Free Web NovelChapter 287: Chapter 287: Regaining Memory
"Mom!" Seeing the tears and pain in Li Wan’s eyes, Su Qing knew her mother had finally, completely awakened and had very likely recovered her memories.
"Yes," Li Wan sobbed, nodding. She grabbed Su Qing’s hand, her eyes drinking in the sight of her daughter’s face.
To Li Wan, the past several years had been a chaotic blur. She had no memory of her own experiences during that time, but she remembered the harm and schemes Li Aiguo had subjected her to after she left Lihua Village. She had wanted to escape but couldn’t. All she could do was helplessly feel her consciousness slip away day by day. When she finally sank completely into the haze, she thought she would never see Su Qing again.
The thought of Su Qing having to face the world alone at such a young age, the thought that the Old Su Family might mistreat her, the thought that Su Qing must have believed her mother had abandoned her—it was all a heart-wrenching, unbearable pain for Li Wan, and she had been utterly powerless.
But she never imagined she would be able to see her daughter again. She had some recollection of gradually becoming more lucid recently, but her memories hadn’t returned then. All she had felt was an instinctual closeness to Su Qing. Now that her memory had fully returned, how could Li Wan possibly hold back her tears?
"Mom, it’s all in the past now. Everything is going to be alright," Su Qing said with a small smile, wiping the tears from Li Wan’s face. They were the only two in the hospital room.
"Qingqing, I’ve failed you all these years. I couldn’t protect you." Li Wan clutched Su Qing’s hand, tears streaming endlessly down her face. When she thought of what Li Aiguo and his family had done, she said urgently, "Qingqing, we have to report them to the police! Li Aiguo’s family, they’re not good people! They’ll definitely come back to hurt us again."
Recalling her time with the Jiacheng Li Family, Li Wan couldn’t help but tremble.
Seeing this, Su Qing’s heart ached. She quickly took Li Wan’s hand and said, "Mom, don’t worry. Li Aiguo and his whole family have been arrested. Li Yuan was arrested too. No one can hurt you anymore. You’re safe now, and we’ll be together from now on. We’ll never be separated again."
"Really?!" Li Wan was astonished.
"Really," Su Qing replied, nodding quickly.
"That’s wonderful." Fresh tears welled up in Li Wan’s eyes as she opened her arms to Su Qing.
Su Qing understood and gently hugged her mother. As they embraced, Li Wan began to cry again. Su Qing knew her mother needed this release, so she said nothing more, simply holding her and letting her vent all her pent-up emotions.
Li Wan cried for a long while before her tears finally subsided. She studied Su Qing closely, murmuring, "You’re all grown up. My Qingqing is a young woman now. Qingqing, how old are you?"
Although Li Wan’s memory had returned, she still had no concept of time and didn’t know how many years had passed. Looking at Su Qing, she guessed her daughter wasn’t yet twenty.
"Mom, I’m seventeen now. I’m all grown up. From now on, I can protect you," Su Qing said with a smile.
"Seven years!" The realization that she had lost seven years to a confused haze pained Li Wan. To think that the daughter she had doted on had suffered for all that time brought fresh tears to her eyes. "Qingqing, I’m so sorry."
With that, Li Wan started crying again.
Su Qing comforted her for a long time before Li Wan finally wiped her tears away. "Qingqing, I’ll get all my crying out today, and then I’ll stop. From now on, I’m going to stay right by your side and never leave you again."
"Okay," Su Qing said, nodding with a smile.
"By the way, how were Li Aiguo’s family and Li Yuan caught?" Li Wan asked curiously. She then thought of the elderly couple who had been claiming to be her parents all this time, her curiosity piqued about them as well.
Su Qing then succinctly explained everything that had happened: how Gu Xinsheng had rescued Li Wan from the Jiacheng Li Family, brought her to Beijing for treatment, and encountered the Beijing City Li Family there. This, in turn, led to the Beijing City Li Family discovering Li Wan’s true identity and how they ultimately dealt with Li Aiguo and Li Yuan.
She also made sure to mention how well Gu Xinsheng had cared for Li Wan and how he had investigated the Jiacheng Li Family. As for her own ordeal of being taken to Jia City by Li Aiguo, she just glossed over it.
Li Wan had never imagined she could have such a background. She was stunned.
"Mom," Su Qing said, "the Beijing Li family came to see me. They want to formally acknowledge you as their kin. I told them we would have to wait until you fully recovered, and that you would be the one to decide whether to accept them or not."
"I... I don’t know." For a moment, Li Wan was at a loss. She had only just become lucid and was already being bombarded with so much information; she needed time to process it all. As for the Beijing Li family, she hadn’t yet sorted out her own feelings. ’Growing up, I always tried to keep my distance from my mother’s side of the family. My whole life, I understood that I wasn’t just unliked at home—I was faintly despised.’
’But I never knew that my parents and siblings weren’t my real family at all. And my real family... they mistakenly took in Li Yuan instead. Everything my daughter and I suffered through all these years... it was all because Li Yuan wanted to secure her position and stop the Beijing Li Family members from ever discovering the truth.’
’Could I say I don’t resent them?’
’Impossible.’
’But do I long for a family?’
’It seems there’s a faint sense of anticipation in my heart.’
’But after nearly forty years of separation, even with my real parents and relatives, how much familial affection could there possibly be between us?’
Li Wan shied away from the thought. For now, the most important person in her life was the daughter standing right before her.
Li Wan unconsciously tightened her grip on Su Qing’s hand.
Su Qing chuckled softly. "Mom, you just woke up. You don’t have to rush to decide anything. Let’s just wait and see. No matter what, I’ll be right here by your side."
"Okay." Hearing her daughter’s words, Li Wan quickly nodded with a smile, her eyes once again avidly taking in her daughter’s face. Her heart filled with endless regret for having missed her daughter growing up, and it ached even more for what she must have endured all these years. ’Even though Su Qing didn’t say anything, I know the Old Su Family. My daughter definitely suffered terribly.’ Li Wan secretly resolved to dote on her daughter twice as much from now on, to make up for those seven lost years.
Su Qing smiled again. "Oh, and there’s Uncle Gu. He was away on a long mission, and when he came back, he learned what had happened to you. He pulled you out of the Jiacheng Li Family’s home, found a doctor for you, and investigated them. He’s been really, really good to you."
Su Qing wasn’t the original soul in this body; she had only "met" her father, Su Shengjun, through memories. Besides, Su Shengjun was long gone, and Li Wan was not yet forty. Su Qing sincerely hoped her mother could find love again. Since Gu Xinsheng was obviously very good to Li Wan, she was more than willing to put in a good word for him.
