"Calm down, Huanhuan. I'll be back soon. Don't go anywhere. Wait for me. Remember."
He hung up and immediately rose to his feet. He grabbed his coat and was ready to head home.
When he reached home, there was a broken glass and shattered pieces on the floor. Her feet were stained with blood.
He dashed forward and knelt before Yan Huan.
"Don't worry. Everything will be alright. All is good."
Lu Yi hugged Yan Huan, trying his very best to comfort her. In return, she sat there emotionlessly. She was hearing nothing and seeing nothing. She could not even feel the pain on her feet.
Lu Yi brought over the first aid kit. He cleaned and dressed her wound. The broken glass had cut her feet.
Yan Huan held his hand tight. Silent lingered between them.
"I know, I know." Lu Yi cupped her face. "I'll bring you there very soon."
Lu Yi brought Yan Huan to Sea City's largest graveyard. Lei Qingyi stood there, along with a few other graveyard staff who were in their uniforms.
Lu Yi grabbed Yan Huan's hand tight. Yan Huan's head was hurting as she widened her eyes.
She marched forward. All of a sudden, she stopped in her tracks. What should I do? I'm afraid.
Lu Yi held her hands.
"Even if you are afraid, you will have to face it eventually."
"Regardless, you'll have to confront it."
Yan Huan forced a smile. She let go of Lu Yi's hand and moved forward, taking one step after another. Yi Ling had been standing there like a dummy. No one knew how long she had been standing there. Even her hair was covered with dust, making it seem like she had been there forever.
Lei Qingyi signaled Lu Yi with her gaze. Lu Yi promptly followed behind.
Lei Qingyi spoke to Lu Yi in a muffled tone. "The person in charge of the grave called me early in the morning. Yan Huan has changed her phone number. Therefore, they could only get Lingling's number. That was when we found out that someone had unearthed Yan Huan's mother's grave. Her cinerary casket has been broken and her ashes have been sprinkled on the floor. Who do you think has done this? How much hatred does the person hold to make him want to break a dead person?"
Everyone in this country paid great respect to the deceased. No one would disturb the dead. Who actually is this person who committed such a sacrilegious act?
It was sinful to disturb the dead and perturb the livings.
Yan Huan took a step forward. She had not grasped the situation yet.
Someone had dug her mother's grave. Mom had been here for a longtime. She had been here, quiet. No one had ever disturbed her.
But, what happened?
The broken tiles lay on the floor, covered by the fragmented cremation casket and her mother's ashes.
This is my mom. She's my mom. Who threw my mom on the floor? Who abused my mom? Why does he have to disturb my mom, who had already suffered for her entire life?
"Huanhuan." Yi Ling's eyes were swollen owing to the excessive crying. What can we do? What should we do? She was afraid to take another step forward. She was afraid to step on Madam Yan.
"Mom…"
Yan Huan's pale lips started to quiver. That was the only word she could say repeatedly.
She was calling for her mother. The mother who showered her with unconditional love, and gave her everything she could.
"Mom, mom…"
Suddenly, she threw herself forward. She did not care about the debris anymore. She and Yi Ling had spent all their money on this casket, even though it was the cheapest and did not look good. Back then, they were poor. They had starved themselves for days just to save enough money to buy this cinerary casket.
They tried earning money through washing dishes and giving out flyers. Yan Huan had even taken on jobs that no one was willing to do. There were jobs that might put her life on stake, like jumping into the lake in a bitter winter. She went up and down for that. She had gone through everything to earn money.
They had even sold their blood in the end. However, all those were only enough for her to buy the cheapest cinerary casket.
Even if the casket was the cheapest and the worst of all, it contained Madam Yan's body and her entire life. With that, she was allowed to rest in peace.
Even if they had money after that, even if Yan Huan were to earn Linlang a fortune within a film's time, even if she was able to purchase the whole grave with the pay of an endorsement, never had it struck her to change her mother's resting spot. She did not even think of changing the casket at all. All because her mother had passed away. Yan Huan only wished for her mother to rest peacefully.
No one was allowed to touch her mother.
This was her mother's eternal resting place.
"Mom, mom…" Yan Huan had been repeating this word for a long time. She relentlessly scooped the spilled ashes into the broken casket. Her hands were cut by the debris of the casket. Before long, her hand was drenched with blood.
"Huanhuan, please stop."
Yi Ling hurried over and hugged Yan Huan. She was afraid that Yan Huan might hurt herself.
"Don't do this, Huanhuan. Please. Your mom would never want to see you this way." Watching Yan Huan cry, tears rolled down her cheeks as well.
Yan Huan's hands stopped in the middle of the air, still carrying her mother's ashes in her hands.
Lu Yi had brought over a new cinerary casket. As her son-in-laws, he and Lei Qingyi slowly scooped the ashes into the new casket. They tried to scoop as much as they could, but much of it was blown away by the wind. In the end, they could not even fill up half of the casket. Yan Huan's fingers were bleeding. Yet, she continued to hold onto her mother's cinerary casket emotionlessly.
Soon, Ye Shuyun and Madam Lei arrived at the scene. They were both angry and sorrowful at what they saw. Who would do such a thing? How can one commit such a sacrilegious act?
What could a dead person have done to them? How could a deceased offend them?
Why did the person have to take revenge on a deceased? Why can't he allow the dead woman to rest in peace? Why did he have to hurt the surviving daughter?
Yan Huan had been holding onto her mother's casket wherever she went. It was her own mother, her one and only mother. The mother, whom she still felt sorry for, even when she had lived two lifetimes.
This was her mother, whom she failed to take care of, in both her lifetimes.
He Yibin treated the wound on Yan Huan's hand. It was too unbearable to look at her hands as they were covered in cuts. Meanwhile, it appeared as if Yan Huan was not troubled by the wounds at all. It was as though the hands were not hers, but of another unrelated person.. She was feeling no pain.
