"Maybe your family is calling."
Xiao Xiao's lips curved slightly, his expression gentle. "Why not answer it?"
"...Me?"
After a long moment, the Short-haired Man finally spoke blankly, as if waking from a dream.
"Yes."
Xiao Xiao's gaze fell on the Short-haired Man's pocket.
"Your phone's ringing."
"Maybe it's a call from your family."
I finally gave an almost imperceptible nod.
I fought back the sting in my nose.
Xiao Xiao looked a little helpless.
The Short-haired Man pressed his lips together.
"Where is he?"
Chi Xiuchuan nodded.
Xiao Xiao looked at Chi Xiuchuan.
The old woman's voice held a trace of unease.
The Short-haired Man's heart felt as if someone had grabbed it and wrenched it tight.
At last, his gaze fell on the Short-haired Man.
If you counted them all up, one by one...
"Wait."
There really were quite a few.
"Big Brother?"
"And she even made osmanthus candy..."
What?
Chi Xiuchuan shook his head slightly.
"What on earth have you been doing, never coming home all these days?!"
The Short-haired Man gripped his phone tightly.
"Come home."
"We'll go back."
I was very calm.
The Chi siblings let it go, considering that the other man was a father grieving the loss of his daughter.
"...Who's unhappy?"
It was for the best if the Short-haired Man could come to terms with it.
"I'm sorry for your daughter's death."
My child wasn't coming back, either.
It was the small knife the Short-haired Man had earlier held to Chi Xiuchuan's neck.
"We won't come again..."
The Flat-headed Man and the Bald Man nodded.
Otherwise, one person's grief would never be a reason to hurt someone else, especially an innocent person.
And then...
The call ended.
Zhai Jiayuan said matter-of-factly, "Our hospital did everything