"Your father was able to see me, I have no regrets now," Sun Yuhua said with her last breaths. "I owe him an apology, though he doesn’t mind anymore, but I still need to say it. I also owe an apology to your brother, if he were born, he would surely be as smart and adorable as you, sensible and filial. Weilin, the greatest fortune for me was to have such a good daughter like you. Unfortunately, I have to go now. You must take care of yourself, take good care of yourself, your father, Fang Ming, and the child, all of you must take care of yourselves, take good care of yourselves..."
As she spoke, Sun Yuhua took her last breath and closed her eyes, her hand slowly relaxing and falling to her side.
"Mom," Weilin cried out, her heart filled with sorrow.
The others outside also learned of Sun Yuhua’s passing and couldn’t help but sigh.
Weilin took care of Sun Yuhua’s funeral arrangements. During Sun Yuhua’s memorial service, the Yang family actually appeared.
Weilin looked at them coldly, but she felt neither hate nor resentment towards them; to her, these people were nothing more than strangers.
The Yang family had once tried to get involved with Weilin, trying to arrange a position for her at a television station, which she naturally refused.
They then tried to place her in Ge Liang’s company, but Sun Yuhua disagreed, after having slaved away for so many years in the Yang family, she never gained their recognition.
In the eyes of the Yang family, Sun Yuhua was just a nanny, although after Yang He passed away, some properties were distributed to Sun Yuhua, Yang He cared more about his own children and grandchildren, and there had never been much affection between Sun Yuhua and him.
Sun Yuhua knew well what kind of people the Yang family was and did not want Weilin to get involved with them. The Yang family did approach Sun Yuhua to discuss matters, but she did not agree, which angered the Yang family.
It was regrettable, had it been Sun Yuhua from before, she might have indeed sought out Weilin for the sake of either her own family or the Yang family.
However, both the Yang family and her own family had disappointed Sun Yuhua, so naturally, she didn’t want to help or trouble Weilin and Ge Liang, and it might have even made a somewhat mending mother-daughter relationship worse.
This time, the Sun family members also came, Sun Yuhua’s nephew, who left after offering just a stick of incense.
The Yang family also left with the Sun family after offering incense, but the two families didn’t have a falling out over Sun Yuhua. There had been some conflicts and distances due to Yang He’s death, but over the years, with interests entangled, their relations eased.
With Sun Yuhua’s death, any previous relationships were completely severed, as Weilin was not close with her relatives to begin with, let alone with the Yang family.
After Sun Yuhua’s affairs were settled, her body was cremated, and the ashes were placed in a temple by Weilin.
"Ah, watching one’s peers pass away one by one, it does leave a certain taste in the heart," Xia Xiao reflected to Gao Jiaxing upon leaving S City.
After attending Sun Yuhua’s funeral, Xia Xiao and Gao Jiaxing didn’t stay long with her maternal side’s brothers and sisters, greeted them, and then left again.
They met yearly or visited each other during the New Year, so Xia Xiao did not linger.
Also, Sun Yuhua’s death made Xia Xiao feel the impermanence of life, recalling how she had died in an accident in her previous life. Although she was living well now, who knew what tomorrow might bring.
At this moment, Xia Xiao became rather sentimental.
"Don’t think too much, everyone must go through the cycle of life, aging, sickness, and death," Gao Jiaxing was not without feelings, but he was more rational; he preferred to make the best of the present and was not as sentimental as Xia Xiao.
"Let’s take a roundabout way back, circle back to the Capital. My third daughter-in-law should also be about to give birth," Gao Jiaxing thought it best for Xia Xiao to walk around and clear her mind before returning to the Capital.
"Alright," Xia Xiao nodded.
They took their journey leisurely, pausing and relaxing along the way. By the time they returned to Beijing, it was just in time before Li Manzi was due to give birth.
"Mom and Dad, Manzi is in the hospital," Feiyi said urgently on the phone.
"How could it be so soon?" Xia Xiao exclaimed quietly. She had thought they had returned early, and Li Manzi was only a little over seven months pregnant now.
"She accidentally tripped today and is still in the operating room."
As soon as Feiyi finished speaking, Gao Jiaxing and Xia Xiao hurried to the hospital. At this moment, Feiyi anxiously waited outside the operating room, his body trembling slightly.
"Feiyi, how is Manzi doing?" Xia Xiao was extremely anxious, regretting not coming back earlier.
"We don’t know yet." Feiyi was also very worried, even wishing he could rush into the operating room, but he knew he couldn’t disturb the doctors.
"Don’t worry, Manzi will be fine," Xia Xiao reassured her son and then waited outside with Gao Jiaxing.
"Mom and Dad, have you had dinner yet? If not, you should go back and rest. I can stay here," Feiyi hurriedly said. His parents were getting older, and Feiyi didn’t want to keep them waiting with him.
"It’s okay. Your dad and I had some rest in the car," Xia Xiao waved her hand.
Gao Jiaxing said, "We did eat. If you haven’t, go have something. Otherwise, how will you take care of Manzi and the baby if you starve?"
"I can’t eat," Feiyi shook his head. He really couldn’t swallow a bite.
Xia Xiao handed Feiyi the water bottle, "Drink some water then. If you can’t eat, at least moisten your throat."
Feiyi took it, gulped down two mouthfuls, and then stopped drinking.
Time ticked by second by second. Xia Xiao couldn’t sit still anymore and said to Gao Jiaxing, "I’m going to the restroom."
Gao Jiaxing nodded, stood up, and Xia Xiao said, "No need to follow me. I’m familiar with this place."
Xia Xiao didn’t let Gao Jiaxing follow her; she hurried to the restroom, closed the door behind her, and immediately flashed into her space.
When she reappeared, Xia Xiao was already inside the operating room. Manzi’s condition was not good. The anesthesia had worn off, and Manzi was convulsing all over, her teeth biting down on a cloth strip tightly, making Xia Xiao feel pained as well.
Xia Xiao arrived just as the doctor was taking out the baby; the cries of the infant filled the entire operating room, almost causing Xia Xiao to reveal herself.
It was a boy, crying loudly and incessantly, as if he knew his mother was suffering for him. Manzi’s surgery wasn’t finished, and the child’s crying never stopped.
Xia Xiao did not dare to stay long, fearing that Gao Jiaxing would look for her if he couldn’t see her when he came back, so she left.
Xia Xiao had just left the restroom when she saw Gao Jiaxing coming.
"It’s been a while," Gao Jiaxing said.
Xia Xiao was speechless but realizing that she was also getting older, and that Gao Jiaxing’s worry was normal, she smiled at Gao Jia.
In the operating room, Manzi’s child was cleaned up and placed beneath Manzi. Now the door to the operating room opened, and Gao Jiaxing, Xia Xiao, and Feiyi were all waiting outside.
Mother and child were safe, and they were all extremely happy, Feiyi’s eyes even turning red with emotion.
The moment Li Manzi was taken into the operating room, Feiyi even regretted not having protected Li Manzi well enough and not hiring more people to look after her.