CHAPTER 347: CHAPTER 340: PLEASE FORGET

Life still carried on, uneventful and steady. The previous incidents seemed like farce; He Fang went to work as usual, and Qin Guanglin rested, enjoying the nutritious meals especially prepared by He Fang after work.

Only the daily increase of waste packaging boxes in the trash bin of the bathroom, along with the test strips on the parallel bars, proved that the result had not yet arrived.

Qin Guanglin watched He Fang acting as if nothing mattered, wanted to speak but didn’t know what to say. At this time, any consolation was in vain. He presumed she was already prepared and could only quietly wait for the coming "relative" next month to settle things.

Before the "relative" arrived, anything was still possible.

"It’s finished."

Qin Guanglin handed over the last issue of his drawing to Chen Rui, heaved a sigh, and said, "This is the ending."

"So soon?" Chen Rui asked incredulously, and without waiting for a response, he bowed his head and began examining it closely.

"My Wife is Too Cute" started its first serialization at the end of 2015, initially released on Qin Guanglin’s personal public account. It began with their daily lives as a couple and subsequently filled in the backstory of how they met. Characters like Qin’s Mom, He’s Daddy, He Shan and her husband, and Xiao Yu were added. In 2017, it was moved to Chen Rui’s company platform, officially named, and had been serialized for four years, with three volumes published in print, finally declaring its conclusion.

From a niche comic initially, it had grown to have hundreds of thousands of online fans and sold over 60,000 copies in print alone. Along the way, Qin Guanglin had also transformed from an obscure studio lead to a somewhat famous comic author.

"This ending..."

After one read, Chen Rui pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes to think; he didn’t finish speaking and instead began to read it again. After a moment of reflection, he looked at Qin Guanglin, "Have you really decided on this ending?"

In the epilogue, Xiao Yu leisurely sat by the riverbank teaching his son to fish, Zhou Nan was approaching with a broom in fierce momentum, He Fang’s abdomen was slightly protruded, and Qin Guanglin stood beside her holding an umbrella over her head as they walked together under the blooming locust trees.

"This is the ending."

Qin Guanglin had already made up his mind. If the pregnancy went smoothly, he wouldn’t mind continuing, but as days passed without any news from He Fang—not having conceived in her planned April—and even if she did later, regardless of a son or daughter, there wouldn’t be a sequel.

Ending it at the pregnancy left a lingering thought for both He Fang and himself. In the comics, what was being nurtured was Anya.

"Really pregnant?" Chen Rui leaned in closer and said, "Wait a few months and then check whether it’s a boy or a girl, prepare the second part in advance." He pointed at Qin Guanglin and smiled, "I have high hopes for you."

"No, I haven’t gotten any results yet."

Qin Guanglin shook his head, "If she gets pregnant, there’ll be a sequel called ’Daughter,’ if not, then that’s it, there’s nothing left."

Now they just waited till the end of the month to see if He Fang’s "relative" would visit as scheduled.

"If it doesn’t happen this time, just wait for the next."

"You don’t understand."

"What do I not understand?"

"Deceiving oneself also has to be plausible."

Qin Guanglin leaned back in his chair, lifted his head with a long sigh, and ignored Chen Rui’s confusion. He blinked at the ceiling and continued, "Go ahead and post it, I’ll adjust a bit and then continue with the other series, this part is concluded."

"Tch, isn’t this part popular but not profitable? Making it so profound."

Chen Rui shook his head, examined the ending again, took the drawings out of the office, scanned Qin Guanglin’s comic drafts into the computer, and then published them on the platform.

In the company, painters just needed to focus on drawing while assistants handled everything else; and he, as the boss, was Qin Guanglin’s assistant. He had always personally uploaded or helped modify "My Wife" upon release.

Had it not been for this comic’s popularity, the company wouldn’t have developed so quickly initially. Similarly, if Qin Guanglin had remained serializing only on his public account, he wouldn’t have reached his current fame, and distributing the print editions would have been even more challenging.

They had achieved mutual success and cooperative benefits; he had made it happen.

...

...

"Smells delicious..."

After work, as Qin Guanglin entered the house, he was greeted with the aroma of food. He set down his bag and headed straight to the kitchen, wrapping his arms around He Fang’s waist from behind and eagerly sniffing her shoulder.

"Guess the dish?" He Fang asked.

"What else?"

"Humph, stay back, don’t bother me."

"Oh, you smell good too, you smell good too."

After joking around, Qin Guanglin watched as He Fang finished stir-frying liver tips in the wok; he grabbed a plate from the side to serve the dish, then returned to assist her with some preparations.

"Is work going smoothly recently?"

While eating, Qin Guanglin cradled his bowl and asked.

"It’s okay, pretty bland, nothing happening, just classes starting and ending," He Fang said casually. "Yuan has moved up a level now, she’s not in my class anymore, but I still see her often, she’s doing alright."

"Uh-huh."

Qin Guanglin nodded, paused for a moment, then brought up his own comic, "That comic has ended."

"Which one?"

"’My Wife is Too Cute.’"

"That’s sudden," He Fang was taken aback.

She had always followed Qin Guanglin’s comic that he drew about himself, but she hadn’t checked the recent issues and was surprised to hear it had already concluded.

"Not really sudden; we’re married now, and you are my wife... I’ve reached the point, so it concluded," Qin Guanglin smiled. "Fortunately, nobody said I should have renamed it ’My Girlfriend is Too Cute.’"

Seeing that He Fang remained silent, he continued, "I drew it for several years, it’s actually nice to have concluded it, it feels like a weight has been lifted off me..." Then he changed the topic, "How about we go out and relax this weekend? Where would you like to go?"

"You meant to draw our daughter next," He Fang said softly, eyes downcast, not waiting for Qin Guanglin to respond, she added, "It’s okay, if you want to continue drawing, you can..."

"I don’t want to draw anymore."

Qin Guanglin interrupted, "I’ve posted the ending; I just don’t feel like drawing anymore."

"We haven’t failed, it’s only been a few days, it’s normal for the test not to detect anything yet."

"Yes, I didn’t say we failed, I just don’t feel like drawing anymore, and maybe one day if I feel inspired, I’ll continue with a second part, it’ll be the same."

"..."

"..."

Silence fell over the dinner table; moments later, He Fang continued eating her meal, holding the bowl, while Qin Guanglin quietly served himself more food. In the living room, aside from the speech emitted from the television, the only other sound was the occasional gentle clinking of chopsticks against the bowls.

He Fang, with a smaller appetite, finished her meal first, put down her chopsticks, wiped her mouth and sat still, watching Qin Guanglin finish the remaining food.

"I’m not as fragile as you think."

When Qin Guanglin finished and put down his bowl, He Fang stopped him from clearing the table and spoke up.

"I know," Qin Guanglin nodded.

"No, you don’t."

"..."

"In a few days my period is due, and then we’ll know," He Fang pointed towards the bathroom, "That test claims it can detect pregnancy five or six days after intercourse, but pregnancy is unpredictable."

"Yes, that’s true..."

"This is affecting our life now, I don’t want it like this," He Fang interrupted him and continued, "Even if in a few days my period starts and I’ve failed to conceive...

I will always cherish her in my heart, but our life must continue."

"...Can you really move on?" Qin Guanglin asked quietly.

A time travel trip brought her husband back but cost her a daughter... He hadn’t met the daughter he had never seen, but thinking about it, no matter how many daughters they might have, none would be Anya, the lively, jumping joy they had lost, and that thought was heartbreaking.

If they succeeded this month, even if it wasn’t Anya, she could fool herself and accept this child as Anya, but missing this chance, she couldn’t even lie to herself.

"We can move on, trust me," He Fang said, her voice low with a somber tone.

Pain is necessary for people; without it, they can’t recognize what harms them, know to avoid it, and don’t know how to make themselves comfortable; moreover, without pain, they would never recognize happiness.

She had endured the most bitter and darkest times and had finally seen the light; how could she possibly destroy it herself?

"There’s no third chance to restart."

"We’ve tried our best, what’s left is up to fate, we can’t retrieve what’s lost, that’s life."

"I can’t destroy everything I have now over what I’ve lost; I won’t be that foolish again."

He Fang looked earnestly at Qin Guanglin and said word by word, "You don’t have the memories of the future, you don’t need to care about those. If in a few days it turns out I haven’t conceived, please forget everything I said about Anya—as if she never existed...

She lives in my heart, as long as I remember her forever."

Life must go on; someone has to find happiness.

That person wasn’t her.