It was already deep into the night when Aunty Hsiao sat on the bed in their room, listening as her son Fuyue explained everything in detail....how his outing with Peng went, and everything that happened afterward.
That same day was Yufei's wedding ceremony, followed by a full day of celebrations. Fuyue missed all of it, lost in a heavy, unnatural sleep that lasted the entire day....a condition he directly linked to whatever Peng had given him.
Even after waking up, he wasn't fully himself until around seven in the evening. Only then did he manage to eat something and pull himself together. When Aunty Hsiao returned from the wedding later that night, she simply expressed concern, telling others he wasn't well....an explanation everyone accepted without question.
Since then, Fuyue had been looking for a chance to be alone with her so he could tell her about the deal he had made. It wasn't until the house finally settled into silence, everyone asleep, that he gently woke her and told her everything.
Aunty Hsiao nodded slowly as she listened, trying to fully process what she was hearing.
"Two million? Two million?" she repeated. "You're saying Peng himself promised you two million."
Fuyue smiled faintly, picked up his phone, opened his messages, and showed her the bank alert confirming the one million that had already been credited earlier that night.
Aunty Hsiao took the phone, read the message once, then read it again. In that moment, she felt something inside her snap. Without much thought, she tied that feeling to the last shred of goodness she had left....for Nainai and her people alike. From then on, nothing stood in her way anymore. Whatever Peng wanted, whatever he asked of them, she was ready.
Still holding the phone, she looked back at Fuyue and nodded...once, then again, slowly.
"This is double profit, Fuyue. Our goal is within reach, and the people of that house will be dealt with in broad daylight. So we won't wait till tomorrow. Tonight, we'll get a strand of that old woman's hair....iron has to be struck while it's hot."
What she didn't realize was that the "double profit" she spoke of...was a different road from what they expected.
✨️✨️✨️
𝑶𝒏𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒉 𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓
Just as the bell of a nearby temple rang out on a Friday in October, Zhan slowly lowered his lashes, then opened his eyes again, continuing to study his reflection in the mirror before him.
He focused on his eyes. In recent days, their color had changed.... darkened, with faint reddish shadows creeping toward the edges.
Zhan knew that whenever he was under pressure, not only his mind but his body reacted in strange ways. Still, this was new. Illness had never shown itself through his eyes before. His eyes had always been his strength, his anchor....his weapon against every challenge life threw at him.
But this time, they had failed him.
Whatever he was facing had overwhelmed every part of him, draining him completely. Each morning he woke with the heavy feeling that the day itself was too long to survive. It had all started a week after Yufei's wedding.
That Wednesday night, Jincai had come to Nainai with the news that his wedding date had been set.... just two months away.
The announcement shocked everyone equally, but it shook Nainai more than anyone had expected. From that day on, Zhan could not remember a single day passing without her spending hours wrestling with the matter.
"That boy has been chasing after you for nearly ten years, Zhan," she would say. "There's nothing you didn't put him through....right in front of me and behind my back. And yet, while you're just sitting there, he boldly goes and asks for marriage in broad daylight....and they accept him."
Whenever she told the story to anyone who came to visit, she added,
"I didn't believe him at first when the boy left this house. I had to call Tata before I was convinced. Turns out his mother got tired of him living on his own, with money and everything else sorted, yet refusing to marry year after year. So she went out herself, found him a girl, and that was that."
From there, her tone would shift, almost admiring.
"That's a man with discipline. His mother spoke, and he listened. He showed the world that she still had authority over him."
Gradually, her words took on a different edge. Even when Uncle Elder and others visited, she would shake her head and say,
"I know I've done my best with these children. I raised them with one heart, and with that same heart I want only good things for them. I want to lay down this burden I've carried before my time runs out. When you raise a child well and see them settled, you've fulfilled your responsibility. That's all I want....to know I tried my best. But this one? Nothing. He refuses to understand me. He thinks I'm pressuring him. If Zhan won't marry, how do you expect Bai to? Children only copy what they see."
There was a day Uncle Ruobing sat her down and told her to calm herself....that marriage had its own timing, and when the time came, it would happen.
She shook her head sharply.
"That's what you always say. But when will that time come? When he's so worn down that no one wants him anymore? I told you people to get him married right after high school. You insisted his studies were more important. Fine....we waited. He finished school, got a job, then another one. And now even that has started to decline. Meanwhile, those who once pursued him are moving on, finding their own paths. No, this won't work."
From that "this won't work", everything turned squarely toward Zhan.
There wasn't a single morning he prepared to leave the house without Nainai complaining....about how he treated his job as the only important thing in his life.
"When you're done with work, we'll see what else you have, Zhan.....since you say things are slowing down."
Truth be told, he thought the same.
Their work really had slowed. No new patients had come in for a long time. Only four people remained under their care, and many days they were finished with everything before noon.
A full staff meeting was held. They were informed that once the program's term ended, the overseeing ministry would take six months to review reports from all participating hospitals. Based on those results, a few hospitals would be selected to continue the program permanently.
They were told that continuing employment wouldn't be difficult....if their hospital was chosen, many staff members would be retained, since the program would become long-term.
Still, everyone hoped their hospital would be among those selected. No one wanted to leave a place they were used to....or the colleagues they had grown comfortable working with.
Almost like a doctor carrying a mental image of a patient, Zhan found Yibo's face lingering in his mind. Since Yufei's wedding, nothing had brought them together again except work. It didn't surprise him....last time, it had been the same. The Yibo he knew outside work felt like a different person from the one he saw at the hospital. Even then, there was nothing connecting them beyond duty. They spoke on the phone fewer than three times, and each call was about something Yibo needed to send him for work.
What Zhan noticed was that Dr. Yibo seemed to be deliberately putting distance between them....between himself and whatever had almost started to form in the beginning. Zhan still didn't know what that something was. Aunty Shui had once hinted that Yibo might have been interested in him at first, but if that had ever been true, Dr Yibo's feelings had clearly changed. These days, they didn't even see each other regularly at the hospital.
While Zhan's workload had slowed, Yibo's department had grown busier. Zhan and the other two doctors were handling almost everything on their side. When Yibo did attend briefings, he would simply review what had been done, offer a few corrections, and leave.
Zhan wasn't sure whether it truly bothered him. He only knew that when he let himself think, he missed those early days....the phone calls, the way their work had flowed at the start. Back when he saw Yibo every day, when they spent hours with patients, examining them together. He even remembered the day Yibo gave him that new tablet after he returned, and the quiet moment they shared afterward…
Now, it all felt as though nothing had ever happened....like it had existed only in his head.
Even Yufei, who was in Macau and used to tease him endlessly about the doctor whenever they spoke, had stopped bringing it up.
In the midst of all this, Peng suddenly returned....persistent as ever....with an apology and a plea for acceptance.
After their last conversation, he claimed he had gone away to think and realized he could never let Zhan go. He asked Zhan to give him another chance.
Zhan's mind spiraled into deeper confusion. He didn't know which problem to face first: Nainai's constant complaints that never seemed to soften no matter what anyone said, or Peng's renewed determination and carefully timed visits....three times already....to Nainai's place, always under the excuse of greetings and small offerings. With each visit, Peng's name sank deeper into Nainai's thoughts.
"I don't know about all the people you keep pushing away out there, Zhan," Nainai would say. "Right before your eyes, you lost Jincai, who showed you nothing but care. And now here's this one....someone you can even call family. Everyone knows his character; he's a good man. He just had terrible luck with a difficult woman. With how he's been pursuing you, you should show him some kindness. You should also think of settling yourself....there's nothing he lacks."
No matter what Zhan said, Nainai never seemed to understand. Instead, she would press harder.
"So tell me, Zhan....what exactly do you want? You don't want marriage at all? Or what?"
Sometimes even Aunty Shui stepped in, only for the argument to turn toward her.
"Shui, sometimes I really question your thinking," Nainai snapped. "Didn't you marry and still complete your education? Didn't you end up working too and had a son? And yet you sit here watching this child waste time? Is this really what he came into the world to do?"
Aunty Shui would shake her head calmly.
"Nainai, I'm telling you....this is all happening simply because he hasn't met someone he truly wants yet. The moment he does, he'll be the one to bring that person to you himself."
"And how long will that take?" Nainai shot back. "You're close to Zhan....have you ever seen him bring anyone? It's always men chasing after him. Not just now....even back in high school. We've seen all kinds of people come and go. They all got tired and left. Even the stubborn ones are giving up now. And now that fate has finally brought someone forward, you want him to keep his ways and reject him?"
That same day, after Nainai went into the bathroom, Aunty Shui turned to Zhan and asked quietly,
"Zhan… that doctor you work with....where is he now?"
Zhan turned to her at once, surprise written all over his face, then shook his head lightly.
"He's around. Why bring him up?"
"I think he might feel something for you. And since Nainai is pushing so hard now, and you clearly don't want Peng....if he's the one you want, then you should just bring him to Nainai."
Zhan shook his head again.
"Aunty Shui, that's just how you're seeing it. There's never been anything between us beyond work. Even when you saw us talking on the phone, it was always about my return to work."
She nodded slowly.
"Alright then. Just keep moving forward. It'll sort itself out. Because this time, Nainai seems truly serious."
Zhan didn't truly believe any of it...until the day Nainai said something that shook him to his core.
If all of Nainai's words over time were gathered together, the gentler ones would still pale beside the few sentences she looked him straight in the eye and delivered on the last day Peng came to the house. That day, Peng had clearly and firmly told Nainai that he was serious about wanting to marry Zhan.
After Peng left, he asked Zhan to come outside and meet him. He went out with his emotions already in turmoil, his face dark and unsettled. On his way back in, Fuyue crossed paths with him downstairs and gave him a smile Zhan couldn't quite read. That single smile only deepened the heaviness in his chest....the weight Peng's plea had already planted there.
No sooner had he entered his room and started changing into his night clothes than Nainai followed him inside.
"Zhan," she said sharply, "with everything you've been doing, are you trying to remind me that I'm not the one who gave birth to you?"
The way his chest dropped, the way his heart slammed violently, the sudden heaviness in his head....all of it hit at once, leaving him unable to explain what he felt. Not a single word could leave his mouth. His eyes filled instantly with burning tears, and as they streamed down his cheeks, he felt the sting of them against his skin.
He sank down right there and began to cry....crying so hard that Bai had to cry and stay with him deep into the night.
From that moment on, Zhan would swear that there was no explanation he hadn't given Nainai, no plea left unspoken....not just by him, but by everyone close to them. Yet nothing softened her resolve. That was what stunned everyone the most. Nainai had always been firm, yes....but the sudden intensity of her stance was what no one could comprehend.
There was even a day Uncle Sanxing spent over an hour talking with her, trying every possible angle. Still, she brushed aside everything he said and returned stubbornly to her own view. After that, her attitude toward Zhan and Bai began to change. Beyond greetings, there was no warmth in their conversations anymore. Their casual chats disappeared entirely. Zhan, Bai....everyone noticed the shift. No one failed to try to calm Nainai down, not even Noni, but it was clear her patience had run out completely.
✨✨✨
"Zhan-ge! Zhan-ge!"
From where Zhan stood inside the bathroom, Bai's voice cut sharply into his ears....panicked, disoriented, carrying a level of terror he had never heard before.
He flung the bathroom door open and ran into the sitting room. The sight before him stopped him cold....something he had never imagined, not even in his worst thoughts.
Nainai lay sprawled in the middle of the room, clearly collapsed. Bai was crouched beside her, shaking her frantically crying. Bai looked up at Zhan in fear as soon as he appeared, frozen there, staring.
~***~
At the hospital, Aunty Shui stood near the row of chairs where Zhan, Noni, and Aunty Hsiao sat. Every face was tense with fear.
Zhan's eyes, however, told a deeper story....beneath the panic was visible swelling, proof of how much he had cried since they arrived.
Standing in front of Aunty Shui was Uncle Sanxing, who had come from where Uncle Elder and Uncle Ruobing were.
"A heart problem, Sanxing Gege?" Aunty Shui asked urgently. "Is it really a heart condition?"
Uncle Sanxing shook his head.
"The doctors are linking her condition to possible heart issues, but no one can say anything for sure yet. The tests haven't even been completed."
"So it's not confirmed?" Aunty Shui asked again, clearly shaken.
"Nothing is confirmed until further tests are done. They've only given first aid for now. They said the collapse could be connected to stress....or possibly a heart-related issue."
The words echoed loudly inside Zhan's head. The pounding of his own heart drowned out everything else Aunty Shui, Noni, and Aunty Hsiao continued saying.
He lowered his gaze and stared at his fingers. For the second time that day, tears filled his eyes and spilled onto his hands.
What was about to happen?
Was he really going to be the reason Nainai developed a serious heart condition?
The woman who had raised him....who, throughout all the years they had lived together, he could count on one hand the number of times she'd ever been seriously ill.
Was he the one who would cause something like this?
Everyone knew Nainai had been deeply troubled these past days. Everyone knew what weighed on her heart....so much so that it now seemed to be affecting her health.
It was his refusal to marry. His situation with Peng.
If that turned out to be the cause, where would that leave him? What kind of person would he become? How could he live with himself.... not just before Nainai, but before everyone in the household who had supported them, stood by them, and shown them nothing but care?
Just when people were beginning to see him as grown and responsible, was he really choosing his own desires over Nainai's peace of mind? The same Nainai he felt he would choose over the entire world without hesitation?
Where had his judgment gone?
Had his fear of a life with Peng truly gone so far as to endanger Nainai's health?
His tears soaked his hands completely now. He didn't lift his head, didn't even try to wipe them away. All he wanted was to disappear....to vanish from the hospital entirely. How would he ever look any of them in the eyes again, knowing they might see him as the cause of this moment?
His silent crying broke into sobs, the force of it pushing up from his chest and spilling out of his mouth.
Suddenly, Noni leaned forward and gently held his tear-soaked hand.
Zhan looked up at her, shaking his head desperately.
"Please, Noni… forgive me, all of you people forgive me" he cried. "I'll marry Peng. I'll marry him....just the way Nainai wants."
At that very moment, Aunty Hsiao, who had been standing nearby watching everything, let out a dangerous smile....one that reached deep into her heart.
𝑾𝒆𝒅𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒅𝒂𝒚, 7 𝑱𝒂𝒏𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒚
2026
𝒁𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒙𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒊𝒃𝒐💚❤💛