When Will My Childhood Sweetheart Marry Me?-Chapter 144: The Last Year

Arriving at Huaren.

Godmother had already been rushed out of the emergency room to the ICU, Old Jiang came to meet them, his expression somewhat grave.

He looked at the two children, "I’ll take you out to eat first, she hasn’t woken up yet, and you can’t go into the ICU; let’s just wait."

"Uncle Jiang."

Pei Yan stopped him, his gaze calm, "When will the diagnosis results be available?"

Jiang Tingsong sighed, "Your mother’s illness was actually diagnosed abroad six months ago, but she kept it from all of us."

The air froze between the three of them.

Six months ago...

Six months ago, Godmother had returned to Rong to sweep the tomb of Pei Yan’s grandmother.

On her way to Yunzhong, for some reason, she changed her plans and flew back to Los Angeles directly.

Thinking of this, Jiang Shuyao felt she vaguely understood the answer.

Looking again at the young man beside her, the stoic ice around him was gone, and he probably felt worse than anyone at the moment.

Jiang Shuyao lowered her eyes, from an angle Old Jiang couldn’t see, and gently took his hand like a soothing gesture.

The girl’s profile was gentle, that was a beauty that could give someone strength.

Pei Yan sometimes wondered, despite hating Lin Zhen so much, hating every proud woman in the world,

yet he couldn’t help but like this girl beside him.

His princess, lofty and rational, full of talent.

Yet she was the complete opposite of Lin Zhen.

Her heart was warm, she knew what love was.

In the afternoon, Pei Donghan received Old Jiang’s call and hurried to the hospital as well.

Lin Zhen had just woken up and it was best not to disturb her.

Zhu Yun left the hospital room and walked straight to Father and Son Pei, "Go in and take a look, she’s very weak now, don’t stay too long." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Pei Donghan nodded, patted his son’s shoulder, signaling him to go first.

After being husband and wife for over a decade, he understood Lin Zhen.

At times like this, Lin Zhen would probably prefer to see her own son rather than her ex-husband.

The door to the hospital room closed.

Zhu Yun rubbed her temples, wearily sinking into a chair.

Her husband and daughter stood in front of her, silently asking with their eyes.

She closed her eyes for a long time before lifting her head to look at them, her eyes already slightly reddened, "Lin Zhen’s illness is somewhat tricky."

Hearing her mother’s words, Jiang Shuyao’s heart sank heavily.

Then, Zhu Yun turned to her daughter and asked softly, "Yaoyao, if we ask Yan to accompany your godmother abroad for a year, do you think he’d agree?"

Jiang Shuyao’s breath caught.

Slow to react, she finally asked her mother hesitantly, "What exactly is wrong with Godmother?"

Returning from the hospital, night had fallen.

The events of the day felt like a dream to Jiang Shuyao.

She couldn’t understand why a perfectly healthy person had suddenly collapsed.

When her mother told her that Godmother might only have a year left to live, her mind went nearly blank.

Jiang Shuyao couldn’t imagine how much pain Pei Yan would feel upon hearing this news.

One year.

With the current global medical technology, the cure rate for Godmother’s disease is less than five percent.

Less than five percent is hope, but also despair.

Her mother said Godmother wanted to have Pei Yan by her side, to accompany her through the last year of her life.

At that moment, Jiang Shuyao’s throat tightened painfully, and she couldn’t even speak.

She didn’t know what she was feeling inside.

It wasn’t until she returned to Yasong Residence, looking at the empty room, that she suddenly realized this wasn’t her home.

It was Pei Yan’s home.

Jiang Shuyao squatted at the entrance, her head buried deep between her knees, and that familiar suffocating feeling once again seized her heart.

People are always selfish.

She couldn’t bear to see Pei Yan leave, but due to familial love, he needed to go.

She consoled herself that it was just one year, and time would pass quickly.

A cure rate below five percent didn’t mean hope was zero.

By the next summer, everything would get better.

That evening, Jiang Shuyao found it hard to sleep and listened to music through her headphones all night.

She had saved a song on her phone for a long time, "Sky City."

That day outside the administration building, rain falling from the sky, the youth trapped her under a large tree and kissed her eyes and the corners of her lips.

A faint melody lingered high above the campus, and Jiang Shuyao closed her eyes, feeling it finely.

He kissed her forcefully, landing on her skin, causing her to shiver violently.

At that moment, she thought, how could someone be so rough, whoever becomes his girlfriend will feel aggrieved.

But later, she came to know that her youth could be gentler than the breeze when he was tender.

In the dark night, Jiang Shuyao rested on her arms, her eyelashes trembling slightly, recalling the scenes she had spent with Pei Yan, a soft, gentle smile curling on her lips.

The next day, Lin Zhen was transferred to a regular ward.

That weekend, Zhu Yun switched shifts with a colleague so she could also attend to the patient while on duty.

As she walked downstairs, she saw Pei Donghan sitting outside the corridor.

Affected by the pandemic, the real estate industry was extremely bleak this year.

Pei Donghan still wore the suit meant for business negotiations, with dark circles under his eyes, probably from several nights of restless sleep.

Plus, Lin Zhen’s situation was like adding frost to snow for this man.

Approaching him, Zhu Yun couldn’t help but sigh. "Go back and rest a while, Lin Zhen’s condition has stabilized. This attack brought him in on time, and as long as he comes to, there shouldn’t be any major issues for a while."

Pei Donghan bowed his head, his voice coming from deep within his chest.

"She’s still young, and shouldn’t just resign herself."

Resignation.

How could anyone easily resign themselves to fate?

The pain brought by illness was only clear to those who endured it.

As a doctor, Zhu Yun was helpless.

As a friend, she even wished it was all just a dream.

Zhu Yun shifted her gaze from the man’s face to the window. "What are you thinking of doing about Yan?"

The hallway was silent.

Pei Donghan rose from his seat, reaching into his pocket for his cigarettes and lighter, catching a glimpse of the no-smoking sign on the wall, he suddenly realized he was in a hospital.

"Letting Pei Yan go abroad was Lin Zhen’s last wish."

He paused, looking at Zhu Yun. "But I respect my son’s decision."

To go, he would wholly support him; not to go, no one had the right to force him.

Blood connected, Pei Donghan’s love for Pei Yan was under any circumstances, no less than that for Lin Zhen.

In the dark fire escape, the youth’s cold figure quietly leaned against the door, likely absorbing much of the conversation.

He hung his eyes, standing there unmoving for a long time, his eyes dead silent in the darkness, like a soul plunged into the abyss.

Since last night, he had been asking himself whether he hated that woman a bit more or loved her a bit more, and later decided that it was a completely senseless question.

His life left with only one year, gritting through hardships to come back, isolating for fourteen days, fainting just outside the gates of Yasong Residence, all just to take him away.

His mother hadn’t changed a bit over the years.

Her greatest skill was to cut someone’s heart and then cry and stop your bleeding, claiming she had no choice.

Heh.

Pei Yan closed his eyes, a trace of sarcasm curling on his lips.

If Lin Zhen could have known three years ago that she would not live long three years later, would she still leave her son lying in the hospital bed with such finality?

She would, most certainly.

Compared to being selfish, no one could outdo Lin Zhen.