She, who loved to eat congee dearly, found herself inexplicably remembering the congee made by Qing Muyie as she ate her own.
Despite admitting that the man was only good at making congee, she had to concede that his congee tasted exceptionally good.
After finishing her meal, she packed her belongings and checked train tickets online. After much deliberation, she bought a ticket back to her old home in Zhutang Town, Luoshan County, for three days later.
By the time she had finished everything, it was close to ten o'clock.
Meng Jingwei picked up her phone, preparing to call Madam Qing to tell her that she didn't want to plan the wedding for Qing Muyie and Li Yun'er, when Madam Qing's call came through.
"Grandma, I was just about to call you, why did you call me?"
Meng Jingwei couldn't help but smile, feeling a sense of serendipity.
"Haha, really? I was just thinking, you little rascal, if I don't call you, you won't call me."
On the other end of the line, Madam Qing chuckled heartily, in good spirits.
"Not at all, I was just about to call you about something."
"What is it?"
"Grandma, it's just... well... I'm going back to my hometown soon, so I won't be able to help plan Li Yun'er and Qing Muyie's wedding. I'm really sorry."
Meng Jingwei felt a pang of guilt, deeply feeling she had let Madam Qing down.
She could never repay the multiple life-saving favors.
"Ah, I was just about to talk to you about this. Where are you? Grandma will come find you."
Madam Qing inquired.
"No, no, no, no need, Grandma. Where are you? I'll come to you."
"I'm at the park where you saved me last time."
"Okay, wait for me, I'll be right there."
Meng Jingwei hung up the phone, changed into sportswear, and rode her electric scooter straight to the park.
More than twenty minutes later, she saw Madam Qing by the lake in the park.
Meng Jingwei walked up to Madam Qing, greeting her with a bright smile, "Hi, Grandma?"
"Oh my, you're here so quickly, haha..."
Madam Qing smiled kindly upon seeing Meng Jingwei approach, and then took her hand, sighing, "I asked you to come over because I have something to tell you. Grandma's mind isn't as sharp as it used to be. I said some muddled things at the old house that day, asking you to help plan Yun'er and Muyie's wedding. Please don't blame Grandma."
His weathered face was filled with apology and guilt, and he didn't let go of Meng Jingwei's hand.
Meng Jingwei, with her keen senses, sensed something was amiss. Recalling Madam Qing's sudden question last time about whether she knew where 'her youngest daughter' was, she asked, "Grandma, are you..."
Did she have Alzheimer's?
She dared not utter the words, fearing she would hurt Madam Qing's feelings.
To her surprise, Madam Qing shook her head, sighed with a heavy heart, and pulled her to a nearby bench. "Yes, I didn't believe it at first, but my mind is getting worse day by day. I forget things from time to time, so I have to accept the fact that I have Alzheimer's. People always fear what will happen."
Meng Jingwei's long-held suspicion had been confirmed, but she wasn't overly surprised. Instead, she calmly accepted it all.
"When did this start? Does Qing Muyie know?"
"It's been a few months, and I haven't dared to let Muyie know." Her cloudy eyes gazed at Meng Jingwei, and she patted her hand. "You, you absolutely must not tell Muyie, lest he worry. Muyie, this child, has also had a difficult life."
Sitting in the park, Madam Qing chatted with Meng Jingwei, making small talk and sharing her heart.
Meng Jingwei listened quietly, responding occasionally.
After chatting for a while, she asked, "Grandma, where is Butler Chen? Isn't he with you?"
"No, I sent him back."
"I see. Then you come with me, let's go to the small shop ahead to buy a bottle of water." She was worried about Madam Qing being alone here.
Especially now that she knew Madam Qing had Alzheimer's, she needed to be even more attentive.
"It's okay, my mind is still sharp now. Do you think I can get lost? Go ahead, Grandma will wait here for you."
"This..."
Meng Jingwei hesitated, but then thought, Madam Qing had only been symptomatic for a few months; she shouldn't be so severely impaired that she couldn't find her way.
Therefore, she couldn't be 'excessively' worried about her, so as not to hurt Madam Qing's self-esteem.
"Alright, I'll go buy a bottle of water."
Meng Jingwei instructed the old lady to wait there for her and then went to the shop at the park entrance to buy water.
On the way, she received a call from her adoptive mother and chatted with her for a while, but didn't mention anything about returning home in a couple of days, planning to give her family a surprise.
However, when she returned with the water to the bench where Madam Qing was sitting, Madam Qing was nowhere to be found.
Meng Jingwei's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately looked around, but couldn't find Madam Qing anywhere.
She took out her phone and dialed Madam Qing's number. After a few rings, the call was connected.
"Grandma, where did you go?"
"Young lady, do you know the owner of this phone? I just found it. Could you come and get it?"
"What? Okay, okay, okay. Where are you? I'll come find you."
Meng Jingwei was terrified. She placed the two bottles of mineral water directly on the bench and hurried to the northeast corner of the park, where she found the elderly gentleman who had found Madam Qing's phone.
She expressed her gratitude to him and then took the phone to continue searching for Madam Qing.
However, after searching the park in vain, she went to the park management office to review the surveillance footage. She finally discovered that Madam Qing had disappeared from the southeast corner.
The surveillance camera there was broken, and it was impossible to see where she had gone.
Meng Jingwei knew the situation was serious and immediately called Qing Muyie.
Ring, ring, ring—
The phone rang a few times, but no one answered.
She called three more times before Qing Muyie finally answered, "What is it?"
"Qing Muyie, Grandma is lost. Grandma asked me to meet her earlier at Hedong Park. While I went to buy water, Grandma disappeared, and I can't find her now."
Meng Jingwei was frantic and extremely worried.
Qing Muyie, who had been cold, couldn't help but ask in confusion when he heard Meng Jingwei's words, "If you can't find Grandma, call her phone."
"Her phone is with me. You might not know this, but Grandma... Grandma was diagnosed with Alzheimer's a few months ago. I'm afraid she'll get lost."
It was truly a case of fearing what you feared would happen.
Meng Jingwei was on the verge of going mad.
Qing Muyie's heart skipped a beat as he realized the seriousness of the situation and immediately said, "Wait for me there, I'll be right over."
"Okay, okay, I'll wait for you here."
Meng Jingwei put aside her 'personal grudges' with Qing Muyie. As she walked out of the park, she asked people passing by if they had seen Madam Qing.
She described her appearance, but after asking dozens of people, they all said they hadn't seen Madam Qing.