Chapter 73

"Xi'an, you didn't drive here today?"

Sheng Xi'an still replied to her in a good manner, "Hmm. I'll take a taxi."

"How about letting us give you a lift?" After that, Yu Muyu shifted her gaze to Huo Shaoting, asking, "Shaoting, is that okay with you?"

"Thanks," Sheng Xi'an declined her suggestion immediately and coldly, "but please don't bother."

She then turned around and walked out of there without a slight bit of hesitation. Wearing a thin, silk embroidered jacket, she walked with her back straight, the sound of her heels clicking the ground very clearly.

Looking at her back going away, Huo Shaoting furrowed his eyebrows tightly, feeling increasingly irritated.

Instead of going back to Star Moon Bay, Sheng Xi'an took a taxi to the nursing home.

Her mother had been on the new drug. Although there was still no sign of her waking up, Sheng Xi'an felt quite relieved in the bottom of her heart.

"Mom..." She sat by the hospital bed, massaging Xu Huiru while whispering to her, "When will you wake up? Can you wake up a little bit sooner, please? Then, you can brush my hair and tell me stories, like you did when I was a child. When I'm happy, you will share my joy. And when I'm sad, you will be there for me and tell me that all the bad things will go away."

After pausing for a while, she nodded her head bitterly and said, "I... I'm a little sad today." After glancing at her mother, who was still soundly asleep, she let out a sigh. "You've been sleeping for so long, do you still remember Brother Shaoting? It's his birthday today. I spent a lot of time on his birthday party, but he didn't even show up.

"Although Grandfather Huo did not introduce me to all the guests today, I still looked like a joke. Dad... seemed disappointed in me. But besides his disappointment, I felt more hurt by his indifference." She closed her eyes as she remembered Sheng Shiqiang's indifferent attitude toward her when he left. "He's my father. After you came here, he is the only person that I can rely on. But he didn't say anything to me today.

"Yu Muyu is back. She fell today, but Brother Shaoting got angry with me because of it." She smiled bitterly as she was speaking. "Mom, can you tell me why everything has changed? Brother Shaoting was very good to me before, and I even dreamed of marrying him back then. But now he has become... He used to dislike Yu Muyu, but now they're madly in love, while I am the third wheel.

"I know he holds a grudge against me. But sometimes, I also wonder if this might be our fate. I... am his wife now, but I'm not as happy as I once dreamed, because he loves Yu Muyu, not me. Do you think that things would have been different if I didn't leave three years ago?"

The person on the bed did not give her any response, not even moving a finger.

Sheng Xi'an pulled Xu Huiru's hand and pressed it against her face while talking in an even lower voice, "Mom, I'm so sad. My heart hurts, so dreadfully painful. Three years ago, I waited but did not get what I wanted. They are still not mine today. You once told me that many things couldn't be forced because all were destined. Perhaps, this is my fate. All in all, I want to give up. I don't want to love him anymore..."

"Shaoting, are you unhappy?" With her head aslant, Yu Muyu asked Huo Shaoting in a low voice, who was driving the car quietly.

Several seconds later, Huo Shaoting answered, "No."

"But you've been quiet in the car. Here," she said, her fingers touching his brows, "they're also furrowed."

"You think too much."

"Are you thinking about your birthday party?" Retreating her hand, Yu Muyu said remorsefully, "Maybe I shouldn't have come back. Grandfather called you so many times but you still did not go back. Many people should be waiting for you at home. Grandfather doesn't like me in the first place, and he must be angry with me now."

"..." Hearing that, Huo Shaoting pursed his lips into a thin line.

"You should go home and apologize to Grandfather, or he would for sure be infuriated. Also, I'm afraid that he would loathe me more afterward." Yu Muyu said disappointedly, "If so, how can I marry you in the future?"

"Don't think about it, okay?"

"..." Yu Muyu was stunned for a while, then she fixed her gaze at him.

If she made such remarks before, he would comfort her patiently, saying that Grandfather would not be an obstacle between them and that he would certainly marry her. Today, however, he passed it over with one simple sentence.

"You were on the plane for a long time today. And your foot injury has worsened too. Let me take you home first."