A look of disbelief appeared on the faces of everyone who heard the news, and all of them looked at Nora. Even Mrs. Hunt looked shocked.
Nora looked at Justin and nodded. “Yes.”
Bang!
As Nora’s voice rang out, the glass in Mrs. Hunt’s hand dropped onto the floor.
She looked at Xander with a complicated look.
To be honest, Mrs. Hunt didn’t like the boy very much.
She had watched Pete, an honest and upright boy, grow up. However, from the day Xander had first come to their door, he had been awkward and contrary, and behaved in a terribly detestable way.
He was not a boy who behaved properly and followed the rules, which made him an outlier in Mrs. Hunt’s eyes.
However, Mrs. Hunt did not think that Xander would suddenly die so soon.
It seemed that all of Xander’s shortcomings didn’t matter anymore. It was also at this moment that everyone suddenly realized that Xander was actually just a child.
“It’s okay.”
Unexpectedly, Xander gave them a smile that looked as though he had seen through life itself and said, “I don’t feel any pain or discomfort now. See, I look totally fine, right? I supposedly have a month left to live, but who knows? At least I’m alright now! Besides, I can even be the ring-bearer at Mommy and Daddy’s wedding!”
When the others saw his smile, they could only force themselves to smile as well.
Surprisingly, it was Xander who rushed up to Pete and Cherry and said, “Daddy Trueman has told me that I’m actually the eldest! Both of you must acknowledge me as the big brother from now on, get it?”
Even Xander’s speech had become a little more cheerful.
It was as though he had really let go of all the gloominess from the past five years.
Pete looked him in the eye and replied, “Got it. You’re my elder brother.”
Cherry’s big round eyes were filled with tears. She grabbed Xander’s hand and said, “Xander, Cherry doesn’t want to leave you! … Can you not die?”
As they said, only children and fools spoke the truth.
Nora looked at them and sighed.
In spite of the depressing atmosphere, though, all the Hunts and Smiths showed an unprecedented fighting spirit.
Xander was dying.
The boy’s only wish was for his parents to get married and to attend their wedding…
The thought of it made everyone’s hearts ache.
As a result…
The Smiths and the Hunts showed an unprecedented sense of unity, seemingly truly planning to turn the wedding into the wedding of the century!!
The two parties involved were not really required to handle the wedding preparations themselves, of course.
Nora was currently looking at Pete.
Pete had a firm look on his face and a determined look in his eyes. He asked, “Mommy, is Xander sick? Which part of his body is sick? Is it the heart? Or the kidney? Can you give him mine?”
Pete looked extremely serious and solemn. “I don’t want Xander to die.”
Nora: “…”
She sighed and touched Pete’s hair. “It’s the brain.”
Nora had done a CT scan of Xander’s whole body.
Xander’s gene modification was to the IQ, so the backlash had caused cancer cells to proliferate in his brain, leading to brain cancer. Unless the V16 was injected into him, with the world’s current medical science, there was no cure.
Pete was stunned. “Can the brain be changed?”
Nora: “…”
The two were chatting secretly, but right after Pete spoke, Xander pushed open the door and walked in. He said disdainfully, “Why are you so uninformed about medicine? Would I still be myself if my brain is changed? Even if Mommy’s medical skills are so amazing that she successfully performs the operation, who would be the one alive? You or me?”
Pete frowned. “Probably me. After all, one’s consciousness lies in the brain, which would be mine…”
Xander rested his chin on his hand. “I think so too. Didn’t someone go through a head transplant surgery in hopes of survival?”
Nora: “…”
The corners of her lips spasmed, and she ignored the two little boys’ wild imaginations. But the moment she exited the room, she saw Cherry looking at her with her eyes red.
“Mommy, will Xander really die?”
After asking the question, Cherry looked at her without blinking once.
Nora: “…”
Just as she was thinking about how she should answer the question, Cherry suddenly wiped her tears and said, “I know the answer now.”
Then, the little girl turned around and ran away.
Nora stared after her, the corners of her lips spasming.
The little girl had been by her side since she was a baby. A single look from her was all it took for Cherry to know what she was thinking.
