“Whew, winters in the Northeast really hit hard.” Zhao Qingye’s voice was full of energy. She refused to let her own emotions add even the slightest negativity to Meiqing’s mood.
“Good thing our place is in a great location. There’s a mall and a big supermarket just a short walk away. I bought a bunch of stuff, and it should all be delivered soon.”
“How about we have hotpot tonight? It’s your favorite.”
“Sounds good. Hotpot is perfect for weather like this.” Shi Meiqing’s voice was equally cheerful, as though she weren’t someone standing at death’s door.
The place they had finally settled in was right in the center of a city. Along the journey, Zhao Qingye had finally realized why her best friend insisted on traveling alone once every year these past few years.
In nearly every provincial capital and famous tourist city, Meiqing owned a house.
The sizes varied, but all of them were in excellent locations. Throughout the trip, they had barely stayed in hotels at all — either sleeping in the car or staying in one of Meiqing’s homes.
The house here was the largest of them all: a detached three-story villa. It wasn’t ridiculously huge, but for two people it was more than spacious enough.
“Oh right, when I went to the mall earlier, the robot vacuum cleaners were on sale. I bought one for every floor of your space. That way you won’t have to clean by yourself anymore.”
“And I bought all kinds of winter clothing too. The stuff here is way better than anywhere else — warmer and with more styles. I got several sets, so you can store them away later.”
“Okay.”
“It’s pretty warm inside, so let’s make the hotpot broth lighter today, alright? Otherwise we’ll get heaty.”
“Whatever you say.”
“Oh right, I also bought a bottle of wine. Let’s have a little together later.”
“Mhm.”
With her back turned toward Shi Meiqing, Zhao Qingye could no longer stop the tears from falling.
A month earlier, Meiqing’s limbs had already atrophied to the point where she could barely move them. In recent days, even her speech had started becoming difficult.
The muscles in her throat were probably beginning to weaken too. Once the muscle atrophy reached her lungs and airway… that would be when Meiqing left her forever.
Meiqing had already said she didn’t want to go to the hospital. She didn’t want to die covered in tubes, stripped of all dignity.
But watching her grow thinner and weaker day by day made Zhao Qingye feel as though someone were squeezing her heart in their fist.
She turned off the faucet and used drying her hands as an excuse to wipe away her tears. Then she forced an easy smile onto her face before turning back around.
Only to see Shi Meiqing already leaning back in the recliner with her eyes closed.
The smile on Zhao Qingye’s face instantly tightened.
She hurried over, fingers trembling as she placed them beneath Meiqing’s nose. Feeling the faint warmth of her breathing brush against her skin, she finally let out a harsh breath of relief.
Lately, she had repeated this exact motion countless times every day. Every single time she saw Meiqing asleep with her eyes closed, she feared they would never open again.
Ding dong, ding dong.
The doorbell rang.
Zhao Qingye quickly pulled the blanket over Shi Meiqing a little more securely before hurrying toward the door.
“You’re Ms. Zhao, correct? The items you purchased have been delivered. Would you like to inspect and sign for them?”
It was the supermarket delivery worker bringing over the things she had bought. Every time Zhao Qingye went shopping, she bought so much that she couldn’t carry it all herself and had to have it delivered.
Zhao Qingye glanced at the number of bags and nodded. “Looks right. I sign here?”
“That’s right. Thank you for shopping with us, and we hope to see you again.” The delivery worker took the receipt and left.
Only then did Zhao Qingye notice the two people standing behind him. “And you are?”
She’d been too focused on receiving the delivery to notice them earlier.
These two clearly weren’t supermarket employees, nor did they look like villa security or staff.
One man and one woman. The man looked around forty years old, while the woman appeared closer to their own age.
The man wore an extremely serious expression — the kind of face that naturally discouraged jokes. The woman maintained a polite professional smile.
Zhao Qingye was certain she had never met either of them before.
“Hello. May I ask if Ms. Shi Meiqing is here?”
“Qingye, let them in.”
Hearing Shi Meiqing’s voice, Zhao Qingye immediately turned around. “You’re awake? You know these two?”
Even as she asked, she had already stepped aside to let them enter and taken two pairs of disposable slippers from the nearby shoe cabinet.
She first walked over to Shi Meiqing. “People you arranged to meet?”
“Mhm. Help me up.”
At this point, Shi Meiqing couldn’t even sit up by herself anymore. Her arms lacked strength, and even maneuvering a wheelchair was difficult. Whenever Zhao Qingye was around, Meiqing never forced herself to pretend otherwise. She allowed herself to rely on Zhao Qingye as much as possible, because it made Curly Hair feel slightly better inside.
Zhao Qingye quickly adjusted the recliner upright, unlocked the wheels, and pushed Shi Meiqing toward the sitting area for guests.
“Hello, Ms. Shi. I’m Attorney Zhang, the head of this law firm, and this is my assistant, Xiao Li.”
“Hello. I’m not really able to stand and receive guests right now, so please sit wherever you like.”
The two nodded. Before arriving, they had already been informed about their client’s condition, so naturally they wouldn’t misunderstand anything.
Zhao Qingye placed a thick stack of documents onto the coffee table, and only then did Shi Meiqing continue speaking.
“You can look at the document on top first. It’s my medical examination report from three days ago, proving that I’m currently in a fully conscious and lucid state.”
Both lawyers were highly professional and immediately shifted into work mode.
“Please continue, Ms. Shi.”
“Mhm. My will remains unchanged from before, but I’ve added five more properties. I’d also like you to officially meet the beneficiary of my estate. No one except her is permitted to touch my inheritance.”
“Not even my biological parents. I hope your firm can uphold the guarantees you promised before.”
“Please rest assured, Ms. Shi. While our firm may not be the absolute top in the industry, the fact that you chose us means you trust our reputation. You can absolutely rely on our integrity.”
“Mhm. Qingye, take a look through the contents of the will and remember them. Everything here will eventually become your responsibility.”
“Meiqing…” Tears instantly streamed down Zhao Qingye’s face. Right now, nothing hurt her more than conversations like this.
Shi Meiqing smiled and nodded gently at her, silently telling her not to overthink things and simply do as asked.
This was Meiqing’s final wish.
And Zhao Qingye did not refuse.
That was the kind of person her best friend was — even at a time like this, she was still arranging everything carefully to ensure Zhao Qingye would live well in the future.