Fang Youcheng led Ji Yunhuai and Lu Xiaoxiao through the scattered crowd and parked vehicles to a relatively secluded temporary parking area beside the cemetery exit, where a discreet black sedan stood alone.
Fang Youcheng hurried forward, tapped lightly on the rear window, then opened the door and bent down to carefully help someone out.
This was the first time Ji Yunhuai had truly met Shi Zhiyi.
The woman wore a simple white long coat that stood out against the gray, rainy backdrop and made her look all the more frail. Her long black hair fell smoothly over her shoulders, with a small white silk flower pinned in it to mourn the deceased. Her features were delicate, her skin so fair it was almost translucent, betraying years spent indoors with little sunlight.
There was a natural gentleness and kindness to her features, but the slight furrow in her brow added a lingering air of anguish and sorrow.
She was also painfully thin, her coat hanging loosely on her frame. Standing there, she looked as fragile as a willow in the wind, as though a slightly stronger gust could knock her over.
No one who saw her could have associated her with words like "troublemaker" or "ill-intentioned."
The instant Shi Zhiyi's gaze met Ji Yunhuai's, her eyes visibly brightened with a complicated mixture of hope, nervousness, and immense strain.
But a moment later, those clear eyes quickly reddened and filled with tears, welling with overwhelming guilt and grief.
What happened next caught everyone off guard-without any warning, Shi Zhiyi's knees buckled, and she began to kneel before Ji Yunhuai!
"Mom!" Fang Youcheng was closest and reacted fastest. With a startled cry, he immediately gripped his mother's arms to stop her from kneeling, his voice full of distress and concern.
Lu Xiaoxiao