The next day at noon, Chi Qiu apprehensively paced back and forth in the ward holding the windowsill. Lu Ming walked back and forth with him on one side, afraid he would fall.
Chi Qiu pushed Lu Ming’s hand: “I won’t fall.”
Unable to push him away, Chi Qiu had to give up. Slowly, Chi Qiu’s hand was held by Lu Ming, it was Lu Ming’s initiative.
Chi Qiu walked with a heavy heart: “Hasn’t the check up report come out yet?”
“Not yet.” Lu Ming wanted to distract Chi Qiu a little, hence, asked: “You only ate a few bites of rice at noon, you will be hungry. What do you want to eat? I’ll go buy it.”
Chi Qiu absentmindedly said that he wanted to eat fruit, and Lu Ming went downstairs to buy it, but when he arrived at the fruit shop, he had no idea what kind of fruit Chi Qiu liked to eat. Lu Ming simply bought a lot of varieties, but chose the ones that were not sweet.
When he came back, he was delayed a bit, because he ran into the family members of the next ward.
Wang Guirong in the next ward was someone Lu Ming had contacts with in business, so Lu Ming went in with fruit and exchanged pleasantries out of courtesy. Then, he went downstairs again and bought fruit for the second time.
When he came up, Chi Qiu was standing at the door, holding the door frame as he waited for him.
Lu Ming’s heart was warmed and he took a big step over: “Chi Qiu!”
“…What took you so long to go?” Chi Qiu frowned, turned around and held the wall to enter the ward. His worry was all on his face, but his tone was in turn calm: “Are there any oranges?”
“Yes, I bought them all.”
Suddenly, Lu Ming’s cell phone made a sound, making Chi Qiu couldn’t wait to take a step forward: “Quickly check it.!”
Lu Ming picked up the phone. After confirming the massage, he peeled an orange while saying, “I’m going to go to the doctor’s place, you wait for me here.”
Chi Qiu was no longer in the mood to eat fruit, he grabbed Lu Ming’s hand and smelled a fresh aroma of oranges. He thought about it and let go in fear.
Lu Ming didn’t hesitate, he grabbed Chi Qiu’s hand tightly and said: “Let’s go together.”
Chi Qiu couldn’t help swallowing his saliva. Standing in place, his throat was throbbing. Lu Ming squeezed his hand, giving him a lot of courage: “Don’t be afraid.”
After half an hour.
Chi Qiu and Lu Ming came out of the doctor’s office together, and Chi Qiu’s tight heart finally relaxed.
After looking at all the medical reports, the doctor confirmed that Chi Qiu was suffering from temporary blindness. However, recovery time for this symptom couldn’t be completely determined. It required Chi Qiu to take medication and follow up with medical advice in the near future.
The hospitalization wasn’t necessary as Chi Qiu’s trauma was not serious. He would be discharged from the hospital after receiving a few bottles of infusion.
Lu Ming was overjoyed. He immediately sent a message to Auntie Zhang, telling her to end her vacation and instructing her to prepare some anti-crash safety foam at home as soon as possible.
Chi Qiu was really blind this time, so it was inevitable that he would bump into something. Lu Ming had to be fully prepared before he could bring the person back. Of course, Lu Ming didn’t forget to tell Lu Fengshen that he hoped that Lu Fengshen could go back to the hotel temporarily.
And hearing that his nephew finally coaxed him back, Lu Fengshen, who was still stewing soup at home and was going to visit Chi Qiu in the afternoon, stopped cooking. He packed his bags immediately so that he wouldn’t become a light bulb.
At this time, Chi Lanyan rushed back home and arrived at the hospital in a frenzy as soon as she got off the plane.
When she stepped into the ward and saw the injuries on Chi Qiu’s face, she almost crushed her fist.
Chi Lanyan’s anger overshadowed all; she didn’t even notice Lu Ming standing beside her. She pressed her anger and contacted her secretary Lin Lan, determined to turn the matter of Lin Yuming upside down.
Lin Lan, on the other end of the phone, considered a lot of things. She and Chi Lanyan had known each other for many years. She reminded her, feeling a little worried: “President Chi, on Xiao Xia’s side, you still need to communicate with her.”
Chi Lanyan’s temple throbbed with pain: “I know.” She looked sideways, and the bruises on Chi Qiu’s face were so eye-catching, “…I can’t rely on her this time.”
After she hung up the phone, she finally saw Lu Ming behind her.
“Mom.” Lu Ming called her politely.
Holding the phone, Chi Lanyan seemed a little dissatisfied with how Lu Ming called her and asked in a cold voice, “Who is your mother?”
As soon as he finished speaking, Chi Qiu hurriedly shouted, “Mom!”
Chi Lanyan couldn’t care about anything. She hurriedly sat next to Chi Qiu and asked with concern, “Xiao Qiu, does it still hurt?”
“I’m much better.” Chi Qiu shook his head, fumbling to reach out his hand and was immediately grasped by Chi Lanyan.
Chi Lanyan rubbed Chi Qiu’s hand in her palm, her eyes were full of tears, feeling distressed.
“Mom.” Smelling the fragrance that Chi Lanyan always had on her body, Chi Qiu’s expression relaxed a lot. He spoke for Lu Ming: “This time, it’s all thanks to Lu Ming for sending me to the hospital in time.”
Chi Lanyan immediately tightened her eyebrows and turned her head to stare at Lu Ming for a full minute. Lu Ming felt uncomfortable, not knowing how to put his hands and feet correctly.
It was only today that Lu Ming had a deep feeling when facing the pressure of his elders.
Chi Lanyan’s tone was not good: “I heard all from Auntie Su, thanks for your help this time.”
“This is all I should do.” Lu Ming’s back sweated like rain, he did not flinch and instead poured a glass of water for Chi Lanyan, “Mom, drink water.”
Chi Lanyan didn’t appreciate it and Lu Ming wasn’t annoyed. He stood quietly and closed his mouth, but he didn’t leave.
Chi Lanyan looked at him puzzled: “Lu Ming, you can go.” She thought that Chi Qiu was being pestered by Lu Ming, so she tried to drive Lu Ming away without good grace.
In response, Chi Qiu grabbed the corner of Chi Lanyan’s shirt, “Mom, I have something I want to say to you.” He tilted his head, “Lu Ming, can you go out for a moment?”
Lu Ming was like a robot that only listened to Chi Qiu; he immediately walked out of the ward first.
Outside the door, Auntie Su, who was carrying a pot of bone soup, was stopped. Auntie Su understood the situation and sat down on the resting chair with the thermos, looking at the time on the phone and patiently waiting.
Lu Ming was calm on the surface, but his heart was anxious.
He didn’t know if Chi Qiu had thought of a good reason, he didn’t know if Chi Lanyan would agree with him taking Chi Qiu. Under the circumstance that everything was unknown, Lu Ming sighed uncomfortably.
Auntie Su knew how hard it was to take care of people in the hospital, so she thoughtfully said, “Young Master Lu, if you’re tired, go back and take a rest for a while. We’re here.”
Lu Ming replied in one breath, “I’m not tired, I slept well last night.”
Auntie Su looked at the dark circles under his eyes with a confused expression: “Is that so… it’s just as long as you’re not tired.”
The two were speechless, but the door of the ward never opened. Lu Ming was motionless outside the door, not even noticing that his cell phone was vibrating. On the contrary, Auntie Su, who didn’t know much, was in a less complicated mood.
She reassured Lu Ming: “Don’t worry, once Young Master has made a decision, Mrs. Chi always can’t do anything to him.” Unless Chi Qiu himself compromised. Otherwise it was the same as when he insisted on getting married with Lu Ming, Chi Lanyan couldn’t stop him.
Auntie Su was sure that they wouldn’t get a divorce.
In fact, she had always been able to see that Lu Ming was treating Chi Qiu well, but Lu Ming was a bit dull and unpleasant. Now, he seemed to be enlightened.
Auntie Su was an experienced person, she could see that Chi Qiu’s heart had softened.
…
Inside the ward, after a rush of footsteps, the door opened from the inside. The person who came out was Chi Lanyan. Her face was extremely bad, all the emotions seemed to be concentrated in a moment, facing an outbreak.
Lu Ming looked through her and saw Chi Qiu sitting on the hospital bed with his head down. He thought badly, and before he had time to ask a question, Chi Lanyan covered her face and left without dropping a single word.
Auntie Su rarely saw Chi Lanyan like this. Seeing that the situation was not right, she hurriedly put the thermos into Lu Ming’s hands and chased after Chi Lanyan leaving behind Lu Ming, who wanted to say something, and Chi Qiu in the ward, whose eyes were slightly red.
Lu Ming couldn’t be distracted, he closed the door of the ward and put the thermos on the table.
Chi Qiu clenched his hands tightly. Hearing the footsteps, he pitifully shrunk his shoulders.
“It’s me.” Lu Ming walked up to Chi Qiu and saw that Chi Qiu’s tears were already hanging on his cheeks. He half crouched down and used his fingertips to wipe the tears at the corners of Chi Qiu’s eyes.
He moved a little faster and touched Chi Qiu’s bruise. Chi Qiu’s body shook and trembled as he grabbed Lu Ming’s hand. His cheek was pressed against Lu Ming’s palm, as if he was afraid of losing the only warmth left.
He opened his mouth and his lower lip visibly quivered: “I told my mother about pretending to be blind…”
Chi Qiu wanted to explain the situation well, but couldn’t say it well. After several efforts, Chi Qiu said with difficulty: “She left without saying anything, she must have been angry.”
This was exactly the situation that Chi Qiu feared; none of them had guessed Chi Lanyan’s reaction to this.
Lu Ming’s heart ached so much that he hugged Chi Qiu: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” He apologized over and over again, regretting his wrong decision.
He probably shouldn’t have suggested that Chi Qiu confess to Chi Lanyan about pretending to be blind, he stroked Chi Qiu’s back and blamed himself for his judgment.
“It’s my fault.” He lowered his head and subconsciously kissed Chi Qiu’s forehead.
Chi Qiu hid in his arms and leaned against him, tears soaking Lu Ming’s shirt.
Over the years, Chi Qiu had always shed tears alone. But crying didn’t solve any problem, especially in front of someone important to you. Crying and silence were the fuse that destroyed everything.
Chi Qiu was clearly aware of this. He sniffed and endured his loss. He finally said: “It’s not your fault… It’s my fault, I lied to her for so many years. I knew that she was the one who wanted me to regain my sight the most, and I selfishly lied to her, thinking that I had done her a great favor. In fact, Mom didn’t need this kind of self-sacrifice from me; I was the one who understood it too late.”
He wiped his own tears hard: “Lu Ming, I will apologize to my mother until she is willing to forgive me.” He was also a little unsure of himself, afraid that he hadn’t done a good job, and timidly asked, “Will you stay with me?”
Lu Ming listened to him patiently and raised his hand to rub Chi Qiu’s cheek, wiping away the remaining tears. He had witnessed Chi Qiu’s transformation, and he had a part in it. Though, it wasn’t a glamorous one. Lu Ming, however, felt that everything was going in the right direction.
He once again kissed Chi Qiu’s forehead: “Of course I will stay with you, we’ve agreed.”
But what they didn’t know was that at this moment, Chi Lanyan was standing on the stairs of the hospital’s emergency exit, covering her face and crying.
She had never been so distressed; her shoulders trembled violently, and the moment she heard Chi Qiu’s frank confession to herself, her world almost crumbled to the ground.
Auntie Su followed her and saw that she had arrived in a thin dress today, without even a jacket. Auntie Su took off her own woolen jacket and draped it over Chi Langyan’s shoulders.
Chi Lanyan’s tears fell uncontrollably. However, after a while, she couldn’t stand anymore, and squatted on the ground, as if she was about to bite one of her teeth.
“Mrs. Chi…”
“What the hell have I been doing all these years?” Chi Lanyan whimpered and accused herself, “I can’t even protect my own children and teach them well, what the hell am I doing?!”
She patted her chest, and the pain burst into tears: “It’s my carelessness, it’s my selfishness, my dedication to work that pushed Xiao Xia to Lin Yuming side, also let Xiao Qiu, let Xiao Qiu suffered so many years of grievances…”
Even after regaining his sight, Chi Qiu didn’t dare to say it, how suffocating was his life?
But she didn’t know about this.
Why didn’t she know?
She also thought that Chi Qiu was so sensible, and she thought Chi Qiu didn’t want much.
“How could I not find out, why didn’t I find out?” Chi Lanyan wanted to slap herself, but was held down by Auntie Su. She cried again:”It’s all because of me, it’s all because of me, he’s been enduring…”
Now, because of this patience, Chi Qiu lost his sight for the second time.
All of this, it was impossible to say it wasn’t because of her; she participated in the whole process of Chi Qiu’s pain, but she didn’t know it.
It was only today that Chi Lanyan suddenly realized that she couldn’t cry in front of Chi Qiu. She felt ashamed, she felt shameful, and she felt even more that she was not a good mother.
She made the family a mess; she wisely found ‘father’ for Chi Qiu, but led the wolf into the house, deprived Chi Qiu of everything, and pushed Chi Qiu into the abyss again and again.
At the age of nearly fifty, Chi Lanyan cried like a helpless child.
She shook off Auntie Su’s hand and slapped herself fiercely: “I can’t be wrong anymore.”