking him what was wrong.

Yu Wenhao said, "I'll tell you when I get back. You can go back to sleep."

Cao Fang said "Oh" to indicate that she understood.

Having a sick family member and taking care of Qianqian at home for a long time has made Cao Fang, like Yu Wenhao, increasingly timid. She is afraid that something unexpected might happen to her relatively peaceful life. She always has a kind of illusion that she is already unlucky enough, but the bad luck seems to be far from over and will continue.

So even though it's normal for Yu Wenhao to be a little late getting back, Cao Fang still worries and overthinks, wondering if something happened to him on the way. If Yu Wenhao's phone happens to be unreachable or out of battery at that moment, Cao Fang says, sitting there alone thinking about it all, she feels like she's going crazy.

Therefore, whenever Yu Wenhao knows that he will be home late, he will send Cao Fang a WeChat message to reassure her and let her go back to sleep.

In fact, if Yu Wenhao had any accidents, like minor scrapes or bumps with others, he wouldn't tell Cao Fang. He knew that Cao Fang would exaggerate these small incidents in her imagination. Yu Wenhao would always keep quiet and take the car to be repaired himself.

Yu Wenhao found Cao Fang's imagination and fear of misfortune somewhat amusing, yet also very understanding.

Cao Fang's father passed away when she was in junior high school. Fortunately, before his death, he had just built a new house for their family in town, which provided them with a livelihood. Her older brother, who had already graduated from high school, continued to run a plumbing and hardware store on the first floor of their house, while her mother took back another shop and opened a small supermarket, which did reasonably well.

Cao Fang's second brother was still in his second year of high school at this time. His grades were very poor, and he had already planned to take over his mother's supermarket business after graduating from high school. Because of the two stores run by their mother and eldest brother, plus a storefront for rent, their family's life was considered quite good in their town.

After graduating from high school, Cao Fang was admitted to a university in Hangzhou. In her second year of university, her mother also fell ill but refused to see a doctor, which led to her becoming seriously ill. By the time Cao Fang received a call that her mother was critically ill and rushed back, her mother had already passed away.

Before Cao Fang returned, while their mother was still in the cold storage of the county funeral home, the two older brothers had already divided the family property. They said that according to their local custom, girls were not entitled to a share in the family property, so they didn't need to wait for Cao Fang to come back.

The uncle asked his two nephews, "Your sister, Xiaofang, is still in college. Did you think of her when you divided the family property?" The two brothers looked at Cao Fang, who was sobbing uncontrollably, and remained silent.

Cao Fang's second sister-in-law chimed in, saying, "My younger sister is even younger than Xiao Fang, and she's already gone to work in Guangzhou." Her eldest sister-in-law added, "That's right, there are many people in town who are still working in Hangzhou."

This means that both older brothers have decided to abandon Cao Fang, who can easily support herself by working. Their uncle was furious at their brother and sister-in-law's attitude, but there was nothing he could do.

Going to court would be a drawn-out affair, and Cao Fang still had to go to school; she couldn't afford to waste time. Besides, given her two brothers' behavior, Cao Fang immediately severed ties with them. Even if she received a share of the family property, she wouldn't want to go back and live under the same roof as them. Even if Cao Fang received her share of the rooms in the same building and tried to sell them, she wouldn't be able to.

Fortunately, her mother knew the character of Cao Fang's two brothers, especially her two sisters-in-law. While she was still alive, she opened an account in the name of Cao Fang's uncle and secretly deposited 80,000 yuan into it, which was not a small amount at the time.

Cao Fang's uncle gave her the money, and with that money, plus her tutoring income, she was able to complete her university studies. Those days were tough, and Cao Fang endured them with gritted teeth, especially during winter and summer vacations. When all her classmates went home, she was alone at school, facing the empty campus and empty dormitories.

For three whole years, Cao Fang ate her New Year's Eve dinner alone at KFC. It wasn't until she met Yu Wenhao and the two started dating that Cao Fang began spending every Spring Festival with Yu Wenhao in Yongcheng.

After leaving her hometown that time, she never went back. When she and Yu Wenhao got married, she only informed her uncle. Her uncle and aunt arrived in Hangzhou, where Cao Fang and Yu Wenhao picked them up and took them to Yongcheng. Their wedding was held in Yongcheng, even though both of them worked in Hangzhou.

Getting married, buying a house, and then having Qianqian—those were the most stable and happiest days of Cao Fang's life. She felt that she had probably endured all the hardships she needed to, and now she was living the life she had always dreamed of.

When Qianqian was one year old, Yu Wenhao and Cao Fang went back to Cao Fang's hometown for the first time in so many years to pay respects at her parents' graves. Even then, Cao Fang didn't go back to her own old house or contact her two older brothers; she had long since treated them as if they didn't exist.

Several years of peaceful life passed, until Qianqian was diagnosed with leukemia. Cao Fang was terrified once again, realizing that her misfortune was not over yet, and that she was not yet done suffering.

Especially for someone like Qianqian, her illness made the future of Qianqian and their entire family uncertain. Cao Fang and Yu Wenhao lived each day and each year in constant fear. They clung to hope that one day they would suddenly receive a call from Professor Zheng, telling them that a match had been found for Qianqian.

Living with hope, enduring the torment of daily waiting, makes their hearts fragile, unable to withstand any further blows. But at the same time, it also gives them a sense of family, a feeling of shared destiny, a sense of fear and tenderness amidst the storms of life. They carefully protect each other, afraid of hurting one another.

The shallow space wasn't a bond, but a rope, tightly binding Cao Fang and Yu Wenhao together. They could truly hear each other's heartbeats and smell each other's scents. Whether they were together or not, distance seemed to no longer be a problem.

Qiqi saw Yu Wenhao sending a WeChat message on his phone. After he finished and put the phone down, Qiqi asked:

"Have you spoken to your sister-in-law?"

Yu Wenhao nodded: "I told her to let her sleep first, let's go."

Before they even reached the Yintai shopping mall in Xiasha, Qiqi called. Qiqi answered and put it on speakerphone. Qiqi told them she had arrived and was upstairs at Haidilao, asking if they could order.

"Sure, sure, you can order first, and we can start eating when we get there," Qiqi said.

Kiki thought for a moment and said, "Among the three of us, I seem to have the highest income, so I'll treat everyone. Hey, don't rip me off!"

While driving, Yu said, "No need, this meal can be reimbursed."

Qiqi and Qiqi immediately exclaimed in unison, "Then the one who gets reimbursed will treat us!"

"Does reimbursement mean I can eat and drink whatever I want?" Qiqi asked.

"No," Yu Wenhao said. "We still need to keep it within the normal range."

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