Su Wenjun looked into her eyes, feeling even more heartbroken.
“Alright, then I’ll help you pick one with good value.”
She turned around and began searching carefully through the shelves.
Su Xiao stood by her side.
Back at home, her mother was always like this. She wanted to arrange everything and consider every detail for her. Su Xiao used to find it nothing but annoying and loathsome.
But now, watching her mother pick out underwear for Luo Tiantian, she suddenly felt like it wasn’t quite so irritating.
“This one.” Su Wenjun pulled out a plain white piece. “It’s sixty-nine. Although it’s a basic style, this brand has a good reputation. It should be comfortable to wear.”
Luo Tiantian took it and felt the fabric.
Sixty-nine was acceptable.
“Okay, this one is fine.”
“Why not pick a few more?” Su Wenjun asked. “Underwear needs to be washed and changed often. You should have at least two or three to rotate.”
“Then I’ll take another one just like it.”
Su Wenjun picked up three or four more sets of the same style in light pink and handed them to Luo Tiantian.
“Consider these a gift from me, a little something for our first meeting.”
“Auntie, I can’t possibly…” Luo Tiantian shook her head.
“Why not?”
Su Wenjun smiled. “You are my daughter’s friend. Isn’t it normal for an auntie to give a small gift? Take them.”
She pressed the items directly into Luo Tiantian’s hands.
Luo Tiantian looked at Su Wenjun, her eyes growing a bit warm.
It had been a very, very long time since she had received a gift from an elder.
“Thank you, Auntie.”
The corners of Su Wenjun’s eyes crinkled as she gave a gratified smile.
—
Next was the outerwear.
Luo Tiantian was like a puppet, being pulled along by Su Wenjun to try on one outfit after another.
This one was too flashy, that one was too mature, the color of this one didn’t suit her, the cut of that one was poor…
Su Xiao followed behind, occasionally handing over something she thought looked good.
The mother and daughter rarely found common ground, but they had found it today—picking out clothes for Luo Tiantian.
“How about this one?” Su Xiao picked up a light blue dress.
“Tiantian is a natural clotheshorse; she looks good in everything. But let’s choose some durable ones first. With her personality, she’d probably be too afraid of ruining a dress like this to ever wear it,” Su Wenjun said, shaking her head.
“How about this?” Luo Tiantian pointed to a simple white T-shirt.
“That works. Let’s take it,” Su Wenjun agreed.
“Then pair it with these jeans?” Su Xiao handed over a pair of light-colored denim.
“That works. Go try them on.”
Luo Tiantian carried the clothes into the fitting room and looked at herself in the mirror.
A white T-shirt and light-colored jeans—simple and refreshing. She looked like an ordinary female college student who hadn’t yet become a star.
“Tiantian? Are you done?” Su Xiao knocked on the door from outside.
“I’m coming, I’m coming.”
Luo Tiantian pushed the door open and walked out.
Su Xiao’s eyes lit up as she looked at her.
“It looks good.”
Su Wenjun also nodded, her eyes filled with satisfaction.
“This outfit works. We’ll buy it.”
During the process, they also bought a few items for Su Xiao.
When it came time to check out, Luo Tiantian took out her phone, prepared to pay for her own things.
Su Wenjun handed her card over first.
“Auntie, you don’t have to…”
Su Wenjun wouldn’t hear of it. “What’s the big deal about buying a few new clothes?”
Luo Tiantian opened her mouth, not knowing how to refuse.
“…Thank you, Auntie.”
Su Wenjun smiled. Just as they reached the entrance after paying, her phone rang.
She glanced at the caller ID, her brow furrowing slightly before she answered.
“Hello? …Yes, it’s me… What’s the situation? …Alright, I understand. I’ll be there immediately.”
Hanging up the phone, she looked at Luo Tiantian and Su Xiao with an apologetic expression.
“The hospital called. There’s an Emergency Surgery, and I have to go. The patient’s condition isn’t good, and the family is very emotional…”
“Okay.”
Su Xiao nodded.
“Tiantian, enjoy the clothes. We’ll eat together next time we have the chance.”
Luo Tiantian nodded as well.
Su Wenjun turned and walked toward the elevator, her pace quick.
Su Xiao pulled Luo Tiantian, preparing to continue shopping.
“Su Xiao, let’s go to the hospital too.”
“What for?”
Su Xiao stood still, her face written with resistance.
“Your mom just bought us clothes. Now that there’s an emergency at the hospital, we should at least go see if we can help,” Luo Tiantian said, tugging on her sleeve. “Let’s go.”
“Help? Help with what? We can’t even go into the Emergency Surgery.” Su Xiao pulled her sleeve back. “Besides, it’s a relief that she’s gone. Honestly, I feel uncomfortable being around her. You saw it yourself.”
Luo Tiantian looked at her.
“Are you really relieved?”
“Of course.”
“Then why are you afraid to look me in the eye?”
Luo Tiantian sighed.
“Su Xiao, I know there are many… many complicated things between you and your mother. But at least she’s trying to get closer to you. Why did she come shopping today? It was to spend time with you.”
“Let’s go, just to take a look. We’ll come back as soon as the surgery is over, okay?”
Su Xiao scratched her hair in frustration.
‘How annoying.’
She turned and headed toward the elevator.
Luo Tiantian followed.
“Where are you going?”
“To get a taxi! Do you want to walk there instead?”
Luo Tiantian jogged to catch up.
—
The hospital.
The corridor outside the operating room.
Su Wenjun had already changed into her surgical scrubs and gone inside. There were only a few men and women who appeared to be family members talking in low, anxious voices.
Luo Tiantian and Su Xiao stood in a corner.
“How long has your mom been in there?”
“About forty minutes.”
“How long does surgery usually take?”
“How should I know?”
…
Two hours.
Three hours.
Four hours.
The door to the operating room finally opened.
Su Wenjun walked out first, her expression weary.
A few nurses followed behind her, pushing a gurney. The face of the person on the bed was covered with a white sheet.
The family members swarmed forward.
“Doctor! Doctor! How is my husband?”
Su Wenjun took off her mask, her expression heavy.
“I’m sorry. We did our best. The patient had already missed the optimal window for rescue by the time he arrived. We made every possible effort, but still…”
Before she could finish, the family exploded.
“What do you mean you did your best? Isn’t this a Tertiary Grade A hospital? Isn’t it the best?!”
“My husband was fine this morning! How could he be dead?!”
“Did you even try to save him?! Was it because you thought we didn’t have money?!”
A middle-aged woman rushed forward and grabbed Su Wenjun by the collar of her surgical scrubs.
“Give me back my husband! Give him back!!”
The nurses hurried to pull her away, but the woman had surprising strength. She shoved them aside, her finger nearly poking Su Wenjun in the face.
“You quack! Murderer!! I’m going to sue you! I’ll make sure you go to jail!!”
Su Xiao stood frozen, watching the scene unfold.
She saw her mother being grabbed by the collar, her hair disheveled. A red mark, likely from a fingernail, slanted across her mother’s cheek.
Her mother opened her mouth to explain something, but the woman’s voice was too loud, completely drowning her out.
Her mother’s eyes held a exhaustion and helplessness she had never seen before.
That was her mother.
And she was being grabbed and attacked right now.
Su Xiao charged forward.
“Let go of her, damn it!!”
She shoved the woman away and stood in front of Su Wenjun.
The woman stumbled back a couple of steps. Once she regained her footing, she glared with wide eyes.
“Who are you?!”
“I’m her daughter! What do you want? You want to hit someone? Go ahead! Hit me!!”
Su Xiao’s voice boomed through the corridor.
Luo Tiantian blinked for a second before also rushing forward to grab the woman’s arm.
“Auntie, please calm down. Let’s talk reasonably.”
“My husband is dead! How can we talk reasonably?! What do you people know? The man lying in there is my husband! He’s the father of my children!!”
The woman began to wail loudly, her body going limp as she sank to her knees on the floor.
Su Xiao’s chest heaved violently, her fists clenched tight.
She wanted to hit someone. She wanted to break the hand that had just grabbed her mother’s collar. She wanted this woman to feel what it was like to be bullied.
But looking at the woman crying her heart out on the floor, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
Luo Tiantian knelt down and gently patted the woman’s back.
“Auntie, we understand your pain, but this isn’t the doctor’s fault. They really did their best. I… my boyfriend is also a patient in this hospital. I know how hard the doctors here work. Auntie Su performs several surgeries a day; she often doesn’t even have time to eat…”
“Your husband is gone, and that is devastating. But Auntie Su is also someone’s mother. She has a daughter waiting for her to come home, too.”
The woman looked up, her face covered in tears as she looked at Luo Tiantian.
Luo Tiantian did not look away.
The two of them locked eyes for several seconds.
The woman lowered her head, and her crying gradually quieted.
The other family members stepped forward and gently helped her up.
Su Wenjun leaned against the wall.
Nurses and doctors were checking on her.
Su Xiao was still panting, her chest heaving. She turned her head and saw Su Wenjun looking at her. Her mother had removed her mask, revealing the bloody scratches on her face, but a smile touched her weary, aged features.
“Xiao Xiao, I’m fine. This is normal.”