In the oncology outpatient room of the Third People's Hospital in Fengcheng.
"After the biopsy analysis, it's confirmed that the tumor in your mother's body is a benign one," the doctor said, pushing up his glasses on the nose. "Thanks to your annual regular physical examinations, the problem was detected in time, which prevented the tumor from further deteriorating in the body. You only need to have the tumor surgically removed, and there should be no major problems afterwards."
Xu Zixi couldn't stop smiling. She held Xie Shi's hand and said, "Mom, look, it's benign. Regular check - ups do work!"
Xie Shi also smiled gratefully. At the same time, her nose felt a bit sour and her eyes got a bit hot.
Tightly holding Xu Zixi's hand back, Xie Shi hugged her and said, "Thanks to you. If I hadn't met you, I might never have discovered there was such a big tumor in my body."
"Mom, you just stay in the hospital at ease and wait for the surgery. Don't worry about 'Poetic Flavor'. I'll take good care of it and won't let your efforts go to waste," Xu Zixi said softly.
Xie Shi smiled and said, "Okay, I'll do as you say."
Xie Shi was then hospitalized. As her daughter, Xu Zixi negotiated with the hospital about the surgical plan and the follow - up treatment plan for her and signed her name.
Three days later, Xie Shi, whose physical condition had been adjusted to the best state, was pushed into the operating room for tumor resection.
On the day of the surgery, the two twelve - year - old kids, six - year - old An Ning, four - year - old Yan Xiaosi, as well as Yin Shulan, Yan Haikun, Yan Yincheng and others all came to wait outside the operating room in the hospital.
After six hours of surgery, the tumor that had led Xie Shi to the end of her life in her previous life was removed from her body and thrown into the medical trash can.
When the doctor walked out of the operating room and told Xu Zixi and the others that "the surgery was successful", Xu Zixi tightly hugged Yan Yincheng and was so excited that tears streamed down her face.
She never thought that after coming to this world, she had saved two kids who were almost on the path of becoming villains, cured Yan Yincheng's eyes, and changed Xie Shi's later life, allowing her life to be extended for several decades.
Sometimes when Xu Zixi woke up suddenly in the middle of the night, she would be in a daze. Was all this real?
Did she really have the ability to change so many people's fates?
Why was she so favored?
This was probably a mystery she would never be able to solve in her lifetime.
Xie Shi was still under the influence of anesthesia and needed family members to take care of her during the prognosis. Xu Zixi stayed and took care of everything.
Sitting by the hospital bed, Xu Zixi wiped Xie Shi's pale and no - longer - radiant face with a handkerchief. She couldn't help but recall what Xie Shi had told her about the past a long time ago.
The reason why Xie Shi had never been in a relationship or associated with any man was not that she didn't yearn for love or had no interest in men.
Rather, it was because she had almost destroyed a family a long time ago.
Remaining single for life was her warning and punishment to herself.
When she was young, Xie Shi was extremely beautiful. Different from other young ladies, she didn't like jewelry, handbags or shoes, nor did she like dancing, music or painting. She was only interested in cooking.
At the age of eighteen, she became an apprentice of Gui Ziqi, a master known as the national master of cooking, and became the 130th - generation disciple of the Gui School of cuisine.
Together with her, her senior brother Li Huan also became an apprentice.
At first, she and her senior brother didn't get along well. They had big arguments every three days and small ones every two days. Sometimes they even fought. Even the teacher couldn't do anything about them.
But somehow, she found that she had fallen in love with Li Huan.
Who was Miss Xie? She had countless suitors in Jincheng. Couldn't she win over Li Huan?
For this reason, she did her best to cater to his preferences.
She wore the cheongsam he liked most, styled her hair in the way he liked, listened to the operas he liked, and learned to do the carving he was least good at, hoping that one day she could teach him hand - in - hand and thus get closer to him.
Li Huan didn't notice that these changes in Xie Shi were because of him. He was very angry about Xie Shi's "frivolous" behavior, and their relationship became even worse than before.
Xie Shi felt very unwilling. She had done so much for him, but why was she still not in his eyes?
Just when she was trying hard to figure out a way, she suddenly found that one day Li Huan stared at her in a daze.
She was secretly happy in her heart, thinking that her efforts had finally paid off. She was sure that Li Huan had lost his composure because she was wearing a dark - green cheongsam that day. From then on, she often wore that cheongsam in front of Li Huan.
Li Huan was in a daze more and more often and for longer and longer periods. His eyes when looking at her became gentler and gentler. Due to an accident, Xie Shi fell from a high platform, and Li Huan caught her below. The two had intimate physical contact.
Xie Shi could feel that at that moment, Li Huan was obviously in love.
Xie Shi thought that she could finally break through the thin layer of paper between them. She was eager to tell Li Huan that she loved him and wanted to be with him forever.
That day, she put on that cheongsam again and also prepared the bamboo - leaf green liquor she had brewed herself. She was happily waiting for his arrival. But she waited and waited, but Li Huan didn't come.
Worried that something might happen to him, she couldn't care about her reserve. She hurried to his residence, but saw a woman leading a child blocking his door, questioning him if he had forgotten his identity.
The woman's left leg was empty. She could only support herself with a walking stick.
She was a disabled person.
Xie Shi also heard the child crying to Li Huan, "Dad, don't you want An Nan anymore? Dad, don't leave An Nan and Mom, okay? Mom walked until her feet were blistered just to see Dad..."
At that moment, Xie Shi felt so despicable.
Because she couldn't control her love for Li Huan, she wanted to get the same response from him, but she never thought that he was already married and had a child.
She suddenly remembered that on the day when she and Li Huan became apprentices together, Li Huan had said to their master Gui Ziqi -
He learned cooking so that he could have a stable income in the future to take good care of his family and make sure his family wouldn't worry about money.
She had almost destroyed a family.
Xie Shi didn't let Li Huan or his wife discover her presence. She fled in a hurry. She went to their master Gui Ziqi to admit her mistake and say goodbye.
After learning the reason for her leaving the master - apprentice relationship, Master Gui sighed and said, "You are the most talented disciple I've ever taken. It's a pity... Forget it. It's God's will. You can go."
Xie Shi left that night. She cut off all means of contact, bought a plane ticket and went abroad that night, forcing herself to forget Li Huan, forget that embarrassing memory, and forcing herself not to inquire about any news related to Li Huan.
Since it was a wrong feeling, then let it be buried in the torrent of time.
And she, no matter how many excellent men she met later or how many confessions and bouquets of flowers she received, would only respond indifferently -
"I'm emotionally deficient and won't fall in love or get married to anyone."
Having abandoned emotions, she devoted all her energy to cooking. She became the youngest and most outstanding cooking master in China, founded her own "Zen" cuisine school, opened a restaurant named "Poetic Flavor" in the Emperor's Pride Building in the imperial capital, and received high praise. Like lush branches and leaves, she trained many equally excellent disciples.
Xu Zixi once asked her what had happened to Li Huan later and if he had ever looked for her.
Xie Shi replied with a smile:
"It doesn't matter anymore. When you reach the top of the pyramid, receive the flowers and applause from the world, and become a 'master' praised by everyone, you will find that the self who was in great pain because of love was so naive."
"So, Zixi, my daughter. What Mom wants to tell you is that no matter what, you must love yourself and live for yourself."
When she said this, her eyebrows were flying freely. Xu Zixi seemed to be able to see through her body the young her who wore a green cheongsam, captivated everyone, and even made Li Huan unable to control his heartbeats.
As if sensing something, Xie Shi on the hospital bed blinked her eyelids and slowly opened her eyes. Meeting Xu Zixi's moist eyes, she slightly curled her lips and softly called out:
"Zixi, my good daughter. Mom is fine. Why are you crying?"
Live for herself. Whether in her previous life or this life, Xie Shi had achieved this.
——End of Extra Chapter 5: "Live for Yourself"——