Yu Lili paused feeding Ou Ming his soup and gave him a look. For some reason, she felt that was an underlying meaning to his statement.

Did he mean to say that he would keep with it and continue to be with me for a long time to come?

When she thought of this, a smile broke out on her face. She put the soup flask back on the table and capped it. She brought the rice over. In a deliberately sully tone, said, “Eat your food.”

Outside the ward, Ou Ming’s parents were looking in from the glass window. As experienced people who had been there and done that, when they saw the smile on Yu Lili’s face, they knew exactly what her sentiment was.

From the looks of it, Yu Lili was truly sincere in her feelings toward Ou Ming. Furthermore, the depths of her feelings were much deeper than they had thought.

Seeing that Ou Ming was finally willing to eat, Jiao Ziqing felt her eyes heat up with unshed tears. At the same time, an unexplainable sense of jealousy overcame her.

“I’m the mother who brought Ou Ming up for 30 years. Why would he listen to her and not to me?” she asked.

Upon hearing Jiao Ziqing’s protest, Ou Huojin stopped smiling and hooked his arm around her. “Children need to lead their own lives. Your son’s taste has been even pickier than mine since he was young. It’s not as if you didn’t know that. Let nature take its course.”

Jiao Ziqing was about to voice her rebuttal when she thought of something. She turned her head to face her husband and said bitterly, “You’re telling me that I can’t even measure up to that girl?”

“Don’t overthink it!” Ou Huojin didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. “When did I even say anything that would mean that?”

“Didn’t you? You clearly said that your son’s taste was even pickier than yours. That means that I’m not as good as she is!” Jiao Ziqing stretched her arm out and aggressively pinched Ou Huojin on the waist.

“Not at all! Not at all! If I had good taste then, I wouldn’t have refused to marry you. It was only after marriage that I realized how awesome you were,” he said. “Well, look, it’s been so many years, and not a day has gone by that I don’t regret how blind I was then…”

Happiness blossomed in Jiao Ziqing’s heart upon hearing her husband’s words. But, she still harrumphed and admonished him. “You’re so old but still so licentious. Your son’s already all grown up! Restraint yourself a little more!” With that, she turned and walked away.

Ou Huojin followed her. “Where are you going?”

“To eat. Aren’t you hungry?” she asked.

Is she leaving Ou Ming entirely in Yu Lili’s hands?

Ou Huojin looked toward her retreating back helplessly. He suddenly thought of something and asked, “Where’s Lao Wen?”

“I don’t know. Give him a call.” Jiao Ziqing went ahead on her own.

Ou Huojin took his phone out and gave Wen Fenglin a call, but no one picked up. Seeing that Jiao Ziqing had walked some distance, he jogged up to her.

At the same time, ahead of them in the opposite direction, in a stairwell with the door unlatched, a phone was ringing incessantly. The ringtone was a little muffled, as if it came from someone’s pocket.

Wen Fenglin was collapsed on the ground. His eyes were half-closed, and his hands were straight across his head. A tiny cigarette butt was still burning, giving off a plume of gray smoke.

When he heard the phone ring, Wen Fenglin did his best to lift his hand and retrieve the phone, but his numerous attempts remained unsuccessful. When he finally managed to get his phone out, the ringing had stopped.

Wen Fenglin unlocked the phone with his fingerprint. He was about to return the call to Ou Huojin when another call came in. He answered the call at the same time the caller hung up.

Wen Fenglin was starting to find the situation comical, but his consciousness was getting increasingly blurred. He opened his mouth. The sound that came out was barely a whisper, “Help…”

…

From midnight until 9 a.m.…