PSMD – Chapter 148

Shen Ningruo’s expression became serious. Many thoughts flashed through her mind, finally settling on the possibility that Shen Yuankai might have a serious illness. But she wasn’t a doctor and didn’t know what illness he might have. She started to feel worried and anxious.

Qiu Yang and Yao Yao immediately noticed her serious expression. Qiu Yang stood up, walked over, and asked, “What happened?”

Shen Ningruo gripped her phone tightly, her lips trembling slightly uncontrollably. “My dad coughed up blood.”

Yao Yao was surprised. “Didn’t Uncle always have pretty good health?”

“I still don’t know what happened. Last week when I went home, I asked him to go to the hospital with me, but he wouldn’t go. I…”

“I’m a little afraid it’s something serious.”

Qiu Yang held Shen Ningruo’s hand, conveying support. Her brows furrowed slightly. “How about we go home now?”

“Wait, let me first ask Uncle Yu if he knows anything. My dad’s phone is off, and he’s not home.”

“Okay.”

Shen Ningruo found Lao Yu’s contact information again. Without turning away, she called Lao Yu right in front of Qiu Yang.

Lao Yu’s phone was on, and he answered quickly. “Miss.”

Shen Ningruo pursed her lips. “Uncle Yu, do you know what happened to my dad?”

“I was home with the kids this weekend, I didn’t go see him.” Lao Yu was a bit confused. “What’s wrong with him?”

Shen Ningruo lowered her gaze and shook her head from her end of the call. “Nothing really, I’ll go see him in a bit.”

“Okay.”

“Oh, right, Miss, not to be nosy, but actually, Old Shen is just trying to save face. Deep down, he still cares about you.”

Shen Ningruo didn’t know how to respond appropriately, because she still vividly remembered the things Shen Yuankai had said to make her marry that scumbag Guo Ming’an.

“Uncle Yu, you can get back to what you were doing.”

“Alright, okay.”

Shen Ningruo hung up the call. She let out a heavy sigh, then started thinking about where Shen Yuankai might have gone.

“Ruoruo, you and Yangyang go find Uncle first. I’ll handle things here,” Yao Yao said. “Everything is ready.”

Qiu Yang knew the main task today was to expose Guo Ming’an, but clearly, Shen Ningruo’s father’s situation was more important now.

She tugged on Shen Ningruo’s hand. “I’ll go with you.”

Shen Ningruo looked at her, hesitated for two seconds, and then hummed, “Okay.”

Without further hesitation, she and Qiu Yang went back to the bedroom to change out of their loungewear and put on casual clothes for going out.

The housekeeper was still at the Shen family home. On the way, Shen Ningruo called her again and learned that Shen Yuankai still hadn’t returned.

“I’ll look around the neighborhood first.” Shen Ningruo had a plan in mind and calmed down.

Qiu Yang sat in the passenger seat, watching Shen Ningruo. The main reason she came out with Shen Ningruo was her concern for her.

If Shen Ningruo couldn’t control her emotions, it would be better to have her by her side, especially since Shen’s father had coughed up blood.

“Okay,” Qiu Yang replied.

Shen Ningruo glanced at her twice, trying to appear less anxious, and smiled. “Don’t worry, I’m fine.”

Qiu Yang immediately looked away, gazing at the scenery outside the window. Most pedestrians on the road were holding umbrellas, but even under such intense sunlight, some people were wearing mascot costumes and handing out flyers.

Very few people manage to live the life they truly want.

Driving from Shen Ningruo’s apartment to the Shen family home usually only took about twenty minutes, but because it was the Dragon Boat Festival, the roads were a bit congested, and there were red lights all the way, so the journey took longer.

It was already four o’clock when they arrived. It was Qiu Yang’s first time here, but she didn’t have the extra thoughts to think about anything else. She seriously searched for him within the neighborhood with Shen Ningruo.

The neighborhood had a lot of greenery and a beautiful environment. There were about ten buildings in total, so the area was quite large.

But after searching the whole area, they didn’t see any sign of Shen Yuankai.

Shen Ningruo gripped her phone even tighter, then pulled Qiu Yang back to her own home.

The housekeeper had already left, and the house was quiet. The fruit bowl on the coffee table was still full of apples.

The house looked exactly the same as when Shen Ningruo left a week ago; the housekeeper had cleaned it very thoroughly.

“I don’t know where my dad could be.” Shen Ningruo blinked, then took a deep breath, steadying her emotions and state of mind. “I haven’t had a serious talk with him in a long time, and I don’t know what his usual habits are.”

Qiu Yang stepped forward and hugged Shen Ningruo. She patted Shen Ningruo’s back, the scent of Shen Ningruo filling her nose. “We’ll definitely find him.” She tentatively suggested, “How about checking your mother’s grave? Maybe he’s there.”

“You’re right.”

Without hesitation, Shen Ningruo pulled Qiu Yang downstairs again. She tried calling Shen Yuankai again, but his phone was still off.

However, she felt Qiu Yang’s suggestion made a lot of sense. Maybe Shen Yuankai really had gone to her mother’s grave.

Qiu Yang had just guessed. She didn’t know if it would turn out as she suspected, but she felt it was better than just standing around.

At least it was another option.

As for Shen Ningruo’s father, she didn’t really have an opinion. All along, she just felt sorry for Shen Ningruo.

Her own past wasn’t good, so how much better could Shen Ningruo’s be?

Qiu Yang pressed her lips together tightly and couldn’t help but think of Qiu Yan again, her mind feeling a bit chaotic for a moment.

The car sped up a bit. The cemetery was located in the suburbs, and this area was a bit more desolate.

Half an hour later, Shen Ningruo parked the car.

There was an old man selling flowers by the roadside. She chose a bouquet of white chrysanthemums, then turned to look at Qiu Yang. “Xiao Yang, will you place a bouquet for my mom too later, okay?”

No one would refuse this invitation.

Qiu Yang’s eyes suddenly felt sore and teary. She looked at Shen Ningruo’s sad expression and nodded. “Okay.”

“Grandpa, just these two bouquets, thank you.”

The old flower vendor was tanned from the sun, wrinkles creasing his face. As he wrapped the flowers, he asked, “Are you here to see your mother?”

“Yes.”

“You don’t look very old. Your mother must have been very young when she passed away,” the old man said, handing the flowers to Shen Ningruo. His cloudy eyes held endless sorrow. “Wishing you well.”

Shen Ningruo: “Thank you.”

She stood up, gave Qiu Yang a bouquet, and walked towards the cemetery with a solemn expression.

Qiu Yang had never been to a cemetery before. She found it different from what she had imagined. She thought it would be a very somber environment, but after entering, she realized this area was no different from a garden.

First, they saw a grand and solemn square. Walking further in, there was a long corridor lined with willow trees, and the air was fragrant. The flowers in the pots by the roadside were blooming vibrantly.

“Xiao Yang, have you ever thought about where you’d put your…” Shen Ningruo turned her head to look at Qiu Yang, thought for two seconds, and then stopped herself. “Never mind, I don’t think it’s very auspicious to ask.”

Qiu Yang wanted to know clearly. “Put my what?”

“Body? Ashes?”

“…Ashes.”

“I haven’t thought about where to put them,” Qiu Yang replied. “I feel like death is still very far away for me, so I’ve never thought about it.”

Shen Ningruo looked up at the sky, then said softly, “There was a period when I felt like I couldn’t go on, and I thought about where to put my ashes. I didn’t want them in an urn, but in a cookie tin. I hoped someone could take it, climb a mountain, and scatter my ashes into the air, letting them go wherever the wind takes them.”

Qiu Yang listened intently. She could even picture it in her mind. “That’s really cool.”

“But I’m afraid of dying.” Shen Ningruo’s lips curved downwards. “I’m also afraid of losing people close to me.”

Qiu Yang’s breath hitched. Then she heard Shen Ningruo say, “I saw some popular science the other day. No matter how much a person weighs when they’re alive, when they’re cremated into ashes, they weigh only about three kilograms.”

“When I held my mother’s urn back then, it felt heavy. But now, if I try to remember, I’ve actually forgotten how it felt.”

“I…”

“I don’t want to experience that feeling again.”

Qiu Yang knew what Shen Ningruo meant – that she didn’t want anything to happen to her father.

She silently squeezed Shen Ningruo’s hand.

Just then, they arrived at the section where Shen Ningruo’s mother was buried. The gravestones here all looked similar, but Shen Ningruo clearly remembered where her mother’s was. She also spotted Shen Yuankai sitting on the ground in front of the gravestone at a glance.

“I see my dad.”

It wasn’t deserted here now, though there weren’t as many people as during the Qingming Festival, but the quietness was the same.

Qiu Yang was startled by this. She worried she might upset Shen’s father and hesitated about whether to go up with Shen Ningruo or not.

“It’s okay, Xiao Yang.” Shen Ningruo opened her palm, revealing a faint smile.

Qiu Yang pursed her lips, then placed her hand on Shen Ningruo’s, and they walked up the steps hand in hand.

Shen Yuankai sat on the ground, his head lowered, saying nothing, just quietly basking in the sun.

A shadow fell over him, but he didn’t notice until the sound of bouquets being placed in front of him startled him awake.

Shen Yuankai opened his eyes. Looking up, he saw Shen Ningruo and Qiu Yang. His eyelids drooped. He looked at the person in the photo on the gravestone and said softly, “I was having a heart-to-heart with your mother.”

“What were you talking about?”

“I asked her if she was doing well.”

“And did she answer you?”

“She sent the wind to give me an answer, saying she’s doing very well.”

Shen Ningruo’s nose stung. “That’s really good.”

Qiu Yang stood to the side, listening to the father and daughter talk, and felt a pang of bitterness. She knelt down with Shen Ningruo and quietly looked at the photo of Shen Ningruo’s mother.

The name carved next to it was Shen Ningruo’s mother’s name – Liu Ying.

It was a name that made Qiu Yang feel a sense of fondness upon seeing it. Shen Ningruo’s mother must have been gentle and kind.

The atmosphere was quiet for a few seconds. Then Shen Ningruo looked at Shen Yuankai again. “What about you, Dad?”

“I’m doing pretty well too.”

“What’s this about coughing up blood?” Shen Ningruo didn’t beat around the bush anymore and asked directly.

Shen Yuankai’s gaze was a bit evasive, and he tried to change the subject to Qiu Yang. “Is this your partner?”

Qiu Yang was called out and only then greeted him. “Hello, Uncle.”

She didn’t want to be too forward.

Shen Yuankai didn’t show much extra expression, just nodded as a response.

Shen Ningruo stared intently at Shen Yuankai. “Do you already know the answer yourself, which is why you deliberately didn’t go to the hospital?”