The Blind Old Woman eventually succumbed to her injuries and passed away.
However, she passed away peacefully.
In her last few days in the hospital, her son, whom she rarely saw, suddenly changed his ways, staying with her 24 hours a day, calling her "Mom" and "Mama" repeatedly.
The Blind Old Woman said, "After I'm gone, sell the house and give some to your sister. If you don't, I'm afraid she'll make a huge fuss about it."
The son said, "Mom, let's not sell the house. May you live to be a hundred!"
The Blind Old Woman smiled and stopped talking about the house.
As the Blind Old Woman lay dying, she began to hallucinate, constantly hearing cats meowing. She mumbled incoherently, calling out "Ami, Ami."
The son knelt before him, tears streaming down his face, and said, "Mom, Ami has been taken back home, and she's doing well!"
The Blind Old Woman seemed not to hear, staring blankly into the distance, calling out, "Mi... Ami..."
After a while, the Blind Old Woman's eyes suddenly lit up, and a layer of color returned to her withered, pale face. Her son knew this was a final burst of energy before death, and his heart sank. Just then, he heard a cat meow.
He turned his head abruptly and saw the strange couple he had dreamed about that day standing at the door of the ward. A little girl was standing between them, holding a small yellow kitten in her arms.
When the cat saw the Blind Old Woman on the hospital bed, it meowed and broke free from the girl's arms, leaping onto the old woman's bed.
The cat stood at the head of the bed, affectionately nuzzling the Blind Old Woman's face with its head, meowing softly.
The Blind Old Woman smiled and slowly closed her eyes.
After the Blind Old Woman left, Hanran fell ill.
Yu Meiren's heart ached so much that tears streamed down her face. She had finally fattened up, but after disappearing for so long, she had become as thin as when she was first brought back from Spring City.
Since the Cat-Killing Order was issued, veterinarians at pet hospitals have stopped taking cat cases, fearing they might contract toxoplasmosis. Qingmu had to use his powerful Mental Power to coerce a veterinarian into treating Hanran.
The doctor conducted a thorough examination but couldn't find anything wrong, only saying that paying attention to nutrition would help.
But Hanran's condition was getting worse and worse. He cried out weakly and pitifully all day long, and could not eat much. Qingmu could feel that his consciousness was getting weaker and weaker.
He estimated that Hanran wouldn't live more than a month, and not wanting Yu Meiren to be heartbroken, he said, " Hanran can stay here with me to recuperate. I'll think of another way; maybe we can send her abroad for treatment."
This is just a prelude to the cat dying in the future, when they'll tell the little girl that it was sent abroad.
Although Yu Meiren was reluctant, she knew that leaving the Qingmu was a better choice than taking it back. Moreover, the Cat-Killing Order was still in effect, and it would be unsafe if she were discovered. She was lucky last time and escaped with her life, but she might not be able to find a kind person to take her in again.
"Caw, good heavens!" The Crow cawed in dissatisfaction upon hearing that the cat would be living here.
Qingmu smiled at it and said, "It's not like we haven't lived together before. Besides, look at him, how much longer can he live?"
The Crow said, "You always said it wouldn't live long, but I think it's incredibly lucky. Almost all the cats in the world are dying, but it's still alive. Maybe we'll all be dead before it is."
Qingmu pursed his lips, recalling seeing Hanran in another life Zhao Pengcheng had experienced, where the Crow had already been made into a specimen. He glanced at the spirited Crow, then at the listless cat, wondering how Hanran had survived in that world.
Hanran no longer clung to the Boss Coal like before. Instead, she curled up and lay motionless on the sofa, barely turning over a few times a day, and she didn't eat anything.
The Crow couldn't bear to see it suffer, so it went over to keep the cat company while it ate. With the Crow's company, the cat ate a little and meowed a couple of times, but the sound grew weaker and weaker.
Qingmu didn't have any good ideas, so he stopped worrying about it; he had a lot of other things to do.
Hou Biao, armed with the list provided by Ghost, moved around the country, taking down numerous assassins hired by the Dream Society. Qingmu, through the Xia Family and the North America Hong Family, raised a large sum of money to inject into the security company, and Hou Biao, as expected, recruited many skilled individuals to work with him. This meant that the assassins working for the Dream Society had to consider the consequences; scientists weren't so easy to assassinate. The key issue was that they had barely accepted a mission before they themselves were in trouble.
With Hou Biao away, the heavy responsibility of managing the security company fell entirely on Yao Jingjing's shoulders. In addition to her work, she also had to help her father take care of her mother.
Mama Yao's bone marrow transplant surgery was very successful. She only stayed in the sterile ward for two weeks before being transferred to a regular ward and discharged a month later. However, this made the subsequent rejection phase more troublesome to care for than in the hospital. Yao Jingjing originally wanted her mother to stay in the hospital a little longer, but since the doctors had already decided to discharge her, she couldn't say anything. She couldn't very well trouble Qingmu or Professor Mei to speak to the hospital again.
Mama Yao's condition stabilized day by Tiantian, and her complexion looked much better, even better than before the surgery. She knew that her successful surgery was entirely thanks to Qingmu. She had always considered Qingmu her future son-in-law, but apart from visiting her once before and once after the surgery, he hadn't come to see her again, which made her slightly dissatisfied. She questioned Yao Jingjing, asking if she and Qingmu had argued. Yao Jingjing explained that Qingmu was very busy and had a lot on his plate lately.
Although Mama Yao was ill, she still watched TV and read newspapers in her hospital room, and Papa Yao often told her about things happening outside. She knew that the world had been quite turbulent these past few months, with all sorts of strange and unusual things happening. In her eyes, Qingmu was an important person, so it was normal for him to be busy and have important matters to attend to. Now that she was feeling better, she wanted to invite Qingmu to their home for a meal, firstly to thank him properly, and secondly because she wanted to meet her son-in-law.
Yao Jingjing knew that Qingmu didn't have time, and she herself didn't have much time either. She had declined several times, but her mother insisted, and she couldn't refuse her mother, so she had no choice but to go to Qingmu to talk about it.
" Qingmu, my mom wants to invite you over for dinner."
Yao Jingjing is no longer the same person she was when she was a flight attendant. Working at a security company every day, dealing with a bunch of guys who are willing to kill at the drop of a hat, has made her much more capable. Due to the special nature of the security industry, and the fact that Yao Jingjing happens to be a great beauty, she has gained some fame in Wuzhong's business circle.
Hou Biao arranged two bodyguards for her, but she refused. In comparison, the scientists like Mei Yiqiu needed bodyguards more than she did. She also began to practice close combat with some training courses from the security company. After a few months, her temperament became even more outstanding, and she had the air of a domineering female CEO.
"Okay, go ahead and arrange it."
Qingmu thought about it and felt he should go see Mama Yao. He was the one who brought her from Cuanzhou to Wuzhong, and it wouldn't be right to just leave her there now. Besides, Yao Jingjing was already quite busy with the security company, so he agreed.
Yao Jingjing brought Qingmu back for dinner, which made Mama Yao and Papa Yao very happy.
To help Mama Yao recover from her illness, Yao Jingjing rented an apartment in the city and hired a caregiver. But on this particular day, Papa Yao gave the caregiver the day off and personally cooked a large meal. Mama Yao also sat down at the table, and if Yao Jingjing hadn't stopped her, she almost started drinking.
The four of them ate and drank together, enjoying themselves immensely. Yao Jingjing recalled the scene when she first met Qingmu a few months ago, as if it were a lifetime ago. At that time, she never imagined that she would leave her job as a flight attendant to become the boss of a security company.
After dinner, Mama Yao was a little tired, Yao Jingjing helped her back to her room to rest.
Qingmu felt it was time to explore that sealed memory area in her dream; what exactly was hidden there?