“What’s there for them to hide?” Zhuang Jiawen felt rather dubious.
Shen Xinyao felt that something was amiss. “Mom and Dad are both getting on in age. Could it be that they’re feeling unwell?”
She didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but this concerned life and death and the well-being of her in-laws.
Although she wanted to comfort herself, she didn’t want to live in denial.
The matter at hand was already strange enough as it was.
“Well…”
Shen Xinyao’s words made Zhuang Jiawen feel a little uneasy. It was human nature to start pondering on certain matters once something took root in their hearts. They had to get to the bottom of the matters or they’d be restless.
He mumbled, “Do you think that’s it? Like you said, there is a possibility that they’re sick…”
“Can it be…” Shen Xinyao was so shocked that she clapped a hand over her mouth.
“What is it?” Zhuang Jiawen asked, looking up.
“Were Mom and Dad washing the sheets because they stained them and do not want us to find out about it?”
“What?” Zhuang Jiawen got her meaning immediately. “Do you mean that…”
Shen Xinyao nodded frantically. “I heard that diabetes and Alzheimer’s can cause the elderly to lose control of their bladders.”
Zhuang Jiawen stood up and wanted to go downstairs again.
Shen Xinyao stopped him. “It’s too late now. Why don’t you ask your dad out for a meal tomorrow and talk things over with him? See if you can find out who’s the one with diabetes.”
Zhuang Jiawen nodded. “Alright.”
The two of them spent the rest of the night worrying, so they were unable to get proper sleep.
When Zhuang Jiawen woke up the next morning, he looked like a panda. His dark eye circles were awful—after all, he hadn’t been able to sleep well the past few days because of Cheng Yuwen’s funeral.
He went downstairs and saw Zong Yanxi packing some clothes.
“Yanxi, why are you packing your clothes? Are you planning to leave already?”
“I’ll tell you about it during breakfast later.” Zong Yanxi went into the room and helped Zhuang Zijin out.
Zhuang Jiawen didn’t press the matter.
While they were having breakfast, Zhuang Zijin said, “I’d like to go for a short vacation. Yanxi, come with me.”
“Grandma, where do you want to go? Wait for a few days, and I’ll go with you.” Zong Yanchen was worried about Zhuang Zijin. “I’m taking a long break from work this time.”
Zhuang Zijin waved a hand to signal her disapproval. “No thanks, I don’t need you. None of you follow us! I just need Yanxi to follow me.”
“But…”
Lin Xinyan was about to protest, but Zong Yanxi cut her off. “Mom, I can take care of Grandma very well. Don’t worry. Actually, isn’t it great that Grandma wants to go out for a vacation? It’s much better than being cooped up at home all day.”
The two of them must have planned this beforehand, thus, Lin Xinyan couldn’t say anything.
Zong Yanxi shifted her gaze to Zong Jinghao. After a long pause, she said, “Dad, do you remember that assignment you promised me the last time? Can you try and extend the deadline on that one? If not, tell the client that I can’t do it—I’d like to spend some time with Grandma.”
“Just go whenever you’re free,” Zong Jinghao replied.
Actually, he approved the idea of Zong Yanxi and Zhuang Zijin going traveling together.
He could take this opportunity to adjust his mindset.
“I still feel a little worried about Yanchen.” Zong Yanxi looked over at her brother. His blindness was always a source of concern.
Although his sight was coming back, and he could now make out the vague outlines of everything he saw; he still couldn’t see very clearly. In fact, he was nothing short of severely near-sighted.
Thankfully, his eyesight had already improved much from yesterday.
Zong Yanchen held up his bowl and grabbed his chopsticks. “My eyesight is slowly recovering. Don’t worry about me.”
“Yanchen, can you see now?”
Everyone was flabbergasted by his actions. They gathered around him immediately.
“Yanchen, you can see now!”
“Can you see my hand?” Zhuang Jiawen waved his hands frantically in front of him. His brother smacked his hand away. “Stop waving your hand about in front of our faces!”
“Yanchen, you can finally see now?” Lin Xinyan was overjoyed, but she tried not to reveal it.
He replied, “Yes, but I can’t see anything clearly. I think my eyesight will recover fully in about two days.”
“Excellent. It’s good that you can regain your eyesight.” Zhuang Zijin was extremely happy, too.
Because of this piece of good news, the somber atmosphere in the house over Cheng Yuwen’s passing dissipated.
After breakfast, Zong Yanxi left the house. “Jiawen, come and send us off.”
“Wait, you’re actually leaving today?”
“Yes, I already booked the tickets yesterday night.” she pointed at her luggage. “I’ve already packed my things. Just help me put the luggage into the car boot, thanks.”
Obediently, he dragged the luggage outside and placed it into the car boot. Zong Yanxi turned to her family members and said, “None of you is allowed to follow us to the airport! Jiawen is driving us there. Our plane is flying off at nine o’clock, so we’ll have to leave now. If you come, you’ll just send us off at the boarding gate anyway. So he alone is good enough.”
“Take good care of Grandma then!” Lin Xinyan was still felt a little worried.
“Don’t worry.”
“Oh, don’t worry about us. Yanxi and I will return after we are done travelling,” Zhuang Zijin said. Her face still looked rather pale.
Zong Yanxi helped her grandmother out of the door, and Lin Xinyan helped her into the car.
At the airport, Zhuang Jiawen headed for the ticket counter to check in their luggage. Zong Yanxi and Zhuang Zijin sat down at the waiting area, waiting to board the flight.
Zhuang Jiawen finally left after he saw them boarding the airplane.
“When we return from Baicheng, let’s go and have a look around B City,” Zhuang Zijin said.
Actually, she wanted to drop by Cheng Yuwen’s old house. She hadn’t been back to B City for a long time, and she didn’t know how much longer she was going to live for. While she was still alive, she wanted to return to where she had once lived.
When she mentioned B City, Zong Yanxi’s mind jumped immediately to that person. Her heart skipped a beat. She grabbed hold of Zhuang Zijin’s hand and said, “Alright, I’ll bring you to B City.”
