October 30th, at the cemetery.Many people stood in front of Yang Xiansu"s grave.
More people had come to pay their respect this year. Grandfather Yang, An Jing, Sheng Jiaoyang, Shen Zhining, Xu Qing and Li Weiqi, had all come to pay their respects.
“Sister Xiansu is so beautiful.” Xu Qing stared at the picture on the tombstone.
Standing next to her was Sheng Jiaoyang, who was also looking at the picture on the tombstone. Her mother"s beauty didn"t come from her appearance but it came from the gentleness between her brows and the elegance that emitted from her entire being. But indeed, her mother looked very beautiful in the picture, because she would always remain in her prime.
Grandfather Yang bent over and put the bouquet of flowers in front of the tombstone. He then reached out and caressed the picture on the tombstone while staring at his daughter"s smiling face. This year, however, he was in a good mood and thought to himself, “Susu, I brought them to visit you this year. Now, our Jiaojiao has a new ident.i.ty. We don"t have to worry about her health anymore.”
“Xiao Qing, come here,” Grandfather Yang beckoned.
Xu Qing walked to Grandfather Yang"s side and squatted down.
"Susu, this is Xu Qing. Although we are not blood-related, it feels like I"m looking at you every time I see her." Are you watching? This is Jiaojiao"s current mother.
Xu Qing looked at the picture on the tombstone and, in her heart, she lamented the early demise of the beauty. She then said, “Sister Xiansu, although we have never met, I already regard you as family. Don"t worry, Jiaojiao and I will take good care of Father in the future.”
“Jiaojiao,” Xu Qing turned around and called Sheng Jiaoyang.
Sheng Jiaoyang stepped forward and walked to Xu Qing"s side. She glanced at the tombstone and took the initiative to say, “Mama Susu, I"m Jiaojiao.”
Xu Qing didn"t find her way of addressing her strange. "Sister Xiansu, this is my daughter, Jiaojiao. In fact, Father felt a familiarity with Jiaojiao during their first encounter. That was how we had this predestined affinity to become a family."
Grandfather Yang then said, “An Jing, go back to the car with Xiao Qing and Weiqi first, I want to stay a little longer. Jiaojiao and Zhining, you guys stay behind.”
Grandfather Yang, Jiaoyang and Shen Zhining were the only ones left in front of the tombstone.
After seeing the others leave, Sheng Jiaoyang knelt in front of the tombstone. She looked at the unchanging face of her mother in the picture and said, "Mama, don"t worry. I"m doing very well now. I will live my life to the fullest."
Grandfather Yang glanced over Sheng Jiaoyang and Shen Zhining. “Do you still remember the remnants I brought back from the bank"s safe when I took you there last year?”
Sheng Jiaoyang turned to look at Grandfather Yang.
“At that time, I thought that it was impossible for you to get together. That was why I took the things out ahead of time. Unexpectedly, after many twists and turns, you two still got together.” Grandfather Yang was deeply moved.
Sheng Jiaoyang smiled and stole a glance at Shen Zhining. At that time, she was rejoicing that she was able to break away from Demon King Shen. Who would"ve thought that in a year"s time, they would pledge their life to each other?
Shen Zhining thought of the letter that Aunt Yang left to him, and he remembered that there was a paragraph in it: Ningning, I know that you are someone who values the feelings between people the most. Although I"m not sure if you and my baby girl can spend the rest of your life together, I hope that you can take good care of her. Don"t bully her like how you did when you were little. That time, she was able to stick to you like glue because she didn"t have other friends. However, I believe that after my baby girl grows up, she will definitely be a charming girl. She will definitely be very popular. You have to cherish her!
He felt fortunate that he chose to follow his feelings without knowing that Jiaojiao was Jiaoyang at the time. Otherwise, the person standing by her side now may not have been him. There was one thing that Aunt Yang was right about: After Jiaojiao grew up, she became very popular. Countless fans were captivated by her. Also, Lin Yan was watching from the side. Sure enough, he really should be on guard, so that he can defend his property to death.
“Jiaojiao, Zhining, come here.” Grandfather Yang reached out his hand to both of them.
Sheng Jiaoyang and Shen Zhining took hold of Grandfather Yang"s hand.
Grandfather Yang put Sheng Jiaoyang"s hand into Shen Zhining"s palm. He patted the back of their hands and said, "Zhining, today I will entrust Jiaojiao to your care in front of Aunt Yang. I hope you will live up to our expectations."
Shen Zhining determinedly declared, "I will take good care of Jiaojiao. No one can separate us, including ourselves."
"That"s good then." Grandfather Yang nodded with relief.
Shen Zhining firmly held Sheng Jiaoyang"s hand and looked at her, "I will be good to you for the rest of my life."
"Then, I"ll have to see how you perform in the future," Sheng Jiaoyang lightly smiled.
Grandfather Yang turned to look at the tombstone and said, "Susu, did you see this? Now, you can rest in peace."
When they were about to leave, they saw two people approaching. One of them was in a wheelchair.
Only when the two got closer did they realise who they were.
Sheng Jiaoyang was shocked when she saw that Shen Xun was in a wheelchair. She then asked, “What happened to you?”
She almost didn"t recognize Sheng Xun. He looked thin and haggard, like he had aged greatly. One side of his body looked like it was paralyzed.
Grandfather Yang was also surprised. He didn"t expect that he would become like this after not seeing him for a few months.
When Sheng Xun saw Sheng Jiaoyang, his face lit up. Then, he said to the young man pus.h.i.+ng his wheelchair, "Sheng Yi, wait for me outside."
"Uncle?"
"Go, you can come back when I call you," Sheng Xun instructed.
Sheng Jiaoyang looked at them with a cold look on her face. She recognized this young man. He was the son of Sheng Xun"s elder brother, and he was her cousin in her former life. However, they weren"t related now.
Sheng Yi swept a glance at the three people in front of them before walking away in a reluctant manner. However, he didn"t leave and only walked a bit farther away. He was still in sight.
"How did you get into such a terrible state?" Grandfather Yang"s tone was a bit cold as he asked.
Sheng Xun revealed a smile, "You also came to visit Susu."
"Susu is my daughter." Looking at the current Sheng Xun, Grandfather Yang could not find any trace of the high-spirited youngster who proclaimed to give Susu happiness.
“I didn"t mean it like that,” Shen Xun quickly responded.
When Sheng Jiaoyang saw him in this state, her feelings were very complicated. In the family photo of her mother, her father and herself, this man was das.h.i.+ngly handsome, and his eyes contained great antic.i.p.ation towards the future. Now, all his hairs had turned grizzled. His face had also gone through great changes. He appeared even older than someone in their sixties.
“You…” Sheng Jiaoyang didn"t know what to say.
Sheng Xun s.h.i.+fted his gaze to Sheng Jiaoyang and gently said, "Jiaojiao, I saw the program that you have partic.i.p.ated in. I"m very happy to see that you two have a very good relations.h.i.+p. Everyone wished for you two to be together ever since you were little."
Sheng Jiaoyang"s lips slightly quivered. She felt inexplicably sadness welling deep within herself.
"I don"t know if I"ll be able to see you two get married…"
“What happened to you?” Sheng Jiaoyang interrupted him.
Sheng Xun smiled, "I had a stroke some time ago."
When Sheng Jiaoyang heard him talk about a stroke in such a calm tone, she frowned deeply. Although she still felt resentful, she had never wished for him to become like this.
"You"re one to talk. You"re not even fifty years old, and yet you already had a stroke. That"s ridiculous!" Grandfather Yang coldly remarked.
Sheng Xun didn"t mind his words and instead asked, "Father, are you worried about me?"
Grandfather Yang sneered, "Even if you died, it has nothing to do with me. Don"t let your imagination run wild."
Sheng Xun smiled. But his expression instantly dimmed when his gaze turned to the tombstone.
He stared at Sheng Jiaoyang and said, "Jiaojiao, I have written my will and left all my a.s.sets to you."
“Do you think that our Jiaojiao would care about that tiny bit of your a.s.sets?” Grandfather Yang coldly humphed.
Sheng Jiaoyang"s expression was serious as she stared at Shen Xun who seemed to be indifferent towards life and death. Her frown deepened as she asked, "What"s wrong with your health?"
"It"s nothing. You don"t have to worry about it." Afterwards, Sheng Xun suddenly changed his mind and asked, "Jiaojiao, if I really departed from this world, will you be sad?"
Sheng Jiaoyang didn"t answer. She chose to stay silent.
Sheng Xun revealed a bitter smile.
"What are you talking about? It"s just a stroke and not cancer. You haven"t even reached fifty yet, so don"t talk about death and whatnot. Jiaojiao, let"s leave. Don"t keep them waiting any longer."
Grandfather Yang cast another glance at Sheng Xun before calling Sheng Jiaoyang and Shen Zhining to leave.
When Sheng Jiaoyang turned her head to take another look at Sheng Xun, his lonely figure came into sight.
"Let"s go." Shen Zhining wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
Sheng Jiaoyang was in low spirits when they returned to the car.
"Jiaojiao, what happened?" Xu Qing asked.
Sheng Jiaoyang shook her head and remained silent.
Xu Qing glanced at Grandfather Yang but saw that he was also not willing to talk about it. She could only look at Shen Zhining who was sitting beside Sheng Jiaoyang. He also slightly shook his head.
When they got home, Grandfather Yang called Sheng Jiaoyang to the study.
"Jiaojiao, do you still hate Sheng Xun?" Grandfather Yang got right to the point and asked.
Sheng Jiaojiao"s expression was heavy. After a moment of silence, she said, "I never hated him. At most, I blamed him."
"It looks like Sheng Xun"s condition is very bad. What do you think? You want to forgive him?"
Seeing that Sheng Jiaoyang was staying silent, Grandfather Yang continued, "He"s not even fifty years old yet, but he already looks so lifeless. It seems that he has lost his will to live. He even made his will."
When she heard the word "will", Sheng Jiaoyang"s senses were jolted awake. She recalled that Sheng Xun had said that he will leave all his a.s.sets to her. In fact, Sheng Xun had said similar words to her in the past. He had once said that he would leave her all his property. However, she only took it as a joke at that time.
"Alas, humans become fools for fortune. A few years ago, I had never thought that Sheng Xun would become like this. Jiaojiao, no matter how many grievances you suffered, let them go. Don"t wait till he"s gone to regret that you haven"t let go sooner," Grandfather Yang advised.
Sheng Jiaoyang didn"t speak. Her mind was in a mess. When she thought back to Sheng Xun"s appearance today, she felt a bit frantic in her heart.
"Just think about it carefully." Grandfather Yang didn"t speak anymore. He cast her another glance before leaving the study.Previous ChapterNext Chapter