It turned out that everyone knew. It turned out that everyone had kept her in the dark. One by one, they all thought they were doing it for her own good and concealed this matter.
On what grounds? She was Xiang Yanhua's biological daughter. On what grounds should they hide this from her? They simply had no right to keep it from her.
But the most urgent thing now was to go and see her mother for the last time, rather than dwelling on this matter.
The two soon arrived at the ward. Lin Jinran stood at the door, took a deep breath, and slowly pushed the door open.
In the ward, Dr. Duan, the nurse, and her mother were all there.
The nurse saw Lin Jinran and her lips twitched slightly as she silently called her name, "Lin Jinran..."
Duan Dongwei silently looked at her and stood still.
Lin Jinran didn't look at them. The first thing that caught her eye was her mother's calm face. On the heart rate monitor beside her, several lines were fluctuating at an extremely slow frequency.
Her eyes suddenly welled up with tears. Lin Jinran blinked and looked at the person on the hospital bed without saying a word, as if she couldn't believe that this moment had come so soon.
Duan Dongwei beside her gave the nurse a look, and they left the ward one after another. The nurse carefully closed the door.
As soon as she turned around, she heard a hoarse and desperate cry coming from the ward. Her heart trembled, and she sat quietly on the bench with Duan Dongwei.
Inside the ward.
Lin Jinran's legs went weak and she knelt on the ground. She called out a lonely "Mom". She didn't get up but crawled on her knees to the hospital bed, in front of her mother's sleeping face.
Something slid down from the corner of her eye and landed on the white bedsheet.
Maybe the pain had lasted too long and had been dormant for too long. Apart from the initial tears, Lin Jinran couldn't shed any more tears or make a sound. She held her mother's hand, and her whole body couldn't stop trembling.
"Mom, wait for me, just wait for me. It'll only take at most a month. No, twenty days will do. Then you can hear the news that I've been admitted to Peking University with your own ears. It'll be soon, really soon."
"Aunt Xiang is also waiting for you to wake up. Aunt Xiang says she doesn't want to have anything to do with us, but she's actually taken care of me many times secretly and often comes to see you. Aunt Xiang is just tough - mouthed but soft - hearted. Don't take it to heart. Last time when Lin Cheng wanted me to transfer schools, Aunt Xiang played a big part in stopping it."
"Aunt Xiang also has a child named Song Langqing. You probably haven't met him. Don't you want to wake up and see how your former relatives are doing? It doesn't matter. I'll tell you. They're doing very well, but you still have to wake up and see for yourself. You can't go back on your word."
"Mom, why aren't you answering me? Don't leave, please don't leave. You haven't seen me grow up yet. Don't you want to see what that innocent little girl has become? Please don't be so cruel and abandon me like this."
Lin Jinran pressed her forehead against her mother's arm and tightly grabbed her palm with both hands. Her body was trembling violently.
"You've only seen me as a child. You haven't seen me now, let alone in the future. You've missed my junior high, high school, college, and even my future wedding. You're the only one I have in this world."
"Please, please don't leave. Dr. Duan said that as long as I work hard and get into Peking University, you'll wake up. Give me another twenty - odd days, okay? In twenty - odd days, everything will be out. The results will be out, the admission notice will be out, and you'll wake up. Are you really going to abandon me at this crucial moment?"
"You've already abandoned me once. Do you want to abandon me a second time? Mom, you're so heartless. If you really leave, I'll never forgive you."
"..."
Lin Jinran closed her eyes. The indescribable grief slowly spread to every part of her body. Her whole body was screaming that she was in pain, as if countless pieces of broken glass had pierced into her fragile heart and were being stirred violently. The pain made it hard for her to breathe.
On the heart rate monitor, the line representing the heart rate continued to slow down.
Lin Jinran turned her head and looked at it. Her eyes were empty and dull.
She remembered a nursery rhyme that her mother often sang in her ear when she was a child. Her lips moved, and she hummed softly.
"The dark sky hangs low, the bright stars follow. The bugs fly, the bugs fly. Who are you missing? The stars in the sky shed tears, the roses on the ground wither. The cold wind blows, the cold wind blows. As long as you're with me."
As the words "As long as you're with me" faded away, the heart rate monitor beeped, and all the lines turned into straight lines.
Duan Dongwei and the nurse who were guarding the door walked in. Seeing the straight lines on the heart rate monitor and Lin Jinran who was leaning on the hospital bed and humming softly over and over again, they shook their heads sorrowfully.
Duan Dongwei looked at her. The hand hanging by his waist tightened tightly. His own heart seemed to be grabbed by an invisible big hand, and he felt extremely uncomfortable.
I'm sorry, Lin Jinran.
Yang Jinzhi said she wanted to delay your college entrance examination and let your mother die on the day of your college entrance examination, just to ruin your future. But I didn't want that. I've watched you grow up all the way.
So I changed it to a week before the college entrance examination. I thought you should be able to recover in a week and try your best to calm down and take the college entrance examination well.
I've also been through the college entrance examination, so I naturally know its importance.
Actually, when you came to me, I really wanted to help you wake up your mother, but the hope was not great. I watched you come all the way from the imperial capital just for your mother. Your sincerity touched me.
But the human heart is complex and ever - changing. One second, someone vows to receive good treatment, and the next second, they turn into a devil and deliberately cause harm.
If it weren't for my father hitting someone and running away a few days ago, I wouldn't have agreed to Yang Jinzhi. I'm just an ordinary small - town student. My mother died of a hemorrhage when she gave birth to me. It was my father who raised me with great difficulty, so I had to save him. Everyone has their own hardships, and I'm no exception.
An ordinary small - town student doesn't dare to fight against the background behind Yang Jinzhi. Even if there wasn't this matter about my father, I'm sure she would have found a loophole somewhere else to threaten, blackmail, force, and tempt me.
She doesn't care about the process, only the result.
I was actually worried that I didn't follow Yang Jinzhi's wishes, but we're on the same boat, and she doesn't dare to do anything to me. Moreover, I have evidence against her.
Lin Jinran, for the sake of my father and myself, I... I'm sorry.
Lin Jinran grabbed the white bedsheet and slumped silently. Her trembling body was like a power line swaying and on the verge of collapse in the wind and rain, without any support.
Duan Dongwei and the nurse stood silently on one side, not saying a word to disturb her.