At last.
Tian Tian left.
The last person close to her had left as well.
Zhang Suzhen felt hollow inside. Her disguise was torn away at that moment, and that night, she held her child and cried. She made no sound, but her tears flowed freely.
Her tears slid down her face like rain, pattering into the child's swaddling clothes.
She lowered her head to look at the child and wiped the tears from the baby's face.
Sensing her sadness, the child began to wail.
Zhang Suzhen raised her head and forced her tears back, then held the child and soothed her.
After the child fell asleep.
She sat in the corner of the hospital bed, lips pressed together in silent thought.
That very day.
The nurse urged her to settle the bill.
The expenses for giving birth, hospitalization, and everything else.
Had exhausted her last savings.
She no longer had money to stay in the hospital and recuperate.
She thought of her impoverished home.
Sitting on the bed, she stared at the child, lost and helpless.
Where did her future lie?
What was she supposed to do?
After feeding the child its last "meal."
She stood before the window. Her eyes shifted from confusion to sorrow and then despair. She raised her head to the sky, seemingly able to hear once again the drone of an airplane overhead, which appeared to be emitting a sharp, mocking laugh at her.
Her heart ached terribly. Her eyes instantly filled with tears. Red-eyed, she took one last look at the child, her body trembling slightly as she prepared to jump.
Suddenly.
"Zhang Suzhen."
Someone was calling her.
The voice was calm and soothing, carrying a strangely warm quality that went straight to her heart.
The voice was pleasant and very familiar.
She