“He is not my husband, and I am even the daughter of his enemy.”
The old lady's words startled Xia Lan.
She had never expected things to turn out this way. Looking at how meticulously the old lady treated the old man, who had been lying beside her for years, she couldn't even find a single sore.
Xia Lan looked at the old lady, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping herself.
The old lady slowly looked out the window.
"That's good. Let him return to his rightful place, and finally, he can be free from me from the honors he deserves..."
The old lady's words carried a hint of sadness.
Xia Lan's heart tightened, and she stepped forward to hold the old lady's hand.
He's very worried about you.
The old lady smiled at Xia Lan.
“I know he’s always been this kind of person.”
"It was his gentleness that made me fall deeply in love with him."
The old lady returned the empty bowl to Xia Lan.
"I've been hospitalized for the past few days, please have someone pick him up..."
"I'm too old to take care of him anymore."
Xia Lan looked at the old lady and felt inexplicably sad.
She loved him for so many years. What has sustained a girl in taking care of a paralyzed lover for so many years?
Even when she gets old and her health declines, she still thinks about him and wants him to receive better care.
Don't you want to see him again?
Xia Lan looked at the old lady, who shook her head.
"He's gone! He's been watching me for decades, he's long since tired of it."
“Find someone to take care of him. He’s always wanted to leave me, and now he’s got what he wanted. I…”
"I guess I'm finally free."
Although the old lady said that, Xia Lan sensed the evasive look in her eyes when she said it.
The old lady needed to stay in the hospital for three days. Xia Lan helped her to bed before leaving.
After Xia Lan left, the old lady opened her eyes, glanced at her retreating figure, and felt a trace of sadness in her eyes.
After Qin Yu reported the old man's situation to Qin Jun, Qin Jun immediately brought his former leader over to identify him.
The old man was the person they had been looking for all along, but they never expected that his disappearance was because of that willful young lady from back then.
Qin Yu stood beside him, watching him weep as he finally found the great hero from back then.
"How can he be staying in this place? Get him to the hospital right away!"
The old leader looked at the old man's room. He needed someone to take care of him, and the old lady was currently hospitalized. It was obviously unrealistic to leave him here, and they would never allow a meritorious person to be treated like this.
Before long, the soldiers took the old man to the hospital to receive the best treatment and care.
Qin Yu watched as the old man kept turning back to look at the house where he had lived for decades.
But since the old man couldn't speak, he wasn't sure if the old man truly felt the same way he did about this place or that person...
When Xia Lan returned from the hospital, the old man's room was already empty.
Qin Yu remained standing there, looking at the room where the old man had once lived.
"The old man was taken away?"
Xia Lan entered the room and saw Qin Yu.
"Um."
Qin Yu told Xia Lan what had just happened, and Xia Lan sighed softly.
"What's wrong?"
Qin Yu turned to look at Xia Lan. Why was she sighing?
"What the old lady means is that you will take care of the old man from now on, because she... can no longer take care of him."
Xia Lan felt terrible, but there was nothing she could do.
"She was the one who stole him away back then and has been taking care of him ever since. You've been taking care of him for decades, how can she just let go like that?"
“She took such good care of him for decades… not just a few dozen days.”
"She just suddenly stopped caring? It seems she had expected the old man to be taken away."
Xia Lan said to Qin Yu.
Everything unfolded as the old lady had predicted, but Xia Lan felt a pang of sadness.
Qin Yu hugged Xia Lan with heartache.
"Looking at this room, what are your feelings?"
Qin Yu looked at the old man's room.
"He can only lie like this every day, like a walking corpse..."
"He wanted to die, but she forced him to stay."
"This is not a story that can be told in a single sentence..."
Qin Yu said slowly.
"I put myself in his shoes. If I'm dragging you down like this, I'd want to die too. The worst thing is to feel like I'm living a life worse than death."
Xia Lan was startled and looked up at Qin Yu.
"So what exactly is their relationship...?"
"...Only they themselves probably know the answer."
Qin Yu hugged Xia Lan and gently kissed her forehead.
How could outsiders possibly know what happened between the two of them?
For decades, has it been torture or atonement? How can it be summarized in a single sentence?
Xia Lan buried herself in Qin Yu's arms; she felt very sad just thinking about it.
Is it really possible for someone to take care of another person for decades out of love? She's probably just after his response, isn't she?
But the old man didn't respond at all...
Just thinking about it makes me feel suffocated.
For decades, it has remained unchanged.
How many decades are there in a lifetime?
"let's go!"
Xia Lan sighed softly and led Qin Yu away from the old lady's house.
After returning home, Xia Lan told Xiao Yuqin about it, but Xiao Yuqin had a different opinion.
"One responsibility, two beliefs."
Xiao Yuqin looked at Xia Lan and smiled at her.
"Life is only a few decades long, and it involves not only love but also responsibility."
"The old lady regarded him as her responsibility. At first, it may have been love, but it gradually turned into responsibility."
"Just like she said, she took care of him for decades, but now she can't do it anymore, she's old..."
"She gave up and handed her over to the army, knowing they would definitely not mistreat the old man."
"She can rest assured now."
Xiao Yuqin's words startled Xia Lan.
"Outsiders have no right to make decisions for the two of them. Since she has chosen to let go, then so be it!"
"Tomorrow I'll make you some soup and cook some dishes, and you can take them to the old lady."
Xiao Yuqin chuckled softly.
“The old lady is all alone. Once she recovers, you can visit her occasionally.”
"good."
Xia Lan nodded; she was indeed a little worried.
"Dad, how is Grandpa?"
After Qin Jun returned, Xia Lan asked curiously.
"It's really not easy for the old man to have maintained his health for so many years. Apart from being a little weak and having a cough, he doesn't have any major problems."
Qin Jun told Xia Lan about the old man's condition.
"After a thorough examination at the hospital, the old man was put to work there and will be someone to take care of him."
Don't worry.
Qin Jun smiled at Xia Lan.
Xia Lan nodded. With the old man being taken care of, the old lady should be able to rest assured.
The next day, Xia Lan took the meal prepared by Xiao Yuqin to the hospital to visit the old lady. When the old lady saw that it was Xia Lan, she rarely smiled.
"It must have been hard for you to come and see an old woman like me."
The old lady never expected Xia Lan to come and see her again.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
