The amount of hope and effort that Jia Wenjun poured into Zhao Di's surgery was clearer to Wu Peng than anyone else. He, no less than Jia Wenjun, found it hard to accept the current situation.

The news of Zhao Di's failed surgery was met with both joy and sorrow. Jia Wenjun's parents stood in front of their daughter's tightly shut door. After returning from the hospital, Jia Wenjun had slept fitfully in her room for a whole day before developing a high fever in the middle of the night. The sudden spike in temperature sent Jia Wenjun into a delirious state. The couple were thrown into a flurry, giving her antipyretics and trying to cool her down physically. After a sleepless night, Jia Wenjun finally broke into a sweat in the morning, and her temperature finally began to drop slightly.

She then spent two more days at home in a daze. In her hazy state, Jia Wenjun seemed to feel her father sighing in front of her, and her mother crying softly by her bedside. Besides that, in her half-dreaming, half-awake state, it seemed as if someone was holding her hand, feeding her water and medicine, telling her that when she woke up, they would go fishing together, ride bikes by the sea, and climb mountains together to watch the sunrise and sunset, urging her to get well soon.

These were the things she had most wanted to do when she was locked up in the detention center. Who exactly was this person, and how did they know what she was thinking?

She could feel the tension and worry in the other person's tone, but her eyelids were too heavy for her to open her eyes and see the person clearly. But because of those thoughts, she finally made it through, and got better day by day.

It wasn't until her fever had completely subsided and her appetite had returned that the old couple were finally able to relax.

Jia's mother came over with a bowl of millet and sea cucumber porridge she had cooked for her daughter. Watching her drink it down mouthful by mouthful, she finally said with red eyes, "Your father and I were so scared these past few days when you were sick. Don't think too much about things. What would your father and mother do if something happened to you?"

Jia's father also said from the side, "Xiao Wu came several times while you were sick. He even flew to Beijing to communicate with Zhao Di's chief surgeon. The doctor said that the patient's condition hasn't changed, but it can't be ruled out that she might slowly recover. Xiao Wu said that we can't give up first. Your mother and I have thought about it. Isn't there a year left? At worst, we'll take care of Zhao Di for another year to see if she can recover. If it really doesn't work out, at least we've tried our best."

"Dad..."

Jia's father knew what she was going to say and waved his hand. "Things haven't reached the final stage yet. Even if there's no hope in the end, your mother and I will always be with you. Don't be afraid."

Jia's mother wiped her eyes. "Wenjun, don't worry too much. As the saying goes, illness comes like a landslide, but goes away like drawing silk. It takes a week to recover from a fever. Zhao Di's brain was injured, so it will take time to slowly recover. Let's all think positively and not get so angry that you become delirious again like before. This child, Xiao Wu, has been so busy these days that he's been running around non-stop. He even helped take care of you for a whole night while you were delirious with fever."

"Wu Peng took care of me for a whole night?" Jia Wenjun thought to herself, could that blurry figure she had seen before have been him?

She had also wondered if it was him, but she didn't think they were familiar enough for him to take care of her to that extent. Moreover, the person in the dream had been holding her hand the whole time, so she felt even more that it couldn't be him. It was probably just a dream, but who would have thought it was real?

Jia's mother continued, "After you fell ill, your father and I stayed up for two days straight. After all, we're getting old, and we couldn't hold on any longer. Xiao Wu was afraid that we would collapse from exhaustion, so he came to help. Fortunately, he was there, so we could take turns resting. Otherwise, your father and I would have been bedridden too. Xiao Wu really helped us a lot."

Seeing that her daughter seemed to be thinking about something, Jia's father didn't want her to be too tired, so he said, "Okay, let our daughter rest for a while. We'll talk about it when Xiao Wu comes over."

The old couple knew that their daughter was deeply affected, but they didn't know how to comfort her. They only hoped that Wu Peng could enlighten her and help her slowly accept this cruel reality.

After her parents left, Jia Wenjun lay in bed, tossing and turning. Finally, she picked up her phone and called Wu Peng. She wanted to ask him what the doctors in Beijing had said.

Wu Peng had just finished talking to Doctor Tan and received Jia Wenjun's call as he was leaving the doctor's office.

He said with joy, "You're awake?"

Jia Wenjun thought of how he had taken care of her when she was sick, and her heart felt complicated. She tried her best to ignore this feeling of helplessness and focused on the matter at hand. "Yes, thank you for everything you've done during this time. How is Zhao Di doing now?"

Wu Peng paused. "She's still the same as before, but I've talked to her attending physician and chief surgeon, and I've also consulted many people in the industry. Although most people aren't optimistic, the human body is too complex, and there are many things that medicine can't fully explain yet. I don't think it's time to give up yet."

Actually, saying it wasn't time to give up was just for Jia Wenjun's sake. He didn't want her to collapse now. As for Zhao Di, whether judging from the doctors' opinions or from Zhao Di's current condition, it could be said that there was no hope.

Jia Wenjun knew that most of Wu Peng's words were actually to comfort her. But that didn't stop her from struggling to stand up again. Since she had already come this far, why not hold on until the very end?

Her voice was still weak, but her tone was firm. "Don't worry, I won't give up. Didn't you say that the Lin family didn't want to care about Zhao Di anymore after the surgery failed? I'd like to ask you to help me think of a way to take over the responsibility of taking care of Zhao Di. I want to spend the rest of my time on bail taking care of Zhao Di."

Wu Peng was silent on the other end of the line. He had thought it would take some time to persuade her, but he didn't expect her to be back in action so quickly. He said in a deep voice, "Okay, I'll think of a way."

After hanging up the phone, Jia Wenjun lay in bed and fell asleep again.

In her dream, she was being chased by wild wolves. She jumped into the sea. The water was very deep, and she didn't know how to swim in the dream. In her panic, she grabbed onto something floating nearby.

With a burst of rapid breaths, Jia Wenjun was finally able to float in the water. Taking a closer look, she found that she was holding onto her suitcase from the yacht.

Then came another wolf howl, so close she could feel it. Jia Wenjun panicked and looked back, only to find that it was Da Huang (Big Yellow, a dog's name). She was just about to call out to Da Huang when she realized that Da Huang was baring its teeth at her, looking as if it wanted to tear her to pieces.

It leaped towards Jia Wenjun, landing directly on the suitcase. The huge impact pushed Jia Wenjun underwater. Da Huang didn't immediately tear at her, but instead stretched out its paw and kept stepping on Jia Wenjun's head, refusing to let her surface.

Just as she was about to drown, she woke up with a start.