Li Man's phone kept ringing, but she ignored it completely.
It was the housekeeper calling.
She didn't want to deal with anyone right now. Her mind was chaotic, hurting, annoyed.
She just wanted some peace and quiet.
After ringing many times, the phone finally went silent.
But soon, it started ringing again.
Li Man glanced over - the screen flashed "Hubby".
Li Man hesitated, then answered the call.
"Honey, where are you?"
The voice on the other end sounded anxious.
"What's up?"
Li Man realized her own voice was hoarse.
There was a pause on the other end, clearly shocked by Li Man's voice.
"Honey, what's wrong with your voice?"
"Oh, it's nothing." Li Man cleared her throat and said, "I probably have laryngitis, it hurts a lot."
"How did you suddenly get laryngitis? Weren't you fine this morning? Nevermind that - where are you now? Mom has a fever, come home quickly."
"Mm."
Li Man mumbled in acknowledgement, then hung up before Huang Dehan could respond.
She was afraid she would burst out yelling.
She didn't want to rip his face off yet. She wanted to gather evidence of his affair, then confront him.
Li Man composed herself, then touched up her makeup. Only then did she get out of the car.
Checking her phone, she saw it was 2pm already - she had sat in the car for hours.
Back home, the housekeeper hurried to greet her, "Mrs. Li, you're back! The old lady has a high fever, it scared me to death!"
"How high is the fever?" Li Man asked as she headed to her mother-in-law's room.
"39 degrees Celsius!"
"Did you give her medicine?"
"Yes, I gave her some fever reducers and used a wet towel, but it didn't help."
As they talked, the two arrived at the old lady's room.
"Mom!" Li Man called softly.
The old lady slowly opened her eyes, which were dim and lifeless. "Manman..."
Her voice was very weak.
"Mom, you have a high fever. I'm taking you to the hospital."
Li Man immediately took out her phone to call an ambulance.
"Don't call them. I think I'm nearly gone..." the old lady said feebly.
"Mom, don't say that. Don't worry, the hospital will make you better." Li Man reassured after finishing the call.
"Oh, what's the point of hospitals. Just wasting money. I'm just an old bag of bones, nothing left to save. The longer I live, the more I suffer. I wish I'd die quicker, so I can be free..." the old lady mumbled in bed.
The ambulance soon arrived and took the old lady to the hospital.
Li Man went along.
The old lady was a regular patient - the doctors all recognized her.
"The high fever triggered myocarditis in the old lady. Her vitals also look bad." The doctor sighed, "You should prepare yourselves mentally. She's running on empty now."
After seeing the doctor out, Li Man went to the bedside and called softly, "Mom!"
The old lady opened her eyes, the cloudy orbs looking at Li Man. "Manman, call Dehan back. I think I'm nearly gone. I want to see him."
Li Man's eyes instantly reddened. "Okay, I'll call him now to come back."
She took out her phone and called Huang Dehan.
