Weakness Trap - Chapter 43

Yu Qingluan watched as her grandmother was wheeled into the emergency room, medical staff bustling back and forth. She was the one to blame for all this, yet she could do nothing.

Her tears had long dried up. Her eyes were wide open, cheeks taut as she pressed herself against the emergency room door, straining to see inside.

Yu Shuhua stood beside her with an arm wrapped around her shoulders, worry clouding her eyes.

This was her only family. Just the three of them.

First, the young one got into trouble, and now the elderly one had fallen ill.

Her mother’s health had never been robust. At over seventy years old, wasn’t it normal to have aches and pains? But Yu Meiying, having spent years hunched over embroidery, was frailer than most elderly people. Her back, her waist her bones always seemed to ache. Her eyes weren’t in the best condition either, brightening only when she worked on her embroidery. Then there was the high blood pressure diagnosed two years ago, requiring intermittent medication and frequently causing headaches.

An elderly person like this shouldn’t be agitated. Normally, everyone humored her. Who would have thought she could upset herself like this, rushing over to confront her granddaughter after reading some third rate media report?

Yu Shuhua frowned, sensing something off about her daughter’s state of mind. She knew exactly what her daughter had been through and her heart ached for her. But as for Yu Meiying, Yu Shuhua could only chalk it up to her mother’s stubborn, bullheaded temper.

“The patient’s condition is critical. She needs immediate surgery,” the doctor announced over ten minutes later as he stepped out and removed his mask.

“What are the risks?” Mother and daughter followed the doctor into a nearby office, watching as he prepared the consent forms.

“There are risks. But without surgery, it’s certain death.” The doctor paused, then added as if to soften his bluntness, “I speak harshly, but it’s the truth. Please don’t report me.”

“What are the risks?” Yu Qingluan prompted.

“It’s all written here. Read it yourselves. Craniotomy carries high risks to begin with, and the patient is quite advanced in age. After signing, go pay the fees. Health insurance can cover part of it. Then pray for the old lady.” The doctor spoke tersely.

Yu Shuhua’s hand trembled slightly as she read the 60% risk rate stated on the form.

Beside her, Yu Qingluan shuddered, unable to bear the thought of what she would do if her grandmother passed away because of this.

It was all her fault,

While paying the fees, Yu Qingluan suddenly grabbed Yu Shuhua’s arm, as if having made a firm decision. “Mom, I won’t go abroad after all.”

Post surgery recovery would cost a fortune too.

Given their family’s situation, how could she afford to be selfish?

“Don’t talk nonsense,” Yu Shuhua patted her hand and swiped her card. “We’ve come so far. How can we give up now?” Money was a big issue, but she couldn’t let her child sacrifice her future.

“But Grandma” Yu Qingluan choked back a sob. “Mom, it’s my fault to begin with.” She desperately wanted to do something, anything, to ease the guilt consuming her.

“How could it be? Did you ask to be slandered by the media? Your grandmother is old and confused, how can you be confused too?” Yu Shuhua gently brushed the sweat from Yu Qingluan’s forehead.

“But that person and I, I really…” Yu Qingluan bit her lip, unable to continue.

Finally understanding there was more to the story, Yu Shuhua led Yu Qingluan to a quiet spot near the operating room and sat down with her.

“Sweetheart, tell me everything. Mom won’t blame you.” Her little girl was still so young wasn’t it normal to make mistakes at her age?

As for Yu Meiying, she hadn’t changed a bit from thirty to seventy stubborn as ever.

He had nearly caused her and her daughter to go hungry before. And now, because of that foul temper of his, he ended up hospitalized.

At his age, he still hadn’t learned his lesson. What else could Yu Shuhua do but sigh?

She had tried reasoning with him over the years, but it never made a difference.

Yu Qingluan spoke softly and slowly beside her, pausing every few words.

Yu Shuhua patted her back, her face clouded with worry.

“Is that all?” Yu Shuhua thought to herself. Perhaps she really did have a “mother’s bias.”

She didn’t see anything wrong with it.

Qingluan had been unhappy during that time anyway.

Her feelings for that person hadn’t completely faded yet.

Moreover, it wasn’t a normal marriage situation.

Besides, they hadn’t even gotten married it was just an engagement, a name without substance.

Yu Qingluan nodded.

“I, I never accepted anything from her. Not before, and not after. I refused all her gifts anything too expensive, I returned to her And after that! After that, I didn’t take anything either! I didn’t use her things to build my career.” Yu Qingluan continued explaining, desperate to prove her innocence even to her own mother.

“Mom knows,” Yu Shuhua held her tighter and sighed.

“My baby is the best in the world. She would never do such a thing,” Yu Shuhua thought as she stroked her daughter’s head.

It was only after having a child of her own that she understood: her own mother’s neglect and stubbornness were simply due to a lack of love.

Her mother had never given her enough love. That’s why she wanted to give her daughter the very best.

“Mom.” Yu Qingluan hugged Yu Shuhua tightly.

This must be the warmest, safest place in the world.

Yu Shuhua took a deep breath. Gradually, her emotions settled a little.

“But remember, my dear, there will always be disparities in wealth between people. Two thousand to her might be like two dollars to you. You don’t have to reject every gift. Accept it, and give back what you can afford in return. That doesn’t make you any lesser.” Yu Shuhua took the opportunity to teach her daughter a lesson.

Neither of them brought up the matter in M-country again.

Then, the two leaned against each other, praying for the elderly person in the operating room.

After a while, Yu Shuhua suddenly spoke up. “Don’t let your grandmother know about what happened in M-country.”

“I won’t,” Yu Qingluan replied. She wouldn’t tell anyone else either.

Let time erase that memory.

She didn’t want to remember it anymore.

“Alright, don’t look so down. Your grandmother is blessed she’ll be fine.” Even though the contract stated a 60% risk, she was still a mother. She had to comfort her daughter.

Yu Qingluan nodded, then picked up the phone and called Zeng Lan.

“Sister Lan, there’s something I um, I’d like to ask for your help with. I’m really sorry you’ve already helped me so much before, and now I’m asking for more.”

“It’s about something. My grandmother suddenly fell ill and is in surgery. I was wondering if I could borrow the money we made in Hong Kong for a while?”

Yu Yueheng followed the butler up to the rooftop.

“Wasn’t the door usually locked? How did she get up here?” Yu Yueheng panicked.

How could she not understand the doctor’s implication?

Her biggest fear was that after leaving the idealized world she had built, Yu Lingxue’s emotions would spiral out of control, and she might do something drastic.

She had even assigned people to watch over her, who would have thought this could still happen.

“Miss Lingxue asked us to prepare some food for her, and we were all so relieved. After days of not eating, she finally expressed a desire for something. We immediately went to cook for her, but in just two minutes, a blink of an eye she vanished. We have no idea how she managed to get up there.”

The housekeeper spoke breathlessly, having rushed up and down the stairs several times in her panic.

Finally reaching the top floor, she pushed the door open, and a gust of wind swept through.

It was June, yet dark clouds loomed overhead, and a fierce wind howled, as if a storm was imminent.

As the door swung open, the wind surged into the corridor, sending a shiver through Yu Yueheng.

She looked up and saw Yu Lingxue standing near the edge of the rooftop, her back to the door.

Even at the sound of the door, she didn’t turn around.

She was still in her pajamas, without a coat to shield her from the cold. She should have been trembling.

Yu Yueheng’s first instinct was to wrap her in warmth, hastily removing her own jacket.

The fierce wind only lifted the hem of Yu Lingxue’s clothes, howling as if unfurling an invisible umbrella.

Yu Lingxue’s figure looked frail, like a lone, lost child wandering in a blizzard.

Disoriented and adrift, unsure of where to go.

The wind grew stronger, whipping Yu Lingxue’s hair upward, lifting her entire body as if she were weightless.

Her half-white, half-black hair swirled and danced in the air, twisting into the shape of the wind, sketching out the form of a hand.

That wind-formed hand seemed to pull her arms wide, once again lifting the edges of her clothes.

In an instant, it felt as though it would carry her upward, only to plunge downward.

“Lingxue!” Yu Yueheng raised her hand against the wind, struggling to take a step forward.

“Lingxue, Xue’er ” Yu Yueheng even called out the childhood nickname Yu Lingxue’s aunt had given her.

She wasn’t the closest person to Yu Lingxue in this world.

Even so, she wanted to try.

At the very least, she couldn’t stand by and watch her child die.

That would be too cruel.

Yu Lingxue actually reacted.

She turned her head, the movement so abrupt it seemed as though she might snap her own neck.

Her hair swayed with the motion, twisting round and round.

The black strands were like shadows, the white ones like swirling goose feathers, embodying a sense of freedom.

The sky was heavily overcast.

No light fell upon Yu Lingxue.

Yet her eyes were too dark, darker than those of the dead, as if the spark of life had been utterly extinguished.

“Xue’er, don’t do anything foolish.” Yu Yueheng finally mustered the courage to approach.

She draped her jacket over Yu Lingxue’s shoulders and gripped her body tightly.

Just as she had always done when insisting she wear more layers.

Firmly, as if trying to anchor her to the ground.

But today, the wind was too strong and relentless, sweeping through in gusts, bringing not only cold but also a sense of taking someone away.

Yu Lingxue had no strength to resist. Her entire body was icy, her temperature dropping inch by inch, her weight diminishing bit by bit.

It was as if, with one more gust of wind, she could transform into downy fluff, like her white hair, and fly completely into the sky.

To a heaven of freedom.

Or perhaps to hell.

Recognizing Yu Yueheng, Yu Lingxue turned her head again, gazing down at the ground.

She stood so high up now. Never before had the ground felt so distant.

For a moment. For many, many moments.

She thought she should feel close to the ground.

She wanted to return to its embrace.

Yu Lingxue wanted to go.

It was calling to her. Relentlessly.

Echoing in her ears.

“Xue’er, let’s go back inside. It’s so cold out here.” Yu Yueheng wrapped her arm around Yu Lingxue’s shoulder.

Guiding her, trying to steer her back toward the room.

But it wouldn’t budge. Yu Yueheng turned her head and saw Yu Lingxue staring blankly at the sky and the ground, her eyes filled with a chilling longing.

“Don’t be like this, Xue’er.” Yu Yueheng had no choice but to turn with her, simply holding her tightly.

Yu Lingxue seemed to be jolted awake by the embrace and began struggling violently.

“Lingxue, Xue’er, it’s Mom. It’s me.” Yu Yueheng tightened her grip and quickly signaled to the nearby housekeeper.

No matter what, they had to get Yu Lingxue back to her room first.

“No.” Yu Lingxue was pinned down by two people, unable to break free. Tears streamed down her neck, burning her skin as if it were on fire.

Such scorching heat. Such a cold day.

But she could no longer feel it.

Her little bird would never have the chance to see the sky again, to feel the breeze again.

What right did she have to live on alone?

“Don’t stop me!” Yu Lingxue suddenly mustered all her strength and broke free from Yu Yueheng’s grasp.

“If you can’t help me, if you’ve never cared about me, then don’t try to stop me!” Her face was drenched in tears, dried by the wind, leaving her cheeks flushed and unsightly.

The rest of her skin was pale as paper, marred by bruises and scabs from old wounds.

“But, but.” The housekeeper still held her, trying to say something to console her.

“There are no ‘buts.’ She’s dead! She’s dead, because of me. I killed her.” Yu Lingxue wailed, her strength finally giving out, and she could only murmur Yu Qingluan’s name.

“Little bird, my little bird. I hurt her, I harmed her. I made someone so young, so full of life, lie in such a cold place. In such a tiny box, How do you expect me to live?”

————————

I’m still struggling with advanced mathematics. I have several math courses this semester and I’m fighting for my life.

Let me show you the revenge-themed pre-order I came up with while staying up late. It’s a crematorium-style story where the ex can’t win back the protagonist.

Gu Yueyao was reborn after enrolling in the elite academy.

In her previous life, she was admitted to this school on a scholarship due to her outstanding grades. However, the school was filled with arrogant young ladies who looked down on her background, mocked her for being unsophisticated, and oppressed her with class and wealth. The more she lowered her head and groveled, the more they enjoyed making her the butt of their jokes.

In the end, she was tormented into severe depression, her grades plummeted, and after voluntarily dropping out, she died alone at home.

In this life, everything was just beginning. Gu Yueyao no longer bowed and scraped to her classmates, and yet, these people had changed.

The class president, who used to pretend not to hear her, asked her to stay under the guise of tutoring her. Gu Yueyao prepared herself for a confrontation, but the class president genuinely explained every problem she didn’t understand, even subtly pulling her arm and drawing her closer, saying her house was empty and inviting her over next time.

The student council president, who used to mock her as a country bumpkin, set up a special scholarship fund for her. When visiting her home to inspect her living conditions, she asked, “May I borrow your bathroom?”

The school belle, who had forced her to sign an agreement in her previous life, no longer took her pheromones. Instead, during the morning assembly in front of all the teachers and students, she chased Gu Yueyao to a corner, loosened her tie, and begged for a mark.

Gu Yueyao had had enough of these people. She decided to let loose and take revenge, determined to toy with them just as they had toyed with her. She began maneuvering among them, one by one.

–

While some people suddenly became nice to Gu Yueyao, the elite academy was still deeply divided by class. Most of her classmates remained the same as in her previous life, doing everything they could to bully the only commoner among them.

Gu Yueyao’s book was stolen and thrown downstairs. The class monitor was furious and vowed to investigate every student in the class. The student council president suggested checking the surveillance footage. The campus belle immediately called her family to arrange for a new, even better set of books for Gu Yueyao.

But before any of them could act, the principal had already identified the person who bullied Gu Yueyao and expelled her.

Gu Yueyao sought out the one person who had shown her care in this life, wanting to express her gratitude.

Principal Qi Xuanguang sat in her office chair, her usual stern demeanor gone, replaced by a lazy grace. She bit into a fruit-flavored cigarette, yet still exuded an air of scholarly elegance. Lifting her eyelids, she casually beckoned Gu Yueyao with a finger.

“If you want to thank me, why not try a different approach?”

She tugged at Gu Yueyao’s collar, forcing her to lower her head, and pressed her lips close to her ear, whispering softly. “Get first place in the final exams. Otherwise, I’ll give you one-on-one tutoring during the holidays.”

At the graduation dance, the entire school waited for Gu Yueyao to make her entrance, curious to see who she had chosen as her dance partner after rejecting both the student council president and the campus belle.

When the lights brightened and the crowd saw who Gu Yueyao was holding, the entire hall fell into silence.

Ignoring the reactions from the audience, Gu Yueyao simply extended her hand and bowed in a graceful invitation to dance.

At the peak of the dance, a kiss landed beside Gu Yueyao’s ear warm, sweet, and accompanied by words that made her blush.

“Remember to be just as amazing tonight.”