Chapter 176

Chapter 176

The five-year-old child who had once been able to do no more than cling to her leg had grown up. He was tall now, broad-shouldered, his whole body brimming with strength.

Yao Qin could feel those arms trembling faintly, the tremor running through his entire body.

So lost. So overjoyed.

Her body went rigid, and in the instant Xie Qiyan pulled her into his arms, Yao Qin’s gaze turned a little blank. Then, as she felt the warmth and solid reality of the embrace, tears spilled from her lashes.

Xie Qiyan’s throat tightened. His eyes flushed an obvious red, and his vision gradually blurred. His voice shook as he held his mother the way he had when he was little and had suffered some grievance, intimate and dependent. “It’ll get better. Everything will get better.”

He straightened, then bent slightly again, taking Yao Qin’s hand and pressing it against his cheek. “Mom, I’m Ayan. I’m…”

I’m your Little Ah Yan.

Choking on his sobs, Xie Qiyan feared this was another dream and hurried to confirm it. “You recognize me, don’t you? You remember me, don’t you?”

Tears slid down Yao Qin’s cheeks as well. She stayed silent, gazing gently at Xie Qiyan. In the stillness, she slowly moved her fingertips and wiped the tears from his face. “How could I not recognize you?”

How could she possibly not recognize her Little Ah Yan?

Apart from the times when her illness took hold, she had never once forgotten her child.

She had not gone to see him because, in this state, she would only become a burden to him.

When she had been in Ireland, in the instant her mind had suddenly cleared and she recognized him, she had not dared acknowledge him.

She could not face him.

She knew all too well how much trouble her illness would bring to the people around her.

Xia Wanzhi sobbed softly, wiping her tears haphazardly with the back of her hand. Witnessing this long-awaited reunion between mother and son, she cried tears of joy.

Liu Shubai, on the other hand, had been about to step forward and approach Yao Qin, but his footsteps suddenly stopped, as if he had become even more bewildered and uneasy than Xie Qiyan.

Sensing Xia Wanzhi’s gaze, Liu Shubai curled his fingertips slightly. The two of them turned and left in tacit understanding, giving the mother and son space to be alone together.

Xia Wanzhi actually had many questions she wanted to ask, but after thinking it over, she was only a junior and seemed to have no right to pry into the elders’ affairs.

Besides, Xie Tianqi wasn’t dead. Though Liu Shubai had taken care of Yao Qin for more than twenty years, he had never had an official status.

She had met her mother-in-law, but as for her father-in-law, she still did not know which one she was supposed to acknowledge.

While Yao Qin was still lucid, Dr. Ude connected to a video conference with his team members before evening, discussing the surgery-related matters in detail.

The meeting went on for more than an hour. When night fell, the hand Yao Qin had been using to hold Xia Wanzhi’s suddenly lost its strength, and her gaze as she looked at everyone gradually became unfocused.

“I’ll take her to rest. You keep listening.” Liu Shubai reached out to help her up, signaling for Xie Qiyan and Xia Wanzhi not to worry.

Perhaps she was tired. Yao Qin neither fussed nor made a scene, and she did not say a single word. Out of habit, she simply followed Liu Shubai’s steps and left.

Xie Qiyan’s ears were listening to the doctor speak, but his gaze followed Yao Qin closely.

Until a warm hand clasped his right hand.

Their fingers intertwined.

Xia Wanzhi did not look at him. She stared seriously at the projected screen, where the doctors were discussing and analyzing relevant surgical cases.

Xie Qiyan’s attention returned to the screen as well. Beneath the table, his hidden hand tightened slightly, holding firmly onto Xia Wanzhi.

The next day, Dr. Ude’s team members arrived in Beicheng. After discussion, they transferred Yao Qin’s medical records to the neurosurgery department of Beicheng Hospital. Once they reached an agreement with Beicheng Hospital, they would jointly carry out the surgery one week later.

During that week, Yao Qin continued to alternate between lucidity and episodes of illness, but unlike before, it was no longer impossible to tell whether she was clear-headed or not.
These days, when Yao Qin was lucid, she would seek out Xie Qiyan and Xia Wanzhi to talk. When she was not, she would grab anyone nearby and tell them about her Little Ah Yan.

Once this year’s late spring cold snap passed, spring arrived in earnest, bright and warm. Xia Wanzhi knew Xie Qiyan was busy handling company affairs, so in order not to distract him, she personally took care of Yao Qin most of the time.

Liu Shubai worked diligently to transform the villa’s backyard into a small garden for Xia Wanzhi, so Xia Wanzhi brought Yao Qin along to supervise. Occasionally, she would set up an easel and paint.

She painted scenery. She painted people. She painted dreams, too.

While she painted, Yao Qin would sometimes watch her. Only when her illness flared up would she quietly lower her head, holding a needle as she embroidered a handkerchief.

The pattern on the handkerchief was asparagus fern.

Xie Qiyan had once said that Yao Qin loved asparagus fern most, so several fine asparagus ferns had also been planted in the Sky Garden on the top floor of Xingyao Building.

Xia Wanzhi suddenly found herself looking forward to the day Yao Qin saw the Sky Garden.

“I had another dream last night.” Yao Qin stopped what she was doing and suddenly looked up at Xia Wanzhi, murmuring, “I dreamed someone took me home. And Little Ah Yan was there too.”

Xia Wanzhi paused. She waited for Yao Qin to continue, only to realize that was all she was going to say.

Ever since Xia Wanzhi had begun probing into Yao Qin’s dreams, she had heard many strange and fantastical dreams from her. Most were illusory and had nothing to do with reality. Only a very few had anything to do with Xie Qiyan.

More often, they were about the “someone” Yao Qin mentioned.

Xia Wanzhi could guess that person might be Xie Tianqi.

He was a ticking time bomb buried in Yao Qin’s heart, and also a ferocious beast that had trapped her for many years.

An emotional knot that could not be untied, and an obsession as well.

Xia Wanzhi had painted countless dreams, and through them she could discern many things. Yet Yao Qin alone was someone she could not understand.

Xie Tianqi was a faithless man, and yet Yao Qin still loved him completely.

She did not know the story of their youth. She could not judge it, nor could she understand it.

The day Yao Qin was admitted to the hospital for examinations happened to be the day Xie Tianqi was discharged.

By coincidence, they were in the same hospital. By even greater coincidence, they just so happened to run into each other.

Xie Qiyan had not hidden the matter of bringing his mother back. The entire Xie Family had probably known long ago. The Old Master had suggested coming to see her as soon as he found out, but Xie Qiyan refused to allow it.

The Xie Family had caused Yao Qin far too much harm. Unless Yao Qin herself asked to see them, Xie Qiyan would never agree.

Besides, even if Xie Qiyan did agree, Liu Shubai would stand at the door with a knife and forbid any other member of the Xie Family from approaching Yao Qin.

After settling Yao Qin in, Xie Qiyan went downstairs.

In front of the hospital, the Xie Family’s car was still parked where it had been. The rear door stood open, and Xie Tianqi, seated inside, gazed over from a distance.

His eyes were filled with too many questions. Those doubts took root in him at once, making him desperate for an answer.

Xie Qiyan walked calmly up to him. Looking down at him, he gave a contemptuous smile. “You’re very lucky. You still lived long enough to see my mother.”

Xie Tianqi’s pupils constricted, and his breathing grew uneven. “She…”

“Schizophrenia.” Xie Qiyan’s gaze was dark and vicious, each word cutting straight to the heart. “What you owe her is something you couldn’t repay even in death.”

Seeing Xie Tianqi’s shock as he had wished, Xie Qiyan let out a derisive smile instead.

He had actually hoped that a man who had abandoned his wife and son might possess even the slightest trace of guilt and self-reproach.

“She will be fine.” Xie Qiyan looked at him and enunciated every word. “By my side, enjoying the happiness of family, surrounded by grandchildren.”

And he, Xie Tianqi, would ultimately have nothing at all.