Susu’s heart clenched again. Tianyi forcibly helped her sit down, unsure what comforting words he could offer, only urging her to lean on him as much as possible. Time ticked by, and Susu’s mind was filled with the scene of reuniting with Shu Zhongze after he was well, a happy family together.
When the intensive care unit door opened again, the doctors were all shaking their heads with regret. They asked who the patient’s family was, and Susu was completely stunned, immobile.
It was Tianyi who stood up and spoke to the doctor.
Susu didn’t register a single word of their conversation, stubbornly believing that Shu Zhongze would be fine and recover.
It wasn’t until Shu Zhongze was wheeled out of the intensive care unit covered with a white sheet that she finally stood up and blocked the gurney.
Her hands trembling, she gently lifted the sheet covering Shu Zhongze’s face. She looked at him, unwilling to believe, and wanted to wake him, "Dad, I was wrong, I was wrong... I shouldn't have refused to acknowledge you. Stop pretending to sleep, get up, get up and talk to me!"
Tianyi held her, pulling her aside, letting the nurse re-cover the white sheet. He said with sorrow, "Susu, don't be like this. Mr. Shu, he... he's gone."
Susu struggled with all her might but couldn't break free. She could only watch as the gurney was pushed further and further away, disappearing from her blurry vision…
She couldn't stand steadily, her whole body collapsing, and she murmured to herself, "Why won't heaven give me and him another chance? Why, why!"
Tianyi did his best to help her up, turning her to face him. He said with heartache, "Susu, he passed away peacefully. You acknowledged him, and he has no regrets. Don't you have any regrets either?"
"Why do people die? Why did he die?" Susu rested her head on his shoulder, tears streaming down her face. "I thought he was strong and would live for a very long time. Even if I didn't acknowledge him for a while, there would be plenty of time later. But I was wrong… so wrong… terribly wrong…"
"It's okay, it's okay. Even if the sky falls, I'm still here," Tianyi said, patting her back. "Cry if you need to. I'm here for everything."
She burst into tears and, finally exhausted from crying, collapsed into Tianyi's arms.
When she woke up, she was lying in the bedroom of the seaside villa. She saw Tianyi asleep, his head resting on the edge of the bed.
She tried her best to recover from her grief and sat up quietly. She noticed a folder pressed under Tianyi's arm.
She carefully pulled out the folder and opened it. Inside, she found Shu Zhongze's death certificate, the doctor's diagnosis, and the detailed arrangements for the funeral.
It turned out that while she was heartbroken, Tianyi had already done so much for her, arranging all of Shu Zhongze's post-mortem affairs.
Looking at Tianyi, who had been diligently working for her since their return, she felt an inexpressible emotion and also felt deeply for him. She gently stroked his head.
He woke up from his light sleep. Susu quickly pulled him onto the bed and said, "Lie down on the bed to sleep. It must be uncomfortable sleeping like that."
Tianyi stretched his arm and sat up on the bed, asking, "Are you alright? I've made all the arrangements for Mr. Shu's funeral. Don't worry."
Susu handed the folder back to him, saying, "I saw it. Tianyi, thanks to you. Am I very useless, just indulging in grief and not handling anything?"
"If you weren't sad, if you were so cold-blooded, then you wouldn't be my Susu."
Susu grasped his hand and said, "But I need to pull myself together. I can't let you be too tired all by yourself. If you collapse, who will I rely on for the rest of my life?"
Tianyi pinched her cheek and comforted her, "That's good. Actually, Mr. Shu's sudden passing isn't your fault. Have you seen the doctor's diagnosis in this file?"
"I've glanced at it. His heart condition was already very serious," Susu nodded.
"Yes, in fact, his private doctor had repeatedly advised him to have surgery six months ago. But for some reason, he kept delaying it," Tianyi looked at her. "I have a feeling, perhaps he didn't want to live too long. Knowing his illness was life-threatening, he pushed himself just to wait for you to return, to see you one last time, and to personally entrust the Shu Group to you."
Susu said, unable to comprehend, "But why would he do that? Who doesn't want to live a long life? If he had undergone surgery earlier, he could have lived another ten or twenty years and revitalized the Shu Group himself, wouldn't that be better?"
Tianyi was also puzzled by this and couldn't figure out the reason for the moment.
Seeing him frowning and studying the diagnosis again, Susu took the folder from him and said, "Mr. Qin, you should get some rest. If you don't lie down and rest properly, I'll be angry."
"But regarding the funeral, what if someone calls…"
"I'll handle it," Susu insisted he lie down properly, taking both her phone and his. "I'm feeling much better. Let me handle my father's funeral. I was too stingy with him when he was alive, so I must do my duty as a daughter for his post-mortem affairs."
Tianyi was finally persuaded by her and lay down on the bed relaxedly. He held a pillow and looked at her, saying, "Then I'll sleep for a while. If you can't resolve anything, wake me up."
To avoid disturbing his rest, Susu changed her clothes and left the bedroom with the two phones.
She had intended to go to the study to be alone, but at the top of the stairs, she saw Yanan and Xiaomei playing with two children in the living room. She went downstairs to the hall.
As soon as Yanan saw her, she asked, "Why are you up? You should rest more. We were all startled when we saw Mr. Qin carrying you, who had fainted from crying, back late last night."
Susu reached out to take Tiantian from her arms, but Tiantian kept turning her head away, unfamiliar with her and refusing to be held.
She couldn't help but feel she had failed her daughter and said with a choked voice, "She doesn't want me anymore. I'm always such a failure as a mother…"
"Children get clingy to unfamiliar people. After all, you haven't been by her side for over half a year. She just needs to get used to you," Yanan cooed at Tiantian and forcefully placed Tiantian into Susu's arms. Tiantian immediately burst into tears.
Susu kissed the crying Tiantian and handed her back to Yanan, saying, "No, I can't comfort her. If she keeps crying like this, she'll wake Tianyi up."
After Yanan took Tiantian back, she immediately called Chen Ma, the nanny, and handed Tiantian over to the nanny, saying, "Actually, I can't comfort her when she cries either. Only this nanny can calm her down."
After the nanny took Tiantian to the nursery, Yanan said with some annoyance, "I shouldn't have invited Uncle to the welcome ceremony I organized for you. Could it be that it was too noisy here yesterday, which triggered his heart condition? It's all my fault for not being thoughtful enough."
Seeing Yanan's self-blaming expression, Susu quickly said to her, "How could it be? It has nothing to do with you. Even if you hadn't invited him, he would have come. Wouldn't he have found out the time of my and Tianyi's return himself?"