When Will My Childhood Sweetheart Marry Me?-Chapter 128: Responsibility

What’s that even supposed to mean?

Jiang Shuyao waved her hand weakly.

Forget it, forget it, the more she explained the further off-topic she got, so she just sat in the backseat.

Someone sprawled out, taking up most of the space, squinting his eyes and watching her with ill-concealed schadenfreude.

Not long after, Old Jiang’s voice came from the front seat again.

"Yan has lost weight too. I really don’t know what you kids eat at home all day."

Jiang Shuyao’s eyelid twitched guiltily.

Thinking of that crayfish meal that almost poisoned her to death, she broke out in goosebumps.

As for the guy next to her, he seemed to find everything delicious, how could he have lost weight?

The girl glanced over covertly, gave Pei Yan a quick once-over, furrowed her brow in thought for a moment, then nodded to herself.

Hmm, he did indeed seem a bit thinner.

As January came to a close, New Year’s Eve was drawing near.

Streets and communities were adorned with red lanterns; each household began attaching couplets and doing major cleanings to welcome the New Year.

But in such a joyous time, a fierce pneumonia virus had quietly swept across the nation.

The day before New Year’s Eve, following an urgent notice from the Centers for Disease Control, health workers across Rong City took shifts to stand by their posts, ensuring that medical supplies were stocked up to face a potential outbreak during the Spring Festival.

Zhu Yun had barely slept in forty-eight hours, unable to return home even for a short visit.

Before leaving, she urged Jiang Tingsong to take good care of the two children; not to go running around everywhere and to wear masks and take precautions when going out.

Having lived through the earthquake ten years earlier, the people of Rong City, after a brief initial panic, were once again united in silent understanding.

This Spring Festival was undoubtedly heavy and difficult.

The normally crowded Chunxi Road, IFS, and Taikoo Li were now silent and empty due to the cold rain.

Restaurants, amusement parks, bars, and even the mahjong parlors at street corners had all shut their doors, with everyone on edge for their own safety.

On New Year’s Eve, Jiang Tingsong prepared a table full of dishes, putting on an easy face, he beckoned the two children to help serve the food.

Then, taking out his cell phone, he walked out to the balcony to call Zhu Yun.

During special times like these, it was difficult for medical staff to carry cell phones with them.

Jiang Tingsong wasn’t too hopeful; after the phone rang several times with no answer, he hung up and called Pei Donghan.

Since his parents’ passing, the only people that could really worry him were his wife and daughter, and his solitary brother.

Due to the epidemic, all of Pei Donghan’s business engagements were canceled, and he had the rare opportunity to spend the New Year alone, hiding at home.

When Jiang Tingsong’s call came through, Pei Donghan was the only one in the large villa.

On a day meant for family reunions, Pei Donghan had given the staff their bonuses early and sent them home for the holiday.

With that brat not around, he could manage to cook something himself, no matter how bad it might taste.

But at times like these, what he missed most were The Jiangs’ savory lamb chops.

When the call connected, Yaoyao’s sweet voice came through, "Uncle Pei, Happy New Year."

Pei Donghan, holding a glass of red wine, walked into the yard and, leaning back in a lounge chair in an exceptionally good mood, chuckled, "Yaoyao, Happy New Year to you too. Did you like the birthday present Uncle Pei sent you last time?"

At the mention of the last gift, Jiang Shuyao felt a little embarrassed.

Over the past decades, the gifts from Uncle Pei had always been too extravagant.

Downright lavish.

Gifts from elders, whether liked or not, could not be refused without causing offense. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Jiang Shuyao knew this well. Even though she found the Jade Buddha Pendant somewhat... uh, she still sincerely nodded her head, "I like it."

Pei Donghan hummed in acknowledgment and slowly revealed the origin of the Jade Buddha Pendant.

"Last time, I accompanied a leading figure in our field to Nanwushan to pray at the Buddha temple, I took the opportunity to ask the abbot for a Jade Buddha, for your safety and to bless your success in the upcoming exams."

Safety and success in exams.

So that was it.

Jiang Shuyao immediately felt ashamed. She had just been disdainful moments ago without realizing it was a thoughtful gesture from Uncle Pei.

Suddenly thinking of something, she quickly handed her phone to Pei Yan, her eyes signaling him, "Say something."

It was the Spring Festival; did he not have any filial affection?

Pei Yan glanced indifferently at the phone and then turned back to continue eating.

After finishing another bite and unable to bear the girl’s forceful glare any longer, he finally faced the microphone and casually said, "You come into contact with so many people every day, remember to get nucleic acid tests done. No other issues, I am good here; take care of yourself."

Straight to the point, with a clear message, concise and to the point.

How come his essays never showed such eloquence.

There was silence on the phone for a while, and Pei Donghan didn’t know what to say for a moment.

In the end, he cursed, "you little rascal," and then asked to hand the phone to Old Jiang.

This Spring Festival, everyone stayed at home. Apart from Jiang Shuyao cocooning herself at home watching TV, she was worried about her mother.

Every day, the mobile news reported that the number of infections was doubling.

People who initially treated the virus as a common flu gradually began to realize the severity of the pandemic.

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, fifteen public institutions, including City People’s Hospital, City Center Hospital, and Huaren Hospital, began to quickly assemble medical staff and supplies, preparing to go to the epicenter of the outbreak for emergency relief.

The day her mother left with the large group, Jiang Shuyao felt as if the world had turned dark.

She had never thought that at eighteen, she would experience such a heartbreaking separation.

On the bus, the white-coated angels – their frail yet determined silhouettes – brought tears and deep respect to the eyes of onlookers and the entire city.

A husband chased after the bus, shouting as he ran, "Zhao Yingming, come back safely. If you come back safely, I’ll take care of the housework for a year. Did you hear me?"

He said, "That’s my wife, I hope she comes back safely."

At that moment, the emotions he had been suppressing came crashing down. As tears began to fall, her phone also vibrated slightly.

Jiang Shuyao’s vision blurred as she unlocked the screen; among her messages, her mother had sent her a text.

[Yaoyao, I don’t know when I’ll be able to return home. Perhaps by the time I do, you’ll have already taken your college entrance exams. About the future, Mom doesn’t necessarily want you to follow in her footsteps in medicine. The key to the studio is under your pillow. Do what you love; Dad and I will always support you. Protect yourself during the epidemic, eat well, attend your classes, and wait for the spring warmth in March, awaiting Mom’s good news.]

Tears fell drop by drop onto her phone as she read her mother’s message over and over, very carefully.

Humans are strange creatures; it often takes moments of departure or life and death to understand the painstaking care of loved ones.

What Jiang Shuyao may not know is that, in fact, this pandemic has changed many people.

Including Zhu Yun.

"Do what you love," Zhu Yun saying such words to her daughter was something even she hadn’t expected.

These days, having witnessed the departure of countless lives, she finally realized the brevity and fragility of human life.

Zhu Yun thought, if she could not return from this journey, that message would be her last thought left for her daughter.

No matter what, she had to let her daughter know that her mother’s burdened journey was not to force her into medicine.

But as a doctor, she had to fulfill her own responsibilities.

Even if that responsibility meant paying the ultimate price.