October 22 was the day Ye Mushen passed away in the hospital.
The doctor, with a regretful expression, ca out of the ergency room and apologized that they had done their best. Li Xueqing fainted upon hearing that, and when she ca to, she scread uncontrollably and beca hysterical.
When Li Xueqing was discharged and returned ho, Ye Li and Aunt Lan had already agreed in advance on a story to tell in case Li Xueqing beca suspicious and asked where her father had gone, saying that he had gone abroad on a business trip on that day.
But now, seeing Li Xueqing’s calm yet slightly unsettled face, Aunt Lan panicked, "Lady, what’s wrong? Are you missing your husband? Should I call him for you?"
"Sure, call him."
Li Xueqing nodded, picked up her phone directly, and made a video call through WeChat.
The usual lengthy dial tone followed.
After hanging up the video call, Li Xueqing held her phone in her hand.
1... 2...
Dinglingling.
The phone screen displayed an incoming call from "Brother Shen."
Aunt Lan, smiling, considerately closed the door and left.
Li Xueqing looked down and answered the call, "Brother Shen, why don’t you ever pick up my video calls? I haven’t seen you in so long; let see you, please?"
"Xue’er..."
The voice on the other end was gentle, "By the ti you see , you’ll get so distressed that you won’t be able to sleep for days. It’s all Western food abroad and the Chinese restaurant I finally found serves completely inauthentic food. I’ve been here so long, even Xiao Li and the others say I’ve lost a lot of weight..."
"Actually, not eating well is only part of it; mainly, I miss you and Ah Li... Xue’er, when I co back, you and Sister Lan make so delicious food for . I’ll eat a lot and recover quickly, okay?"
"Okay."
Li Xueqing nodded, seemingly distressed by how thin her husband had beco, her eyes reddening slightly.
"By the way, Xue’er..."
The gentle voice hesitated montarily, "I rembered the password for that bank card; it’s the combination of our family of three’s birthdays. 151028... My mory is getting worse day by day; I just rembered I was supposed to send it to you but forgot..."
"Then you should get back to work!"
"Right! Then you should read for a bit and sleep early... and also, don’t practice the piano for so long, it hurts not just your hands but your eyes..."
"Okay! Make sure you eat on ti, drink more water, and try not to stay up too late!"
"Wife, as you command!"
After ending the call, the bedroom fell silent.
Li Xueqing held her phone, unable to help but tearfully look toward the concealed door.
She rose and walked out of the bedroom. In the kitchen, Aunt Lan was preparing the ingredients needed for making soy milk tomorrow.
"Red beans, black beans... and add a few red dates..."
The door to the upstairs bedroom was open, but the light was off; Ah Li hadn’t co back yet.
Turning back, everything in the living room appeared as always.
Except for Brother Shen’s absence.
Right, Brother Shen had gone on a business trip; they had just finished talking over the phone.
But, why did he leave on a business trip on the 22nd?
Ah Li’s birthday was a week later, on the 28th.
Brother Shen, who prioritized family above all, would never have agreed to anything that could keep him overseas on such occasions, not even a significant business contract requiring his presence on the 28th.
In Brother Shen’s eyes, she was his priority, followed by Ah Li.
He had always said, "A warm bed with wife and child is what he cherished most," nothing in the world mattered to him more than his wife and daughter.
Therefore, it was impossible for Brother Shen to go on a business trip on the eve of Ah Li’s birthday.
She turned to look at the study next to the master bedroom, her hand holding the phone trembling.
"Mom..."
The villa door opened, and Ah Li’s voice resounded as Li Xueqing gripped her phone tighter, turning around with a gentle smile, "Ah Li, you’re back..."
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