Chapter 157: Chapter 150: A Lifetime Is Not Enough to Make Amends 2
"Have you stopped crying?"
Su’s father asked softly from the other side; when his daughter cries, his own heart twists in pain.
"Um... I’m done."
"Xiao Yin hasn’t returned yet?"
"Huh, soon."
"Are Shuangshuang and Huang Huang doing well?"
"...Good!"
"Okay, that’s good. The college courses might be easy, but you should study them seriously."
"Hmm."
Listening on, Su Xiaomeng’s eyes became wet again, "Dad..."
"Hmm..."
"You should come to Beijing, you’re all alone at home, it’s so lonely..."
As Su Xiaomeng spoke, tears streamed down again. She knew how much her dad dreaded loneliness...
Especially when seeing the WeChat messages Dad sent to Mom.
"Ah, you really are..."
"Dad, let the store be looked after by Brother Ah Yong and Brother Hong Shu..."
"Alright, alright, girl, I’ll discuss it with your mom later, okay?"
Su’s father sighed lightly.
"Hmm!"
With these words, Su Xiaomeng managed to stop her tears, said a few more words, and then ended the call.
Su’s mother brought a dish out, glanced at Su Xiaomeng, "What are you doing?"
"Feeding Huang Huang milk."
"Feeding milk makes your eyes red?"
"He bit me!"
Su’s mother raised an eyebrow doubtfully, not sure if she was telling the truth.
Prince Huang had been nursing with closed eyes, but upon hearing Su Xiaomeng’s words, he opened his eyes to stare at her.
Su Xiaomeng felt a little guilty and looked away.
"How long until Shixiu gets back?"
"He’s already on his way, it might be a bit congested at this time."
Su Xiaomeng said.
Su’s mother washed her hands, sat on the sofa, took Huang Huang, who had finished eating, and wiped his mouth.
Su’s mother knew Huang Huang had a rather aloof nature and worried that her absence in his life for a while would result in him not recognizing her as his grandma.
But unexpectedly, when Huang Huang saw Su’s mother, he didn’t cry or fuss and was quite happy to be held by her.
Compared to Shuangshuang’s cheerful demeanor, Huang Huang brought Su’s mother more pride.
"Oh, right, Mom, do you remember that grandpa who saved me last time?"
"I remember, I was just planning to mention this to you. Last time your dad and I left straight away, didn’t have time to thank him. We should find some time to visit him."
Su’s mother remembered this elderly man even though she only knew he lived alone on Jiuling Mountain.
Afterwards, Su Xiaomeng seldom brought it up again.
Every so often, when Su’s mother thought about it, she would feel inclined to show her gratitude.
"The grandpa is sick!"
"Sick? What’s wrong?"
Su’s mother paused for a moment.
"It’s a cardiovascular issue, said it’s not very serious, but he’s hospitalized. I think it’s quite serious for someone of his age..."
Su Xiaomeng felt this way, but Bai Shunyuan spoke of it quite lightly, not the tone of a true grandson!
"How did you learn about this?"
Su’s mother listened to Su Xiaomeng’s not very certain tone, suspecting it wasn’t a conclusion she got from direct contact with the elderly gentleman.
"Oh, you know that naughty boy who caused so much trouble for me last time?"
"...The one who dragged you to sing karaoke?"
Su’s mother remembered Xiao Meng complaining about such a person, but she hadn’t mentioned the name.
"Yeah, coincidentally, he’s also surnamed Bai! Mom, I find it strange, look, your surname is Bai, you’re so great! Grandpa Bai is so kind too! But Bai Shunyuan, that scoundrel, is also surnamed Bai! Truly an insult to the Bai surname!"
Su’s mother’s body stiffened, "So... what’s the boy’s name?"
"Bai Shunyuan, the name sounds terrible!"
Su Xiaomeng exclaimed angrily.
Bai... Shunyuan...
Despite it being long ago, Su’s mother still had an impression of that name.
Shunyuan...
When the child was born, his father named him.
"Upon gains and losses in an instant, journeying far with caution."
From Du Fu’s poem...
"So the grandpa... is also surnamed Bai?"
When Su’s mother asked this, her eyes rested on Huang Huang in her arms, the tone sounded calm, but her heart was tumultuous.
"Yes, didn’t I mention it?"
Su Xiaomeng blinked, still unaware of her mother’s anomaly.
"Perhaps you did..."
She simply didn’t pay attention.
"Meng Meng, find out which hospital Grandpa Bai is in."
"Oh, okay, I’ll text Bai Shunyuan later. Uncle and I already agreed, we’ll visit him tomorrow afternoon. Mom, would you like to come with us?"
"If I go, no one will take care of the kids, you go ahead."
"...Oh, right."
Su Ma placed Huang Huang back into the crib and went into the bedroom.
Once the bedroom door closed, she leaned against it, and the scabs on her heart began to bleed again.
She knew Dad’s cardiovascular issues were always a concern, she knew...
How many years... she never dared to count carefully.
Counting would produce a number that was terrifying...
She knew there would be a day like this. When she left with the harshest and cruelest words twenty years ago, along with Su Chengji, she knew there would definitely be a day like this.
The scar she deliberately ignored in her heart would split open again, and the blood would overflow again.
"If the child isn’t aborted! Don’t ever think of entering this house again in your life! I, Bai Fengmao, don’t have a shameless daughter like you! If you leave, never come back!"
"I’m not coming back then! A dad who forces his daughter to abort a child, I don’t want him either!!"
She left decisively, and that step took twenty years...
The daughter was like the father, stubborn as an ox, and she... even more so.
It’s not that she didn’t miss him, she missed him to the point of madness, to the point of pain, waking up crying in the middle of the night without realizing it.
But she still didn’t have the courage to see her father.
Shame.
She was his shame...
Su Ma lowered her head, and tears fell silently, hitting the floor.
It was these heavy words that made her unable to rush to the hospital when she heard about her father’s illness.
That’s why she didn’t want to come to Beijing, afraid of hearing news about the Bai Family, afraid of hearing news about her father...
She closed her eyes, washed her face in the bathroom, and when she came out, Yin Shixiu was back...
The next afternoon, Su Xiaomeng and Yin Shixiu went together to the hospital where Grandpa Bai was staying.
When they arrived, Grandpa was alone in the ward, staring out the window. It was unknown what he was thinking, but he looked very sad.
Su Xiaomeng saw this and thought it was caused by Grandpa Bai’s discomfort, feeling very distressed.
"Grandpa Bai!"
As soon as Grandpa Bai saw Su Xiaomeng, his spirits lifted immediately!
"Meng Meng?"
Su Xiaomeng ran to the bedside, nodded vigorously, "Grandpa, it’s been so long, I missed you so much!"
Bai Fengmao reached out to touch Su Xiaomeng’s head, "This little girl has gotten more sprightly, and after having children, she looks slimmer too!"
"Hehe!"
Su Xiaomeng squinted her eyes and smiled at him, holding Grandpa Bai’s hand, "Grandpa, why did you fall ill?"
"Aren’t old people supposed to be like this?"
"You’re not old at all!"
In no time, Bai Fengmao was coaxed into laughter by Su Xiaomeng.
Yin Shixiu placed the fruit basket and some nutritious items aside.
"Grandpa, when you’re discharged, Shixiu and I will bring the kids to visit you!"
Su Xiaomeng said, then suddenly thought of something, quickly took out her phone, flipped through the album and handed it to Bai Fengmao, "Grandpa, look, my son and daughter!"
"Oh my, how cute! These two babies look like you!"
"Really, really?"
Su Xiaomeng was excited.
Yin Shixiu chuckled lightly on the side.
Bai Fengmao glanced at Yin Shixiu and casually asked, "These days, have you made sure my Meng Meng suffered no wrongs, Fourth Young Master of the Yin Family?"
Yin Shixiu cleared his throat, "I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare."
"You better not let her suffer."
Bai Fengmao looked at the kids’ photos, smiling, but his words to Yin Shixiu were rather cold.
Su Xiaomeng shot Yin Shixiu a proud glance: See, I have back-up!
Yin Shixiu found it amusing but kept a straight face, responding however Elder Bai instructed.
Seeing Grandpa Bai, Su Xiaomeng couldn’t stop talking, like a dam releasing water, flowing endlessly.
Unexpectedly, Bai Fengmao enjoyed watching Su Xiaomeng, sometimes exaggerating her gestures so much that his old eyes would widen!
Completely cooperative!
With this cooperation, she became even more enthusiastic.
Yin Shixiu tried to interrupt a few times but seeing Bai Fengmao squinting, he wisely sat quietly and listened.
Fortunately, Grandpa Bai wasn’t out of his mind, and as the time got late, he subtly asked, "Are the two babies still breastfeeding?"
Upon hearing this, Su Xiaomeng immediately stood up, "Ah, they are! Grandpa Bai, I can’t chat with you much more, I need to go home to feed the kids! I’ll visit you another day!"
Bai Fengmao squinted his eyes with a smile, "Good, good!"
Though reluctant to leave Grandpa Bai, Su Xiaomeng was tied to her children and didn’t dare linger.
After Yin Shixiu took Su Xiaomeng away, the ward returned to silence.
The liveliness Xiao Meng brought was taken away with her departure.
Only emptiness was left.
Until it was dinner time, the ward door was knocked on again.
In came a greying middle-aged man and an elegant woman, Bai Fengmao’s eldest son Bai Zhengxiang and his wife Tan Qianmei, both nearing fifty.
"Dad."
"You’re here..."
After Su Xiaomeng and Yin Shixiu returned home, Su Ma asked about the situation.
Xiao Meng said Grandpa Bai was in good spirits, no need to worry too much.
But from Yin Shixiu’s words, Su Ma could tell, the old man’s... condition was not optimistic.
Her eyes immediately welled up, then she turned to the kitchen. Though it was just a moment, Yin Shixiu did see it and was taken aback.
Su Ma found it hard to contain her emotions in the kitchen...
After much thought, she took off her apron, changed clothes, and said to Su Xiaomeng and Yin Shixiu, "You’ll have to make dinner yourselves, I’m going out for a bit to buy something, don’t wait up for me."