Chapter 104 You have to hold on, I'll carry the burden for you even if the sky falls. ...

A sudden cold snap in March, accompanied by icy rain, swept through Shengping. The air was thick with dampness, carrying a chill that seeped into the bones.

Jiang Yueming put his hand on Li Leshan's shoulder, pulled Li Leshan closer to him, and whispered in his ear, "It's getting colder lately, wear more clothes when you ride your bike in the morning."

Li Leshan nodded.

This week is relatively uneventful. Jiang Yueming doesn't need to go to physics tutoring, and Li Leshan isn't working either. It's a rare moment of peace and quiet. I haven't experienced a peaceful weekend like this in a long time. In the past, there were always so many things to do that I was always caught off guard.

After the cane was painted, it was finally completely finished.

Grandpa Li from the lumber mill brought his cane out of the house. He patted Li Leshan on the shoulder and said with a smile, "You did a really good job. You're worthy of being called Leshan. You can do anything."

“That’s right.” Jiang Yueming chimed in for him, seemingly praising him as well. Who was Li Leshan? He was an all-rounder, okay? He excelled at one job after another, and he could do two jobs after another. Jiang Yueming didn’t need to praise him much; he wanted to praise Li Leshan from head to toe.

Li Leshan glanced at Jiang Yueming, then gently patted Jiang Yueming's hand. Jiang Yueming immediately understood and said nothing more.

He bowed to the old man, then took his cane and walked home.

"How about we take Grandma out for a walk tomorrow when the weather is nicer? Staying at home every day isn't right." Jiang Yueming held Li Leshan's hand, wondering how far she could walk and whether she would get tired.

Since being discharged from the hospital, Grandma's health has deteriorated significantly. Although there were signs of this earlier, it wasn't as severe then; perhaps the impact of Li Yong on her was too great. She spends most of her time in bed, only occasionally sitting up for a short while at the head of the bed when she feels a little better.

Li Leshan's fingertips gently caressed Jiang Yueming's palm. This meant he had no objections; if he did, he would use sign language.

"Don't worry, it won't take long." Jiang Yueming knew what he was worried about, he was definitely worried about his grandmother. "At worst, I'll carry Grandma on my back."

He laughed and said, "Grandma is so light, I could carry two of her on my back. I could carry her from the third alley to the market without any problem."

"I don't want you to carry me." Li Leshan released his hand and gestured, "She can't walk that far either."

"Okay, okay," Jiang Yueming said, feeling as if half of her heart was empty when her hands were empty. "I won't carry it. I'll just wander around the Third Alley area, okay?"

He reached out and shook Li Leshan's hand, continuing, "I ran into Grandma Liu and Aunt Wang the other day, and they were both asking about Grandma's situation, saying they were waiting for her to go back to square dancing."

“They’ve taken over all the space at Naughty Cat’s Park for dancing.” Naughty Cat is the amusement park under the Lijiang Bridge, where the skating rink is located. It’s usually quite crowded, with people of all ages. “But I’m fine with it. They can dance however they want.”

Recently, a matchmaking corner was set up there. It's in the park, and Jiang Yueming only just found out about it. The corner is half men and half women, but he hasn't really gone to check it out. After all, he doesn't go on blind dates, and it has nothing to do with that. It's usually just elderly people who are worried about their children who come for a stroll in the park and take a look.

Li Leshan pursed his lips slightly and tightened his grip on Jiang Yueming's hand.

As soon as Li Leshan reacted like this, Jiang Yueming knew he was worried, so she quickly said, "Now that we have new crutches, she can slowly walk down the stairs while holding onto the handrail. If she wants to go somewhere, we'll take her there."

"When we have our own home in the future, it will be on the ground floor, so we won't have to climb stairs anymore. We'll also buy Grandma a wheelchair." Jiang Yueming had a wonderful vision, describing his plans for the next few years. Even though these things were still a bit far away from them, just thinking about them made him feel happy.

The iron gate is quite old, and after being kicked and smashed by the debt collectors recently, it looks like it's about to collapse. Fortunately, the gate is made of iron; if it were a wooden gate, it would probably be broken, and then it would cost money to repair it.

Jiang Yueming watched him take out his keys from his pocket, his eyes darting back and forth across the door. He was thinking of getting a new door to replace the old one. But Li Leshan would surely say, "We might not be able to live here for much longer," or perhaps, "There's no need for that."

The thought of leaving Shengping in the future filled Jiang Yueming with a sense of loss. Although he would definitely follow Li Leshan without hesitation, Shengping was ultimately his hometown, his home, and all his memories remained there. He was still somewhat reluctant to leave.

Li Leshan turned on the light. The room was dark, which puzzled him. Usually, his grandmother wasn't asleep at this time; she would probably wander into the living room and sit on the sofa. Even if she didn't, she would at least turn on the light.

"Grandma?" Jiang Yueming called out to the house when she saw Li Leshan standing still, "Lele and I are back!"

The room was eerily quiet.

Li Leshan's breath hitched suddenly. He put down what he was holding and almost staggered as he ran toward his grandmother's room.

The door was flung open with a bang, hitting the wall with a dull thud. Li Leshan felt a slight sense of relief when he saw his grandmother lying peacefully on the bed with her eyes closed.

But the next second, his heart leaped into his throat again. He reached out to touch his grandmother's hand, and it was icy cold.

"Grandma!" Jiang Yueming rushed over and shouted.

Seeing Li Leshan's red and swollen eyes, he realized something serious had happened. He hurriedly pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed the number with trembling hands, "120! Hello! Is anyone there?!"

Perhaps the weather had sensed something, for a light drizzle began to fall outside.

The hospital lights flickered on and off, and several bulbs were burnt out. Li Leshan sat blankly on a plastic chair outside the emergency room, his mind a complete void.

From the moment we called 120 until the ambulance arrived and we were rushed back to the hospital on the stretcher, he was unresponsive the entire time. He couldn't hear anyone calling his name and felt nothing. Only now is he starting to react; even breathing brings a sharp pain to his heart.

"Hey! Auntie, come quick!" Jiang Yueming paced anxiously at the emergency room entrance, his heart pounding as if it would jump out of his chest. He made the call while glancing back at Li Leshan's condition. "Lele's grandma... is at the People's Hospital..."

He hadn't let the panic cloud his judgment and remembered to call his aunt. Looking at Li Leshan sitting in the chair, he was soaked through, water dripping from his bangs.

Jiang Yueming's heart tightened, and she quickly texted her aunt to ask her to get a coat. Then she ran over in a few quick steps and squatted down in front of Li Leshan.

Li Leshan was pale, his face wet with water, it was hard to tell if it was rain or tears, and his hands were trembling uncontrollably.

“Lele,” Jiang Yueming squeezed his hand, which was unusually cold. He warmed it in his palm. “Don’t worry. Grandma will be alright.”

Hearing Jiang Yueming's voice, Li Leshan finally reacted. He looked up and met Jiang Yueming's gaze, which stung her so much that she dared not look him in the eye again.

That look in his eyes was something he had never seen before, filled with despair, helplessness, and fear. In all these years, he had truly never seen Li Leshan like that.

“I know you must be very scared right now,” Jiang Yueming’s voice trembled slightly. He was scared too. He didn’t dare to think about the worst consequences. He really, really didn’t dare to think about it. He reached out and wiped the water off Li Leshan’s face. “I’m with you. I’m here. We’re not afraid.”

Time ticked by in a tense atmosphere. After what seemed like an eternity, the emergency room doors finally opened. The doctor who emerged removed his mask, his face showing exhaustion and a barely perceptible hint of seriousness.

Lin Cuiqin was the first to notice and went to greet them. The doctor sighed, looked around, and asked, "Which of you is a family member?"

"Me! I am!" Jiang Yueming had barely finished speaking when Li Leshan grabbed his arm and pulled him behind him.

“We did our best,” the doctor shook his head, patted Li Leshan’s shoulder, and comforted him, “The old man was old and suffered from multiple organ failure. He passed away peacefully. Please accept our condolences.”

The tension in Li Leshan's mind suddenly snapped, and a massive, overwhelming pain and helplessness surged up in an instant, engulfing him like a tsunami. His body swayed violently, and he knelt on the ground.

He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single complete syllable. Only a few broken, hoarse breaths escaped from his throat.

Jiang Yueming had imagined Li Leshan's voice before; to be honest, his greatest wish in life was to hear it. He knew it was impossible, but he still wanted to hear it. Until that night, when Li Leshan knelt before his grandmother's sickbed, crying his heart out, and no amount of pulling him back could stop him, his voice choked with sobs, unclear and broken. Only then did Jiang Yueming realize that Li Leshan could indeed speak in extreme pain.

Jiang Yueming's tears fell instantly. He immediately knelt down and hugged Li Leshan. Feeling the person in his arms trembling, Jiang Yueming was overwhelmed with pain.

Li Leshan buried his face in Jiang Yueming's shoulder, his shoulder convulsing violently. Hot tears immediately soaked Jiang Yueming's collar, burning his skin and his heart with pain.

"Lele, Lele," Jiang Yueming called his name again and again, her voice choked with sobs, "I'm here, I'm here! Can you hear me?"

"Please," Jiang Yueming hugged him tightly, her heart aching terribly, "You still have me, do you hear me? You still have me!"

The person in his arms didn't react. Jiang Yueming murmured repeatedly through tears, "I swear I will be good to you. I will never leave you alone. I will hold the sky up for you if it falls. I swear, Lele, you can swear any oath you want, I promise you, I will be good to you for the rest of my life."

“Lele,” Jiang Yueming pressed her forehead against his, “open your eyes and look at me, look at me…you have to hold on…”

-----------------------

A note from the author: There are some things I need to say to everyone who has accompanied Lele all the way here.

I hesitated a lot when I wrote this chapter, and I hesitated even more when I published it. I kept thinking about it, is this really how it should be arranged? Does it have to be written this way? For months, I was searching for a way to keep her from leaving.

But in the end, I chose the most painful path. Because the way to respect a character is to allow their world to experience the real ups and downs.

Lele spent the first seventeen years of his life in his grandmother's arms. From then on, his growth was no longer about repaying his grandmother one day, but about carrying all the strength his grandmother gave him to walk his own path. From then on, wherever he stood was his home; whoever he protected was his family.

But no matter what, there will always be someone in his world who is proud of him.

Thank you for reading this far. This was not an easy decision, but it is my greatest respect for his ability to become a better person.