Tang Huiyi didn’t hesitate—she immediately called Tang Yan. But as soon as Tang Yan saw the incoming call while sitting in the taxi, she hurriedly declined it and told the driver, “Please go faster, sir. I’m in a rush.”
When there was no answer, Tang Huiyi called again, but this time the phone was off.
She pulled out a chair and sat down, covering her face with her hand. Clearly, the girl had gone off to find her. After all these days, nothing had changed. Her heart was exhausted. Every night when she heard Tang Yan crying softly in her room, her own heart bled too. But what could she do? She just couldn’t accept the two of them being together.
An hour and a half later, Tang Yan arrived at the sanatorium. She had been there many times before with Aunt Ji, so she knew exactly who her mother’s attending doctor was. She went straight to his office, introduced herself, and explained why she’d come.
“You just missed her. She packed up her mother’s things and left yesterday,” the doctor said. “But I can probably tell you where the burial site is.”
Tang Yan nodded quickly. “Thank you so much.”
As it turned out, Aunt Ji hadn’t chosen a cemetery in the city. Instead, she picked a site not far from the sanatorium, a place many families of elderly patients chose for its quiet surroundings.
Once she had the location, Tang Yan bought flowers and headed straight there.
She regretted not being there for Aunt Ji during the hardest days. Aunt Ji shouldn’t have had to carry the burden alone. This time, no matter what, Tang Yan wasn’t going to leave her again. Even if she was pushed away, she’d stay.
Ji Yuqing sat quietly in front of her mother’s grave, burning paper offerings. She had long since run out of tears. All that remained were silent words of mourning.
“Mom, you’re finally free from all your suffering. Honestly, I’m not that sad, because I know you’re in a better place now—a peaceful world with no pain or conflict. I just hope you’re doing well over there. Don’t worry about me.”
She wiped the corner of her eye and managed a small smile, one that came from the heart. She knew just how much her mother had suffered in those final days. In a way, it was a relief. It should be a moment of peace, not sadness.
Suddenly, she heard footsteps. Instinctively, she turned around—and there was Tang Yan, standing silently with a bouquet in her arms.
Ji Yuqing grabbed her bag and stood up, quickly trying to walk away, but Tang Yan ran after her and pulled her into a hug from behind.
“I’m sorry about your mom,” Tang Yan whispered into her shoulder. “But you shouldn’t have gone through this alone. You shouldn’t have shut me out.”
Ji Yuqing tried to break free, struggling to pull away, but Tang Yan only held her tighter.
“I missed you. I missed you so much. Not a day has gone by that I haven’t thought about you. Please, promise me you won’t leave again.”
Ji Yuqing covered her mouth with her hand, trying to hold back the sob in her voice. “Yanyan, I’m sorry.”
Tang Yan shook her head desperately. “Don’t say sorry. Just tell me you won’t leave.”
“We can’t be together, don’t you get it? We just can’t.”
“We can. There has to be a way. This is all because of my mom, right? Then forget her. I don’t care anymore—I just want you. We’ll leave this place and never come back, okay? I just want you!” Tang Yan broke down, sobbing as she clung to her.
Unable to help herself, Ji Yuqing turned around and gently wiped Tang Yan’s tears with a tissue. “Silly girl. Don’t say things like that.”
Tang Yan cried harder. “Yeah, she gave me life. But if she wants it back, she can take it.”
Ji Yuqing quickly covered her mouth. “Don’t ever say that.”
“These past few days… I missed you too.”
The two of them held each other tightly, unable to keep their emotions in check anymore.
Meanwhile, back at home, Tang Huiyi had cried alone in the living room. After wiping her face, she went into Tang Yan’s room and sat in front of her computer, zoning out. Then she noticed a program on the desktop. As if drawn by something unseen, she moved the mouse and opened it.
The program auto-logged in. The username: Tang Yan will always love Ji Yuqing.
That was when she realized Tang Yan had written over thirty diary entries during the past month. Curious, she started reading from the first one. As she read, her heart was shaken.
She suddenly realized she didn’t really know her daughter at all. Tang Yan was far more stubborn, far more resilient than she had ever imagined.
In the diaries, Tang Yan described Ji Yuqing as a light—one that illuminated her whole life. Without her, everything would fall into darkness.
That hit Tang Huiyi hard. She felt deeply ashamed. For the first time, she truly began to question whether she had been wrong.
By the time she finished reading the entries, over two hours had passed.
Silently, she shut the computer down, left the room, and gently closed the door behind her.
Back at the cemetery, Tang Yan had just finished placing incense for Aunt Ji’s mother.
It started to drizzle. Ji Yuqing opened her bag and took out an umbrella to cover Tang Yan. “You’ve been out a while. Your mom must have noticed something’s off.”
Tang Yan stood up and held her hand. “I’m not going back. Even if you try to push me away again, I won’t go.”
Ji Yuqing gently wiped the raindrops from her forehead. “I won’t push you away again. But… how are we going to explain this to your mom? Don’t you know this could really break her?”
Tang Yan looked down and didn’t say a word. But she held Ji Yuqing’s hand tightly. All she knew was—she wasn’t going to let go again. Not this time.
At that moment, Ji Yuqing’s phone rang. She looked at the screen—it was Tang Huiyi.
“It’s your mom.”
“Don’t answer—” Tang Yan reacted instinctively.
But Ji Yuqing hesitated. After all this time, this was the first time Tang Huiyi had called her. Maybe it was important.
In the end, she picked up. Tang Yan’s heart clenched.
On the other end, Tang Huiyi’s voice came through, steady but emotional. “Yanyan’s with you, right?… Come home. Both of you.”
Before Ji Yuqing could say anything, the call ended.
“What did she say? What did she say?” Tang Yan asked anxiously.
“She said… she wants us to come back.”
Tang Yan blinked. “What?? What is she planning now?” She waved her hands. “Don’t listen to her. We are not going back.”
Ji Yuqing held her phone, thoughtful. “I don’t know… it felt like she really had something to say. Maybe… we should go.”