Yanan asked Susu if everything was ready for Xiaoxingxing’s studies abroad. Before Susu could reply, Xiaomei chimed in, "The young madam has prepared ten suitcases of things for Master Xiaoxingxing."
"That's too much, isn't it?" Yanan looked astonished.
Susu felt a pang of sadness at the thought of Xiaoxingxing leaving her after the New Year to live and study independently.
"Actually, I didn't want him to go abroad to study so early, but he's willing, and Tianyi thinks it's time to train him. I can't do anything about it."
Yanan advised her, "You should trust Xiaoxingxing. He's been independent and capable since he was young. Going abroad to study at his age, in his teens, isn't too early."
Xiaomei was also reluctant to see Xiaoxingxing go. Just as she was about to say something, Su Zeyang, Yanan's adopted son, ran in and tugged at Yanan's clothes. "Mom, you come play with us too. I want you to play with me."
"Don't you have brothers and sisters here? Go play with them," Yanan said, wanting to spend more time with Susu in the kitchen.
Zeyang, still holding onto her clothes, pleaded, "I told my brothers and sisters that the games you taught me are fun, but they don't believe me. Mom, if you teach them, they'll believe me."
"Oh, you child. Go play for a while, and I'll come join you later," Yanan cajoled him.
Only then did he run out of the kitchen.
Susu kept watching the child, feeling he looked more and more like Yang Sijie. Every time she saw Zeyang wanting to get close but hesitating, she feared it would stir up those memories again.
"Yanan, this child is really attached to you."
Yanan said helplessly, "Of course he's attached to me. Kangxi is usually busy with work and spends little time at home. And sometimes, he spoils this child to the extreme, and other times, he deliberately keeps his distance. It's inexplicable. I have to take care of the child more, so naturally, he's close to me."
Susu could understand Kangxi's feelings. It was probably the same as hers; she had an unforgettable friendship with Yang Sijie, but it was also difficult for her to have personally brought Yang Sijie to justice.
"I'll talk to Kangxi for you when I have a chance. Since you both decided to adopt this child together, you can't just decide when to care for him and when not to. You absolutely cannot be a widowed parent."
"That would be great," Yanan leaned against Susu and smiled. "You must remember to speak to him for me."
Susu put down the vegetables she was trimming and gave her an okay gesture.
...
In a faraway foreign land, Song Jiaping remained in a coma after surgery.
On New Year's Eve, Mengyao stayed by his bedside. She could occasionally hear sporadic firecrackers, which she mistook for New Year's Eve fireworks.
As long as Song Jiaping didn't wake up, he wasn't out of danger, and Mengyao's heart was constantly in suspense.
Two international neurosurgeons believed he had become a vegetative state and would not wake up easily.
But Mengyao refused to give up. She spoke to him daily, read him her diary entries, and confessed everything she hadn't been able to say to him before, repeating it all day.
When the hospital was short-staffed, Mengyao also volunteered her help, feeling as if she had returned to those down-to-earth days.
Three months passed in the blink of an eye. Song Jiaping had been in a coma for two months since she arrived. The neurosurgeons determined he had passed the danger period but had become a vegetative state.
The sun was a bit scorching that day. Mengyao sat by the window as usual, tending to the desert's only green plant, a cactus.
Under her careful care, a cactus had bloomed with small yellow flowers.
As Mengyao was about to move the cactus to Song Jiaping's bedside so he could also feel the beauty of the blooming flowers, Song Jiaping's eyelids twitched, and a finger lifted slightly.
Mengyao was sure she wasn't mistaken and immediately called for a neurosurgeon.
But by the time she brought the neurosurgeon, they saw Song Jiaping had already opened his eyes himself, looking around at everything with confusion.
Mengyao rushed to his side, surprised and overjoyed, saying, "Jiaping, you're finally awake. I've been waiting for you here for so long..."
"Who are you?" Song Jiaping looked at her with a completely unfamiliar expression.
"I..." Mengyao was flustered for a moment and quickly turned to the neurosurgeon, saying anxiously, "What's wrong with him? Why doesn't he even recognize me?"
"Let us examine him."
Mengyao stepped aside, watching the doctors examine Song Jiaping. However, Song Jiaping still couldn't remember anything, not even why he was there.
After the neurosurgeons finished their examination, they called her outside the ward. One of the doctors told her, "Mengyao, this is likely a side effect of the surgery. He has temporary amnesia, but it could also be permanent."
Mengyao found it hard to accept. Song Jiaping had finally woken up, but he had lost his memory and didn't even recognize her. Her eyes welled up with tears.
A doctor comforted her, "But you've already created a miracle. Your care has brought him back to consciousness, which is a big step forward compared to being in a vegetative state. Don't be discouraged; permanent amnesia is just the worst-case scenario. Perhaps his memory will recover in a few days."
Mengyao knew these were comforting words, but she was still grateful to the two doctors. Fortunately, two of the international doctors here were neurosurgery specialists; otherwise, the local doctors here wouldn't have dared to perform the craniotomy.
"Okay, I understand. I won't give up."
She returned to the ward alone and saw Song Jiaping still looking around curiously.
Mengyao asked, "Are you thirsty? Do you want to eat anything? Tell me if you need anything, and I'll go buy it for you."
Song Jiaping didn't respond to her question and asked again, "Who are you, and why are you here taking care of me?"
"You forgot? I... I am your lover." Mengyao had to accept this reality and decided to lie. "We met at medical university. After graduation, you proposed to me. We got married, and then we both applied to be international volunteers and came here as doctors without borders. But more than two months ago, someone acted recklessly and hit you in the head, causing you to be in a coma until now."
"Is that so?" Song Jiaping accepted her explanation and made a request. "Wife, please pour me a glass of water. I also want to eat something."
"Okay, okay." Mengyao quickly poured him water first.
Song Jiaping looked at her but couldn't remember at all that he was married and had a beautiful and lovely wife.
In fact, he felt unfamiliar and distant towards Mengyao and didn't know how to interact with her.
Regardless of whether he recognized her or not, Mengyao continued to take meticulous care of him in the days that followed.
Since the neurosurgeons said she had already created a miracle, she should create a second miracle and help Song Jiaping recover his memory.