"Of course, when have I ever lied to you?" Hao Jian frowned, pretending to be displeased.
"It's Uncle." Tongtong, the little girl, corrected him.
Hearing this, Hao Jian was exasperated, damn, this little brat was so hard to deal with.
Sister Lan also laughed at her innocent look, reaching to wipe the tears from the corner of her eyes.
"Alright, alright, it's Uncle," Hao Jian reluctantly said,
"Your dad hasn't died, he just went to Heaven, you should know that, everyone has to go to Heaven."
"Then why did Dad have to go to Heaven? Doesn't he want Tongtong anymore? Did Tongtong do something wrong to make Dad angry?" By this point, Tongtong's eyes were moist again.
"No, he went to Heaven because God needed him," Hao Jian improvised.
Sister Lan's expression also turned doubtful, what kind of an explanation was that.
"Then why does God need him?" Tongtong voiced her mother's confusion.
"That's because your dad was a very excellent person, so God needed him," Hao Jian said with a gentle smile on his face,
"God needed an actor, so Leslie Cheung went; God needed a dancer, so Michael Jackson went; God needed a smartphone, so Steve Jobs went; everyone thinks they died, but actually, they were just taken away by God."
Hao Jian pinched Tongtong's cheek, smiled, and said,
"Your dad might be watching us from Heaven right now, and if he sees Tongtong crying for him, he would certainly be very sad."
"Tongtong won't cry! Tongtong is very strong!" Tongtong wiped the tears from the corner of her eye and said loudly.
"Very good, I knew Tongtong was strong. Now that Dad is gone, you'll have to protect Mom for him, okay?" Hao Jian said seriously.
"Yes, Tongtong will definitely protect Mom!" Tongtong clenched her fists and earnestly promised.
Hao Jian ruffled her head again before he stood up to leave.
As he reached the door, Sister Lan looked at Hao Jian with a peculiar gaze,
"Hao Jian, thank you..."
"Thank me for what? I should be saying sorry for making the two of you cry," standing at Sister Lan's doorstep, Hao Jian said with a bitter smile.
Blushing, Sister Lan lowered her head, unable to meet Hao Jian's gaze, and said softly,
"That, could you keep wearing that shirt?"
Hao Jian paused for a moment, then understanding what Sister Lan meant, smiled helplessly, "Alright then."
"But Sister Lan, have you thought about remarrying? Given your current home situation, you really need a man."
Hao Jian suddenly asked this question, seeing the state of Sister Lan's home, he always felt it lacked something indistinct yet vital.
Sister Lan's expression stiffened, but she shook her head directly,
"I don't want to think about that question for now, it's very late, you should go back first."
"Alright then, I'm heading back!"
Hao Jian smiled ruefully, thinking that perhaps he shouldn't have asked that question.
Sister Lan closed the door, but let out a weary sigh, this guy actually suggesting she find someone else, where was she in the mood for that?
Before she could forget the last one, rashly moving on to a new relationship would be irresponsible to both herself and Tongtong.
Just then, Sister Lan saw Tongtong giggling and asked curiously,
"What are you laughing at?"
"I'm laughing at Uncle, he's so silly, he doesn't know how to comfort people at all, speaking of Heaven as if it's real, does he really think I'm a three-year-old?"
Tongtong spoke with an air of maturity, intentionally mimicking an adult.
"Then how old are you?" Sister Lan teased.
"Five!" Tongtong held up five fingers.
"Shanshan, where did this money come from?" In the hospital, Shanshan's mother asked.
The old lady looked displeased. She knew Shanshan had no money and suspected Shanshan had done something she shouldn't have in order to get the money.
"Mom, I borrowed this money from a colleague," Shanshan hurriedly explained.
"Borrowed from a colleague? Male or female? You haven't worked long and aren't familiar with them. Why would they lend you money?" the old lady pressed on.
"It's a male colleague. I told him about our family situation, and he lent it to me out of pity."
Shanshan couldn't help but laugh and cry; her mother was overly worried.
"Don't blame your mom for nagging, I'm just worried about you being taken advantage of, after all, there are many bad people out there," the old lady sighed.
"Auntie, don't worry. I know him, too. He even lent money to Shanshan without asking for a promissory note. Doesn't that prove he's a good person?"
Xiaoxiao chimed in. She knew that if she didn't speak up, the old lady would go on and on endlessly.
Hearing this, the old lady still looked skeptical:
"Does that only prove his head was caught in a door?"
"Mom, he helped us. How can you say such things about him?" Shanshan got a bit angry.
"Auntie, he is actually Shanshan's boyfriend!" Xiaoxiao suddenly blurted out.
Shanshan and the old lady shouted in unison.
"Shanshan, is this true?" the old lady asked seriously.
Shanshan glared at Xiaoxiao, about to explain, but Xiaoxiao interrupted:
"Of course it's true. How could we lie to you about something ?"
Shanshan was completely stunned.
The old lady laughed heartily, "Look at you, why didn't you tell mom about such a big thing?"
The old lady knew about her own condition. Honestly, she was not so concerned about surviving anymore; she cared about Shanshan and her brother Zhibang.
Zhibang hadn't been admitted to college yet, and Shanshan wasn't married; these were her worries.
She also knew that for many years, Shanshan had been sacrificing for the family, which had been unfair to her.
Now, because of her own reasons, Shanshan dared not find a boyfriend. The old lady didn't want to continue being a burden to Shanshan, so hearing that Shanshan now had a boyfriend made her extremely happy.
Shanshan beckoned Xiaoxiao with a hooked finger in an unfriendly tone, then walked out.
Xiaoxiao stuck out her tongue, saying, "Auntie, don't worry, she's just upset with me for talking about it without her permission. I'll go talk to her, and I'll be right back."
Outside the hospital room, Shanshan pulled Xiaoxiao over and asked somewhat angrily:
"Why are you talking nonsense? How did Hao Jian become my boyfriend?"
"I was considering the old lady's feelings. Didn't you hear what the doctor said? What the old lady needs most right now is to maintain a cheerful mood, as it helps with the surgery treatment."
Xiaoxiao explained, "Your mom's biggest hope right now is that you find a good place to settle down. Mine was a white lie. What's important isn't what I said but that it made the old lady very happy, right?"