People tend to regret things only after they have lost them. She would not want to experience something as dumb as this again. When Dad wakes up, I’ll treasure my time with him, apologize to him, and spend more time with him in the future.
As the mother and daughter were talking, Luo Huimei began to wipe her tears. “I hope your father can wake up as soon as possible. As long as he’s not awake, my heart can never be at rest.”
“Mom, the doctor has told us that he’s past the critical stage. He should be awake within a day or two.” While Yan was talking, she grabbed her handbag and stood up. “Let’s go to the store. We should get all the groceries ready before Daddy wakes up. After he’s awake, we can cook something nutritious for his recovery.”
Luo Huimei immediately grabbed her bag and headed out with her. When they were on their way down, they bumped into the middle-aged woman living next door, who had just come back from the store.
“Eh, Yan’s back home?” When the middle-aged woman living next door saw Yan, she looked surprised. “Yan, how many years have you not been back? I heard from your mother that you’ve been abroad for the past couple of years. How’ve you been doing? I heard those who went abroad end up with a Caucasian boyfriend; have you found yours?”
Yan was rendered speechless. Since she had been back for so many days, this was her first time bumping into Mrs. Zhang. Mrs. Zhang was known for being the neighborhood gossip—she was especially nosy. Whenever Yan was home back in the days, she would always run into Mrs. Zhang. At that time, Mrs. Zhang would always ask her if she had a boyfriend and whether or not she wanted her to introduce someone to her.
The next day after Yan rejected her offer, Mrs. Zhang would bring a guy to her place and say that she wanted to match-make them. This was a terrifying experience for Yan, who had since then started to avoid Mrs. Zhang whenever she saw her. Now that they met again, if Yan let her know that she was still single, how would she be able to have any peaceful days going forward?
At this point, Yan immediately responded, “I’m back, and my boyfriend’s still abroad as he didn’t come back with me.”
When Luo Huimei heard that, she squinted at Yan suspiciously. “Is your boyfriend still abroad? Didn’t you say it was over? And you…”
Before she could finish, Yan’s expression changed. “Mom!”
Luo Huimei covered her mouth, realizing that she almost exposed the fact that someone had broken up with her daughter. She still wanted to save her face, even if her daughter did not. Luo Huimei then played along, “She’s right. Her boyfriend’s still abroad. It’s because of what happened to Zhou that she’s visiting.”
“She’s right. Mrs. Zhang, we have to go get some groceries. We’ll be going.” As she finished, Yan put her hand around Luo Huimei’s arm and proceeded to walk downstairs. They had decided to stop entertaining Mrs. Zhang.
On the other hand, as the two were leaving, Mrs. Zhang was seen murmuring behind them, “What’s this? If she really has a boyfriend, she would’ve brought him back to show off. How could she afford to leave him there? I think she came back because someone has broken up with her.” She had murmured in a low voice, but it was loud enough for Yan to hear it.
Yan immediately frowned. As she was about to stop walking, Luo Huimei dragged her to continue walking while commenting, “Don’t try to argue with her. Don’t you know how nosy she is? If you get upset with her and start to argue with her, she’ll definitely say something that irritates you even more.”
Very quickly, Yan was dragged all the way to the ground floor. She was furious. “So, I don’t get to respond at all while she talks sh*t behind my back?”
Luo Huimei looked at her faintly in response. “Just let her be. After all, she’s not wrong either.”
Yan did not know how to respond. “Mom, are you really my mother? Why would a mother treat her daughter like this?”
“Yan, let me tell you. I’m your mother, and I’m not a hypocrite. What I care about is being genuine.”
Yan could not help but roll her eyes. She responded helplessly, “That’s very genuine of you.”
After they bought the groceries, they brought them home. While Luo Huimei was putting them away, she commented, “You can go to the hospital first, and I’ll take care of everything at home. Otherwise, when your father wakes up, no one would be around to take care of him.”
Thinking what she said made sense, Yan nodded. “Okay. I’ll head to the hospital then.”
“I’ll bring you some food at noon.”
“Thanks, Mom.” Yan proceeded to grab her handbag from the house and left for the hospital.
Mr. Zhou had been transferred to the normal ward ever since he passed through the critical stage. When Yan walked in there, Mr. Zhou was still unconscious. To Yan, Mr. Zhou looked especially thin and weak at this moment—probably because of the illness. The sight of this saddened her. Then, Yan pulled out a chair, sat down next to the bed, and quietly looked at the person on the bed. Gradually, her eyes became teary. If I’d been a little more filial and came home during the new year, things would not be how they are now.
Yan still remembered the first thing she was told when she met her relatives.
“Yan, how can you not see your father for so many years? As a daughter, how can you not maintain contact with him? Your parents raised you and that’s how you repay them? I won’t sugarcoat my words now; if something horrible happens to your father, you’re to blame.”
“That’s right, Yan. If something happens to him, you will be separated forever. Life is unpredictable, so please don’t be so stubborn next time.”
As much as Yan was certain that her father would be fine at that time, the things that her relatives said to her did terrify her and instill fear in her. I know I’m wrong. I really do.
She never should’ve been this stubborn. So, she had made up her mind this time around; as soon as her father woke up, she would immediately apologize to him. She would move back home to take care of him and her mother in the future and not leave again.
Yan began to tear up and her tears began rolling down her cheeks. She wiped off her tears with her hand, took a deep breath, and lifted her head. Once again, her gaze fell on Mr. Zhou’s face, but this time it fell on a pair of eyes that looked pale and aged.
This startled Yan, who was sitting there stolidly, even though she was giving herself a hard time in her heart.
Thump-thump…
Mr. Zhou woke up earlier. When he opened his eyes, he was not able to move much, and the lights in the room made him feel uncomfortable. After a moment of adapting, he was gradually able to open his eyes again. He saw his daughter sitting in front of him—the daughter whom he had not seen for five years.
He felt that he was still in a trance; he was unable to remember anything about the accident. The only thing he remembered was that the daughter he had not seen for five years was still mad at him and refused to see him. But now that she was right in front of him, Mr. Zhou felt like he was in a dream. Be it dream or reality, as long as Mr. Zhou could see his daughter, he would never take his eyes off her. “Yan?” He called on Yan in his hoarse voice.
The tears that had just ceased shedding rolled back out. She stood there idly for three seconds before pouncing over and hugging him. “Dad, you’re finally awake!”
