Sharing Dreams with My Bestie's Cousin

"Great-grandfather, you’ve arrived," Meng Fan welcomed, yet her gaze lingered on Wen Zhi.

Upon noticing Wen Zhi had entered alongside the great-grandfather, Meng Fan’s face betrayed her surprise.

Her silent eyes questioned Wen Zhi.

Wen Zhi understood Meng Fan’s pressing concern, but now was not the time to explain. She instead asked, "How is Grandma’s condition?"

Meng Fan set aside her urgent thoughts and shook her head, "Not very good."

As soon as Meng Fan finished speaking, she caught a glimpse of the old master’s silhouette moving inside and quickly stepped forward to stop him, "Great-grandfather, you better not go in."

The old master’s face was ashen, his usually booming voice deliberately lowered a few notches, "I won’t go in, I’ll just look from the doorway."

While this seemed reasonable, Meng Fan was still very worried.

That morning, Grandma’s heart rate had suddenly stopped, and she had vividly witnessed the doctors’ frantic resuscitation efforts.

She had been terrified at the time, taking a long while to collect herself.

As Meng Fan hesitated, Wen Zhi stepped forward and pulled her aside, "Looking from the doorway is fine, great-grandfather has suffered quite a bit on the way here."

Wen Zhi lowered her voice as much as possible while speaking to Meng Fan.

However, the old master was right behind her, and her words had fallen, unaltered, into his ears.

The old master turned around, his deep gaze fixed on Wen Zhi’s back, his heart filled with complexity.

At that moment, when Wen Zhi turned around, she saw the old master looking at her, but his expression seemed distant.

"Great-grandfather?" Wen Zhi softly called out.

The old master snapped back to reality, straightened up, and his face returned to its usual reserved sternness.

Wen Zhi pointed towards the room, "Please go ahead."

In the end, the old master said nothing but nodded and turned towards the room.

Meng Fan appeared uneasy, her eyes fixed anxiously on the old master, fearing that he might enter the room unawares and if Grandma awoke, she might faint again from agitation.

"Great-grandfather knows his limits," Wen Zhi reassured Meng Fan.

"His eldership does have a sense of measure, but not much of it," Meng Fan recalled the scene from that day.

The old master had insisted on seeing Grandma, which had resulted in her fainting.

Even now, the memory made Meng Fan shudder.

At that moment, something occurred to Meng Fan, and she turned to ask, "What happened on the way here? And what’s with the blood stains on your clothes? How did that happen?"

As she asked, Meng Fan lifted Wen Zhi’s hand, her frown deepening with each look.

Wen Zhi briefly described the events of the trip to Meng Fan.

She downplayed her own fall, focusing mainly on the old master’s sudden fainting, which alarmed Meng Fan, "Thank goodness it wasn’t serious."

Wen Zhi nodded.

Meng Fan was about to ask about the injury on Wen Zhi’s arm when Tajiguli came out from the room, looking rather pale.

Meng Fan’s brow furrowed with concern as she stepped forward to ask, "Has Grandma woken up?"

Tajiguli nodded, "She has awakened, and she wants to see her grandson Hexing."

"My cousin..." Meng Fan immediately became anxious, "But he’s still on his way here, it will be a while before the plane lands."

Tajiguli also looked troubled.

But then, Tajiguli glanced at Wen Zhi and, after a moment’s thought, spoke up rashly, "Miss Wen Zhi, why don’t you come in with me?"

Suddenly called upon, Wen Zhi quickly looked up.

Tajiguli’s voice was warm, "Grandma likes you very much, and having you by her side at this time would make her happy."

Wen Zhi understood Tajiguli’s intentions.

It would take at least three more hours for Shang Hexing to arrive, and Grandma might not be able to wait.

"Alright, I’ll go in with you," Wen Zhi nodded.

Tajiguli turned around, "Miss Wen Zhi, follow me."

Upon hearing this, Wen Zhi immediately followed, and Meng Fan did as well.

Passing the doorway, the old master called out to Wen Zhi, "Girl, are you going in?"

As Wen Zhi was about to explain, Tajiguli spoke up from ahead, "It was my suggestion for Miss Wen Zhi to go in and accompany Grandma."

Tajiguli paused for a moment before continuing, "Grandma has always liked Miss Wen Zhi. Now that Young Master Hexing hasn’t arrived yet, it’s good to have Miss Wen Zhi by Grandma’s side."

Tajiguli was fully aware of the old man’s temperament, so she made sure to explain the situation in detail.

She also knew that the old man didn’t really care for Miss Wen Zhi, so without clarifying the situation, the old man might embarrass Miss Wen Zhi later, which would be her fault.

Unexpectedly, the old man didn’t show a displeased face this time.

What surprised Tajiguli even more was that the old man, with a pleasant and gentle expression, said to Miss Wen Zhi, "Hexing hasn’t arrived yet, and I can’t go in either, so I can only trouble you to keep your grandmother company on behalf of us. Thank you for your hard work."

His simple thanks left Wen Zhi feeling unexpectedly honored.

Meng Fan’s eyes were wide with surprise as well.

On the way in, Wen Zhi had been guessing whether today’s events had changed the old master’s attitude towards her, but she hadn’t expected such a significant change.

It was only when Tajiguli’s voice sounded, "Miss Wen Zhi, let’s go in now," that reality set in.

Wen Zhi came back to her senses, responded affirmatively to Tajiguli, and then said to the old man, "Great-grandfather, I’ll go inside first." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

The old man nodded, "Go ahead."

Wen Zhi nodded, turned, and followed Tajiguli inside, while Meng Fan, with no time for further questions, hurried in after them.

-

The old lady had just woken up for a short while but seemed disoriented. She opened her eyes, staring at the ceiling, muttering something inaudibly.

The doctor said that the old lady’s consciousness was in a state of confusion.

She might not recognize anyone.

To put it bluntly, no matter who was in front of the old lady, she might not recognize them, including the person she was muttering about.

Tajiguli stepped forward, leaned over the bedside, and tried to make out what the old lady was saying.

After a moment of listening, she shook her head helplessly, then turned and motioned for Wen Zhi, "Miss Wen Zhi, your turn."

Wen Zhi nodded and stepped forward.

Tajiguli moved aside to give Wen Zhi space. Wen Zhi leaned down slightly and softly called out, "Grandma."

When she called out "Grandma," Wen Zhi didn’t hold much hope, after all, the doctor had made things clear.

But then a miracle happened.

The old lady, upon hearing the word "Grandma," suddenly focused her unfocused eyes. Then, to everyone’s astonishment, the old lady slowly turned her head to look at Wen Zhi.

She gazed for a long, long time.

Long enough that just as Wen Zhi was about to lose her balance, the old lady finally spoke, "Zhizhi, have you come to see me?"

She was recognized.

Wen Zhi was momentarily startled, then quickly responded, "It’s me, Great-grandma, I am here to see you."

The old lady’s face showed relief, "I’m glad to see you again. Do you still like the bracelet I sent last time?"

The bracelet.

Wen Zhi had put it away as soon as she got back, afraid to damage it, and had never worn it since. Now that the old lady asked, she felt a bit guilty.

"Do you not dare to wear it?" the old lady asked kindly, "You wear it without worry, don’t be afraid of damaging it. I’ve already prepared your wedding gifts for you and Hexing, everything is ready."

Wedding gifts...

As Wen Zhi listened, her heart felt complicated.

It was then that the old lady asked, "Zhizhi, you seem unhappy. Are you worried that the wedding gifts I prepared are too few? Don’t worry, there are plenty."

Wen Zhi quickly shook her head, replying with a wry smile, "No, I..."

The old lady smiled kindly, "I’m just teasing you."

Wen Zhi felt a twinge at the tip of her nose, holding back her sadness as she complied, "I know."

The old lady slowly raised her hand, and Wen Zhi, seeing this, reached out to hold the old lady’s hand.

Then the old lady said, "It’s enough that I have lived to this age, to die a natural death would be wonderful. I cannot expect my descendants to be happy for me, but they need not be too sad."

Wen Zhi nodded.

The old lady gently clasped Wen Zhi’s hand, "You’re a good child. Be kinder to Hexing in the future, love him a little more, promise Grandma."

Wen Zhi sniffled and nodded earnestly, "I promise, Grandma."

After her promise, the old lady’s grip on Wen Zhi’s hand tightened slightly, "Although there are many gifts prepared for your wedding, they still never seemed good enough in my eyes. I always felt like I owed you more and wanted to give you the most complete... Zhizhi, take the opportunity now. Grandma can still fulfill one more wish for you, just ask."