Since Lin Qiqi came into this body, Jiang Yunling had rarely made any requests of her.
What to eat, what to drink—it didn’t matter.
How she was cared for—it didn’t matter either.
It was as if she had completely lost her desire to live.
The original owner had been cared for by Jiang Yunling since childhood and wasn’t very good at taking care of others.
In the first few days after Lin Qiqi arrived, Jiang Yunling had already begun developing bedsores on her back.
It was only after Lin Qiqi applied medicine and cleaned the wounds daily that things had improved recently.
Now that Jiang Yunling said she wanted something sweet to drink, Lin Qiqi was actually quite happy.
Once a person has something they want, they can keep living.
She happened to have some milk candies on hand. Lin Qiqi took a small pot and planned to melt them over hot water to make a drink for Jiang Yunling.
Milk was scarce and hard to get these days. Once the White Rabbit candies melted, they gave off a rich milky aroma that made Lin Qiqi swallow.
So fragrant.
Much better than plain sugar water.
While the candies melted, she could also make some porridge.
Jiang Yunling’s disability allowance wouldn’t be issued for a few more days, and the only grain left at home was some millet.
Earlier, when Aunt Zhang saw Lin Qiqi being bullied, she had brought over two jin of rice and a plate of eggs.
That morning, Lin Qiqi had also gone out with Aunt Zhang to gather some wild vegetables.
Spring had its advantages—there was no shortage of greens.
The vegetables had wilted a bit by now, but they were still fine for porridge.
Lin Qiqi set a pot of water to boil, adding a small bit of lard and a pinch of salt.
Once the water boiled, she blanched the vegetables to remove their bitterness.
Then she chopped them into small pieces and cooked them together with rice and millet in a clay pot. Even with simple ingredients, it made a fragrant vegetable porridge.
As she worked on the porridge and stirred the melting candies, her mind was occupied with thoughts of starting a business and finding capital.
What happened earlier today with Meng Ziping and Hao Yajie only strengthened her determination to make money quickly.
Without money, she could be pushed into marrying a fool.
The melted milk candy drink turned a light yellow and smelled sweet.
Lin Qiqi added some cooled boiled water to adjust the temperature, then carried it to Jiang Yunling.
Jiang Yunling took a small sip. “Where did this come from?”
“Is it sweet?” Lin Qiqi smiled. “I had some milk candy today, so I melted it for you.”
Jiang Yunling took another sip. “Why didn’t you keep it for yourself? Giving it to me is a waste.”
Lin Qiqi replied, “It’s nothing. When things get better, we’ll have as much milk candy as we want. Your health matters more than anything.”
After speaking, she was about to check on the porridge when Jiang Yunling called out again.
“Daughter…”
Lin Qiqi stopped and turned back.
Jiang Yunling’s eyes were red, a layer of moisture covering them, though no tears fell.
“Let me look at you a little longer.”
She stared at Lin Qiqi without blinking, as if trying to engrave her image into memory.
Lin Qiqi looked back at her, confused, unable to understand what was wrong.
A faint smile slowly appeared on Jiang Yunling’s lips.
“Go on, child,” she said softly, as if she had finally seen enough. She closed her eyes and turned her head away. “Go on.”
Lin Qiqi walked toward the kitchen with some suspicion. After only a few days together, she still didn’t fully understand Jiang Yunling.
She only knew that Jiang Yunling was a very good mother.
Though timid and often bullied, she had given the original owner the best she could within her means.
Jiang Yunling was skilled with her hands—she could tailor and embroider.
The original owner’s clothes always fit better than other girls’ and looked more stylish.
The handkerchief that Jian Yushu had returned earlier had a small embroidered picture in the lower right corner.
Under a large tree was a patch of lush grass, vividly stitched.
It was something Jiang Yunling had embroidered specifically for her daughter.
Lush grass on Parrot Isle.
That was her daughter’s name.
Lin Qiqi suddenly felt a sharp pain stab through her heart.
This pain was far more intense than the dull ache she had felt earlier when seeing Meng Ziping.
It hurt so much that she couldn’t even straighten her back.
Tears streamed from her eyes.
After several deep breaths, she slowly straightened up.
Through the blur of tears, she saw Jiang Yunling’s reflection in the glass window ahead.
At some point, Jiang Yunling had crawled to the foot of the bed and taken out a brown glass bottle from underneath.
A brown glass bottle?
Lin Qiqi’s head throbbed as if struck.
She suddenly remembered—if she hadn’t transmigrated, the original owner’s ending would have been to lose all hope and follow Jiang Yunling in death after she drank pesticide.
That brown bottle was the pesticide.
No wonder Jiang Yunling had been acting so strangely tonight—she intended to kill herself.
“Mom!” Lin Qiqi cried out, her voice tearing from her chest.
“What are you doing?!”
Jiang Yunling froze for a moment.
Since becoming disabled, her thoughts had grown increasingly sensitive.
She had heard everything Meng Ziping and Hao Yajie said that afternoon.
She was a burden to her daughter.
If not for her, Lin Qiqi would have lived a better life.
These past days, her daughter hadn’t even been willing to call her “Mom.” Did she resent her?
Maybe it was better for her to die.
That single cry of “Mom” only made Jiang Yunling hesitate for a moment.
What her daughter went through that afternoon pained her deeply.
Originally, she had planned to mix the pesticide into the sweet drink—perhaps it wouldn’t taste as bitter.
But now…
Her trembling lips approached the bottle. The strong stench made tears stream down her face, her stomach churning painfully.
She tightly shut her eyes, not looking in Lin Qiqi’s direction.
Drink it.
If she looked at her daughter again, she wouldn’t be able to leave.
She raised her arm, about to pour the liquid into her mouth.
But suddenly, her hand was struck hard.
Lin Qiqi had lunged forward with all her strength.
The bottle flew from Jiang Yunling’s hand and shattered on the floor with a loud crack, the room instantly filling with the pungent smell.
Lin Qiqi lost her balance from the force, her waist slamming against the edge of the bed. Ignoring the pain, she scrambled up and tightly held Jiang Yunling, who was trying to slam herself into the wall.
After being ill for so long, Jiang Yunling had little strength despite her resolve to die.
Held tightly in Lin Qiqi’s arms, she couldn’t move and could only cry out.
“Qiqi, let go. Let Mom go.”
“If I’m gone, I won’t drag you down anymore.”
Lin Qiqi’s whole body ached, especially her heart.
Sharp pain stabbed again and again, making it hard for her to speak. She could only keep calling out—
“Mom.”
“Mom…”
“Mom, don’t go.”
Again and again, through clenched teeth and tears, her cries softened the resolve Jiang Yunling had struggled to build.
Jiang Yunling’s body went limp in her arms.
The pain in Lin Qiqi’s heart gradually faded as Jiang Yunling’s resistance weakened.
Only then did she feel the piercing pain in her calf.
The commotion was so loud that even Aunt Zhang next door heard it.
“What’s going on? What happened?”
She hurried over and saw the mother and daughter clinging to each other.
And on the cement floor, there was a small, glaring pool of blood.