She had originally planned to secretly quit school behind Grandma's back, but now, since there was some of the money left from that man, she decided to continue attending school and taking care of Grandma as per her wishes.
An Xiaomian had been taking care of Grandma in the hospital for a week, during which she had been on leave. Grandma spent most of the days sleeping, and in the few moments she was awake, she would initially ask why she was in the hospital and who had paid for it. An Xiaomian didn't dare to tell her the truth and claimed that a kind soul had seen their plight and made a donation.
Grandma didn't think much of it and believed her. She then held An Xiaomian's hand and told her to make sure she studied hard so that, in the future when she achieved success, she could repay the money and also become a kind person who helps others in need.
An Xiaomian nodded in agreement to everything without uttering a word.
A week later, Grandma's condition had improved, and An Xiaomian had also received a call from the school instructing her to return to class. She was now in her second year of college and had always been a good student, having never taken a leave before. So her sudden prolonged absence had concerned her teachers, who urged her to come back to class as soon as possible.
She couldn't ask for any more leaves.
In the following days, she would attend classes at school when she had them and visit Grandma in the hospital when she didn't. She also spent her nights by Grandma's side in the hospital.
Grandma was old now, and An Xiaomian had been without parents from a young age; it was Grandma who, despite the oppression of uncles and aunts, had taken her in and raised her. Her wish was simple now; all she wanted was for Grandma to be healthy.
...
In the blink of an eye, more than a month had passed.
If she didn't specifically think about that incident from over a month ago, An Xiaomian felt as if she had already forgotten it.
The marks he had left on her body had long since faded, just like he had disappeared without a trace.
The wound on her knee had also turned into a thin scar and no longer hurt.
That handsome man with the surname Shangguan, she hadn't even seen his face clearly, only vaguely remembering that he was very handsome. But now, there was no need for her to think about that anymore.
She had no classes that afternoon and was planning to visit Grandma at the hospital after her morning classes when she ran into two people she did not want to see on the road by the school gate.
Standing one meter in front of her were two fashionably-dressed young men and women, her cousin An Xiaohu and her cousin An Xiaodie.
At that moment, An Xiaohu said nothing, but An Xiaodie stepped forward to block An Xiaomian's path and interrogated her with a menacing tone, "An Xiaomian, where have you and Grandma been all this past month?"
So they had stopped her to ask about this.
An Xiaomian looked calmly at the two people in front of her and replied indifferently, "That's none of your business. You didn't want to save Grandma back then, and now you come asking me? What's the point?"
"Did you kill Grandma and then dump her somewhere?" An Xiaodie glared angrily at An Xiaomian. "I'm telling you, if you don't reveal where Grandma is, our family will sue you for murdering your own grandmother."
An Xiaodie's words were loud, and after she spoke, the people around them gathered and looked at An Xiaomian with astonishment. Their whispered conversations suggested they wondered if she really could be a murderer.
Seeing this, An Xiaomian frowned fiercely.
"An Xiaodie, are you sick? I went through so much trouble to get Grandma to the hospital. She's the person closest to me; how could I possibly kill her?"