When Su Xingran regained consciousness, she felt as if she were being roasted over a fire, the heat stifling, her head aching, her throat sore, and her whole body aching. She tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids were too heavy, and she drifted back to sleep.
While in a deep sleep, Su Xingran had a long dream in which she was pushed off a cliff and died. After her death, her soul wandered aimlessly. She saw her parents' grief as they mourned their child's passing, and her mother even fainted from the shock. When she woke up, her mother was dazed and couldn't recognize people, constantly calling out, "My Xingran, my Ranran." Sometimes, she would even run into the deep mountains where her accident happened to look for her Ranran.
While enduring the grief of losing his daughter, the father also cared for his wife, who was mentally unstable and occasionally wandered into the mountains searching for her. This man, who was only in his early forties, had completely white hair, his once straight back was now hunched, and his face was covered in deep wrinkles, making him look like a sixty-year-old. Even so, his grandparents would still come to his uncle's family every few days to beg for money and things, threatening his parents with tantrums and crying that they were unfilial if they weren't given anything. This only worsened the already impoverished family's situation.
Years later, her mother went to the place where her accident happened again. Standing on the edge of the cliff, she saw something and kept reaching forward, saying, "Ranran, Mom has come to find you. Are you in a lot of pain? Let Mom hug you and it won't hurt anymore." Su Xingran, who was floating above, was terrified when she saw this. She shouted, "Mom, go back! Don't go any further!" No matter how desperately she shouted, her mother did not respond and kept walking towards the precipice.
Just as she reached the edge, Su Xingran floated in front of her mother, intending to push her back. However, her hand passed right through her mother's body, taking her with it. Turning around, she saw a heartbreaking scene: her mother had jumped off the cliff.
"Mother!" Su Xingran cried out as she followed her as she plummeted to the bottom of the cliff. The scene pierced her eyes; her mother lay amidst the weeds and rocks. Blood gushed from her head, frothing at the mouth, her limbs trembling slightly. Her mouth opened and closed abruptly, but she could no longer speak; from the shape of her lips, she could tell she was saying "Ranran," until she breathed her last…
She knelt before her mother like a madwoman, crying and shouting, trying to hug her, but her hand passed right through her mother's body. When her father returned from the fields, he discovered his mother was missing and immediately began searching. His frantic activity attracted the attention of the villagers, who all helped in the search. They searched the entire village but couldn't find her.
Father was very anxious and panicked, not knowing where Mother had gone. She couldn't even recognize people and wondered if she was in danger. The villagers were talking amongst themselves when suddenly Father stood up and ran up the mountain. Seeing this, the villagers seemed to realize what was happening and followed him up the mountain.
Her father ran until his shoes fell off, not caring that he had lost them, until he reached the cliff where she had the accident. He bent down, knelt on the ground, picked up a hairpin, and burst into tears. She realized it was her hairpin; after the accident, her mother had always kept it in her hand or in her pocket.
The villagers who had followed looked at each other. The father, who had been kneeling on the ground, stood up and stumbled down the path leading down the cliff. The villagers followed him down to the bottom of the cliff. The Su couple were kind and gentle people. They would always take the initiative to help whenever the villagers needed assistance, so the villagers were willing to help them search.
When they reached the bottom of the cliff, the father saw his mother lying lifeless on the ground. He crawled to her side, hugged her, and burst into tears. His cries were mournful and desperate. The villagers following behind all had a bad feeling.
The villagers who approached discovered that the father was holding his mother, who had died sometime earlier. They shook their heads, lamenting the tragedy and pity. Their daughter had died here, and now their daughter-in-law had also died here; the family was torn apart. The village chief also tried to persuade the father to take his mother back for a proper burial.
The villagers helped set up a simple stretcher to carry Mother down the mountain. Father was like a lost soul, and others had to help him walk down.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com