"Big sister."
"Thank you."
Madam Xiao was taken aback.
What was she thanking her for?
"Do you know?"
Juzi finally managed a faint smile.
"Bao Bao was still clutching a red maple leaf in his hand at the very end."
"Huh?"
Madam Xiao looked surprised. "He was holding it the whole time?"
"Mm."
Juzi nodded.
"Bao Bao held on to it the whole time."
"He was clutching it so tightly."
She had tried to take the maple leaf from the child's hand...
But she hadn't succeeded.
Unless she tore the leaf, the child was holding it too tightly for her to remove it intact.
That showed just how much the child treasured the maple leaf.
Madam Xiao shook her head slightly.
A hint of a smile crossed her face. "That child..."
"She really did love maple leaves."
"Yes."
Juzi nodded.
"So, thank you so much for making her wish come true."
Juzi bowed slightly to Madam Xiao and Xiao Xiao.
Otherwise, her child would have left this world with a regret.
The thought would have stuck in her throat for the rest of her life, and she would never have been able to let it go.
"Thank you."
The child's father bowed slightly as well.
It was because they'd fulfilled the wish she most wanted to come true that the child had been able to sleep so peacefully, with the faintest smile on her lips.
The child had left this world—a place she'd only briefly visited, and one that hadn't been kind to her—with the satisfaction of having her wish fulfilled.
"Big sister."
A dazed expression crossed Juzi's face.
She smiled at Madam Xiao.
"Do you know?"
The child's face at the very end came back to Juzi.
"Bao Bao passed away