Then, she turned her head to look out the window, her expression complex. After a long moment, she slowly said, "What does it matter if there's love or not? Some things have already happened, they can't be undone, nor can they change the current situation."
Zhu Lingling heard the deep melancholy in Huo Mian's tone and, as a friend, genuinely felt a pang of sympathy for her.
"Xiao Mian, back in high school, when you and Qin Chu got together, it made me believe that fairy tales truly exist in this world. You two were both so exceptional, but why did it come to this point today? It's truly regrettable. Actually, don't get angry when I say this, but I always felt that Ning Zhiyuan wasn't good enough for you. You know, back in our school, you were...?"
Zhu Lingling didn't finish her sentence before Huo Mian interrupted her.
"Lingling, don't say any more. What's past is past. No matter what I might still feel for Qin Chu, it's absolutely impossible for us to be together. You know how much that incident seven years ago impacted me. My family was ruined. Is there anything more tragic than that? I truly wish it had been me who died back then."
As she spoke, Huo Mian's voice choked.
Zhu Lingling also knew that it was because of that incident that Huo Mian had suppressed her brilliance, willing to live an ordinary, unremarkable life. But... it wasn't her fault.
Zhu Lingling placed a hand on Huo Mian's shoulder, comforting her. "Xiao Mian, listen to me. You also said that so much time has passed. Don't blame yourself anymore. These past few years, haven't you been trying to make amends for that price? I think, if you attribute that incident to Qin Chu, you also know he's been abroad for many years. Given his feelings for you, I believe he definitely wasn't aware of it."
"So what? He's still a member of the Qin family, isn't he? Can he really disclaim all responsibility for what his family did?" Huo Mian asked, her eyes red.
"Xiao Mian...?" Zhu Lingling still wanted to say something.
But she saw Huo Mian raise her arm to interrupt. "Lingling, don't say anything else. You're my best friend, and I know everything you say is for my good, but... you can't truly empathize with my experience. So, please let me decide this for myself."
"Alright, I just hope that no matter what you decide, you don't compromise yourself. These past few years, I've seen you struggle so much. I really hope... you can be the Huo Mian who was once so confident and didn't care about anyone."
Huo Mian only gave a bitter smile, saying nothing more.
She had wanted to enjoy a happy meal of pig trotters, but the heavy topic of Qin Chu had caused Huo Mian to lose her appetite.
After taking a small bite, she hastily left.
On her way back, she was still hesitating whether to call Ning Zhiyuan. After all, she was partly at fault in this matter.
She picked up her phone, just about to dial, when she saw it ring.
The caller ID showed her younger brother's number.
She immediately answered, "Zhi Xin."
"Sis, hurry to the hospital, Mom collapsed." On the other end, Jing Zhixin's voice was extremely distressed.
"What? Mom collapsed? How? Which hospital? I'm coming right away."
"The Fourth People's Hospital near our house, 7th floor, room 709."
"Okay, I'll be right there."
Hanging up the phone, Huo Mian looked anxious. "Driver, let's turn around, Fourth People's Hospital."
Twenty minutes later,
Huo Mian rushed upstairs and pushed open the hospital room door.
She saw her mother lying on the hospital bed, her face haggard, with an oxygen tube, still unconscious.
An eighteen or nineteen-year-old boy, dressed in black Nike athletic wear, with slightly long hair and a rather refined appearance.
He was Huo Mian's maternal half-brother, Jing Zhixin.
"Sis, you're here."
"Zhixin, what happened to Mom? Weren't you at school? Why are you at the hospital?"
"I was having PE class when I suddenly got a call from Auntie Wu, our neighbor, saying Mom had collapsed in front of the grocery store. I immediately asked for leave and came back, and I called 112 as well."
"Mom has always been healthy, how could this happen?" Huo Mian asked, full of worry.
Just then, the ward door opened, and a doctor walked in. "Who is Yang Meirong's family? Please step outside."
"I am." Huo Mian hurriedly followed the doctor out.
"You're the patient's daughter, I presume?" The doctor guessed, looking at Huo Mian's age.
Huo Mian nodded.
"Do you know the patient has high blood pressure?" the doctor questioned sternly.
"I know, but my mother has been taking her medication consistently and usually rests well. I also check her blood pressure when I have time, and it has always been quite stable."
"We suspect the patient experienced a strong emotional shock, which caused her blood pressure to rise. As her children, you need to be careful. The patient also has a weak heart, and with high blood pressure, if she's not careful, it could be life-threatening, do you understand?"
"Experienced a shock?" Huo Mian was somewhat surprised.
She worked outside and only returned home once every two weeks. Her younger brother was well-behaved, and it seemed no one could make her mother so angry.
"You can ask her about it once she wakes up. We recommend a week of hospitalization to lower her blood pressure and observe her. What do you think?"
"No problem." As a nurse, Huo Mian naturally wouldn't be negligent; she understood the seriousness of the illness.
"Okay, then go pay the hospitalization fee."
"Alright." Huo Mian nodded and hurried downstairs to the cashier on the first floor.
"The total is seven thousand nine hundred eighty."
"That much?" Huo Mian looked troubled. The salary she had saved over the years, half went to her younger brother, and the other half was used for the down payment on the house with Ning Zhiyuan. She only had three thousand yuan in her card. Seven thousand in one go was something she truly couldn't afford.
"Are you paying or not? Hurry up, there are others in line, don't block the way."
"Paying." Huo Mian quickly took out her credit card. She had gotten this card last year, and it supposedly had a credit limit of ten thousand. She had never used it before.
After paying, she returned to the ward, and by this time, her mother had already woken up.
"Mom, you're awake?" Huo Mian asked cautiously.
"What are you doing here? Get out." Yang Meirong seemed very angry upon seeing Huo Mian.
"Mom, I was the one who called Big Sis," Jing Zhixin quickly interceded.
"I don't need you to see me. I'm not sick and don't need to be hospitalized. Zhixin, go handle the discharge papers; we're going home."
Yang Meirong insisted on getting out of bed.
"Mom, your condition is a bit serious right now. Your blood pressure needs to be lowered first. You can only be discharged after a week."
"I don't need you to worry about it. Who caused me to be like this? If it weren't for you, this jinx, would this family be like this?" Yang Meirong shouted.
"Mom, don't say that. It's not Big Sis's fault."
"You shut up! This jinx not only caused your father's death but now that wild man is back and swaggering into our home, thinking money is everything. Compensate me, sounds nice, but who cares about dirty money? People are dead; can any amount of money bring them back to life?" Yang Meirong was highly agitated.
Hearing this, Huo Mian's heart sank, and she seemed to understand what had happened. "Mom, did Qin Chu... look for you?"