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"How would I do that, silly? I didn"t even have your father back then! Here, I"ll keep your money for you first . Of course, this is not all for you, it"s also for your marriage . I might not be able to supervise you by then so you have to be wise about this money, okay?" she warned jokingly .

I nodded obediently . "Whatever you say, Granny . "

"There you are!" a voice called, not far away from where we were .

Granny waved enthusiastically . "Xiao Gao! Are you pa.s.sing by?"

I turned to him and noticed that when sitting down, I was only half a head shorter than him . I slowly got up and it became evident that he was a head shorter than I was .

"Are you Doctor Gao?" I asked, walking toward him .

He handed me the doc.u.ment he was carrying with a smile . "You must be her grandson . How handsome!"

"Oh, thank you . " I forced a smile and looked down at Granny"s name in the doc.u.ment file .

He pointed at Granny and said to me, "I"m going to talk to her for a bit . "

He walked over to her, tapped her shoulder, and pointed up towards the hospital building . I couldn"t hear what they were talking about but after a short while, I heard Granny say, "I"ll go up now then, Xiao Gao . "

Doctor Gao smiled at my direction as Granny called out, "Remember to come up later, okay? I still have things to tell you . "

The doctor walked toward me as soon as Granny strolled back into the hospital .

"What was that about?" I started .

"I managed to coax her back inside so I can talk to you about this," he replied .

"Is her condition very serious?" I asked .

"Are you aware that she"s had surgery before?"

I shook my head . "I don"t . . . I didn"t know about that . "

"Fortunately, she did her surgery in our hospital and we have the records . 17 years ago, she had a slipped disk and it was corrected . Her health had been decent up until six years ago when she was diagnosed with r.e.c.t.u.m cancer and had to have the affected areas removed . Half a year ago, we saw something in her lungs and we were afraid that there"s been a shift . We wanted her to do a scan every two months but she was against it .

"She dragged it on for half a year before she finally started feeling unwell . Her condition became twice as severe than before but because of her age, we could not do a medical puncture to extract the sample . We don"t really suggest surgery as well because it carries a high risk and the cancer cell might just continue to grow . Do you understand?"

"I do . " I ran a hand over my face . "Tell me what I need to know now . "

"She seems fine at the moment, but that"s not going to last . We suggest that you spend as much time as you can with her . She might not have much of it left so you have to be prepared . "

I nodded, instantly feeling the pressure from work and Granny weighing down on me .

I accompanied Granny over the three free days that I had . We talked and laughed and while I had little memories of when I was young, Granny remembered them well .

Work was very busy but I found time to visit Granny every weekend .

Doctor Gao"s words started coming true and Granny"s condition gradually worsened .

I couldn"t catch up with her deteriorating speed . Fortunately, I managed to get the cards in her pouch to treat her illness .

On the 10th, Granny said in a trembling voice, "My pension will be issued today . "

That was her last sentence before she pa.s.sed away that night .

I was informed the next morning at nine in the morning when Doctor Gao called me with Granny"s phone . He offered to help with her funeral arrangements as well .

I declined kindly and applied for half a month"s funeral leave before heading down to the hospital .

Two weeks later, after her burial, Doctor Gao handed me a bag .

In it was Granny"s items, including the mini pouch .

I wasn"t interested in the bank cards . I wanted to find out more about the newspaper cutting .

I couldn"t forget the story that she shared with me .

There wasn"t any newspaper cutting inside the pouch . Instead, there was a little booklet .

I flipped it open and discovered that it was a telephone directory .

My number was on the first page .

I turned to the last page and saw some crooked words .

It was rather illegible but I was still shocked by her ability to write .

I attempted to decipher her writing .

"I"m sure you"re wondering who the priest is, Darling . He"s the ancestor of Uncle Wu, my neighbor . I did not get your fortune checked but I did get Uncle Wu to read your father"s fortune . He said that your father will earn a different kind of money; he traveled abroad in the end . You can visit him to get yours read . Add a 0 before your birth date and that"s the pa.s.sword to the cards . Don"t forget . "

The cards were mostly empty by now, but of course, she did not know that .

I remembered Uncle Wu but I wasn"t really familiar with him since I rarely went home .

I decided to go to Granny"s place and visit Uncle Wu the next day or over the weekend .

Since there was no will, the house deed was naturally transferred to my father .

I made a long distance call and Dad made a verbal pact to leave the house to me .

The house was unique because it was allocated by the nation in the past .

Half a courtyard house, or rather, a house split into two units, and Uncle Wu was in the other unit .

I knocked on his door .

The place felt foreign and I could only hope that I did not make a mistake .

A lady answered the door; she looked about my age .

"What is it?" she asked suspiciously .

"I… just got home…" I stuttered .

"Oh, you"re Granny"s grandson?" she asked in realization .

I nodded .

"You don"t have the key, do you? It should be somewhere inside here . I"m Wu Su, your neighbor," she introduced herself .

"Wu Su? Wu? So you know Uncle Wu?" I asked .

With a frown, she answered, "My dad"s been dead a long time now . "

"I"m so sorry," I quickly apologized, embarra.s.sed .

"Why are you looking for him?"

"You must know my Granny . She wished for me to look for your father to get my fortune read," I said, deciding that it was alright to put this on Granny . She wouldn"t blame me .

With a patronizing smile, Wu Su responded, "Your grandmother trusted my dad"s bullsh*t? He also said that he could live till 108, but there he was, gone 50 years early . He"s full of nonsense . "

"A pity her last wish won"t be fulfilled . Perhaps she was suffering from dementia and had forgotten that Uncle Wu had pa.s.sed away a long time ago . I"ll just grab the key and go then . I"m sorry to disturb you," I said .

"No problem . Follow me," she said before turning around .

How would I do that, silly I didn 39 t even have your father back then Here, I 39 ll keep your money for you first . Of course, this is not all for you, it 39 s also for your marriage . I might not be able to supervise you by then so you have to be wise about this money, okay she warned jokingly . I nodded obediently . Whatever you say, Granny . There you are a voice called, not far away from where we were . Granny waved enthusiastically . Xiao Gao Are you pa.s.sing by I turned to him and noticed that when sitting down, I was only half a head shorter than him . I slowly got up and it became evident that he was a head shorter than I was . Are you Doctor Gao I asked, walking toward him . He handed me the doc.u.ment he was carrying with a smile . You must be her grandson . How handsome Oh, thank you . I forced a smile and looked down at Granny 39 s name in the doc.u.ment file . He pointed at Granny and said to me, I 39 m going to talk to her for a bit . He walked over to her, tapped her shoulder, and pointed up towards the hospital building . I couldn 39 t hear what they were talking about but after a short while, I heard Granny say, I 39 ll go up now then, Xiao Gao . Doctor Gao smiled at my direction as Granny called out, Remember to come up later, okay I still have things to tell you . The doctor walked toward me as soon as Granny strolled back into the hospital . What was that about I started . I managed to coax her back inside so I can talk to you about this, he replied . Is her condition very serious I asked . Are you aware that she 39 s had surgery before I shook my head . I don 39 t . . . I didn 39 t know about that . Fortunately, she did her surgery in our hospital and we have the records . 17 years ago, she had a slipped disk and it was corrected . Her health had been decent up until six years ago when she was diagnosed with r.e.c.t.u.m cancer and had to have the affected areas removed . Half a year ago, we saw something in her lungs and we were afraid that there 39 s been a shift . We wanted her to do a scan every two months but she was against it . She dragged it on for half a year before she finally started feeling unwell . Her condition became twice as severe than before but because of her age, we could not do a medical puncture to extract the sample . We don 39 t really suggest surgery as well because it carries a high risk and the cancer cell might just continue to grow . Do you understand I do . I ran a hand over my face . Tell me what I need to know now . She seems fine at the moment, but that 39 s not going to last . We suggest that you spend as much time as you can with her . She might not have much of it left so you have to be prepared . I nodded, instantly feeling the pressure from work and Granny weighing down on me . I accompanied Granny over the three free days that I had . We talked and laughed and while I had little memories of when I was young, Granny remembered them well . Work was very busy but I found time to visit Granny every weekend . Doctor Gao 39 s words started coming true and Granny 39 s condition gradually worsened . I couldn 39 t catch up with her deteriorating speed . Fortunately, I managed to get the cards in her pouch to treat her illness . On the 10th, Granny said in a trembling voice, My pension will be issued today . That was her last sentence before she pa.s.sed away that night . I was informed the next morning at nine in the morning when Doctor Gao called me with Granny 39 s phone . He offered to help with her funeral arrangements as well . I declined kindly and applied for half a month 39 s funeral leave before heading down to the hospital . Two weeks later, after her burial, Doctor Gao handed me a bag . In it was Granny 39 s items, including the mini pouch . I wasn 39 t interested in the bank cards . I wanted to find out more about the newspaper cutting . I couldn 39 t forget the story that she shared with me . There wasn 39 t any newspaper cutting inside the pouch . Instead, there was a little booklet . I flipped it open and discovered that it was a telephone directory . My number was on the first page . I turned to the last page and saw some crooked words . It was rather illegible but I was still shocked by her ability to write . I attempted to decipher her writing . I 39 m sure you 39 re wondering who the priest is, Darling . He 39 s the ancestor of Uncle Wu, my neighbor . I did not get your fortune checked but I did get Uncle Wu to read your father 39 s fortune . He said that your father will earn a different kind of money he traveled abroad in the end . You can visit him to get yours read . Add a 0 before your birth date and that 39 s the pa.s.sword to the cards . Don 39 t forget . The cards were mostly empty by now, but of course, she did not know that . I remembered Uncle Wu but I wasn 39 t really familiar with him since I rarely went home . I decided to go to Granny 39 s place and visit Uncle Wu the next day or over the weekend . Since there was no will, the house deed was naturally transferred to my father . I made a long distance call and Dad made a verbal pact to leave the house to me . The house was unique because it was allocated by the nation in the past . Half a courtyard house, or rather, a house split into two units, and Uncle Wu was in the other unit . I knocked on his door . The place felt foreign and I could only hope that I did not make a mistake . A lady answered the door she looked about my age . What is it she asked suspiciously . I just got home I stuttered . Oh, you 39 re Granny 39 s grandson she asked in realization . I nodded . You don 39 t have the key, do you It should be somewhere inside here . I 39 m Wu Su, your neighbor, she introduced herself . Wu Su Wu So you know Uncle Wu I asked . With a frown, she answered, My dad 39 s been dead a long time now . I 39 m so sorry, I quickly apologized, embarra.s.sed . Why are you looking for him You must know my Granny . She wished for me to look for your father to get my fortune read, I said, deciding that it was alright to put this on Granny . She wouldn 39 t blame me . With a patronizing smile, Wu Su responded, Your grandmother trusted my dad 39 s bullsh t He also said that he could live till 108, but there he was, gone 50 years early . He 39 s full of nonsense . A pity her last wish won 39 t be fulfilled . Perhaps she was suffering from dementia and had forgotten that Uncle Wu had pa.s.sed away a long time ago . I 39 ll just grab the key and go then . I 39 m sorry to disturb you, I said . No problem . Follow me, she said before turning around .