Chapter 175

Chapter 175

Many years ago, members of Dr. Ude’s team had suggested using stereotactic brain surgery to intervene with and treat certain abnormally active nerves in Yao Qin’s brain.

The reason the proposal had never been approved was that every surgery carried risks.

Yao Qin was an important and very special patient, and Dr. Ude did not dare take that risk.

Besides, Liu Shubai would not have agreed to let them take that risk back then either.

But now, seeing Yao Qin’s condition improve, he, as her attending physician of many years, saw hope as well.

Her condition had not worsened. Instead, she was gradually getting better. In that case, the success rate of the stereotactic brain surgery would certainly be very high.

Liu Shubai thought about the proposal for three days. Even someone as decisive and resolute as Xie Qiyan was unable to make up his mind for a long time.

Xia Wanzhi was also busy consulting several neurosurgeons. Among her former clients were quite a few specialists in neurology and neurosurgery. After she truly understood the procedure, she relayed the information to Xie Qiyan and Liu Shubai.

After several days of rain, the sky finally cleared. A few rays of warm sunlight spilled down from the horizon. The magnolia tree in the courtyard was in full bloom, so Xia Wanzhi accompanied Yao Qin to admire the flowers and enjoy the spring.

Knowing that Yao Qin liked flowers, Yun Li and Jiang Baichuan brought over many flowers with their stems still untrimmed. Aside from wanting to visit Xie Qiyan’s mother, it had also been Xia Wanzhi’s suggestion that they bring flowers for Yao Qin to pass the time.

It was not good for her to sleep all the time. Xia Wanzhi’s place was not like the estate in Ireland. There were no flower fields here, and apart from a few magnolia and plum trees, there were no other flowers to admire.

In the backyard, after getting Xia Wanzhi’s permission, Liu Shubai was reclaiming a new plot of land. He planned to scatter flower seeds while spring had just begun, hoping that by next spring, it would welcome a burst of vibrant life.

Yao Qin seemed somewhat displeased to see strangers. Only after learning that they were Xia Wanzhi’s guests did her mood ease. By the time they finished a meal together, she had already become familiar enough to start asking about Yun Li and Jiang Baichuan’s wedding plans.

During that time, she looked at Jiang Baichuan often. Xia Wanzhi seemed to sense something and used the opportunity to call Yun Li away, leaving the two of them some time alone.

Yao Qin kept a gentle smile on her face the entire time. It was only when Jiang Baichuan was about to get up and leave as well that she abruptly asked, “Are you Ayan’s good friend?”

Jiang Baichuan froze. Halfway to his feet, he sat back down and answered earnestly, nervously, “Yes. We’ve been very good friends since we were little.”

Then Yao Qin began to cry. As if talking to herself, she apologized to the empty air.

“She remembers Xie Qiyan.” Before leaving, Jiang Baichuan said to Xia Wanzhi with absolute certainty, “She hasn’t lost her memory. Maybe she’s just not lucid, or maybe she doesn’t dare acknowledge him.”

“How could someone who knows she has a mental illness truly not know who the person standing in front of her is?” Jiang Baichuan’s emotions were complicated. Half of it was because this was his first time witnessing Yao Qin’s illness flare up. The other half was because he thought of how Xie Qiyan must feel.

Heaven had never been fair.

A mother and son, separated for so many years.

Xie Qiyan made one’s heart ache.

So did Yao Qin.

But mother and son had finally met today. From now on, there would surely come a moment when they recognized each other.

Xia Wanzhi was a little distracted. After a pause, she nodded. “I guessed the same before.”

And now, Xia Wanzhi was certain of one thing.

When Yao Qin was communicating with her normally, she was clear-headed. At those times, there was at least a seventy percent chance that she remembered Xie Qiyan.

Only when her illness acted up would her consciousness and memories become disordered.

Knowing that Xie Qiyan would not be able to sleep tonight, Xia Wanzhi stayed up with him. In the middle of the night, she could not hold out and fell asleep. When she woke near dawn, she found that Xie Qiyan still had not slept.

She shifted and burrowed into his arms, raising one hand to cover his eyes.

“Ayan, go to sleep,” Xia Wanzhi said, her voice hoarse.

She had said she would share the weight he carried, but Xia Wanzhi still felt powerless.

There were many things that, in the end, he would still have to bear alone.

“I want to find a time to ask Mom whether she’s willing to undergo stereotactic brain surgery,” Xie Qiyan said hoarsely. This was the conclusion he had reached after thinking for the entire night.

If Yao Qin was clear-headed, he wanted to ask for her opinion.

The surgery was risky. Liu Shubai hesitated, and Xie Qiyan hesitated too. But Dr. Ude said that for Yao Qin’s current condition, the surgery had at least an eighty percent chance of curing her.

That was a very high number.

When Xie Qiyan heard it, it was as if he had seen hope.

But he did not dare gamble. There was still the remaining twenty percent, and he did not dare gamble on it.

Xia Wanzhi hugged him and gave a small nod. “All right. Then let Mom decide.”

The next day, when Liu Shubai heard the news, he was so angry he nearly steamed from both nostrils. He raised his voice. “I don’t agree! Isn’t this absurd? Your mother’s mind isn’t clear. How can she make this decision?”

“She isn’t unclear,” Xia Wanzhi sighed softly. “You kept her trapped in a gilded cage all these years, yet she never once stopped wanting to find Uncle Xie and demand an explanation. Do you truly think she isn’t clear-headed?”

She was not unclear.

She simply felt that there was no point.

She had simply grown timid.

She did not dare appear before Xie Tianqi in her current state. She did not dare appear before her Little Ah Yan.

Liu Shubai remained silent for a long time.

How could he not know?

He understood Yao Qin too well.

In those first few years, she had tried everything she could to escape.

She had been desperate to flee, and he had been just as desperate to confine her.

Over the years, Yao Qin had come to rely on him and trust him, yet she had never truly confided in him. There had always been a river between them.

Sometimes Liu Shubai wondered whether, if he had brought her back earlier to demand an explanation from Xie Tianqi, she would not have developed such a terrifying illness as schizophrenia. But he had also been afraid, afraid of every possible variable.

His possessiveness would not allow her to return to Xie Tianqi’s side.

“If I have the surgery, will I get better?” The door to the room opened. Yao Qin had not used her wheelchair. She moved her feet slowly and stepped out.

She did not look at Liu Shubai. Instead, she looked at Xie Qiyan. There was a trace of unease hidden in her gaze, yet it was as gentle as water. “Ayan, will I get better?”

The air around them seemed to freeze. After a long silence, while several of them had tears welling in their eyes, Xie Qiyan walked forward and pulled that weathered, frail woman-the woman who had brought him into this world-into a deep embrace.

“Mom-” Xie Qiyan choked out.