Chapter 697 - 212: Estranged Mother and Daughter
Lu Xiuting supported her knees with both hands, trying to prop herself up to stand, but this movement went wrong.
Her vision went dark, and the weakness made her feel suddenly unable to continue. As her sight blackened, her body staggered, and she fell back down into her seat.
Moreover, she couldn’t even sit straight and her body tilted, about to slide off the bench sideways.
When her body hit the ground, the collision of her tailbone area with the floor brought a sharp pain, making Lu Xiuting gasp unconsciously.
As she tried to turn to crawl up, a hand already reached out to support her arm.
Lu Xiuting gasped for air, looked up, and saw her daughter’s face right in front of her.
"...Mom?" Lu Sisi’s eyes were filled with surprise.
Lu Xiuting took a deep breath and, with Lu Sisi’s help, struggled to stand up and sat back down on the stool.
Lu Sisi bit her lip, her expression and gaze equally complex, staring at Lu Xiuting, watching the woman catching her breath.
After a while, Lu Sisi bent down and asked softly, "Mom, why are you here?"
Lu Xiuting tugged at the corner of her mouth, seemingly trying to squeeze out a smile, but when her body moved, it triggered the pain in her tailbone, making her gasp again before she slowly said, "I... am fine, just came to see you."
"..." Lu Sisi lowered her eyelids, seemingly pondering something. After a while, Lu Sisi spoke softly, "Mom, are you trying to persuade me to go abroad and leave Jinling Prefecture again?"
Lu Xiuting’s body shook; she saw that sense of alienation in her daughter’s eyes, and Lu Sisi’s hand also retracted, no longer supporting her arm.
"...No, I just, just wanted to see you." Lu Xiuting said softly.
Lu Sisi stared at her mother’s face for a while, the confusion only slowly emerging in those bright eyes: "You don’t look well, are you... sick?"
Lu Xiuting was taken aback.
Yes, after the miscarriage during her pregnancy and the hospital stay, she hadn’t mentioned these things to Lu Sisi, so she didn’t know.
"I... just got discharged."
"You were sick?" Lu Sisi asked softly.
Lu Xiuting looked at her daughter, and what brought her a bit of comfort was seeing the sincerity in Lu Sisi’s gaze.
Lu Xiuting suddenly felt her eyes becoming a little warm.
This genuine concern, she hadn’t seen it in Yang Jiaming’s eyes these days. Not even in her own son’s eyes—a son who was pampered too much since childhood, simple and straightforward, he didn’t quite understand caring for others.
"Yes, I had a surgery." Lu Xiuting looked down at her abdomen.
Lu Sisi was taken aback, but as she followed Lu Xiuting’s gaze, she immediately realized something, and her voice became tense, "The baby... is gone?"
Lu Xiuting didn’t speak, after a moment of silence, she forced a smile: "I’m a little dizzy and a bit thirsty, can..."
"Come home with me, rest at home, we can talk there." Lu Sisi didn’t hesitate.
"Go back, to your home? Um, your boyfriend..."
"Chen Yan is not home; he’s out for a few days." Lu Sisi’s tone was very certain, with a hint of sweetness in her eyes: "Besides, Chen Yan wouldn’t object to you coming over to see me."
Lu Sisi handed the shopping bags to Gui Geng, "Mr. Gui, could you..."
Gui Geng smiled, his tone respectful: "Rest assured, Miss Lu, leave it to me."
Saying this, Gui Geng took the three shopping bags and walked briskly ahead, heading home quickly.
Lu Sisi supported her mother, walking behind him slowly.
At the entrance of the villa’s courtyard, the gate was already open. As Lu Xiuting followed Lu Sisi through the outer gate into the courtyard, she suddenly felt a shudder!
An indescribable feeling seemed to instantly envelop her whole body!
Originally feeling weak as withered wood, stepping inside these courtyard walls, she seemed to feel the omnipresence of air, making each breath less exhausting. Every breath seemed to bring rest bit by bit.
The body, weak as if hollowed out, somehow regained a little vigor. It seemed to have become a little lighter.
Lu Xiuting widened her eyes, looking at this courtyard—it seemed there was nothing unusual about it.
The main door of the villa’s hall was also open. Gui Geng stood at the entrance, smiling at her.
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Inside the villa, the five-meter-high ceiling of the living room on the first floor gave a sense of space, comfort, and ease, free from the oppression of apartment buildings.
Gui Geng cautiously escorted Lu Xiuting to the sofa in the living room, then quickly brought some tea.
After putting down the teacup, Gui Geng nodded to Lu Sisi and turned to leave.
With just the mother and daughter left in the room, both of them remained silent for a while, seeming a bit uneasy.
Lu Xiuting then remembered that it had been many years since she last spent time alone with her daughter.
"Mom, when did you have the surgery? Did you just get discharged?"
"Yes..." Lu Xiuting said softly, "I was discharged today."
"What about Dad?"
"He picked me up from the hospital, then went to work because there was something at the company."
"And my brother?"
"He’s at school. Aunt Hu will pick him up after school."
"..."
"..."
After saying these, they suddenly fell silent again, as if they had no topics to discuss.
Finally, Lu Sisi thought of something, "Your complexion doesn’t look good; did the doctor say anything when you were discharged? Do you need any further treatment? Did they prescribe medication for you to take at home?"
Lu Xiuting didn’t answer, slowly reaching out to clasp one of her daughter’s hands.
Lu Sisi’s hand seemed to tremble slightly; her first instinct seemed to be to pull back, but she bit her lip hard and finally didn’t move.
Looking at Lu Sisi, Lu Xiuting’s voice was dry, but she slowly said a sentence.
"Have you been, lately, lately, been well? Have you been sick or injured?"
Lu Sisi’s body shook at these words!
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(This Chapter is for Monday the 23rd, so we only paused updates for two days~)
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