Plunder-Chapter 202: Rebirth

They walked hand in hand out of the hotel.

The hotel they stayed in was located on a commercial street in Yun Mountain, which was specially designed for tourism.

The shops on both sides of the street looked ancient and quaint, gathering all the special features and products of Yun Mountain. The people wearing local clothes, with simple smiles on their faces, were peddling goods to Qiao En and Zhou Jin’an.

"See what you like?"

A grandmother with silver hair looked over at Qiao En from a distance. She had a lean silhouette, slightly hunched back, and a face full of kindness.

Seeing this, Zhou Jin’an pulled Qiao En towards that small shop.

The shop was small, selling local specialty hair accessories.

"Old lady, did you make these yourself?"

Qiao En picked a few hairpins and started chatting with the old grandmother.

The old lady nodded, and then picked out an old bracelet from a pile of silver ornaments, insisting on putting it on Qiao En.

"Thank you, I don’t need it."

Qiao En wanted to refuse.

But the grandmother insisted, "It’s a gift for you."

She spoke in the local dialect, which Qiao En understood.

Feeling flattered, she removed the bracelet to return it to the grandmother. "Grandmother, this is too valuable, I can’t accept it."

Seeing this, Zhou Jin’an reached out and grabbed Qiao En’s arm.

"Pick something else, don’t reject her kindness."

Qiao En nodded.

She held the old grandmother’s hand, "Grandmother, this bracelet is really beautiful, thank you."

She picked several more items, and the old grandmother’s face was filled with joy.

Suddenly, a crying sound of a child came from the back of the shop.

The old grandmother rushed back there without hesitation.

She moved very fast, and the crying also seemed very urgent.

Without saying anything, Qiao En followed her inside.

Behind a cloth curtain in the back, there was a narrow bed on which a similarly frail woman lay, holding a baby in her arms.

The old grandmother went over, took the baby from the woman’s arms, and gently patted the baby’s back, muttering something under her breath that Qiao En couldn’t understand, but she guessed they were words to soothe the child.

The grandmother sat down on a small stool and changed the baby’s diaper. The child was well-behaved and stopped crying after a while.

Qiao En stood there and, for some reason, a smile appeared on her face.

The child also saw her, its bright eyes fixed on her.

Qiao En crouched down, spreading her arms toward the baby, and the child actually smiled.

The child smiled, but tears welled up in Qiao En’s eyes.

If that child were still alive, would it have been born by now?

If it had been born, would it be about the same age as this child?

That bitter pain suddenly surged in her heart again.

The old grandmother noticed Qiao En, finished changing the diaper, and walked up to her.

Qiao En didn’t understand what the old grandmother said to her. She just handed the baby directly to Qiao En.

A soft bundle squirmed in her arms.

Holding the child, Qiao En didn’t dare to move.

She reached out, holding the child tight.

The old grandmother quickly prepared some formula milk and began to feed the baby with a bottle. The child drank gulpingly, its little feet fluttering nonstop.

"Let’s go."

Zhou Jin’an was somewhat reluctant; he saw how much Qiao En liked the child.

Yet, their child had already left them before it was even born.

He also had pain in his heart but was desperately repressing it.

Qiao En returned the baby to the old grandmother, and they walked out of the shop.

The road ahead was long, and the two simply walked silently, without speaking.

They didn’t stop until they reached the end of the path.

"Let’s go back," he suggested.

Qiao En nodded blankly, "Mhm."

Although they had come out for dinner, by now, they seemed to have forgotten about it.

Zhou Jin’an clutched Qiao En’s little hand, and they walked back the way they had come.

As they passed by the old woman’s storefront, both glanced over at the spot.

The old woman was cradling a child, sitting on a rocking chair and playing with him.

Zhou Jin’an tightened his grip on Qiao En’s hand involuntarily.

"Let’s go," he said in a hushed voice.

"Mmhmm."

Qiao En walked forward, following his footsteps, but her head kept turning back.

Back in the hotel room, Zhou Jin’an embraced Qiao En tightly, as if wishing to meld her into his body.

Qiao En did not struggle or resist; she just quietly wept.

For some reason, she felt utterly aggrieved and heartbroken.

"I’m sorry, I’ve stirred up your sadness again."

Zhou Jin’an soothed her with a gentle voice.

Qiao En shook her head, "I know it’s all in the past, but I just can’t convince myself to let go. Am I really that useless? That child, still so small, was torn from my body. Do you know? If he had been born, he might already be able to smile at me now."

As she cried, Zhou Jin’an also felt a pang in his heart.

He reached out, gently wiping the tears from her face.

"We are still young, let’s keep trying, we can have many children, as many as you want to bear, even a whole soccer team."

"Do you think I’m a sow?"

Qiao En suddenly laughed, pushing Zhou Jin’an away irritably.

"Why a sow? Our genes are so good, it’s lively to have a few more."

He started making jokes, trying to make Qiao En relax a little.

"If you want more, you have them; I’ll only have one."

"If I could bear them, I would, but I can’t, so you’ll have to."

Zhou Jin’an continued to joke.

Qiao En pouted, "Anyway, just one."

"One it is then... shall we start now?"

He smirked as he swept Qiao En up in his arms.

"Put me down, Zhou Jin’an."

Qiao En was hoisted onto his shoulder, smacking his lower back with her palm.

"Too late, once we handle the big matter of having children, only then can I put you down."

On the large bed, Zhou Jin’an immediately pinned Qiao En beneath him.

He wasn’t hasty in matters of intimacy, always gentle and considerate of Qiao En’s feelings.

"En’en, I love you."

He murmured in Qiao En’s ear, his voice deep and magnetic, sweet nothings always tugged at one’s heartstrings.

Qiao En was not fond of sweet talk, but she was utterly defenseless against Zhou Jin’an’s romantic words.

Such words, meaningless from anyone else’s mouth, held no impact on her.

But when he spoke them, Qiao En felt they carried weight, and her heart was deeply touched.

"What do you love about me?"

Qiao En asked breathlessly.

"Everything."

"So what exactly do you love?"

She insisted on pressing for specifics.

Zhou Jin’an’s sizzling kisses gradually trailed down Qiao En’s neck, spreading swiftly to her chest. Her skin was pale, and where his lips touched, brilliant peach blossoms swiftly bloomed.

"I love everything about you."

"Will you love me forever?"

"Forever."

The night grew deep, its darkness pierced by a bright moon hanging in the treetops, a gentle breeze fluttering the curtains, casting dancing shadows over two entwined figures on the bed.

At the peak of passion, the intensity grew.

Merging, colliding, like a tsunami, like a rising wind.

Afterward, calmness prevailed.

Qiao En rested against Zhou Jin’an’s chest, yet her gaze was fixed on the curtains swaying with the breeze.

"Tomorrow, let’s go home."

"Okay, as you wish."