Chu Fang also barely slept the entire night and went upstairs to rest afterward.
He woke up to find it was already dawn, but outside the window, it was still pitch black.
Unable to sleep, he walked to the living room, where the light was on. Chu's father was sitting on the sofa, smoking a cigarette, the ashtray filled with butts.
"Stop smoking," Chu Fang said, taking the cigarette from his father's hand.
"Let me relieve some of my worries."
He said, "You smoked like this when Grandpa passed away. You're smoking again now, and it scares me."
Chu's father sighed.
"What exactly happened to Mom?"
"I don't know," Chu's father said. "She came home the day before yesterday, and she was completely different, listless and lifeless. I asked her what was wrong, but she wouldn't say anything. Yesterday, she went to the city and bought a lot of things—for you, for Yueyue, for me, and even for your future children..."
"It's like your mother is preparing for her..."
The word 'departure,' Chu's father couldn't bring himself to say, but Chu Fang understood what his father meant.
In an instant, his heart was filled with immense sorrow.
Chu Fang also took a drag of the cigarette, immediately coughing afterward: "Cough, cough, cough..."
"This cigarette is awful."
Chu's father lowered his head.
The two sat on the sofa in silence, the only sound in the house the droning of CCTV13.
They stared out at the darkness until the sky began to brighten.
Chu Fang stood up: "Okay, don't think so much. Today is Mom's birthday. You need to be happy."
"Go to the city and buy some seafood, delicacies from the mountains, and remember to get a few bottles of good wine. Tonight, we'll drink until we're both drunk."
Chu Fang composed himself and went downstairs, heading to the town to buy the ingredients for the birthday celebration.
He didn't drive; he walked.
Chu's father watched his son's figure, sighing again.
... ...
Zhong Tingyue woke up, wearing a simple yet stylish white short-sleeved shirt and high-waisted black straight-leg pants that hung straight down.
Her smooth, long hair was casually tied into a low ponytail, with a few strands gently falling across her forehead, making her look very capable.
As soon as she got up, she cleaned the entire house.
It's Mom's birthday today, so it can't be dirty.
"Mom, you're awake?" Chu's mother leaned against the door, unnoticed.
"Mm."
"Are you hungry? I cooked millet porridge."
"I don't want to drink it," Chu's mother said softly. "I want to see Dad. Drive me there."
"No problem."
Soon, Zhong Tingyue drove Chu's mother up the mountain to Chu Fang's grandfather's tomb. Chu's mother knelt down, gazing at her father's face, unable to speak for a long time.
After paying respects to Chu Fang's grandfather, Chu's mother wasn't in a hurry to go home. Instead, she asked Zhong Tingyue to drive to the village where she used to live.
Arriving at the village, Chu's mother walked along the streets, reminiscing about the first twenty years of her life spent there.
"I'm sorry," Chu's mother suddenly said.
"Huh?" This one sentence was alarming, but the words 'I'm sorry' frightened Zhong Tingyue. "Are you talking to me?"
Chu's mother regarded Chu Fang as a treasure, and Zhong Tingyue had stolen her treasure. She had always disliked Zhong Tingyue, so this sudden apology left Zhong Tingyue completely baffled.
"Mm."
"Oh, it's okay. I have things I'm sorry for too."
"Then you should apologize to me."
"...I'm sorry."
Chu's mother walked slowly, saying, "Now that you call me 'Mom,' you're part of the Chu family. I hope you can take care of Fang's father in the future. Make sure he adds clothes when it gets cold. He gets very uncomfortable when he catches a cold. Fang's father seems gentle on the outside, but he's actually very stubborn..."
Chu's mother knew she was leaving soon, so she began entrusting her affairs, explaining everything that needed attention to her daughter-in-law.
"Mom, I have a question," Zhong Tingyue raised her hand.
"Go ahead."
"It's no problem for me to take care of Dad, but what should Chu Fang do?"
"Of course, he should play," Chu's mother rolled her eyes at Zhong Tingyue. "Do you want me to take care of his dad instead?"
Zhong Tingyue: "..."
So, I'm being arranged to do all the hard work.
"Then I don't agree. If you don't take care of him, and Chu Fang doesn't take care of him, and you want me, the son, to take care of him, you're bullying an honest person."
Chu's mother pouted: "What will it take for you to agree?"
"You have to beg me."
"Please, please."
"Then there's no problem."
Then Chu's mother continued to explain what needed to be done. After she finished, she turned to look at Zhong Tingyue: "You're good, really good. You're the most outstanding daughter-in-law I've ever seen. The way I acted before was all my fault, and I hope you can forgive me."
"From now on, I'll never call you a bad woman again, and I'll treat you well, regarding you as my sister..."
This sounds like she's preparing for her departure... Zhong Tingyue panicked: "Mom, don't say that..."
... ...
Chu Fang arrived in town, buying the ingredients for tonight's birthday celebration.
"Oh, Chu Fang's back home." Coincidentally, he ran into one of Chu's mother's mahjong partners.
"Auntie Ma," Chu Fang greeted.
"By the way, what's been wrong with your mother these days? She hasn't come to play mahjong," Auntie Ma asked.
"She's not feeling well."
Auntie Ma nodded: "Oh, I thought she really had lung cancer."
Chu Fang frowned: "What do you mean?"
Auntie Ma said, "The day before yesterday, we were playing mahjong with your mother, and she suddenly coughed, coughed very badly, so we said it might be lung cancer. Your mother went to the hospital for a checkup, but I don't know what the results were."
Chu Fang's mind raced, instantly grasping the key point.
His own mother's changes these past few days were related to the so-called checkup?
He no longer had the mind to buy things and rushed to the town hospital.
"Hey, Mom, who was that?" A beautiful young woman hooked her arm around Auntie Ma's. "He's quite handsome. Introduce me."
"That's Chu Fang."
The beautiful woman said to Auntie Ma, "Mom, you're really something. You have such an excellent son among your mahjong partners, and you didn't introduce him to your daughter first, letting a stranger snatch him away. If this gets out, it'll make our town look bad."
"Look at you. Do you think you're good enough for Chu Fang?" Auntie Ma glanced at her daughter.
"Why wouldn't I be good enough? How many men are chasing after me?" The beautiful woman puffed out her chest.
"Can you compare to Zhong Tingyue?"
The beautiful woman immediately became dejected.
She had seen Zhong Tingyue in person. Her appearance was naturally beyond words, but more importantly, she had an ethereal temperament.
Standing in front of Zhong Tingyue, she was like an ugly duckling.
The beautiful woman shook off her mother's arm: "Mom, you're insulting me!"
