Sheng Xinhao’s response came from sheer surprise.
After all, a long time ago, he had told them to bring the children to the old residence whenever they had time.
And while the children had come, the couple themselves had never visited even once.
Although Sheng Xinhao was disappointed, he knew that the fault lay with him.
He didn’t dare say much.
Now, their sudden arrival caught him off guard.
It was a pleasant surprise.
But since it was already night, he worried that they might have come so late because something urgent had happened.
Knowing Axi as he did, that was likely the case.
That was why he had asked the way he did.
Hearing this, Sheng Zexi didn’t say anything more.
Instead, he pulled Gu Jianing to sit down.
Meanwhile, Sheng Xinhao busied himself making tea for them.
Sheng Zexi ignored his fussing but immediately noticed the photo album lying on the sofa. Seeing the picture of their family of three reflected on the cover, his lips pressed into a firmer line.
He tightened his grip on Gu Jianing’s hand slightly.
So, he thought about her too, didn’t he?
Gu Jianing picked up the photo album and flipped through it carefully.
Sheng Zexi looked at it as well.
After his mother’s death, he had gone through this album countless times.
Back when he was about to enlist in the army, he had wanted to take the album with him.
But since it also contained pictures of the old man he resented, in the end, Sheng Zexi only took one photo of himself with his mother.
The album itself had remained here.
Previously, he had assumed that since the old man had remarried, this album might have been thrown away or hidden away.
Later, he heard from Xingxing and Yueyue that the album had always been there.
At that time, Sheng Zexi wondered what exactly the old man was thinking.
Wasn’t it true that he had remarried within a year? So why keep this album?
As Sheng Zexi sipped his tea, his thoughts drifted aimlessly.
The living room fell into silence.
Feeling the awkwardness, Gu Jianing looked at Sheng Zexi and tugged at his hand.
Snapping back to reality, Sheng Zexi looked at the old man, who was staring at him expectantly, and said, “We did come for a reason tonight.”
Sheng Xinhao: He knew it. He understood his son’s character well enough.
Given how strained things were between them, this boy wouldn’t come unless he had a reason. He certainly wouldn’t visit just to see his father.
Still, Sheng Xinhao knew he had no one to blame but himself.
“What is it? Go ahead and ask.”
Sheng Zexi paused for a moment, then said, “I want to know about everything that happened when my mother passed away. Did you see her take her last breath with your own eyes? Did you witness her cremation?”
Sheng Xinhao was stunned. He hadn’t expected Sheng Zexi to come so late just to ask about Sang Yuwan.
Despite his confusion, Sheng Xinhao couldn’t help but recall the past.
“Back then, when I was sent to the border garrison, I didn’t want your mother to go.”
“But she insisted.”
“For one, because I was going to be away for a long time, and she wanted to be with me. For another, she was a journalist and wanted to cover the war from the frontlines. So she was determined to go with me.”
In the end, Sang Yuwan had accompanied him to the border.
“…I never expected a plague to break out, nor did I expect her to get infected after going on an assignment.”
“I searched for many doctors, but none of them could do anything.”
“Even later, when I brought in a specialist in infectious diseases from Country A, it was futile.”
“By then, A Wan had been sick for seven days. She had a persistent high fever and was barely coherent.”
“She was so ill that she couldn’t even get out of bed.”
“On the eighth day, the doctor from Country A, Henry, told me that A Wan didn’t have much time left. He said I should say my goodbyes.”
“Wait!”
Just as Sheng Xinhao was immersed in his recollection, Sheng Zexi suddenly interrupted him.
“Wait—you said the doctor from Country A you brought in to treat my mother was named Henry?”
Sheng Xinhao nodded. “Yes, that’s right. His name was Henry.”
Sheng Zexi pressed his lips together. By now, he was already half-certain that his mother was still alive.
His hands clenched slightly as a surge of excitement rose within him.
Meanwhile, although Sheng Xinhao didn’t understand why Sheng Zexi was asking this, he continued his account. “By the ninth day, A Wan truly couldn’t hold on any longer.”
“Before she closed her eyes, she kept calling your name.”
Sheng Xinhao looked toward Sheng Zexi.
Sheng Zexi’s lips tightened as he imagined the scene, his fists clenching even harder.
“I watched A Wan take her last breath with my own eyes,” Sheng Xinhao finally said.
Sheng Zexi’s brows furrowed almost instantly.
Gu Jianing, however, didn’t find anything particularly strange about it.
After all, it was possible for a person to fall into a state of false death under certain circumstances or under the influence of medication.
“I wanted to bring A Wan back to the country for burial, but because she had died of an infectious disease, cremation was mandatory.”
“At the time, so many people were dying from that disease.”
“The cremations were carried out collectively.”
“Still, they kept the remains separate. I watched as A Wan was taken to the cremation site. I waited outside, and when it was done, they called me in to collect her ashes.”
Back then, Sheng Xinhao and Sang Yuwen had loved each other deeply.
Their bond had been strong.
So when Sheng Xinhao held Sang Yuwen’s ashes in his arms, the grief he felt was beyond words.
Sheng Zexi latched onto the key detail. “So you didn’t actually see my mother being cremated with your own eyes, did you?”
Sheng Xinhao frowned but nodded. “That’s right.”
“Then didn’t it ever cross your mind that the person might not have been my mother?” Sheng Zexi pressed.
Sheng Xinhao shot up from his seat, instinctively retorting, “How is that possible!”
“Why not?” Sheng Zexi asked coldly.
“Today, Ningning took the kids to the airport to see my brother-in-law off to study abroad. Guess who Xingxing ran into at the airport?”
Sheng Xinhao was confused as to why Sheng Zexi was suddenly bringing up something else.
Seeing the bewildered look on Sheng Xinhao’s face, Sheng Zexi continued, “When Xingxing went to the restroom, he bumped into someone on his way out.”
“It was a woman. The moment Xingxing saw her, he called her ‘Grandma’!”
Grandma?!
Sheng Xinhao was stunned. The only person Xingxing would call “Grandma” was…
But that was impossible!
“Later, a foreign man came over and took the woman away. The woman Xingxing called ‘Grandma’ referred to herself as A Wan.”
“And that foreign man’s name was Henry!”
“You just mentioned that the doctor from Country A who treated my mother was named Henry.”
“So tell me—could it be the same person?”
Sheng Xinhao stood frozen, his eyes wide with shock.
In an instant, he grasped what Sheng Zexi was implying.
As the realization sank in, his hands began to tremble almost immediately.
Was it really as he was beginning to think?
Could it be possible?
If it was true, then…
“So, what you’re saying is, your mother might not have died back then?!”
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