The sky had darkened, and a heavy, oppressive atmosphere filled the air.
Jiang Xuan stood at her neighbor's door, glaring angrily at Lin Che across the street.
How could you be so heartless? That's your own mother!
Lin Che's face was gloomy, and his mind was in turmoil.
He knew about the woman's illness, but his current parents had been incredibly kind to him.
He remembers when he was a child, he had a high fever and a rash, and his mother stayed by his side for days and nights without sleeping. He also remembers his father teaching him to write.
How could he possibly acknowledge another woman as his mother?
He looked away and said in a deep voice, "I was raised by my parents since I was a child. They have been kind to me, and I cannot betray them. Besides, I have no feelings for my so-called biological mother."
"But she is seriously ill and could leave this world at any time. Her only wish is to see you one last time! Can you bear to let her leave with such regrets?"
Jiang Xuan's tone had changed because of her anger.
Lu Shengye squeezed her hand and looked at Lin Che, "No one asked you to abandon your adoptive parents. Xuanxuan just wants her mother to have no regrets."
Lin Che looked at him in surprise, "Mom? You two?"
Lu Shengye nodded: "Yes, we are already married."
Lin Che hadn't recovered from the huge shock when Jiang Xuan continued, "The reason Mom has been holding on all this time is because she knows you exist. She wants to see you. Don't worry, after Mom leaves, you can continue your life as you are now, and I won't bother you anymore."
After a long pause, Lin Che nodded, "Okay, I'll go see her."
*
Unfortunately, by the time they arrived, He Yinhua had already fallen into a coma.
Afraid of frightening the children, Hu Tao sent Diandian and Fanxing to Ma Xiaolan's house to play with Xiuxiu. She sat by the bed and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Perhaps because of their natural blood ties, Lin Che's heart still clenched when he saw He Yinhua.
Jiang Xuan walked over, squatted down by the bed, held He Yinhua's hand, and whispered, "Mom, brother is here, please wake up."
Hu Tao said, "Sigh, this illness is really torturous. Your mother is sweating from the pain."
Lu Shengye: "I have some painkillers prepared. How about I get an injection?"
Lin Che nodded. "Late-stage cancer can indeed be very painful, but you can get vaccinated."
Lu Shengye gave him the medicine and syringe, and he helped with the injection.
Seeing that He Yinhua's lips were dry, Jiang Xuan helped her drink some water.
But she could hardly drink any of it; it would just flow out as soon as it was fed to her.
Hu Tao pulled Jiang Xuan and Lu Shengye outside, sighed, and said, "She's gotten like this in just a short while. I really don't know if she can even be sent back to her hometown. What were you thinking?"
Jiang Xuan looked at Lu Shengye and said, "My mother had a hard life. She didn't marry into a good family and didn't value her husband's family. She had no relatives in her hometown. If she is really buried there, there won't even be anyone to burn paper money for her during Qingming Festival and Chinese New Year."
She sobbed uncontrollably, "I don't want to send her back. I want her to stay in Ningzhou."
Lu Shengye put his arm around her shoulder. "Okay, we'll do it your way."
Two hours later, He Yinhua woke up once, repeatedly muttering "Chunting" and "Xuanxuan".
Jiang Xuan pulled Lin Che in front of her with a pleasant surprise, "Mom, this is my brother. You didn't expect this, did you? Actually, you've met him before."
He Yinhua stared at Lin Che with unfocused eyes, as if she hadn't heard what Jiang Xuan said, and kept calling out "Chunting" and "Xuanxuan".
Jiang Xuan turned around, her voice trembling with tears, "Please call me 'Mom,' I beg you."
Lin Che swallowed hard, mustered up a great deal of courage, and whispered, "Mom."
Unfortunately, He Yinhua seemed not to hear him. She just stared at him blankly for a moment, and then looked away.
Hu Tao sighed, "She doesn't recognize anyone anymore. Jiang Xuan, let's hurry up and get the clothes ready. I'll go find Xiao Lan to help. Sheng Ye, go call your dad and tell him to prepare the chickens."
"It's too late, Auntie. Let's not follow those customs, okay? I just want to spend more time with her and watch my mom leave peacefully."
"How can this be?"
Lu Shengye has never believed in feudal superstition. In his mind, when a person dies, it's like a lamp going out; there is no such thing as a soul.
Then she said, "Auntie, let's listen to Xuanxuan."
Since the couple shared the same idea, Hu Tao couldn't say anything.
As He Yinhua fell into a coma again, Jiang Xuan stood up and said to Lin Che, "Thank you. It's late, you should go back. Sheng Ye, please take him home."
"No need, I'll go with you, just in case we need any help later."
Lin Che didn't show any particular sadness on his face.
You can't blame him for that.
Jiang Xuan has also let it go.
"You've been out for so long, aren't your family worried?"
“My mom knows.”
Jiang Xuan walked back to the bedside.
Seeing her like this, Lu Shengye felt terrible. He helped Jiang Xuan up and said, "Go and rest for a while. I'll stay here with Mom."
Jiang Xuan shook her head. "I'm fine. I'm just worried that my mom will be anxious if she wakes up and doesn't see me."
Just then, someone knocked on the door.
Lu Shengye went out to check and saw that it was Ma Xiaolan.
"Sister Lan."
Ma Xiaolan said in a low voice, "I just came to say that the two children are already asleep, so don't worry. How is Auntie now?"
"Not good, he's unconscious."
Ma Xiaolan sighed, "Then I won't go in for now. Please take good care of Jiang Xuan. If you need any help later, just call me."
Lu Shengye nodded.
"Oh, by the way, tomorrow is Saturday, I'm taking the kids out to play, so you don't need to worry about it."
"Okay, thank you for your help."
*
Midnight.
In the dead of night, a rooster crowed in the yard, its cries echoing from somewhere.
It was extremely creepy.
He Yinhua slowly opened her eyes, looked around, and then fixed her gaze on Jiang Xuan.
Jiang Xuan didn't dare to breathe, holding her hand tightly, "Mom."
He Yinhua seemed to want to say something, but she opened her mouth several times without saying anything.
Jiang Xuan put his ear close to her mouth, but could only hear her struggling to breathe.
She patted her mother's chest. "Mom, don't rush. Rest for a while, and we'll talk when you have more energy."
He Yinhua looked at her, slowly closed her eyes, and then two lines of tears slid down her cheeks.
Jiang Xuan panicked and quickly went to wipe away her tears.
But they found that her breathing was getting weaker and weaker, and her hands were falling down.
Jiang Xuan looked at her hand, and her heart seemed to stop suddenly. "Mom? Mom?"
But He Yinhua never opened her eyes again.
Hu Tao shook her head. "Your mother is gone."
Jiang Xuan refused to believe it, and she reached out to touch that hand with trembling hands.
The temperature on my hands gradually decreased.
Jiang Xuan knelt by the bedside, tears streaming down her face.
This was the second separation she had experienced in this life.
The first time was when her grandfather loved her the most, and this time it's when her mother loves her the most.
She felt increasingly unable to accept this kind of separation from loved ones.
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