Yue Linze listened to her with a smile, not feeling sad in his heart, only thinking that if she could be spared from illness, it would be a good thing.They discussed it and went to the neighboring town, where they lived for over ten years. Whenever others were about to become suspicious, they would move to the next town.
After decades of wandering, Yue Linze’s hair had completely turned white, and his once upright body was now hunched. The wrinkles on his face had completely covered his originally handsome features. To be able to stay in one place longer, they began to hide their marital relationship, telling others they were grandfather and granddaughter, and later great-grandfather and great-granddaughter.
Occasionally, when someone took a fancy to Tao Yu and came to propose marriage, Yue Linze would smile and look at Tao Yu, while Tao Yu was responsible for driving them away.
“Are you resentful of me? Resentful that I’ve wasted so much of your time?” Yue Linze would often ask.
At this point, Tao Yu would give him a white eye: “Try not being wasted by you, and I’ll beat you to death.”
Only then would Yue Linze feel at ease.
Gradually, he began to enjoy basking in the sun like a housekeeper, sitting at the doorway talking about the past, mostly apologizing to Tao Yu for shooting her back then. Whenever this happened, Tao Yu would touch his face and tell him it was okay.
One day after lunch, Yue Linze tried to stand up from his chair but suddenly realized he had no sensation in his lower body. He stared blankly at Tao Yu, unable to speak for a long time.
Yue Linze was paralyzed, and given his age, recovery was virtually impossible.
He heard this news on a winter night when heavy snow was falling outside. After Tao Yu saw the doctor out, he calmly retrieved something he had kept for decades from under the bed, and by the time Tao Yu returned, it was already hidden in his embrace.
“Don’t be afraid, you’ll definitely get better. Even if not, I’ll take care of you,” Tao Yu said with a smile, her eyes still pure with the love of a young girl, as if no matter what he went through, she would love him as she did at first.
