Song Jiaping felt a chill run down his spine. He stepped forward, put down the nutritional supplements in his hand, and said, "Mom, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
"Why did you take so long to visit me?" Zhu Qin questioned.
Song Jiaping knew what she wanted to hear. "I've been a bit busy lately. I resigned from my doctor's job and started working at the Huangfu Group."
"You joined the Huangfu Group?" Zhu Qin suddenly raised her voice and grasped his hand. "That's wonderful! I knew you wouldn't disappoint me. You can definitely get revenge for our Song family."
Song Jiaping nodded repeatedly and said, "Mom, don't worry. My life's goal, the purpose of my existence, is to avenge Grandpa and Dad."
Zhu Qin happily got up and twirled around like a graceful dancer before trying to leave the room.
Song Jiaping stopped her and asked, "Mom, where are you going?"
"I'm going to tell them that you've finally infiltrated the Huangfu family and can get revenge for them!"
"Mom, they aren't here. Please sit down. I still have so much to tell you." Song Jiaping coaxed his mother, trying to prevent her from wandering off.
When he returned from abroad, he discovered that his mother's mental state had deteriorated.
She was sometimes lucid and sometimes confused, severely unable to distinguish reality from past memories.
He had taken his mother to see various doctors. A psychiatrist diagnosed her with early-stage Alzheimer's disease, which could only be managed with medication and required constant supervision.
He had no choice but to send his mother to a nursing home for professional care and monitoring, so he wouldn't have to worry about her getting lost.
When Zhu Qin had episodes, she would believe she was still young and that their simple, happy home still existed.
She would talk about returning to their old house in the countryside or going to the train station to catch a train. Fortunately, she couldn't leave the nursing home, or she could easily get lost.
Song Jiaping continuously comforted her, finally managing to calm her down.
After taking her medication, her consciousness improved slightly, and she began to ask Song Jiaping about how he planned to get revenge.
Song Jiaping stayed with his mother for the entire day. He left the nursing home only after she had fallen asleep, feeling utterly exhausted.
He returned to his residence alone, his mind still buzzing with his mother's repetitive words. He felt terrible and took out some wine from the refrigerator, wanting only to get drunk.
As he swayed unsteadily, he accidentally found a cartoon hair tie left by Mengyao. He could no longer contain himself and burst into tears.
He wished he had died in that war-torn place, so he wouldn't have to face these agonizing choices.
Even though he knew his mother saw him as a tool for revenge, he couldn't go against her.
They were all they had. His mother had sacrificed too much to raise him, enduring hardships unimaginable to ordinary people.
In reality, he no longer had any other choice in his life. He and Mengyao were also destined not to be together.
...
A week later, Wu Xiufang could no longer sit still.
Huangfu Shaohua had not, as they had expected, obediently returned home to apologize after losing his financial support.
They hadn't even received a phone call or a text message from Huangfu Shaohua. Huangfu Sisong, however, remained unfazed, still believing he would return on his own eventually.
Wu Xiufang couldn't wait any longer. She wanted to send someone to find Huangfu Shaohua. As long as he stopped being angry with his family and didn't want to marry Sheng Zhuzhu, she would let him have his way.
As she was inquiring about Huangfu Shaohua's whereabouts, Mengyao came out of her room dragging a suitcase, saying she was going abroad.
She quickly put down her phone and stopped Mengyao. "You don't remember anything. You can't go abroad by yourself."
After being discharged from the hospital, Huangfu Mengyao had confined herself to her room, constantly looking at old photographs, trying to recover her memories.
Fleeting images occasionally flashed through her mind, but they still couldn't help her recall anything.
She felt that only by going to the place she always dreamed of abroad could she regain her memory, which is why she wanted to go overseas.
"Don't stop me. I don't want to live without any memories," Huangfu Mengyao insisted on leaving.
Wu Xiufang quickly summoned the butler and all the servants to stop her.
She couldn't be at ease if Mengyao left home like this and went abroad.
Mengyao felt that upon returning to this home, she not only lost her memories but also her freedom. No matter what, she had to go to the airport today.
Wu Xiufang didn't know what to do when Hong Jiaxi arrived.
He had originally come to see Mengyao, but upon seeing the scene, he was stunned for a few seconds before immediately going to Mengyao's side and asking, "What are you and Aunt arguing about? Why are you dragging a suitcase?"
Mengyao took out a photograph and held it up. "None of you can stop me. I have to go to this place! I must go! I'll be able to find my memories once I get there!"
"You're such a disobedient child! Even if you lock me up, I won't let you run off to such a chaotic country alone!" Wu Xiufang, considering her safety, absolutely could not agree.
Hong Jiaxi looked at the photograph in Mengyao's hand and discovered it was a group photo. Everyone in it was wearing a white t-shirt with a red logo printed on it, which should be the emblem of Doctors Without Borders.
It was only now that he realized that after Mengyao had left the country in a fit of pique years ago, she had continued her studies abroad while successfully applying to become a doctor without borders.
Mengyao's lingering feelings for Song Jiaping were also due to this experience.
Although he had not worked as a doctor after graduating from medical school, instead joining a pharmaceutical company, he secretly envied that Song Jiaping and Mengyao had once participated in Doctors Without Borders together.
Mengyao had made up her mind. She put away the photograph and suddenly pulled out a utility knife from her pocket, holding it to her wrist. "If you don't move, I'll cut my own artery!"
"Yaoyao, don't... don't hurt yourself!" Wu Xiufang felt her legs go weak. She wanted to step forward to stop her but feared it would make her more agitated and cause her to harm herself.
Hong Jiaxi seized the opportunity, grabbed her wrist, and snatched the knife from her hand. "Mengyao, calm down. If you want to go abroad, I'll go with you. I'll protect you."
Mengyao couldn't break free from him. She felt he was siding with Wu Xiufang and preventing her from going abroad, so she refused, "I don't need you to accompany me. I want to go alone..."
"Yaoyao, let Jiaxi go with you, and I won't stop you. I'll let you go abroad to find your memories, okay?" Wu Xiufang said pleadingly.
Mengyao calmed down a little, but she hadn't intended to let anyone accompany her. She looked at Hong Jiaxi with a hint of bewilderment.
Hong Jiaxi said earnestly, "Even by plane, the place you're going to is very far. If I accompany you, I can help you with something. Moreover, I've never been to the place you mentioned. I heard that before the war broke out, it was also the origin of a long-standing civilization. I also want to see it myself. Let's look out for each other, shall we?"
Wu Xiufang kept nodding in agreement from the side, "Yes, yes."
Mengyao actually didn't remember how to get to the hospital shown in the background of the photo. She had searched for a lot of information online but couldn't find any transportation maps.