Chapter 239

He ultimately didn't send a message to Xia Xi, first because he hadn't figured out what to say, and second because it was too late.

Xu Yanfeng didn't sleep all night; early the next morning, before dawn, he changed clothes, washed his face in the bathroom, left, took the elevator down to the parking lot.

Gripping the car door handle, Xu Yanfeng suddenly realized he had drunk a lot the previous night, and the alcohol might not have been fully metabolized, so he called the driver to come over.

The driver was a bit dazed; upon checking the time, it was just about six.

According to normal working hours, General Manager Xu never left this early, let alone today being the weekend.

The driver assumed there was a temporary change in schedule and rushed over as fast as he could.

After getting into the cab, the driver asked Xu Yanfeng where he was going.

Xu Yanfeng pinched his brow and said the name of a kindergarten—Yucai Kindergarten.

The driver was puzzled but asked nothing, driving straight to the kindergarten.

The car stopped at the roadside opposite the kindergarten; Xu Yanfeng made no further move, turning his head to look out the window. The left-side window faced the kindergarten gate, the fence door closed, the walls brightly colored; through the gap he could see a lush green lawn, an elephant-shaped slide, a giraffe swing, and a soccer ball abandoned in a corner.

After waiting a while, the driver got out and smoked a cigarette.

From half past six to eight, the sun gradually rose, and the golden sunlight striking the wall made the colors even brighter.

The driver got back in the car; Xu Yanfeng glanced at his watch—it was five past eight. He grew anxious, feeling a nervous anticipation: "What time does kindergarten usually start? Half past eight or nine?"

If it were half past eight, parents should have been dropping off their kids by now, yet he saw not a single person.

The driver kept his inner speechlessness off his face: "General Manager Xu, today is Saturday; the kids don't have school."

Xu Yanfeng: "……"

The air fell silent for a few seconds; Xu Yanfeng slowly pulled out his phone. He hadn't charged it the night before, leaving only a few percent battery, and the screen clearly showed that today was indeed Saturday.

Even if he waited here all day, he wouldn't see the child.

Moreover, he couldn't just rush straight to Xia Xi's home.

Pressing his fingertip against his eyelid, Xu Yanfeng turned his phone screen face down on his thigh and told the driver: "Go to the company."

Xia Xi woke very early in the morning; her grandmother was still asleep, so she made no noise, fearing to wake her, and sat quietly handling the unread messages on her phone.

Half an hour earlier, Huang Shiyu had sent her a message: "Sister Xi, General Manager Xu has reviewed the design proposal and has a few points he wants to discuss with you in person. You need to go to the Xu Clan at ten."

Xia Xi rubbed her forehead. Xu Yanfeng definitely did this on purpose; making people work overtime on a big weekend was bad enough, but issuing the order so early in the morning makes it hard to believe it wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision.

Xia Xi: "Okay, I got it."

Huang Shiyu: "Sister Xi, you're up this early?"

Xia Xi: "Mm."

Her grandmother woke up; Xia Xi dropped her phone and attended to her washing up.

The old lady loved cleanliness; Xia Xi took a comb and smoothed her grandmother's silver hair, then placed on it the tortoiseshell hairpin she liked best.

The doctor came for rounds, asked a few routine questions, found nothing wrong. After the doctor left, Xia Xi began arranging her grandmother's breakfast: "Grandma, what would you like to eat this morning?"

Her grandmother thought a moment, knowing it might be a tall order: "I miss the snacks from Qianlin."

Xia Xi searched on her phone and found a shop, but it was far away, outside the delivery range: "When the aide arrives, I'll go buy it for you—I'll make sure you get to eat it. Or we could have something else to tide us over; it'll be a while, and I can't let you go hungry."

"Then let's have some porridge," her grandmother said, her spirits much better than yesterday's.

Xia Xi bought health porridge, watched her grandmother finish it, waited for the aide to arrive, someone to look after her grandmother, then she took the car keys and left.

After getting in the car, she first called Su Jinru; before she could speak, Su Jinru asked about her grandmother's condition.

"The doctor came by, she's doing well, ate a big bowl of porridge, and wants Qianlin snacks—I'm going to buy them for her now." Xia Xi explained in detail, "Please bring Zi Heng and Youyou over. Seeing the two kids should lift her spirits a lot; don't forget to put masks on them—there are lots of germs in the hospital, especially in the inpatient ward, with all kinds of patients."

"After breakfast we'll head over," Su Jinru said. "The two kids have been talking about not seeing their great-grandmother since last night."

"Also let Xiao Xuan know; she hasn't been told yet."

Yesterday the situation was urgent; considering Xia Xuan's condition, we didn't dare tell her. Today her grandmother's condition is stable, so we should inform her, lest she find out later and feel guilty.

Xia Xi had thought of everything; Su Jinru followed her lead.

The round trip, plus queuing, took Xia Xi nearly two hours to return to the hospital. The journey wasn't easy, so she bought extra, letting her mother have a taste as well.

When she left the shop, she tasted each item; they were authentic Qianlin snacks, exactly the same flavor as those sold back home.

Taking the elevator up, turning left, the second room was her grandmother's ward; the door stood wide open, and from inside came muffled sobs. Xia Xi's heart clenched, a bad feeling rose, and she quickened her pace, running in.

Xia Xi did not see her grandmother's figure on the bed; Xia Xuan was hugging the two children and weeping, while her husband Chen Songbai stood beside her, gently patting her shoulder and whispering comfort.

Xia Xi's face turned pale; since she wasn't wearing makeup, it was especially obvious: "Where's Grandma?"

Xia Xuan stood up, tears streaking her face, and cried out, "Sister…" unable to say anything else.

Youyou wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, her voice hoarse from crying: "They said great-grandmother is dead. Mom, when someone dies, do they never open their eyes or speak again? I don't want great-grandmother to die—I want her to keep playing with me."

Zi Heng also wiped his tears with his sleeve, choking back sobs.

Six-year-olds can already vaguely grasp the meaning of death, though their understanding isn't deep; they simply think that person won't appear in their lives anymore.

Xia Xi's hands went limp and dropped; the plastic bags hooked on her fingers fell to the ground, spilling soup everywhere and splashing her pant legs. She looked at Xia Xuan, expression blank: "How could this…"

The doctor had just come to examine her; her grandmother had been recovering well—how could she suddenly be gone?

She didn't believe it.

Xia Xuan gripped her sister's icy hands: "Grandma felt hot and wanted a sip of cool water; I didn't give her that, I poured a cup of warm water and fed it to her. After she drank it, she said she felt sleepy, fell asleep, and not long after stopped breathing."

Xia Xi shook her head; she couldn't believe her grandmother had just left like that.

Grandma hadn't yet tasted the Qianlin snacks, hadn't waited for her elder sister to come out, hadn't seen her put on a wedding dress and marry, hadn't seen her gain the ability to reopen the Peishan Grand Hotel—how could she just leave?

Xia Xuan hugged her, sobbing so hard her shoulders shook.

Xia Xi couldn't shed a tear; her mind felt empty, she lifted her hand and patted her back mechanically, numb: "The doctor said your illness must avoid big emotional swings—listen to him."

Su Jinru returned, followed by a helping aide; her eye sockets slightly red: "Xi Xi, Grandma has passed."

Grandma's departure was sudden yet peaceful, without much suffering from illness.

The aide was the first to notice Grandma had stopped breathing, immediately alerting the family. Su Jinru summoned the doctor; upon examination he knew the elderly woman had died, and per protocol they still performed resuscitation before finally declaring death.

There were no postoperative adverse reactions; after ruling out other factors, Grandma passed away peacefully at the end of her natural life.

At 9:40 a. m., Huang Shiyu called Xia Xi to remind her to go to the Xu Clan, afraid she would forget.

Xia Xi had just been crying in the bathroom, her emotions gradually calming; before answering the call, she splashed cold water on her face to quickly compose herself, but her voice still carried a hint of nasal congestion: 'You go for me, I can't leave. First note down the opinions the other party raised, then organize them and give them to me later; I'll find time to revise them.'

Huang Shiyu let out an 'ah', surprised: 'I have to go alone?'

'I'll have Manager Lu accompany you.'

'No, no, no, that's not needed, I can go alone.' Huang Shiyu thanked Xia Xi for her trust, entrusting her with such an important task, and she assured Xia Xi, 'I will definitely see it through.'

'Mm, contact me again if anything comes up.'

Xia Xi hung up, placed both hands on the edges of the washbasin, lowered her head, and the droplets of water on her face fell one by one into the white basin.