“Don’t overestimate yourself. Your cooking is horrible to begin with,” Jin Qingyan said bluntly.
“…”
Long Tianze gathered the children at the dining table, and everyone sat together after An Xiaoning made her way downstairs. Long Tianze said, “Let’s all live together from now on, shall we?”
“Will that make a difference? You live just opposite us,” said Jin Qingyan.
“That’s at least a hundred steps away from you.”
Jin Qingyan scoffed and quipped, “Why don’t you just become bedridden for life and have a toilet bowl installed below your bed? That way, you won’t have to go anywhere at all. Walking a few steps won’t hurt, will it?”
“Ah, I just want to enjoy the freedom of being able to come over to your place for a meal whenever I don’t feel like eating at home.”
“Don’t you enjoy that freedom now too? Who’s stopping you from eating?”
“Qingyan, let us become one and cohabit.”
Jin Qingyan darted his chopstick at Long Tianze’s bowl and rebuked, “Don’t even think about it. I don’t want to see you every single day. It’s annoying enough to have you live opposite me.”
“I know you’re just saying things that you don’t mean. I understand,” Long Tianze jested, teasing him with a sheepish wink.
“…”
——
It began to drizzle continuously in the evening, causing puddles of rainwater to form on the ground.
After parking his car inside a lot by the entrance of the hospital, Fan Shixin alighted from the car with a container of food and an umbrella in hand. He abruptly caught sight of a few people standing by the door, one of which was Mrs. Mu.
He remained still with the umbrella over his head and waited for them to enter before doing so as well.
Clad in a surgical mask and a pair of shades, Fan Shixin made his way to Mu Wansheng’s ward.
She was in the midst of working on a cross-stitch piece, which she had decided to do since she was rather bored.
She was cross-stitching a pair of lovebirds onto a pillow case. She intended to cross-stitch two pillow cases and had already completed one.
Upon the sight of his arrival, Mu Wansheng greeted, “Hello, what delicious food did you bring for me this time?”
Reminded of the fact that Mrs. Mu was still in the hospital, he closed and locked the door before walking toward her.
“You’ll find out once we open it.”
Fan Shixin removed the lid of the food container, after which the heavenly aroma of the piping-hot delicacies wafted up to her nose.
Mu Wansheng instantly got an appetite.
Fan Shixin placed the dishes onto the tray and pushed it toward her. He then handed her a pair of chopsticks and said, “Dig in. I have something to tell you.”
“Sure.”
“I saw your mother at the entrance and some other bodyguards. They seem to be from your family.”
She paused in her actions and asked, “Did she find out that I’m here?”
“I don’t think she did. After all, I’ve already instructed for the news of your hospitalization to be kept confidential. I’m guessing that someone must have seen you when we were out on a stroll and informed your mother about it. It’s alright, just stay here in peace. I won’t let them find you.”
Mu Wansheng answered with a nod, “Okay.”
“Besides that, I think there’s something else I need you to know. Remember when I told you not to tell anyone that I was the one who saved you?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know why my subordinates and I were on that hill that night?”
Shaking her head, Mu Wansheng answered, “I don’t know.”
“Take a look at this,” he said, handing her a stack of newspapers.
Mu Wansheng put her chopsticks down and read the piece of news.
She then handed the newspaper back to him and continued eating. “This soldier has finally cleared his name. He seems rather pitiful.”
“He was the one who abducted you from your home and dumped you on the hill. His name was Zong Jingyi.”
Mu Wansheng stared at him in astonishment and asked, “Why? Why did he abduct me?”
“Your mother is his ex-girlfriend. She was also a snitch who was sent to spy on him. She had an ulterior motive for dating him. He was executed later on. However, he didn’t actually die and was kept in the tomb by his brother-in-law for a whole sixteen years.”
“He didn’t die after staying in the tomb for sixteen years? Can he even stay alive without drinking or eating?”
“That place is supernatural so he didn’t die. He came out to seek help from my Young Madam. We placed a GPS tracker in his car so we had gotten to monitor wherever he went. We found it really strange the moment we discovered that he had gone onto the hill. So, Young Madam sent me and Xiao Bai to take a look. That’s how we found you.”
“No wonder he left me that note.”
“What note?”
“He said that he didn’t mean to dump me there and that if I must blame someone, I should blame it on my mother. He also wanted me to tell her that she can’t shirk the responsibility for what happened to him sixteen years ago and that she shouldn’t be too preoccupied with living comfortably. He wants me to let her know that he’s not dead.”
“That man has now passed away.”
“Passed away? How?” Mu Wansheng asked with a frown.
“He poisoned himself to death, so as to atone for the murders of two innocent lives.”
Mu Wansheng continued to eat her food, taking one small bite at a time. She could empathize with Zong Jingyi and understood his reasons for doing what he had done. She thought that he was being kind by dumping her on the hill instead of killing her.
“I don’t know why, but I feel a little guilty because of my mother.”
“It’s not your fault. Do you believe that one can remain youthful-looking and not age for years?” Fan Shixin asked, staring at her.
“Doesn’t that defy the law of nature? That’s impossible,” said Mu Wansheng.
“Do you know how sinister Shen Jia Lake is?”
“I don’t, but I heard that there were zombies there that caused a massacre in Beiying. I don’t know if those are just rumors, though.”
“It’s true.”
“Really?” Mu Wansheng asked.
“Yes, really. My Young Madam was there too. However, the media was prohibited from reporting about the incident because it would invoke fear within citizens. That zombie was already dead for years but he remained preserved. Zong Jingyi came from a tomb not too far away from where that corpse was found. He looks exactly the same as he did sixteen years ago. He didn’t age at all.”
“Does that mean that I can remain youthful too if I were to live there?”
“I guess you can if you stay at the bottom. However, the tomb has already been sealed and not everyone is allowed to enter.”
Mu Wansheng put down her chopsticks and took a few sips of water to wash her food down before saying, “Did his age change, though?”
“He was in his thirties sixteen years ago. He should be about 50 years old now. How old is your mother?”
“Forty-nine years old.”
