Chen Xuening stood uneasily to the side, her pink lips tightly pressed together, her small hand clutching the fabric of Chen Mengyao’s clothes. She had never seen her sister like this before. She whispered, “Sister.”
Chen Mengyao lifted her red, swollen eyes and looked at her in a daze. Chen Xuening panicked and said, “Sister, don’t cry. I… I can also work hard to make money to buy food for mom.”
Chen Mengyao wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes, forcing a faint smile as she softly replied, “I’m fine, you don’t need to worry.” Then, she used the tissue the female doctor had given her to wipe her cheeks clean and forced herself to stand up. “Come on, let’s go see mom together.”
Chen Xuening nodded and followed closely behind her. When they pushed open the door to the ward, the room was silent. Their mother still lay unconscious on the hospital bed.
Chen Mengyao froze in her steps. Her mother, who used to be cheerful and full of laughter, now looked pale as paper, a ventilator keeping her alive, like a withered rose at the end of its life. Chen Mengyao collapsed in front of the bed, her tears spilling uncontrollably. “Mom…”
This was the fourth time. She couldn’t endure it anymore. Leaning by her mother’s ear, she cried, “Mom, I’m sorry. I didn’t take good care of you…” Her voice broke into sobs.
At that moment, she felt like she had lost all support. Her emotions finally broke loose as she tightly held her mother’s cold hands and wept softly. Chen Xuening also leaned on the side of the bed, her tears dripping down without end. “I’m sorry. It’s all my fault for being useless. What should I do to make you better? I really can’t do anything anymore…”
The more Chen Mengyao cried, the more her heart ached. She had never felt so helpless in her entire life. She could accept misfortunes happening to herself, but she could not accept her family suffering. The source of this chapter is NovelPing.
A solution… how could she raise 300,000 yuan? Suddenly, Chen Mengyao thought of something. She stopped crying at once. Wiping her tears away, she lifted her head with a determined look, as if she had made an important decision. She whispered, “Xuening, stay with the nurse on duty and don’t run around. I’ll step out for a bit, I’ll be back soon.”
“Okay, sister, hurry back,” the little girl nodded obediently.
Chen Mengyao stood up and looked around the room. On the windowpane, she saw the reflection of her own disheveled face and her red, swollen eyes. She whispered, “Mom, wait for me a little longer. I will definitely make you better.”
…
Ten minutes later, Chen Mengyao stepped out of a taxi. The rain hadn’t stopped—it had been falling all day, and now it only poured harder. People on the streets hurried home under their umbrellas.
She opened her own umbrella and walked toward home. Even though she was careful, the water on the ground still seeped into her shoes and socks, chilling her to the bone. The icy dampness spread from her feet to her heart, making her shiver in her thin clothes. She tightened her coat around herself and quickened her pace, running to the trash bin at the corner of the stairs.
Her gaze grew complicated as she looked at the trash bin, as if peering into another world through it. “I hope it’s still here…”
Taking a deep breath, she bent down, squatted, and reached in to search. It was already past 7 p.m. The sky was gloomy, and with the rain, everything seemed even darker. She endured the stench coming from the bin and searched for a long time, but couldn’t find what she was looking for.
“It shouldn’t be… I remember throwing it here…” she muttered with a frown, her face showing confusion and despair. To search more easily, she simply closed her umbrella and dug through the trash over and over. Get faster updates on novelping . com.
The rain poured down harder, soaking her clothes completely. Her fair, jade-like face turned pale from the cold, her lips losing all color. Raindrops clung to her long eyelashes and trembled in the wind. She bit her lips, stubbornness flashing in her eyes. “It must be in here. I can find it…”
But in this world, things often didn’t go as one wished. After rummaging through the bin one last time and still not finding what she wanted, she finally gave up.
Chen Mengyao just squatted quietly on the ground, staring at the garbage, letting the rain beat down on her. Her thin and fragile body trembled in the downpour, as if it could collapse at any moment. When the last shred of hope vanished, she knew she had to accept reality.
She let out a long breath, rubbing her cold face without caring about her appearance. Gradually, her eyes regained clarity. She didn’t have much time to wallow in grief. She had to adjust quickly and work even harder to make money. “Maybe Heaven doesn’t want me to take that path.”
Once she accepted that the contract was gone, she felt a strange sense of relief. Life would be even harder from now on, but at least she wouldn’t have to sell her soul or body. Thinking of this, she felt lighter. Although earning 300,000 yuan in two years was nearly impossible, she knew she would never give up.
Taking a deep breath, determination filled her eyes. Just as she was about to stand and leave, she realized the rain above her had stopped. A large black umbrella now shielded her from the downpour.
“?” She turned her head in confusion and saw a tall figure standing against the light. She slowly looked up and met a pair of deep, dark eyes quietly watching her.
“It’s you?” Chen Mengyao froze for a moment.
Lu Chen smiled faintly, pulling out a soaked contract with his other hand. His tone was playful as he asked, “Are you looking for this?”