The date on the calendar for the coming year seemed to be a long time away, as if it would never end. Jiang Yue's daily sleep time gradually increased from eight hours to twelve hours, and then slowly from twelve hours to sixteen hours.

Often, if you're not careful, she'll fall asleep leaning against her pillow.

It seems she no longer has to wait patiently by the window for the man she loves to return, as she did many years ago.

Go back to her side.

Even today, she has someone by her side every day.

The monthly physical examination was changed to twice a month, and the Zhou family's family doctor even moved into the Zhou family's old house.

More and more people accompanied Jiang Yue to the hospital each month.

She also found it strange that she kept running into those people from the Qin family whenever she went to the hospital for checkups.

After several encounters, she gradually became less shy, at least she no longer hid behind Zhou Ji and cautiously stared at them with a probing gaze.

However, she still doesn't intend to get along well with them.

It's very difficult for her to change her mind about someone she dislikes at first sight; her deep-rooted prejudices are like mountains that are hard to move.

However, she also felt some sympathy for the Qin family. They were probably in poor health, just like her. Perhaps even worse. Every time she came out of the examination room, they all seemed very sad.

Her eyes were red, and she looked so sad that she couldn't speak.

She didn't talk to them much, nor did she exchange contact information with them. Behind their backs, she even asked Zhou Ji, "Do they have a very serious illness?"

Zhou Ji thought for a moment and told her, "It's a disease that's not easy to get through."

She exclaimed "Oh!" as if suddenly realizing something. After a while, she looked down at her toes and whispered, "That's quite pitiful."

She thought Qin Zhao had contracted a serious illness.

That's why his parents were so heartbroken.

Qin Zhao was still very young. After a while, she slowly raised her face and whispered to her husband, "I hope he gets better soon."

Zhou Ji ruffled her hair, unsure of what to say.

As soon as they left the hospital, she hugged him, snuggled lazily in his arms, wrapped her arms around his neck, rubbed against him, kissed him, and then whispered, "I'm sleepy again."

"I'm going to sleep now."

"Wake me up when we get home."

Zhou Ji didn't want her to sleep. Now she sleeps for twice as long as before, usually for two or three hours at a time.

Once she falls asleep, she cannot be woken up.

Several times, Zhou Ji held her tightly and carefully checked her heartbeat. If it weren't for the faint beating of her heart in her chest, he would have almost thought she would never wake up again.

Only today did Zhou Ji realize that he was more afraid of losing her than he had imagined.

Otherwise, the palm that landed on her chest wouldn't have trembled slightly.

Zhou Ji picked her up horizontally, glanced down at her, and saw that she had fallen asleep right after saying those two sentences.

I got on the bus and arrived home.

Zhou Ji carried the person into the living room. The black-haired youth sitting on the sofa seemed to have been waiting for a long time. He raised his eyes, his gaze calm, as if he had already gotten used to his mother's sleeping appearance.

Is Mother asleep?

"Um."

Zhou Ji didn't carry her upstairs, but gently placed her on the sofa. She looked quite healthy, with fair skin that still had a rosy glow, dark eyes, black hair, and lustrous lips, like a peaceful sleeping beauty.

A cold wind was blowing outside the glass window.

Summer ends, and then comes the cold autumn.

Autumn is almost over, and when winter comes, I'll only be sleeping longer and longer.

Winter is, by nature, the most difficult season.

Zhou Zhengchu looked at his mother sleeping peacefully on the sofa. He had lost a lot of weight recently, and his face was pale and handsome, which made his dark eyes look even darker. His eyelashes trembled a few times, and he raised his eyelids, as if he had calmed down.

During this period, my mother would often have intermittent moments of lucidity.

At that moment, her eyes were no longer a blur.

It seems like they know everything and understand everything.

She smiled gently at him, and even without saying a word, love welled up in the depths of her eyes.

Zhou Zhengchu had been suffering from severe insomnia lately, and he knew that his father was in the same boat, unable to sleep well either.

The study light was still on at four or five in the morning.

Sometimes, Zhou Zhengchu could smell a faint smell of smoke in the study. His father didn't actually smoke much, especially when his mother was diagnosed with poor health a few years ago.

Only when I really couldn't hold back anymore.

He would only light up a cigarette or two occasionally.

Zhou Zhengchu used to think that his father didn't love his mother, so he often told his mother this fact without missing a single word, telling her this cruel truth, so that she would no longer live in the illusion that her husband deeply loved her.

For a father, his relationship with his mother is one of responsibility and habit.

But now it seems that this is not entirely true; the love that floated in the details was sometimes something that even he and his father themselves did not notice.

He knew her preferences and understood her temperament.

Every nook and cranny of the villa was covered with soft cloth, and none of the tableware in the kitchen was made of fragile ceramic.

The knives were all locked up and placed where she couldn't open them.

There would be a small desk lamp always on at night, and even if he didn't sleep well, he could endure it.

"Director Chen told me that my mother might not live to see next spring."

When Zhou Zhengchu said those words, his tone was very calm, so calm that it seemed as if he was somewhat numb.

After a long silence, Zhou Ji said in a calm tone, "What the doctor said isn't entirely correct."

Zhou Zhengchu thought so too.

What if a miracle happens?

Just like not being able to find the cause of an illness, it's also possible to recover completely without any apparent reason.

These days, Zhou Zhengchu has been taking meticulous care of the roses in the yard, watering and fertilizing them with great care.

No matter how much effort he puts in, the roses won't bloom until their flowering season.

*

The staff of GR Group have been keeping a low profile at the company lately, and none of them dare to stand out.

The company is well-informed, and we've heard rumors about it.

The president's wife has fallen seriously ill, and her condition has worsened in the last few months, making it seem unlikely that she will even make it through the winter.

The young master, who was usually indifferent to trivial matters, has recently become even more aloof.

Four words were clearly displayed above their heads: "Keep Out."

The employees only dared to discuss the matter in private, saying things like, "The last time I saw the president's wife, she didn't look seriously ill," "Yes, yes, she looks plump and beautiful," "How could someone so rich have an incurable disease?" "Is this just a rumor?" and so on.

However, there are people in the company who know the inside story.

"Really, I'm afraid this illness is incurable."

"A few days ago, the president brought his wife to the company, and in the evening he carried her back. She seemed to be asleep, but she might have fainted."

"The news from the hospital has already spread everywhere."

"Oh, what a pity."

Her husband was powerful, influential, and exceptionally handsome.

Her son is capable and shrewd, and now he is also filial to her, obeying her every word and never contradicting her.

Unfortunately, she didn't live long enough.

Even with good fortune, they can't handle it.

The atmosphere in the office has been quite tense and oppressive for days. The big boss hasn't been to the company for a long time, and Assistant Shen has been handling many things.

Young Master Zhou is increasingly resembling his father in his ruthless and decisive manner, often dealing with people silently and quietly.

However, everyone in the company knows that CEO Zhou has a better temper than his father, but there is one thing you must never talk about his mother behind his back.

If he hears this, he'll be fired at the very least.

Even so, there are still some people who are oblivious to the danger and occasionally can't help but whisper about those rumors that seem to have a lot of substance.

Although work hours are busy, we always try to find something to talk about during lunch.

Feeling anxious and cautious.

Suddenly, someone coughed twice deliberately, and everyone else in the office fell silent instantly. The atmosphere became heavy, and no one dared to look up.

After a while.

Once everyone entered the office, they felt a sense of relief and could finally catch their breath.

About two hours later, the employee who was working at the desk saw General Manager Zhou answer a phone call, open the door and leave, looking somewhat anxious.

He rarely showed his joy, and it was even rarer for him to appear so anxious.

"I'll come down to meet you."

Zhou Zhengchu hadn't expected his mother to come to the company without a word. His father had gone to the hospital that morning, and the person who was taking care of him hadn't come with him.

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Zhengchu's expression turned grim.

He paused for a moment, pressed the elevator button, and went downstairs where he saw his mother being carefully settled into the lounge by the receptionist.

He was dressed in a custom-made suit and black leather shoes, looking somewhat aloof, quite different from how he usually is at home.

Zhou Zhengchu walked up to his mother and took her hand: "I'll take you home."

She seemed a little angry and didn't like things being the way they were.

She shook off his hand and said with great dissatisfaction, "I feel like you are imprisoning me and monitoring me."

She told him earnestly, "I don't like this."

"You must not and cannot send anyone to follow me."

Zhou Zhengchu pursed his lips, "You're sick and need someone to take care of you."

Her memory is sometimes good and sometimes bad. "But you told me before that I'm not sick."

She was very unhappy, anyway.

She hasn't done anything wrong, so why is she being watched all the time, with no freedom even when she goes out?

This reminded her of some very bad memories from the past.

For a time, she was also trapped at home with little freedom, just like she is now. It may be a little better now than before, but she still doesn't like that feeling.

"If you want to go out, they won't stop you."

Zhou Zhengchu, who usually listens to her, was surprisingly insistent this time, refusing to budge even though she was very unhappy.

She was furious and didn't want to talk to him anymore.

She didn't stay in the office for long.

A while later, the other employees saw General Manager Zhou carrying his mother out of the office.

She appears to be asleep.

Her body was wrapped in a suit jacket, and her face was flushed from sleeping, looking very healthy and radiant.

Her skin was smooth and fair with a rosy glow.

He didn't seem seriously ill as rumored, but Mr. Zhou's complexion was extremely unpleasant, and his fingers were clenched so tightly they turned white.

His jaw was clenched, and his expression was serious.

Zhou Zhengchu carried his unconscious mother back home; he had gradually gotten used to her being like this.

He may not be able to accept it, but he must learn to accept it.

Autumn has passed.

Her condition worsened again as soon as winter began.

I sleep most of the time, only waking up for one or two hours at a time.

The doctor came more and more frequently, and I went to the hospital more and more often.

The smell of cigarettes on my father grew stronger and stronger, and the light in his study was on almost all night long.

The day the first snow of winter fell.

My mother was unusually energetic, and she lazily got out of bed. The longer she slept, the better her complexion became, and she looked very energetic when she woke up.

The underfloor heating was turned up to full blast in the house.

It's not cold at all, it's very warm.

She ran downstairs barefoot in her pajamas, her hair already quite long, silky smooth as satin, slowly falling to her waist, her skin extremely white, and her lips glistening.

His dark eyes were glistening with moisture, like a tidal wave.

She looks extremely charming.

She watched the snow for a while, then said she was tired.

She herself found it strange that she felt so tired every day, and that the more she slept, the more tired she felt.

ah.

Sometimes she thought, if only she could sleep forever and never wake up again.

Then you won't feel so tired.

Don't feel like there's a hazy fog obscuring your vision; things should feel much easier once the fog clears.

She was so tired.

She needs rest.

A very long, sufficiently long rest.

Jiang Yue spent almost the entire winter in her sleep, and by the time she was feeling much better, it was already spring of the following year.

March.

Although she was becoming increasingly delirious, she still remembered that there was a large patch of roses planted for her in the yard.

I have to check on it a few times every day.

Waiting and waiting.

Even when spring arrives, it still feels like there's not enough time.

That day was just an ordinary weekend. Zhou Zhengchu didn't go to the company; he stayed at home and didn't go anywhere.

He would go upstairs to the bedroom every half hour to check on the person, fearing they might never wake up again.

She actually looked better that day.

She gently and proactively took his hand.

For some reason, Zhou Zhengchu felt very flustered, and he gripped her hand tightly.

He became somewhat incoherent: "Father went to buy you your favorite strawberry cake."

She still remembers.

She was asking for food before she fell asleep.

She still seemed a bit confused, but she found that she no longer found Zhou Zhengchu annoying at all.

He looks so sad; he must be having a very hard time.

She asked him to carry her downstairs; there was a greenhouse next to the courtyard.

The flowers in the greenhouse are already in bloom.

She lay in his arms, struggling to lift her heavy eyelids, and asked, "Would you be very sad if I died?"

Her words were always both naive and cruel.

Hot tears splattered onto her neck and shoulders, silently telling him the answer.

"Don't be sad."

"So what if I die?"

"Don't be my child in the next life. I know you're not very happy."

But she wasn't very happy either.

Don't blame her, don't complain about her; she can't even live a normal life herself.

They can't take good care of a child.

She also expects him to take care of her in return.

She blinked, her eyelids heavy, and muttered softly, "I should have known better than to be greedy and not eat the strawberry cake."

She couldn't hold on any longer.

She knew she would never wake up again.

I love it!

What a pity.

I won't even get to see him one last time.

Okay, okay, if there's a next life...

Then she shouldn't like Zhou Ji so much anymore.

It hurts so much.

I'm so heartbroken.

Zhou Zhengchu watched helplessly as the person in his arms slowly lost consciousness, her expression utterly serene.

If not, the heart has stopped beating.

She seemed to have just fallen asleep again.

This spring.

Zhou Ji lost his wife.

Zhou Zhengchu lost his mother.