In the evening, Xie Yumei invited Jiang Li to stay for dinner, saying that there were rarely guests at home and she wanted to treat her well.
It was hard to decline such kind hospitality, so Jiang Li didn't refuse and readily agreed.
Half an hour later, Dr. Qiao's father, Qiao Bin, came back. Seeing a girl at home, he couldn't help taking a few more glances.
What a beautiful girl.
He looked at Qiao Jinrun and said with a simple and honest smile, "Jinrun, why didn't you say a word when you brought your girlfriend back?"
Jiang Li blushed immediately and was about to explain when Qiao Jinrun said slowly, "Dad, she's my patient and also my friend. Don't get the wrong idea."
"Oh, it's just a friend. I'm really sorry for the misunderstanding!"
Qiao Bin scratched his head awkwardly but still smiled broadly. "I'll go downstairs to Old Yang's shop and buy a cooked fish. It's a coincidence today. Let's have a good drink, the two of us."
Watching Qiao Bin go out, Qiao Jinrun explained to Jiang Li, "My dad is a construction worker. He's used to being outspoken. I hope you don't mind."
Jiang Li shook her head and said with a smile, "I think Uncle is very cute."
He was so simple and honest.
When Father Qiao came back with the cooked fish, Aunt Xie had also finished cooking. They gathered around the dining table and started the warm meal.
At the dinner table, Father Qiao talked non - stop, sharing interesting stories from the construction site. He also asked about Qiao Jinrun's recent work.
It was really lively and warm.
Father Qiao rubbed his hands and asked Jiang Li nervously, "Xiaoli, what do you do for a living? Can you tell Uncle?"
Aunt Xie gave him a playful glare and naturally picked up a piece of fish and put it into Jiang Li's bowl. "Our Xiaoli is a big star!"
"Wow!" Father Qiao exclaimed, looking really happy. "No wonder! I said Xiaoli looked extraordinary. She's so beautiful and elegant. She must be very famous!"
"But I don't watch TV much, so I didn't recognize you at first." He smiled again. "Ruru liked watching TV when she was a kid. She said she wanted to be a big star when she grew up."
Middle - aged men are not good at expressing their emotions. Just then, the light in his eyes dimmed a bit.
Jiang Li said without hesitation, "Uncle, Ruru is very beautiful. She was much prettier than I was as a child. She would definitely have been a big star."
Hearing this, Father Qiao pressed his eye sockets with his palm and spoke incoherently, "Y - yes, our Ruru definitely..."
Jiang Li looked up and saw tears in the middle - aged man's eyes under his palm.
"Alright, alright. Let's eat." Aunt Xie wiped away her tears and quickly tried to smooth things over. "Jinrun rarely comes back. You two should talk about something happy."
"Right, right. Let's drink!" Father Qiao wiped his face with his big hand and showed a simple and honest smile. "Let's not talk about those things. I'll finish this glass. You can drink as you like!"
Father Qiao held up his wine glass and drank it all in one go.
Jiang Li sat on the chair, feeling a churning in her chest. It was so hot that it made her heart ache.
...
Qiao Jinrun didn't drink. He said he would drive Jiang Li back later, so he accompanied his father with tea for a while.
After dinner, they bid farewell to Father and Mother Qiao and were about to send Jiang Li back.
"I'm sorry. I made you laugh today."
Qiao Jinrun spoke, his tone gentle. "They're just ordinary people. If they did anything wrong today, I apologize on their behalf."
Jiang Li was stunned for a moment and then smiled. "How could that be? I think they're very nice. Having such parents, life must be very happy."
She really meant it.
Qiao Jinrun's parents were not like her own parents who favored sons over daughters, nor were they like Xiao Yanzhi's parents who were only calculating interests.
There was no exploitation or scheming.
It was just plain, warm, and happy.
The streetlights downstairs stretched their shadows long, and their shadows overlapped.
Jiang Li looked up at Qiao Jinrun and tried hard to sound non -chalant. "If I had such a family, I'd be so happy that I couldn't sleep all night."
Qiao Jinrun chuckled. His eyes behind the glasses were very gentle at the moment, and the corners of his lips curled up. "If you like, you can be their god - daughter."
"Having a big - star daughter like you, they'd be so happy that they couldn't sleep either."
Jiang Li pursed her lips and smiled. "Then please help me say some good words, Dr. Qiao, and see if they'll accept me as their daughter."
Qiao Jinrun lowered his eyes and looked at Jiang Li's face seriously, trying to confirm if she was serious. After a moment, he curled his lips, and there was a faint smile in his voice. "It'd be my pleasure."
This was an old neighborhood, and most of the residents were elderly people. Besides, it was evening, so there was no need to worry about Jiang Li being recognized.
It was still early, so they took a walk downstairs.
Jiang Li still couldn't hold back and asked the question she'd been wanting to ask. "Ruru... is there any possibility that she'll wake up in the future?"
Qiao Jinrun paused. "Do you want to hear the truth or a white lie?"
Jiang Li was silent for a moment.
"The possibility of her waking up is extremely slim, almost zero."
Qiao Jinrun's voice was gentle. "I performed her surgery myself. The situation was very serious at that time. It was already a miracle that she managed to hang on to life."
Jiang Li didn't even dare to imagine the pressure and pain of performing surgery on one's own sister.
She blinked and bit her lower lip. "If so, then why..."
"You mean, why don't we just let her leave peacefully?"
Qiao Jinrun seemed to know what she was going to say and let out a soft laugh. "I did have that thought, but I finally gave it up."
Qiao Jinrun looked into her eyes. "In a sense, it's not that Ruru needs us, but that we need Ruru."
Jiang Li's heart tightened.
"An accident happening to such a young daughter is a huge blow to a family, especially at that time when my father's factory closed down and he was facing the pressure of being laid off."
Qiao Jinrun lowered his eyes. "Keeping Ruru alive in this world is a strong spiritual pillar for our whole family."
Some people would still hope that their loved ones could live, even if it meant going bankrupt. As long as they could live and be seen, it was the greatest comfort to the living.
"But Ruru may not..." Jiang Li wanted to say that Ruru might not want to live like this. It was too painful and too much of a torture.
Qiao Jinrun paused for a moment and then continued, "So we've decided that when Ruru turns eighteen, we'll give her euthanasia."
Jiang Li was stunned.
She felt so uncomfortable that her heart ached badly. She wanted to reach out and hold it to stop the pain, but she couldn't even touch it.
It was so painful.
"Have you ever wondered why I brought you to see Ruru and told you all this?"
Qiao Jinrun stopped walking, turned his head to look at Jiang Li, and there was a different meaning in his eyes behind the glasses.