klisemfg Chapter 1076 Grandma Doesn't Recognize Anyone
Chapter 1076 Grandma Doesn't Recognize Anyone
As dusk settles, the bright moon hangs in the inky blue night sky, its gentle light spilling into the courtyard of the Teng family villa.
The living room was filled with festive red, and the pairs of ornaments exuded warmth, with a joyful atmosphere in the air.
Teng Zijing helped An Ran up, and Deng Zhouyi held Yu Qianqian's hand. The four of them knelt down in front of the old man in the center of the sofa, holding teacups in both hands: "Grandpa, please have some tea."
The old man's face was full of smiles, and every wrinkle was brimming with contentment.
He tremblingly took the teacup, sipped it one by one, and Deng Min stepped forward with a red tray containing several thick red envelopes.
The old man picked up four red envelopes and handed them over: "Take them. From now on, we're family. Get up!"
"Thank you, grandpa..."
Just as Deng Min was about to help Yu Qianqian up, Deng Zhouyi smiled and said, "Mom, please sit down. We'll offer you a cup of tea as well."
Deng Min waved her hand somewhat embarrassedly: "No need, no need, there's still soup simmering in the kitchen."
"Mom, you've raised me with so much love and care all these years. Now that I'm married, you absolutely have to drink this cup of tea."
Yu Qianqian helped her sit down and said earnestly, "Mom, in our rural area, it's a must to serve tea to elders. Please sit down and relax. It'll only take a cup of tea, nothing more."
Ling Ya also smiled and said, "Amin, the children are sensible, so just accept it."
Deng Min then put down the tray, sat properly on the sofa, looking reserved but unable to hide her satisfied smile.
Deng Zhouyi helped Yu Qianqian kneel down again, raising the teacup above his head: "Mom, please have some tea."
Deng Min took the teacup, gently lifted the lid, took a sip, and then took out a red envelope from her pocket and stuffed it into Yu Qianqian's hand.
"Thank you, Mom," Yu Qianqian replied sweetly.
"Good boy, get up quickly."
Just then, a sudden, urgent phone call broke the cozy atmosphere in the room.
Deng Zhouyi took out his phone and saw "Qingshan Sanatorium" displayed on the screen. His heart skipped a beat, and he quickly answered, "Hello, what's up?"
After hearing what was said on the other end of the phone, Deng Zhouyi's gaze instantly fell on Deng Min.
His face gradually turned pale. He took a deep breath and said in a tight voice, "Okay, I understand. I'll be right there."
"Son, what's wrong?" Deng Min's heart jumped into her throat.
Looking into his mother's worried eyes, Deng Zhouyi felt a hint of panic in his voice. After a moment's thought, his heart sank, but he still told the truth.
"Mom, Director Zhang from the nursing home called and said that Grandma's condition today is not very good. Director Zhang suggested that we go and see her."
Deng Min's body swayed suddenly, and tears welled up instantly.
Since her failed suicide attempt while pregnant with Deng Zhouyi and her subsequent return to the Teng family with Teng Junhao, she has never contacted her mother, Deng Jinhua.
The next time she heard news about her mother was not long ago when her son told her that her grandmother had been placed in the Qingshan Sanatorium by Grandpa Jing.
She stood there, dazed and confused, feeling as if all her strength had been drained from her body, her limbs trembling.
Seeing his mother's distraught state, Deng Zhouyi quickly urged, "Mom, go back to your room and put on a coat. We're going to the sanatorium now."
"Okay, okay." Deng Min hurriedly got up, her mind elsewhere, muttering to herself, "There's still soup simmering in the kitchen, I'll go turn off the heat."
"Mom, don't panic." Yu Qianqian looked at the distraught Deng Min and stepped forward to support her. "Mom, go get your coat, I'll turn off the stove."
"I'll go." Ling Ya stood up. "You guys hurry up and pack your things, and come back as soon as possible."
Deng Min nodded and hurried towards the room, with Deng Zhouyi and Yu Qianqian following closely behind.
The festive atmosphere in the living room seemed to be dampened by this sudden change, leaving only a lingering sense of worry in the air.
Deng Zhouyi drove his Maserati at breakneck speed.
The neon lights outside the car window were dazzling, and the light and shadows shone through the window.
The light shone dimly on everyone's faces, making all three faces appear tense and pale.
Yu Qianqian held Deng Min's arm and could clearly feel the coldness and slight trembling of her fingertips.
She quietly squeezed Deng Min's hand, conveying silent comfort with the warmth of her palm.
Deng Min's gaze was fixed blankly on the window, but her memories uncontrollably drifted back to many years ago—
The hospital corridor reeked of disinfectant. Standing at the door of the examination room, she heard her mother anxiously ask the doctor:
"Doctor, what's wrong with my daughter? She's vomiting so badly, it breaks my heart to see her like this."
The doctor looked at Deng Jinhua with some impatience: "What's wrong with you, mother? You've been through this before, don't you know this is pregnancy reaction?"
Deng Jinhua's eyes widened instantly, and her voice changed: "The child...is pregnant?"
"Otherwise what?" the doctor replied irritably.
"Impossible! She hasn't..." Deng Jinhua's words caught in her throat. She turned sharply to look at Deng Min at the door, her eyes filled with shock and anger.
Deng Min stood there, already sobbing uncontrollably. Deng Jinhua, having experienced the betrayal of a scumbag, hated men more than anything in her life.
Upon discovering that her daughter was pregnant, she instantly flew into a rage, rushed forward, and slapped Deng Min across the face.
He demanded sharply, "You shameless bastard! Tell me, who is that man?"
Deng Min covered her face in grievance, turned around and rushed out of the hospital, running all the way back to her family's chicken stew restaurant.
Deng Jinhua angrily followed him, stepped into the house, and slammed the door shut behind her.
With red eyes, he pressed, "Tell me clearly, when did you start dating this person?"
Deng Min huddled in the corner of the bedroom, trembling with sobs, repeatedly shaking her head: "I didn't, I really didn't..."
"Then how did this child come about?" Deng Jinhua's eyes were bloodshot, tears welled up in her eyes, and her tone was full of disappointment and heartache.
"Yes...it was that night. You said there was an order, and the client was very generous, so you told me to finish this order and go home early to close up shop and rest."
Deng Min choked up, her voice barely audible, "I went to the address, and it was a bar."
In the dimly lit private room, a drunkard... it was too dark, I couldn't see his face clearly..."
Deng Jinhua was so angry that she trembled all over. She grabbed a feather duster from the corner of the wall and started whipping her with it.
"I'm so angry at you! You've been bullied like this, and you still have the nerve to come back? Why don't you just die out there!"
Just like your heartless father! I must have been blind to have met such awful people like you!
Clutching her aching bruises from the beatings, Deng Min shoved her mother away and ran out crying, leaving behind her mother's furious curses...
Thinking of this, two lines of tears slid down Deng Min's cheeks.
Yu Qianqian quickly took out a tissue, gently wiped her face, and softly comforted her:
"Mom, don't worry, Grandma will be fine. We'll be there soon. The last time I saw her, she seemed quite healthy."
Deng Min nodded, but she still couldn't stop being excited, and her fingertips trembled even more.
The light and shadow outside the car window still flickered, but they couldn't penetrate the gloom that had accumulated in her heart for many years.
Deng Zhouyi made a sharp turn, and the car entered a quiet mountain road. Outside the window, there was an impenetrable darkness, with only the headlights cutting through a small patch of light.
Before long, a brightly lit building finally appeared in front of them – Qingshan Sanatorium.
"Mom, let's get off the bus, we've arrived."
Deng Zhouyi unbuckled his seatbelt, got out of the car first, went around to the back seat, and opened the door.
He reached out to protect the car roof, first helping Yu Qianqian out of the car, and then helping Deng Min out of the car.
The three of them walked to the door, and the gatekeeper came out upon hearing their voices. He looked them over and asked, "It's so late, the visiting hours are long over. Who are you?"
“We are Deng Jinhua’s family members. Director Zhang called us and asked us to come over,” Deng Zhouyi explained.
"Oh, I see." The old man nodded, turned around and opened the side door. "Come in."
Deng Zhouyi led the two inside with practiced ease, passing through several corridors until they arrived at a secluded corner.
He pushed open Deng Jinhua's door. Inside, Director Zhang had just finished a nursing check-up on the elderly woman. Seeing them enter, he turned around and said:
"Mr. Deng is here. Take a look, she..." He stopped halfway through his sentence, his eyes filled with a complicated expression.
Deng Zhouyi's heart sank, and he turned his gaze to the old man on the bed.
Deng Jinhua was wearing a light blue cotton-padded jacket and trousers; her wrists were extremely thin, and she wore only an old silver bracelet.
Although his eyes were a little cloudy, he was in better spirits than the last time I saw him, and his face even had a hint of glory.
Director Zhang walked to the door, saw Yu Qianqian and Deng Min, nodded politely to them, and then left.
Deng Zhouyi turned around but didn't see his mother step in. Instead, he saw his mother holding Yu Qianqian's hand tightly, her feet seemingly nailed to the doorway, unable to take that step.
Her fingertips were white, her lips were pressed tightly together, and her eyes were churning with indescribable emotions—
Whether it was the panic of being close to home or the complex emotions accumulated over half a lifetime, even she herself couldn't tell.
Yu Qianqian gently patted the back of her hand and whispered, "Mom, don't be afraid, let's go in! Grandma doesn't recognize people, but maybe she'll be more lucid when she sees you!"
Deng Zhouyi came over and softened his voice: "Mom, come in. Grandma seems to be in good spirits today."
Deng Min took a deep breath, as if using all her strength, before slowly lifting her foot and, supported by Deng Zhouyi and Qianqian, walking step by step into the room.
Deng Min's gaze, filled with a timid and inquisitive look, landed on the person on the bed.
The elderly man leaned against the pillow, his sparse white hair plastered to his scalp.
A face with distinct bone structure was revealed, with deep-set eyes, and the gaze was fixed on the wall in front of him, completely unaware that someone had entered the room.
This appearance is completely different from the mother in my memory who would stand with her hands on her hips and scold her, and who would hit her with a feather duster.
Time has worn away all the sharp edges, leaving only the withered state of a dying old man.
The emotions that had been building up for half a lifetime finally burst forth at this moment. Deng Min could no longer hold back, and with a "thump," she knelt down by the bedside, squeezing out a choked "Mom—".
That shout, trembling uncontrollably, seemed to release all the grievances, resentment, and longing of the past years.
There was also an indescribable bitterness, all of which was crushed and stuffed inside.
She knelt by the bedside, reaching out to cover her mother's withered hands. Her shoulders heaved violently, and tears fell onto the sheets, leaving a small, dark stain.
The sound seemed to startle Deng Jinhua on the bed; her eyes flickered slightly.
He slowly turned his head, his cloudy gaze lingering on Deng Min's face for a long time, as if trying to identify something. His lips moved a few times, but no sound came out.
The room was filled only with Deng Min's suppressed sobs and the occasional howling of the wind outside the window, making this belated reunion bittersweet.