Qian Xiaoyun's eyes gradually reddened, and mist arose, her struggle evident in her face. The cold, closed heart that had been wrapped in a hardened shell called resentment for so many years, shook and pained her.
"What else, what else did he say?" Qian Xiaoyun stumbled and collapsed onto the chair, supporting her forehead with her jade hand, her voice filled with exhaustion and sorrow.
Ye Xiaofei sighed, "Also, Professor Qian said that he hopes you will take your mother back to care for her, to let her spend her old age in peace. If you still harbor resentment, then resent him alone."
"What? My grandmother is still alive? Mom, how could you be so heartless, not visiting them all these years, and even lying to me that they had long since passed away. Why, why, is your heart made of stone?"
Lin Qianxi was overcome with tears, rushing forward to stand confronting Qian Xiaoyun, her gaze sharp, full of questions and incomprehension.
She had never confronted her mother like this before, even if her mother was always too busy with work to take care of her; but this matter was truly too much.
Is this really my mother? Why is she so heartless? So unforgiving?
"You, Lin Qianxi, what are you saying? Is that how you talk to your mom? What do you know? What right do you have to accuse me? Why? Everyone, the whole world can condemn me, but you, only you cannot!" Qian Xiaoyun looked at her daughter in disbelief, suddenly standing up, hysterically shouting.
Her daughter's words stabbed her heart like a sharp knife, causing it to twist in pain and bleed.
"Why, why can't I? You always think you are right. I can forgive everything you do, but on what grounds do you deprive me of my kin, my family bonds? As a daughter, you are unfilial; as a mother, you are unkind. I could have never imagined that my mother would be such a person. I am so disappointed in you."
Lin Qianxi also became somewhat frenzied, unyielding, the mother and daughter standing off against each other like two enraged lionesses.
Ye Xiaofei felt extremely awkward on the sidelines, feeling neither able to leave nor stay, caught in a dilemma. He had no intention of getting involved in someone else's family affairs, yet he had witnessed the whole scene unfold.
Mother and daughter faced each other, both so angry that their chests heaved, and when the silence fell, the air around them seemed to freeze.
Ye Xiaofei swallowed hard, feeling extremely uncomfortable. He was just following orders to deliver a message; he hoped he wouldn't become the catalyst for the deterioration of Lin Qianxi's relationship with her mother. If that happened, his mistake would be grave.
He cautiously said, "Lin Qianxi, how can you talk to your aunt like that? There must be a reason for her actions, how can you say such excessive things?"
"This is none of your business!" Lin Qianxi glared at Ye Xiaofei with reddened eyes, her gaze filled with disappointment and anger.
She suddenly paused, then nodded at Ye Xiaofei, as if a drowning person had clung to the last straw, her eyes gleaming with hope. Through tears, she said, "Mom, if it's really like he said, tell me about your troubles and grievances. Your daughter is grown up; you can't hide things from me forever, right? Mom, I'm sorry, I went too far with my words just now."
Qian Xiaoyun looked at her daughter with a complex expression, her heart aching. She slowly slumped back into the chair, turned away silently, perhaps weeping without sound.
After a long while, Qian Xiaoyun's frail voice finally came. "Lin Qianxi, if I told you that your father was indirectly killed by your grandparents, would you still think the same? Would you still think I'm heartless?"
Said, she had already broken into tears.
Ye Xiaofei awkwardly exited the scene, pulling open the door and stepping out, standing silently outside, waiting.
Curious staff members who heard the commotion gathered around to see Ye Xiaofei coming out alone, staring at him as if he were a giant Panda.
Ye Xiaofei was startled, then tried to act suavely by flicking his head, but his loose school uniform made it impossible to look debonair.
"What happened to Boss Qian? Why did she erupt in such anger?"
"I don't know? I saw his daughter go in earlier; it must be a family matter."
"Yeah, and that kid... Could it be that Boss Qian's daughter has taken a fancy to this lad and wanted to elope with him, only to be caught and brought back by Boss Qian?"
The noisy gossip of the hotel staff reached Ye Xiaofei's ears and he was taken aback, amused at how nosy these people were. Not to mention their wild imaginations—probably a side effect of watching too many melodramas.
Just then, the office door burst open and Qian Xiaoyun stormed out, furiously shouting, "What are you all standing here for? Don't you have work to do?"
The crowd scattered sheepishly.
While Ye Xiaofei was still lost in the natural queenly aura of Qian Xiaoyun, he was suddenly dragged outside by Lin Qianxi.
"Hey, wait, why are you pulling me?"
"Why? Of course, to take us to find Grandpa. How can we find him if you don't come?" Lin Qianxi's voice still held a cry, revealing her extreme urgency.
Ye Xiaofei glanced at Qian Xiaoyun who was silently following behind and asked in a low voice, "Have you talked things over with your mom?"
Lin Qianxi didn't say a word, just nodded gently. Ye Xiaofei couldn't help but let his mind wander, wondering how the mother and daughter had come to an agreement.
The three of them rushed to Nan Shui City, choosing to take a plane to save time. It was Ye Xiaofei's first flight, and there were some embarrassing moments along the way which are not worth mentioning.
More than three hours later, the trio had arrived at the morgue of Nan Shui City Hospital.
As the doctor slowly drew Professor Qian's body from the cold storage, the guilt and regret in Qian Xiaoyun's heart also climbed to their peak.
"Dad, I'm late, and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have resented you for so long, I didn't fulfill my duty as a daughter..."
The shackles and defenses within Qian Xiaoyun's heart shattered at the touch of her father's cold corpse. She threw herself on Professor Qian's body, crying her heart out, as if mourning with blood and tears, in such a lament that it tore at the soul and wrung the heart.
"Grandpa... We're late, I'm sorry, may your spirit in heaven forgive my foolish mom!"
Lin Qianxi also rushed forward, and the mother-daughter pair wept together in grief. The scene was so moving that even Ye Xiaofei felt like crying out loud.
This long-standing resentment finally came to an end with one's passing; Qian Xiaoyun never expected it to end this way—so heart-wrenchingly painful, devastating both sides.
In the midst of this resentment, they had both lost and missed out on so much, but by the time they realized it, it was already too late.
"Deepest condolences!"
The doctor's dry remark couldn't possibly soothe the mourning hearts.
Qian Xiaoyun cried for a long time as if trying to wash away the endless remorse with her tears, but neither Lin Qianxi nor Ye Xiaofei could stop her.
In the end, the tears turned to blood; the unfilial daughter wept with remorse until she was so overwhelmed with grief that she collapsed and fainted.