“Oh…” Xie Yumu opened his eyes slowly. Drool could be seen hanging from the corners of his lips. As soon as he saw Mo Shenbai, he acted like a baby as he said, “Dad, hug…”

Mo Shenbai did not hug Xie Yumu. He only put down the breakfast he brought.

“What ‘Dad’? He’s your godfather!” Xu Jialu said. He was still harping on this matter. He picked Xie Yumu up with one hand and spank Xie Yumu’s butt lightly.

Xie Yumu was completely woken up by the spanking, and he protested and struggled.

Xu Youyou looked at Xu Jialu helplessly as she said, “Brother, don’t always make things difficult for a child!”

“How am I making things difficult for him? Clearly, he’s making things difficult for me!” Xu Jialu retorted.

“Forget it… It’s in his nature to be petty,” Yun Youwei said with a wan smile. She was like a candle that was about to go out.

In fact, Yun Youwei also knew Xu Jialu did not really bully Xie Yumu.

Since Yun Youwei did not care about this matter, Xu Youyou no longer said anything. She moved to the bedside and said, “The kitchen made porridge. Have some.”

Xu Youyou was about to serve Yun Youwei a bowl of porridge when Mo Shenbai said, “Let me do it.”

The weather was cold, and the water was cold. Mo Shenbai could not bear to let Xu Youyu’s hands touch cold water. He brought the thermos into the kitchen, found a bowl, and washed it before he poured the plain porridge into the bowl.

Xu Youyou had already brought the cutleries. She looked slightly worried as she asked, “Why don’t I feed you?”

Yun Youwei shook her head slightly. “It’s okay. I can do it…”

Yun Youwei sat up weakly. Her hand that was holding the spoon was trembling.

Xu Youyou looked at Yun Youwei’s struggling appearance and felt a little sad. She raised her head and looked at Mo Shenbai.

Mo Shenbai raised his hand and patted her head as though he was comforting her. Even he could do nothing about old age and sickness.

Yun Youwei had only eaten a few mouthfuls of porridge when she suddenly covered her mouth and turned to the side.

Xu Youyou had yet to react, but Mo Shenbai had already brought the trash can from the side over.

Yun Youwei threw up the few mouthfuls of porridge she ate immediately. Since she had not eaten much, what she vomited was mostly bile.

Xu Youyou panicked, knocking over a chair. “What’s wrong?!”

Mo Shenbai turned to Xu Youyou and said calmly, “Youyou, call the doctor.”

Xu Youyou quickly calmed down before she ran out to the nurse station.

Xu Jialu and Xie Yumu were in the bathroom washing up when they heard the commotion, and they ran out immediately.

Xie Yumu was naturally frightened. He cried out, “Mommy, Mommy, what’s wrong? Mommy…”

Yun Youwei wanted to comfort her son and tell him not to cry, but her body did not allow her to do so.

Xu Jialu understood Yun Youwei’s thoughts so he quickly hugged Xie Yumu and covered Xie Yumu’s mouth before he said, “If you don’t want your mom to feel worse, you have to stop crying. You’re very ugly when you cry.”

Xie Yumu knew that his mother would feel better if he did not cry, hence, he bit his lip and stopped himself from crying. However, he was a child after all. As hard as he tried not to cry, tears were falling silently from his eyes, dripping on Xu Jialu’s hands.

The doctor and nurse came very quickly, and they told all visitors to leave.

Xie Yumu stood at the entrance, refusing to leave. His red eyes were still brimming with tears as he looked up at Mo Shenbai and said chokingly, “Dad, is Mom going to die?”

Xie Yumu did not really understand what death was, but his classmates told him he would never see his mother again.

Mo Shenbai and Xu Jialu exchanged a look. Neither of them answered Xie Yumu’s question. In the end, Mo Shenbai only patted Xie Yumu’s head.

Xu Youyou squatted down and wiped the tears off Xie Yumu’s face with her sleeve. Her soft voice seemed to contain soothing magic as she said, “Your mom won’t die. She loves you so much so she’ll always live in your heart.”

It was just like how her grandmother would always live in her heart.

Xie Yumu sniffed. At this time, he saw someone from the corners of his eyes, and he quickly hid behind Xu Youyou.

Xu Youyou turned around and saw Xie Tingxi who had just walked out of the elevator. He was wearing a suit and a pair of rimless glasses, holding a bouquet of flowers in his hand. He looked refined and gentle.

“What happened?” Xie Tingxi asked Mo Shenbai after he saw the teary Xie Yumu.

Mo Shenbai did not reply. Instead, he looked at the window to the ward.

Xie Tingxi followed the direction of Mo Shenbai’s gaze. He frowned when he saw the doctor and nurses who surrounded the bed. “Her condition is so bad?”

Xu Jialu sneered and said mockingly, “You should’ve returned a little later. It would’ve been better if you returned in time for her funeral instead.”

Xie Tingxi looked at Xu Jialu and did not say anything. Instead, he looked at Xie Yumu, who was still hiding behind Xu Youyou. Then, he crouched down in front of him and smiled faintly as he asked, “Xie Yumu, do you know who I am? I’m your father…”

Xie Yumu shouted, “You’re not! Mom said Dad went to a faraway place and that he’d never come back!”

Xie Tingxi explained patiently, “Mommy misunderstood. It’s not that Dad would never come back, Dad just came back a little later…”

Then, he reached out to hold Xie Yumu’s arm. However, before his fingertips touched Xie Yumu’s sleeve, Xie Yumu ran straight to Mo Shenbai. Clearly, he trusted Mo Shenbai, who was not his biological father, more than Xie Tingxi, his biological father.

Xie Tingxi lowered his gaze. After a few seconds, he rose to his feet. He pushed his glasses up as he said, “It seems like he likes you a lot.”

Xu Jialu, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, said, “Of course. There’s a difference between Old Dog Mo and a beast like you after all.”

With just one sentence, Xu Jialu successfully insulted two people.

Mo Shenbai was a dog, but Xie Tingxi was a beast in human skin.

The already-heavy atmosphere turned even heavier.

To stop the incoming war, Xu Youyou hurriedly said, “Alright, that’s enough. We should all focus on Yun Youwei now. Hopefully, she’ll be fine.”

The three men seemed to enter a truce after that.

Half an hour later, the doctor and nurses finally came out.

Xu Youyou asked first, “Doctor, how’s she?”

The doctor shook his head helplessly. “The situation isn’t optimistic. It’s likely that there are only a few days left. All of you should be mentally prepared.”

What the doctor meant was they should prepare to say their farewells.

Xie Yumu did not quite understand the doctor’s words. However, he could vaguely understand the expressions of the adults around him. He knew that his mother was not doing well. He opened his mouth and was about to cry.

Upon seeing this, Xu Jialu reached out and gently pinched Xie Yumu’s lips together. Then, he said with a serious expression, “If you don’t want your mother to be sad, don’t cry and make a scene when you go in. Be good.”

Xie Yumu’s eyes brimmed with unshed tears. He looked into Xu Jialu’s charming eyes. Usually, he found Xu Jialu annoying, but at this moment, he felt that Xu Jialu was more reliable than his biological father who just appeared out of thin air. After a brief moment, he nodded obediently.

At this time, the nurse said, “Mr. Mo, Mrs. Mo, the patient wants to see you.”

Xu Youyou and Mo Shenbai looked at each other before they led Xie Yumu inside.

Xie Tingxi wanted to go in, but he was stopped by Xu Jialu. He said, “If you don’t want her to die immediately, then don’t go in. She doesn’t want to see you.”

Xie Tingxi stopped in his tracks.

Then, Xu Jialu walked past Xie Tingxi into the room before closing the door.

Yun Youwei lay on the bed. Her face was devoid of colors. Her lips were dry and cracking. When she saw the others, she tried to speak, but she could not even muster up enough energy to do so. In the end, she only bit her lip.

“Mom!” Xie Yumu rushed over and held Yun Youwei’s hand. He could not help the tears that welled up in his eyes again.