“Class, today let’s draw a picture together. You can give it to your friends, or you can give it to your family.”
As the kindergarten teacher’s gentle voice echoed, Wen Tingyin took the drawing paper and crayons. For some reason, a sudden wave of panic hit her heart, and she felt an inexplicable drop in her spirits.
“What’s wrong?”
Huo Yinli also noticed that Wen Tingyin was unhappy. Turning her head to look, she lowered her voice and asked, “Are you feeling unwell?”
Wen Tingyin drew a sunflower on the paper and pursed her lips. “No, I just feel a sudden panic in my heart. I suddenly really miss my younger sister.”
Hearing this, Huo Yinli also fell silent. She let out a sigh. “Me too.”
Their two mothers had left again. No matter how well-behaved they were, they would still miss them, and now they also missed Wen Ruanqing.
But mimicking her mother’s manner, Huo Yinli patted Wen Tingyin. “School is about to let out soon. Auntie Feng and sister will pick us up.”
Hearing these words, Wen Tingyin was instantly filled with vitality and nodded vigorously. “Then I want to draw a big, big sunflower for sister. What are you drawing?”
“I am drawing my family. Today my mother and mommy are leaving.”
Huo Yinli felt a bit sad. “I don’t know when they will come back.”
Wen Tingyin also felt downcast upon hearing this; she really liked Huo Lin and Chu Qing.
The two children discussed the details with each other. By the time they finished drawing, kindergarten was over. Wen Tingyin and Huo Yinli immediately packed their backpacks and obediently lined up to wait for dismissal.
“Mommy!”
Wen Tingyin was incredibly excited when she saw Feng Ye. She smiled happily, but when she jogged over, she didn’t see Wen Ruanqing. Confused, she asked, “Where is sister?”
Feng Ye squeezed out a smile. “Sister is feeling a little unwell.”
“Unwell?”
Wen Tingyin instantly grew anxious and looked back at Huo Yinli. “Sister is sick.”
Huo Yinli panicked as well. “What happened to sister?”
“Get in the car first, I’ll take you to see her, okay?”
Feng Ye lifted both children into the car and then told the driver to head to the hospital.
“Is sister’s illness serious? What’s going on?”
Wen Tingyin kept asking Feng Ye the entire way, but Feng Ye only said, “Sister needs to recuperate in the hospital. I am taking you to see her now.”
Huo Yinli did not say a word the whole time, but the panic in her eyes was hard to hide.
How could children of this age hide their emotions?
When they saw Wen Ruanqing lying on the hospital bed, they instantly broke down and cried. Wen Tingyin’s tears fell like pearls from a broken string. “What happened to sister?”
Wen Ruanqing was lying on the hospital bed with an indwelling needle inserted into her hand, and various wires and tubes attached to her body and mouth. Wen Tingyin didn’t understand any of that; she just felt heartbroken.
“When will sister get better?”
Wen Si lifted Wen Tingyin into her arms and patted her back. “Sister’s heart is not good, she…”
Midway through her sentence, Wen Si couldn’t help but choke up. “Mommy didn’t take good care of sister, I didn’t realize sister was unwell.”
“Don’t be like this, the doctor said it was a sudden onset for the baby.”
Holding Huo Yinli, Feng Ye shed tears silently. “She will get better.”
Looking at Wen Ruanqing lying on the hospital bed, Huo Yinli did not cry, but she kept her eyes fixed on her, not daring to move her gaze away for even a second.
She will wake up, right?
Sister, we are all waiting for you.
Huo Yinli gripped her backpack straps tightly and pursed her lips, the distress in her eyes beyond words.
Lying on the hospital bed, Wen Ruanqing’s ears were filled with the beeping sounds of the machines. When she opened her eyes, she found nothing but darkness around her. She could only sit where she was, helplessly crying out, “Mommy,” “Sister.”
But no one paid attention to her.
“Mommy.”
Wen Ruanqing curled up in a corner, looking around helplessly. Her mommy and two older sisters were gone.
Where was this place? It was so dark, she was so scared.
“Beep, beep, beep—”
The “beep” sounds made Wen Ruanqing’s heart feel a bit panicked. She sniffled, pursing her lips and not daring to speak.
“Sister… your hand is so cold…”
“Blow, blow, blow… let me blow on it for sister…”
“Wake up quickly, sister, I bought you…”
Bought what?
Wen Ruanqing could only hear blurry voices. She searched all around but found that she couldn’t see anything.
She rubbed her eyes, thinking she just couldn’t see clearly.
“Sister, wake up quickly…”
“I’ll take you… to play.”
Where are we going to play?
She wanted to go!
Wen Ruanqing also wanted to play together with Wen Tingyin and Huo Yinli. Stumbling, she stood up. Her walking was not very steady, so she crawled with all her might, as if as long as she chased the voices, she could find her family.
“Heave-ho.”
Tired from crawling, Wen Ruanqing lay down on the ground, curling up her body. Thinking about the words she had just heard, she also wanted to go out and play.
She wanted to go out and play!
“Did sister not wake up today either?”
After talking to Wen Ruanqing for a while, Wen Tingyin lowered her head in disappointment. Her sister had been asleep for half a month, and she really missed her.
The tubes on Wen Ruanqing’s body had decreased a bit, but the machines were still ticking and beeping.
Huo Yinli leaned over the edge of the bed, looking at Wen Ruanqing’s small hand. The bracelet she had given Wen Ruanqing had been taken off; Feng Ye had returned it to her, but she placed the bracelet right beside Wen Ruanqing, hoping it would be of some use.
“She will wake up. The doctor said sister is in a good state today.”
Feng Ye comforted Wen Tingyin in a low voice. Just as her voice fell, the phone rang. She glanced at it and then hurriedly walked outside. “Mom, really no need, the baby’s condition is fine, but earlier my heart was panicking…”
“Mommy.”
Wen Tingyin twined her hands together, looking up at Wen Si helplessly. “Mommy.”
“Mommy went to answer Grandma’s call.”
Wen Si stroked Wen Tingyin’s head. “Maybe sister will wake up tomorrow.”
“Can’t it be today?”
Huo Yinli finally spoke, her eyes red. “I don’t want to wait until tomorrow.”
Hearing this, Wen Tingyin was also so sad that she was about to cry. “I don’t want to wait either. I drew so many pictures for sister. I want to sleep together with sister.”
Wen Ruanqing was usually super well-behaved. If she needed to go to the toilet, she would call someone; if she was thirsty or hungry, she would say so. At night, she would cry at most once. She would never grab Wen Tingyin’s things, and she would actively cuddle with them.
But now, sister couldn’t wake up.
“Don’t cry.”
Wen Si’s voice was hoarse. She pulled out a tissue to wipe the tears from the two children’s faces. “If sister hears us crying, she will be sad too, right?”
Huo Yinli nodded. “I won’t cry.”
Wen Tingyin also said, “I won’t cry.”
“In a little while, Auntie Feng will take you to eat. I will stay here and watch over sister, okay?”
Wen Si took turns holding the two children to comfort them. “We need to be a bit happier.”
“What’s wrong?”
When Feng Ye pushed the door open and entered, she found that all three of them had red eyes. Sighing, she stepped forward to hold Wen Tingyin and Huo Yinli’s hands. “It’s eleven o’clock at noon, I’ll take you to eat.”
Huo Yinli took Feng Ye’s hand willingly, but her heart lingered. She kept turning her head back to look at Wen Ruanqing, and Wen Tingyin also kept staring at Wen Ruanqing without looking away.
Until—they shouted at the same time, “Sister moved!”
They saw it, Wen Ruanqing’s eyes were moving!
Feng Ye’s breath caught, and she instantly turned her head to look. She felt her heart rate accelerating as she saw the child lying on the bed slowly open her eyes, those eyes filled with confusion.
Wen Ruanqing’s breathing was a bit rapid as she blinked her eyes slowly:
“Ma—”
Mommy.