Zhou Xiaoran quickly got up, walked to the door, and opened it.
"Is Zhi Qiu asleep?" Mu Ziqi carefully held up a thermal box, peeked inside, and asked quietly.
"Mom, I'm not asleep yet." Shen Zhi Qiu sat up and answered when she heard Mu Zi Qi's question.
"Xiao Ran, let Mom in," Shen Zhi Qiu said softly.
"Okay, sure." Zhou Xiaoran nodded. "Auntie, you two chat first, I'll come over later."
Zhou Xiaoran stepped aside to let Mu Ziqi in, and then gently closed the door behind her.
"Zhiqiu," Mu Ziqi walked up quickly, opened the insulated box, and placed it on Shen Zhiqiu's bedside table, "Mom stewed some of your favorite milk bird's nest for you, have some first."
As she spoke, Mu Ziqi reached out and touched Shen Zhiqiu's pale cheek, saying with heartache, "How did you become so thin?" She turned away, secretly wiping away her tears, feeling extremely distressed.
"Mom, I'm fine, thank you." Shen Zhi Qiu glanced at the bird's nest and said gratefully, "You didn't have to make me this so late at night, I..."
As Shen Zhi Qiu spoke, tears involuntarily streamed down her face.
"Mom, I'm sorry for making you worry."
"You child, you always break my heart." Mu Ziqi sat down by Shen Zhiqiu's bedside, her heart aching at seeing how haggard she looked. She leaned down and hugged her. "Zhiqiu, it's all my fault. I didn't protect you properly, and that's why you've suffered so much. I know you're hurting, so I wanted to come and keep you company. Would you like to eat something?"
After saying that, Mu Ziqi brought over the bird's nest and handed the spoon to Shen Zhiqi, saying, "Eating a little is good too."
Shen Zhi Qiu took two sips, but had no appetite, so she placed the bird's nest on her bedside table.
She hugged Mu Ziqi back, buried her head in Mu Ziqi's arms, and burst into tears, "Mom, how could it have turned out like this? I really didn't expect it to turn out like this!"
"Good girl, it's good to cry. Crying will make you feel less wronged. It'll be better if you cry. I'm just afraid you'll keep it bottled up inside and make yourself feel wronged." Mu Ziqi gently patted Shen Zhiqiu's back, soothing her tenderly.
"Mom, if it weren't for saving me, Lu Jia wouldn't have had this accident. It's all my fault!" Shen Zhi Qiu grabbed Mu Zi Qi's arm, tears streaming down her face.
“It’s not your fault, child. It’s all because your parents didn’t discipline Qingyan properly and let him indulge Xiao Wanqing repeatedly, which is why he has turned out like this. Your parents also bear a lot of responsibility.” Mu Ziqi sighed, tears falling down her face.
“Jiang Bei has avenged Lu Jia, but Lu Jia will never come back, and I will never see him again!” Shen Zhi Qiu said, her shoulders shaking.
Mu Ziqi hugged her even tighter, feeling sorry for her.
After an unknown amount of time, Mu Ziqi felt that there was no movement in her arms. She quietly lowered her head, moved a little distance away, and found that Shen Zhi Qiu had fallen asleep.
She carefully placed Shen Zhi Qiu on the pillow, then gently tucked the blanket in before quietly leaving.
As soon as Mu Ziqi stepped out the door, she saw Zhou Xiaoran sitting by the stairs.
"Xiao Ran, what are you doing here?" Mu Ziqi asked, somewhat surprised.
"I was worried that if you finished talking with Zhi Qiu and then came to find me, I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving her alone in the house," Zhou Xiaoran said, scratching her head somewhat embarrassedly.
"Xiao Ran, you're so good to Zhi Qiu, like she's your own sister," Mu Ziqi said with some emotion.
"Zhi Qiu is very good to me too, we're best friends," Zhou Xiaoran said softly, then pointed inside and asked, "Is Zhi Qiu asleep?"
"Yes. She was probably too tired, so she cried herself to sleep." Mu Ziqi said with a pained expression, "Thank you for your hard work, Xiao Ran."
"It's alright, Auntie, I'll go in first." Zhou Xiaoran said, and quietly opened the door and went inside.
As Mu Ziqi reached the top of the stairs on the first floor, she noticed that the lights were still on in the garden. Looking into the distance, she could see Rong Mo and Lu Wei still in the glass room in the garden, seemingly still chatting.
Mu Ziqi sighed and returned to her room.
In the garden.
"Lu Wei, why don't you stay here for now? It'll be good to have someone to look after you if anything happens." Rong Mo gently placed the teacup in front of Lu Wei and said with concern, "I heard from Lu Jia that you're going abroad. Are you planning to settle down there and not come back?"
"Yes, that was originally the plan." Lu Wei nodded, trying to hold back her tears, but her voice still choked up. "However, given the current situation, I haven't made a decision yet."
"I don't know how to tell my parents, I just can't bring myself to say it." As she spoke, Lu Wei covered her face in anguish.
"Sorry." Rong Mo pursed his lips and handed Lu Wei a tissue.
Lu Wei's hands trembled as she took the gift and wiped away her tears. "I'm sorry, I still can't control my emotions." She looked sadly around the garden. "Thank you for your kindness, but I really can't live here. If I live here, I'll keep thinking about whether Lu Jia used to like sitting in the garden, daydreaming, sipping coffee, whether she would always wear an apron and make nourishing soup for Zhi Qiu, whether she..."
Lu Wei couldn't continue speaking and covered her face, bursting into tears.
Rong Mo couldn't help but tear up as well, feeling extremely distressed at the thought. He stood up, walked to Lu Wei's side, gently patted her shoulder, and softly comforted her, "I know you must be feeling very upset right now, but you can't neglect your health. It's so late, Xiao Ran has already gone to bed with Zhi Qiu, you should go and rest too."
No sooner had he finished speaking than the glass room door was pulled open from the outside.
"Xiaowei, go to sleep, okay? It's getting late," Zhou Xiaoran said gently as she walked in.
Seeing their surprised looks, Zhou Xiaoran explained, "Zhiqiu is already fast asleep, but I was worried, so I went to Lu Wei's room next door and found no one there, so I came down to check. I didn't expect you to be here." As she spoke, Zhou Xiaoran walked slowly to Lu Wei's side, gently put her arm around her shoulder, and whispered, "I'll go upstairs with you. Don't ruin your health. You must take care of yourself now."
Lu Wei nodded obediently and said gratefully, "Xiao Ran, thank you."
Zhou Xiaoran's eyes were also red. She pursed her lips, suppressing the bitterness in her heart, and comforted her, "Don't say such formal things. Zhi Qiu is also very worried about you. She..."
Zhou Xiaoran sighed and helped Lu Wei up. "Let's go, I'll go up with you. We can talk about it tomorrow."
Seeing this, Rong Mo quickly walked ahead and silently opened the door for them.
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