"....." Gazing at the card Lu Lingchen pushed back into her hand, she lowered her eyes and remained silent for a few seconds before speaking.
"I know the Lu family isn't short on money."
"..." If Lu Lingchen hadn't guessed wrong, Shen Nian still had more to say, so he didn't make a sound and continued listening to her.
Shen Nian's eyelashes fluttered lightly: "It's a parent's responsibility to raise their children, and a child's duty to care for their parents."
She raised her head and curved her lips at Lu Lingchen: "I owe your sister a kindness, the duty she couldn't fulfill... I should take it on instead."
"Shen Nian..." Lu Lingchen had noticed from before that Shen Nian was a very stubborn person.
She was too fixated on one thing, so she lived a very tiring life.
People... should be a little more selfish, at least they wouldn't live such a difficult life.
"You know, my parents passed away in a car accident years ago," Shen Nian interrupted Lu Lingchen. "Now I have the ability to repay them, but unfortunately I'll never have that chance again. Please take pity on me and let me have an elder to serve."
"..." Lu Lingchen fell silent for a few seconds but still didn't accept the money. However, he said, "Today my dad will discuss follow-up treatment with the attending physician. Cancer is a long battle, and a lot of preparation is needed. There will definitely be areas where I'll need your help in the future, and I'll let you know when I need you, without being courteous."
Accepting her contribution might make her feel a little better.
...
Li Mingshi woke up in the afternoon. She opened her eyes and simply stared at the ceiling in silence.
Lu Yanhua had been taking care of her by her side, so he noticed the moment she woke up.
"You're awake." He forced himself to show a very relaxed smile and grabbed her hand.
Although her hands were a bit cool in the summer, they were too icy.
Lu Yanhua held her hand, wanting to transfer the warmth from his palm to her, and then began talking about everyday matters.
"Those people who intentionally caused trouble have been taken away. That should kill their arrogance."
"The company recently got in contact with a new partner. I heard the other party has a relative in politics, which might be helpful for us."
"You fell ill, the doctor said it was because you were too distressed. So don't think too much from now on. We will definitely get justice for our daughter, so before that, we all need to stay well and wait for that day to come, right?"
"Have you forgotten what Ruirui said? She said you look good when you smile. If she knew that after she left, you've been frowning all the time, she'd nag again."
"We don't have that many words for each other, so why was our daughter so good at nagging? I don't know who she took after..."
Lu Yanhua didn't avoid mentioning her illness.
Cancer couldn't be cured in a few days; it needed to be dealt with slowly, step-by-step. There was no way to hide it.
Rather than finding all sorts of excuses to cover it up now, it was better to just tell the truth.
Besides, Li Mingshi wasn't stupid. Could she not feel the abnormalities in her own body?
However, Lu Yanhua didn't state it too bluntly either, only saying that she was ill without specifying cancer.
"..." At the mention of her daughter, Li Mingshi closed her eyes, holding back her tears.
Li Mingshi liked sunflowers. The first time she met Lu Yanhua was also in a field of sunflowers.
Sunflowers, the messengers of sunshine, born to face the sun.
In one's life, they would encounter many setbacks, but Li Mingshi hoped she could live like a sunflower, born to face the sun, smiling positively.
Ever since she was young, Lu Lingrui saw Li Mingshi drawing all kinds of sunflowers on paper, influenced by which she grew to especially love sunflowers too.
Lu Lingrui lived just like a sunflower, her smile like a sunflower in the sunshine, radiant and dazzling.
["Mom, why are you so pretty? Is it because you're so pretty that you gave birth to me this pretty too?"]
Lu Lingrui had always been a sweet-talking child. She was good at coaxing people, so she was especially adorable.
["Mom, do you like me? I like you too mom, so this is a mutual attraction."]
["Mom, why do you look so good when you smile?"]
["Mom, I love you so much. No matter what, I'm a mama's boy."]
["Mom..."]
Whenever Li Mingshi closed her eyes, her mind was filled with images of Lu Lingrui acting mischievously in front of her.
The once beautiful memories eventually became a double-edged sword. These scenes used to make her so happy and blessed, but now they stabbed her just as painfully.
Lu Lingchuan had been standing at the doorway, simply watching his parents in the room. He leaned against the door frame, quietly to an extreme.
"Ring--"
His phone rang from his pocket. Lu Lingchuan glanced at the caller ID, his gaze darkening slightly as he turned and went to the living room.
"Hello."
"I understand."
"I'll be right there."
After a few simple responses, Lu Lingchuan hung up.
He was about to leave directly, but after taking two steps, he stopped, turned around, and entered the bedroom.
The bedroom was very quiet. Lu Lingchuan walked to Li Mingshi's bedside. Li Mingshi had her eyes closed, her eyelashes trembling slightly.
She knew her eldest son was right beside her.
Suddenly, her other hand was held. Lu Lingchuan's hand wasn't very warm either.
Li Mingshi's eyelashes trembled more violently.
"Mom." Lu Lingchuan looked at her, his voice low. "The four of us in our family can't afford to lose anyone else."
"..."
...
After leaving the hospital, Lu Lingchuan went to Xu Xiping's place.
Xu Xiping had changed into home clothes. Seeing Lu Lingchuan arrive, he waved his hand, and the two went to sit in the living room.
"This case is extremely tricky. We've reached an impasse for now. If we can't gain control of more evidence for another appeal, even if we drag it out for five more years, the result will still be the same."
Xu Xiping didn't beat around the bush with Lu Lingchuan, laying out the situation very clearly.
"The opposing lawyer is known in the circle for his venomous tongue. From today's confrontation, you could feel that he's a formidable character, skilled at using a few sentences to disrupt his opponent's mind."
Xu Xiping had been a lawyer for many years and was well aware of how important it was to remain calm in resolving matters.
Just like today in court, both sides were fully prepared. While protecting their own interests, they were also constantly looking for weaknesses in the other party to attack.
When faced with a situation, no matter big or small, if you expose your thoughts and shortcomings from the very beginning, you're destined to lose.
Sometimes, it's not as much about the rhetorical and logical skills of both parties as it is testing each other's state of mind. Only by remaining calm can you make it to the end.
Today in court, the opposing lawyer clearly saw through our situation and knew that the Lu family's fatal weakness was Lu Lingrui, which could be seen from their insistence on the death penalty for Yang Hao and Wang Yong. So every word and sentence was laced with provocation, aimed at preventing the Lu family from staying calm.
Only by losing their composure would they expose their flaws. Once those flaws were seized upon, defeating the opponent would just be a matter of time.
Xu Xiping made it clear to Lu Lingchuan that the opponent was coming on strong, and with only their current evidence, the possibility of winning this battle was 0.
To win, they needed to gain control of more.
