Chapter 90 Grandma Passes Away

In the following days, Gu Manman tried her best to squeeze out time to go to the hospital.

The ward is always very quiet, with only the occasional dripping sound from the instruments.

The old man was sleeping most of the time.

Occasionally, the old man would wake up, and when he saw that it was her, his skinny hands would move slightly.

Gu Manman stretched out her hand and asked her to hold it.

The old man occasionally called her "Fangfang" vaguely, but more often he just looked at her with dependence in his eyes.

"...Go home...I want to go home..."

Qin Wan quickly leaned over to comfort her: "Mom, don't worry, the doctor said you are now..."

"I don't want to stay here..." the old man interrupted her, "I want to go home..."

The doctor called Qin Wan outside.

"The old lady's body...all its functions are failing. To be honest, time is running out."

"Many elderly people, at the end of their lives, will have a premonition that they want to return to a place they are familiar with. If conditions permit, then... satisfy her."

On the bench in the hospital corridor, Qin Wan choked up: "Manman..."

"I know this is very sudden and it's very difficult for you...but...Mom wants to go home..."

"The doctor also said that I don't have much time left."

"Can you...can you...move back to the Qin residence and live there for a while? Just...keep her company and see her off for the last time?"

"I beg you, okay?"

Gu Manman thought of the frail old woman on the hospital bed, the "Fangfang" she kept repeating, and the dusty past and decades of regret that Qin Wan had mentioned.

The subtle, uninvited attachment in my heart became clear at this moment.

She nodded: "Okay."

/

Back downstairs of the apartment building, Feng Mingzhou leaned against the car body, with cigarette butts scattered around his feet.

He was not wearing a suit today. Instead, he wore a dark, thin cashmere sweater with a coat of the same color on the outside. His collar was slightly open, revealing a casualness that was not usually seen on him.

"You want to move to the Qin family?" He went straight to the point.

She knew that nothing could be hidden from him.

Feng Mingzhou looked at her slightly distant profile, his Adam's apple moved, and his tone slowed down a bit, with a hint of tentativeness: "I'm worried about the Qin family."

He took half a step forward, and the distance between them became closer.

"I originally wanted to... arrange a few people to look after you inside." He stared into her eyes, observing her reaction, "but I was afraid you would be unhappy if you knew."

"So," he paused, as if giving her time to think, but in fact he could not refuse, "You make your choice. Do you want to go in with the bodyguards I arranged, openly? Or... I let them go in quietly, and you will never know?"

What kind of choice is this?

Being overbearing and having a sense of righteousness.

Gu Manman looked at him. The light from the street lamp outlined his straight nose and tightly pursed thin lips. His eyes seemed particularly deep in the dim light, and his desire for control was clearly visible.

She knew that even if she refused now, he would still have countless ways to insert people.

Alas...she sighed in her heart.

She really wanted to get to the bottom of the Qin family's troubles.

Anyone faced with the mystery of his or her own life experience would be tempted to solve it.

It's better to have someone watching her in the dark than for her to fight alone.

Instead of going against him, it's better to go with the flow.

She looked away and looked at the blurred neon lights in the distance: "Then bring a bodyguard."

Feng Mingzhou didn't seem to expect that she would agree so readily.

He hummed, and the corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up.

Finally...she didn't refuse his "help".

"I'll have someone pick you up tomorrow." His voice was filled with undisguised satisfaction. "The bodyguard will follow you as your driver and assistant. It won't be too awkward."

Gu Manman nodded and turned to leave.

"Manman."

She kept walking without looking back.

"I will protect you."

His voice was soft, but every word was clear, carrying a tone of almost devout commitment.

Gu Manman didn't respond and walked straight to the stairs.

Behind him, Feng Mingzhou watched her disappear through the door, his fingers subconsciously reaching for his chest pocket.

There was a photo of her there, the corners of which had become a little hairy from being rubbed.

/

The Qin residence, with its carved beams and painted buildings, exudes low-key luxury everywhere.

On the third day after moving to Qin's house with the "female assistant".

midnight.

“Boom boom boom!”

Gu Manman was awakened by a hurried knock on the door.

As soon as the door opened, the servant cried and said in panic, "Miss, the old lady is dying."

The door of the old lady's bedroom was wide open, and there were several shadowy figures standing at the door, all of them looking panic-stricken.

Several relatives from the Qin family were already surrounding the bed.

The suppressed sobs were intermittent.

The old lady's face was pale. When she saw Gu Manman, she called out "Fangfang" and then died.

Gu Manman stood there, looking at the old woman's peaceful face, and cried out with hot tears in her eyes: "...Grandma."

Other relatives also gathered around, and the room was filled with the sounds of crying, sighing, and comforting.

/

In the main hall of the Qin residence, the air was still filled with the scent of sorrow and incense from the funeral ceremonies of recent days.

The guests who came to pay their respects had already left, and the only ones left were the core members of the Qin family.

Several relatives sat according to their seniority, with just the right amount of sadness on their faces, but underneath that sadness, there was an anxiety and expectation that was difficult to conceal.

Qin Wan sat in the front seat, glancing at Gu Manman diagonally opposite him from time to time.

Gu Manman sat alone on the single sofa by the window, with a casual posture, as if she was out of the matter.

The two "female assistants" she brought with her stood quietly not far behind her.

Next to the main seat stood a middle-aged man, who was the Qin family's lawyer, holding a document sealed in a brown paper bag.

"Everyone," the lawyer cleared his throat, "I am the lawyer entrusted by Madam Qin before she died. Regarding the distribution of the old lady's estate, I will read out the will here."

He opened the seal, took out the document inside, and began to read it.

The first part is filled with legalese and conventional opening remarks.

"...all the real estate under my name, including but not limited to houses, land, shops, and all the shares held by Qin's Jewelry Group..."

Everyone in the hall straightened their backs unconsciously and stared at the lawyer with burning eyes.

"...After I die, I will leave all of it to my daughter, Qin Fang."

A few very light gasps were heard from the crowd, but they were quickly suppressed.

It is a fact known to almost everyone that Qin Fang has been missing for many years.

The lawyer paused, as if to give everyone time to digest the information, and then continued: "If Qin Fang dies before me, or cannot be found after my death, all the above inheritance will be inherited by Qin Fang's legal children."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's eyes were focused on Gu Manman.

The look was complex, with shock, disbelief, scrutiny, and more importantly, undisguised jealousy and inquiry.

It was as if she was not a person, but a mountain of gold that suddenly fell from the sky.

Qin Wan's hands were tightly twisting the corners of his clothes, but his face still maintained a sad expression.

Gu Manman felt the gazes that almost burned through her, but she didn't even lift her eyelids.

The lawyer's voice continued: "If Qin Fang has no legal descendants, or his descendants cannot be found, all of the above inheritance will be entrusted to a professional organization to set up a trust fund for management, and after a hundred years, all of it will be donated to charity organizations."

The lawyer closed the document, adjusted his glasses, and looked at everyone.

The main hall fell into an eerie silence.

No one spoke, and the air was filled with the silent smell of gunpowder.

A middle-aged woman in a dark green cheongsam, her fingers tightly gripped the armrest, her lips moved a few times, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she just took a deep breath and looked away.

Gu Manman finally raised her head, and her eyes calmly swept over the "relatives" in front of her with different expressions. The corners of her mouth raised a very faint arc, without any warmth, as if she was watching an extremely boring farce.

An "assistant" behind her took a step forward and whispered in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "Mr. Feng asked me to tell you that he will take care of everything."