When Su Bai was little, whenever business at his mother's shop wasn't too busy, she would hold him in her arms and sit by the entrance, watching the people and traffic pass by. Back then, she would always smile and hum a gentle tune, softly squeezing his little hands to amuse him.
In Su Bai's memories, his mother, Lin Wan, was the prettiest shopkeeper on this shopping street, and the gentlest person in the world. When she smiled, even without carefully applied makeup, she was the most beautiful person in his eyes.
When had his mother begun to grow old?
When had weariness crept into her smile?
Why had her once jet-black hair turned gray when she was only in her forties?
When had his beautiful mother begun to lose her radiance? When had the mother who always faced everything with a smile begun hiding in corners to secretly wipe away her tears?
Su Bai sat beside his mother's bed, gently holding Lin Wan's hand as he waited anxiously alongside the woman caring for her.
Under the hopeful gazes of those beside her, Lin Wan, who had lain unconscious in bed for so very long, actually made a few indistinct sounds, then slowly opened her eyes.
Su Bai held his breath as he watched his mother try to open her eyes, only to close them again a moment later in discomfort. With her murmuring and her fingers struggling to move, Lin Wan seemed like someone who had left her own body for a long time and suddenly returned, feeling profoundly uncomfortable from head to toe.
Still, everything happening before him was enough to fill Su Bai with joy. Though both he and the caregiver were excited, neither rushed Lin Wan to open her eyes and recover immediately. They knew very