He tightened his arm around her.
The breath that brushed her ear grew heavy.
Wen Tingxue waited for a long while before hearing his hoarse voice, "The doctor told me Grandpa's body can no longer withstand surgery. Chemotherapy is merely prolonging his life as much as possible. How long he can live is entirely up to Grandpa's fate..."
The doctor's words were euphemistic, but that was the gist of it.
Yu Wenli had known this for a while, but knowing was one thing, hearing it firsthand was another.
Before the doctor gave a conclusion, he could still lie to himself, what if there was a miracle?
But now, he couldn't even lie to himself anymore.
He had to face this cruel reality head-on.
Wen Tingxue opened her mouth, attempting to comfort him.
In the end, all she could do was gently stroke his hair.
In the face of life and death, all words seemed powerless.
"Yi Yi, do you know?" he whispered to her ear, his breath barely audible.
"It's not that I can't accept parting. It's just that when I think that this person will no longer exist in the world, that I'll never hear him speak again, that even if I call out 'Grandpa' countless times, no one will answer me, I feel so unbearable."
The artistic temperament grants individuals a deeper perception of the world than others.
Otherwise, they couldn't write moving songs.
But this profound sensitivity, when facing the death of a loved one, can amplify the pain.
The more one cares, the harder it is for the heart to accept.
Wen Tingxue couldn't empathize completely, but she could imagine it.
Perhaps, this was the double-edged sword of talent.
There was always something to bear.
---
The next morning, Xu Kexin and Xing Jiahe came to visit Grandpa.
Wen Tingxue had just finished washing her face in the restroom and was a little surprised to see them.
"Oh, when did you come back to Jiangcheng?"
She asked Xing Jiahe.
Xing Jiahe replied, "Yesterday."
Wen Tingxue glanced at his hand, silently asking: Did you tell her?
Xing Jiahe nodded. Xu Kexin said, "It looks like you knew early on. He only told me a few days ago."
As she spoke, she shot him a chiding glance.
Xing Jiahe immediately conceded, "I just didn't want you to worry."
"Would I have worried less if you told me a few days later?" Xu Kexin found his thought process incomprehensible. "I would have worried more and been angrier, understand?"
Xing Jiahe instinctively said, "I was wrong."
Wen Tingxue: "..."
This response speed was truly unmatched.
"So, what are your plans?"
After Wen Tingxue helped Grandpa to the restroom, she leaned against the doorframe and asked.
Xu Kexin said, "He's announced a temporary break. We're discussing continuing with the modeling route. He's still young, after all."
The sound of running water indicated Grandpa was washing up.
Grandpa was a clean person and didn't like being fussed over.
Even though walking was difficult now, he insisted on doing things himself.
Wen Tingxue feared something might happen to him inside and kept her ears tuned.
"Modeling is good. Have you contacted Uncle Lun?"
She asked Xing Jiahe. Xing Jiahe replied, "We had dinner yesterday. He has no objections, but it will require waiting."
Lun is now primarily involved in the self-media industry. Although his connections in modeling haven't been severed, he needs to rebuild them gradually.
It's likely he won't have immediate resources.
---
After two months of chemotherapy, Grandpa Yu's condition showed slight improvement, but the situation remained...
The doctor suggested continued hospitalization for observation, but Grandpa Yu insisted on going home.
Yu Wenli, unable to persuade him and knowing he had concerns, agreed to his discharge.
Today was the sixteenth day since their return to the small courtyard.
After lunch, Grandpa Yu habitually maneuvered his wheelchair to the tree.
Wen Tingxue followed him with a blanket and, when he stopped, draped it over his legs.
She then sat with him for a while.
"The weather is nice today. I wonder when my flowers will bloom?"
Every day, Grandpa Yu would gaze at the small buds on the branches of the Wintersweet and utter this sentence.
His slightly clouded eyes would sparkle with anticipation at that moment.
Wen Tingxue smiled and said, "They will bloom. When they do, I'll push you over to see them."
Grandpa Yu's eyes crinkled, "That's good. She always liked the Su Xin Wintersweet I grew. I'll bring her some then, so she doesn't get upset with me."
Yu Wenli, who had just arrived with photos, paused in his steps, then walked over to his grandfather as if nothing had happened.
He placed the old photo album on his lap.
"I found them. They were stored in the attic. I've wiped away the dust."
He sat down next to Wen Tingxue, his eyes quietly fixed on the old man opposite him.
Watching him laboriously flip through the album, recounting his glorious youth, he felt a nameless sense of unease, a feeling of losing his grip.
"This one is the first photo I took with your Grandma. We had just gotten married, and she was too shy to look at the camera..."
Fearing that he might not be able to bear the thought of following his beloved.
He had deliberately stored these photo albums, full of memories, in the attic.
He only kept one small photograph with him, close to his heart, over his chest.
When he missed her, he would take it out and look.
But after so many years, he could still accurately state the date of each photograph and the story behind it.
Wen Tingxue couldn't personally experience the hardships of that era.
But from Grandpa Yu, she saw a kind of love that belonged exclusively to that time.
Just like the saying: With slow carriages and horses, a lifetime is only enough to love one person.
Even though they were separated by death, this affection, this love, could not be severed.
"This set of clothes, then."
Grandpa Yu suddenly pointed at that photo, his eyes full of hope as he looked at Yu Wenli, his tone carrying a rare plea.
"Make a new one. So many years have passed. I'm afraid she won't remember me, but she will definitely remember these clothes. If I wear them to see her, she'll recognize me."
His words were leisurely, as if he could already see that scene.
Yu Wenli and Wen Tingxue's eyes both welled up.
After a few seconds of silence, Yu Wenli smiled and nodded, "Okay."
...
Perhaps it was because Grandpa Yu sat under the tree for so long every day.
The Su Xin Wintersweet finally bloomed on a night three days later.
Coincidentally, that evening, Grandpa Yu woke up from his sleep, and Wen Tingxue and Yu Wenli came to take him to see the flowers.
The bright yellow Wintersweet hung on the branches, looking hazy and beautiful under the lamplight.
Grandpa Yu watched for a while, smiling.
As the night grew deep and the dew heavy, Yu Wenli worried about his health and urged him to return, saying he could see them again tomorrow.
Grandpa Yu nodded with a smile.
On the way back, Grandpa suddenly held Yu Wenli's hand and said, "Xiao Wen, Grandpa now, I can't eat, I can't plant trees, I can't write words, and even the medicinal plasters that I'm best at, I no longer have the strength to prepare."
He smiled faintly, "Life is already very meaningless. If one day, I'm lying on a sickbed without dignity..."
Grandpa looked back at him, his smile faint, "Please, let me go with dignity."
Yu Wenli's heart skipped a beat, but he still nodded, solemnly saying, "Okay."
The next morning, the Wintersweet was in full bloom, exceptionally beautiful. Wen Tingxue joyfully went to call Grandpa, only to find him already unconscious.
Hospital.
After exiting the operating room, he was directly transferred to the intensive care unit.