There are Lilian Jackson, Gideon Jackson, Aunt Lee, Uncle Lewis, Little Darcy...
So many, many people.
So many people surround him, some good, some bad, yet without exception, they revolve around him, planning for him. How wonderful.
Mia Ginger took a deep breath.
Her heart hurt; she had to use one hand to press tightly against her heart.
She turned around, giving Old Master Jackson a heartfelt smile, then slowly said, "Grandpa Jackson, can a person’s dignity be so wantonly insulted and trampled upon?"
Lydia Williams wanted to speak but fell silent at her somewhat bewildered expression.
Mia Ginger lowered her gaze to the restless Camilia Davis, with a fleeting smile at the corner of her lips, she spoke word by word, her voice low and slow, as if drifting from far away to everyone’s ears.
"Yes, she did work as a masseuse and appeared on stage, I know all about that, but so what? Those are things from the past, like mud splattered on someone, seeming impossible to wash away. What can I do? These aren’t for me to decide. What I know is, she, to protect me, got her arm slashed and had over ten stitches; she worked hard selling snacks to support me; she lived frugally, sacrificing for me to live well; she has done all this, what more can I ask of her?"
The hall was silent, Camilia Davis’s choked crying sounded intermittently.
Mia Ginger didn’t cry, her gaze was burning bright, she looked at Charlotte Chester and said with a smile, "She’s my mom, though ignoble and humble, having made big mistakes and suffered greatly, seems both pitiful and downtrodden, but she’s my mom. She didn’t give birth to me, yet she raised me, deceived me but was wholeheartedly good to me."
Charlotte Chester was embarrassed, her words unfinished, Mia Ginger turned her head to look at Old Master Jackson seriously and said word by word, "Grandpa Jackson, she has cancer, it’s already in the mid-late stages, she doesn’t have much time left. Was it suitable for Uncle Jackson to bring her here today, in front of so many people, to uncover old wounds and insult her?"
"Girl Mia..." The weathered face of Old Master Jackson showed a touched expression.
"Please apologize." Mia Ginger panted, looking at Zane Jackson, "Please apologize for your rude trampling, will you?"
When the words landed, she knelt directly towards Zane Jackson, her gaze clear and bright, speaking one word at a time, "Please, apologize to my mom."
"Mia!" Aiden Jiang stood up abruptly.
Old Master Jackson and Charlotte Chester couldn’t sit still, the room suddenly filled with Camilia Davis’s breaking cries.
Mia Ginger knelt straight, stubbornly looking at Zane Jackson.
Zane Jackson, having lived half a lifetime, was forced into such an awkward position for the first time by a junior, was angry, Old Master Jackson slapped him on the shoulder and said harshly, "Apologize!"
Zane Jackson was completely stunned.
After a while, he finally stood up and, towards Camilia Davis, bowed his head and said, "I’m sorry."
Mia Ginger looked at him and slowly stood up.
She lowered her head, reached out to zip her backpack, took out the hospital assessment and placed it on the coffee table, pushing it towards Old Master Jackson.
Her actions were slow, like a slow-motion scene in a movie.
Everyone was first stunned, and when they all saw clearly the assessment, they all looked at her with astonishment.
"Whether I’m clean or not, Sister Lilian just said a few days ago," Mia Ginger looked at Charlotte Chester and smiled, "Whether I’m clean, you also asked a few days ago, this is my answer."
The tears that accumulated in her eyes fell "pop" onto the coffee table, her thin shoulders trembled slightly, she looked at Old Master Jackson and smiled, "Thank you for your kindness to me, Mia Ginger is undeserving, bothering you. From this moment on, my engagement with Brother Jackson is void."
With one hand she tightly gripped her backpack, she tilted her head up and choked heavily, reaching Camilia Davis’s side, she said softly, "Mom, let’s go home."