Chapter 159 Aunt's Gift: A small villa, a sum of three million...

Qiu Xiaoman had never met the old lady in front of her before, but she had met her maternal grandmother and her sisters before, so she could tell at a glance that this was probably another great-aunt.

She opened the car door: "Grandpa, let's talk in the car."

The little old lady got into the passenger seat with a smile and asked, "You recognize me, don't you?"

"I don't recognize you. Your surname is Lin?" Although Qiu Xiaoman doesn't acknowledge her biological mother and maternal grandmother, she doesn't show any disrespect to other relatives who haven't offended her. She is very polite.

The old lady smiled and said, "That's right, my surname is Lin, you have to call me Auntie."

"Hello, Auntie." Qiu Xiaoman continued driving, a little worried. Where should she take her auntie? If she went back to Yipin, her senior brothers would be exposed; if she went back to Mingdu, she probably wouldn't see her precious daughter today. A headache, a real headache. She could only ask, "Did you need something?"

"Yes!" the old lady said with a smile, her words uttered in a way that was sure to shock, "I'm looking for you to take care of me in my old age!"

Retirement? This auntie really has some ideas. Qiu Xiaoman laughed. It seems she's quite famous; everyone knows she makes a lot of money training dogs.

But why would an aunt ask her to take care of her in her old age? She's not short of money, but doesn't the aunt have any children of her own?

However, since her elders were asking this because they thought highly of her, she smiled and replied, "Sure, it's just a matter of adding an extra pair of chopsticks! As long as you don't mind that my food is bad."

The old lady laughed and said, "If you don't mind, then I'll come and mooch a meal from you today!"

"It's so sudden today, Auntie. I didn't buy any groceries. Shall we go to a restaurant to eat? Do you prefer Western or Chinese food?" Qiu Xiaoman decided to delay going back for a while, so she would have time to decide when they ate.

The old lady smiled and said, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do. I'm fine with anything."

"Then let's go to a Chinese restaurant. I don't like Western cooking." Qiu Xiaoman then asked, "You don't mind if I invite a few elders over, do you?"

"I told you, whatever the host says is fine." The old lady seemed very amiable.

Qiu Xiaoman then called both her second uncle and Shen Qinghuai. When Shen Qinghuai heard that an aunt from his ex-wife's family had come, he subconsciously wanted to invite Chen Baihui along.

Thinking about it, I decided against it. Chen Baihui is currently overwhelmed with problems and extremely irritable. Perhaps she's going through menopause, or perhaps she's harboring resentment after being dumped by a man. In any case, she's a ticking time bomb, so it's best not to come.

He quickly left the company to keep the appointment.

When he arrived at the restaurant, he saw that it was indeed Chen Baihui's aunt. He quickly went up to greet her and said, "Aunt Lin, you look great."

The old lady tried to find humor in her misery: "What can we do? We have to keep looking forward."

"The dead cannot be brought back to life, please accept my condolences." Shen Qinghuai pulled out a chair, gestured for the elder to sit down, and asked, "What would you like to drink? Red wine? Juice? Milk?"

"Have some hot water, I need to take care of my health." The old lady's worried expression vanished in an instant; she came seeking happiness, not to complain.

Ever since her son got into trouble and racked up a mountain of debt, she hasn't had a single day of peace. She went to great lengths to help him settle things, but the high pressure during that period also took a toll on his health. He died suddenly less than two months after the debt was paid off, the cause of death being a myocardial infarction.

How could someone so young suffer a heart attack? It turned out that it was caused by high stress, long-term sleep deprivation, and alcohol consumption.

The old lady was quite depressed for a while after losing her son, so she went on a trip. What else could she do?

She's an old woman living alone; she can't expect others to comfort her, can she?

There is no other way but to pull yourself together.

She still owns a villa and has some savings, so her retirement shouldn't be a problem; she should even have a considerable amount left over. Logically, she should be carefree, finding a place to live out her days in peace and quiet, but she is lonely, utterly lonely.

So, the only option is to look for the descendants of her sisters to see if anyone is willing to take her in.

When the time comes, she'll close her eyes and leave the mansion and her savings to that child.

Unfortunately, out of all the places she tried, only Xiaoman was willing to give her a friendly look, which made her quite happy.

Since that's the case, then let's try to get sick less often and live a couple more years. She took the hot water Shen Qinghuai handed her, and asked curiously, "Why didn't your wife come?"

"We're divorced." Shen Qinghuai was too lazy to explain too much. After all, the invalidity of the marriage involved issues related to the distribution of property, and he wasn't that close to Chen Baihui's aunt.

However, the old man was lonely and loved to inquire about these trivial matters, so he asked, "Are you still looking? Do you want me to help you find a good one?"

Shen Qinghuai quickly surrendered: "Oh, my dear Aunt Lin, please spare me! I'm so busy right now, I really don't have the mind to think about this. Come on, have some appetizers first, don't go hungry."

The old lady was unhappy and muttered to Qiu Xiaoman, "Look at your father, he doesn't appreciate kindness."

Qiu Xiaoman thought to herself, "There are actually people that Shen Qinghuai can't handle." She felt a little smug and chimed in, "That's right, he doesn't appreciate kindness. It's just that his sister suffers, having to take care of his child every day."

Shen Qinghuai was speechless. It was one thing for his elders to criticize him, but why was his daughter doing it too? Couldn't he just be a kind, detached, and positive person?

He was unhappy and muttered, "Kids shouldn't meddle in adults' affairs."

Qiu Xiaoman was delighted to see him humiliated: "I don't care about you. As long as you live to be a hundred, raise those four children well, and don't let them bother me, that's all that matters."

Shen Qinghuai said helplessly, "I know, I know. Hurry up and call your grandfather. Why hasn't he arrived yet?"

Once they arrived, Aunt Lin would have people her own age to talk to, saving her the trouble of bothering him.

When Shen Wanming arrived, the old lady indeed found a kindred spirit. She quickly put aside Shen Qinghuai and started chatting about the gossip of the wealthy families in Beidu.

Qiu Xiaoman was astonished. Despite her advanced age, this old lady was very well-informed.

Even though the old lady was well-informed, she still didn't know that Qiu Xiaoman had given birth, which shows that her whole family did a very good job of keeping it a secret.

However, now that Fuze has become the grandson of the second great-uncle, he should be allowed to go out and about more often. A child can't be kept cooped up at home all day, can he?

Normal human social interaction is essential and beneficial to physical and mental health.

Lost in thought, Qiu Xiaoman was called out by Shen Wanming. She snapped out of her reverie and heard him ask, "Don't you have an exam? Go back and study first. I'll take your aunt over later."

Qiu Xiaoman did have exams coming up soon, but she tacitly understood the subtext: she should go first and go back to see her child. She could contact her aunt later to discuss how to settle things.

So Qiu Xiaoman apologized and left early.

Shen Wanming chatted with the old lady until after 8 p.m. When she went to the bathroom, he finally came up with a strategy—it was fine for Xiaoman to take care of her in her old age, so he would let her live in Xiaoman's house in Mingdu.

Firstly, it would increase the authenticity of Xiaoman living there. Secondly, wouldn't it be foolish and wasteful to stay in a hotel when you have a house to live in?

As for how Qiu Xiaoman will take care of the child, she will say that she has exams coming up soon and will be back later. She can spend some time with the child during this time, and then she will come back to visit the old lady, chat with her, and wait until the old lady is tired. After the old lady falls asleep, she can come to Yipin to keep the child company.

This way, neither end will be delayed, and we can also test the effectiveness of the secrecy work on the Yipin side.

Upon receiving the call, Qiu Xiaoman quickly ran back to Mingdu from the underground parking lot and went upstairs to wait.

After settling her great-aunt in, Qiu Xiaoman breathed a sigh of relief.

I feel a bit sentimental. What is the purpose of all the busyness in a person's life?

Is it for yourself? Then why is a person so lonely in their later years? Isn't your great-aunt the best example?

Is it for the sake of their children? Then why do we sometimes see the elderly burying their children? My great-aunt is another heartbreaking example.

After thinking it over and over, she couldn't come up with a solution, so she went back to Yipin and had a heart-to-heart talk with Fuze: "You know, we will all grow old one day, and one of us will definitely go first and the other will go later. Will the one who goes later be like my great-aunt, unable to find her way home?"

Fu Ze thought she was confused and touched her forehead: "Junior sister! You've given up? You don't want to go back?"

Go back? Qiu Xiaoman had certainly thought about it, but what if she couldn't go back? She was asking about the latter scenario.

Fu Ze quickly understood, and after a moment of silence, replied, "It's nothing. If you leave first on that day, I'll go with you. If I leave first, don't worry, spend more time with the children before coming to find me."

Qiu Xiaoman suddenly burst into tears.

Why must people face the separation of life and death? Can't a family stay together forever and ever?

Why can't she? Why does she have to die? She didn't understand.

All I can do is resent this cruel creator and resent myself for not having found a way back.

Fu Ze held her quietly, saying nothing, because he understood her. He knew that she no longer resented Shen Qinghuai, but she still couldn't find a way back.

Perhaps she hasn't completely forgiven Shen Qinghuai, or perhaps there are other things that haven't been resolved.

In short, let's take it one step at a time.

And so, the lonely great-aunt spent the last nine months of her life with Qiu Xiaoman.

For the past nine months, Qiu Xiaoman has come home every day to read to her, knit with her, tell her stories, listen to nursery rhymes with her, and just spend time with her...

That day, Qiu Xiaoman, as usual, happily called out "Auntie" while holding the books she had just borrowed from the library.

My great-aunt was also very happy, sitting on the balcony. The setting sun was red, and she seemed to have been basking in the sun all afternoon, looking quite energetic.

The housekeeper was cooking in the kitchen, so Qiu Xiaoman went to the balcony to read to her aunt.

This time, she was reading The Little Mermaid. As she was reading, a gust of wind blew by, and Qiu Xiaoman suddenly came back to her senses. Her aunt had fallen asleep.

She went to the room to get a blanket, and when she came out and touched her, she found that her great-aunt had already cooled down.

Auntie passed away peacefully, leaving behind a will that bequeathed her last two assets—a small villa and a three million yuan bank account—to Qiu Xiaoman.

Qiu Xiaoman personally arranged the funeral and laid her great-aunt to rest in peace.

The inheritance procedures were very complicated, and it took half a year to complete them.

In less than a year and a half, it felt as if she had accompanied her great-aunt through her entire life.

She suddenly felt a strong urge to go out and see the world.

The eccentric old man reminded him, "Child, why are you trapped here? Think carefully, is there still a promise you haven't kept, or some mystery you haven't solved?"

"Really?" Qiu Xiaoman tried hard to recall for a long time, but couldn't remember, so she had to just let it go.

As she was packing her luggage, she found an old photo, and a promise made years ago suddenly surfaced.