âEh, Mother, what is it that you want to say?â Meng Yunhan responded briskly, politely inquiring.
Being someone elseâs daughter-in-law is not an easy task; Meng Yunhan had learned this long ago.
Observing Meng Yunhanâs unaffected demeanor, Yun motherâs eyes flickered a few times, âIâm fine, Iâm fine.â
âThatâs good, thatâs good.â It was then that she began to speak about Yun Hao, âAhao woke up ten days ago. When he initially woke up, his entire body was stiff, walking was extremely difficult. When he was finally able to walk, he couldnât wait to come and see you all.â
Yun mother, hearing that he had woken up ten days ago, responded with slight surprise, âHe woke up ten days ago?â
And his body was still stiff?
She did not know, genuinely unaware?
Meng Yunhan continued, âYou know how stubborn he is. When he woke up, he had a slight stutter, a few times when Huzi woke up, he wanted to get up but his hands were uncoordinated and he almost knocked Huzi over. Since waking up, he didnât want to be a burden, he didnât want to be looked after. He uses the walking stick my father made to exercise around the yard, often drenched in sweat. I was afraid that he might hurt his leg, so I only allowed him to walk for a short period each day. However, he would quietly exercise in his room when I was busy elsewhere. I know that compared to their training, this bit of hardship, this tiredness, is nothing.â
As Meng Yunhan spoke, her eyes began to mist. If he didnât want her to know, she would pretend to be clueless.
Watching him tire every day, watching him grit his teeth and endure, controlling his uncoordinated limbs.
She knew that having been bedridden for two months, even with her massaging him daily, he was still slightly stiff and uncoordinated.
Listening to Meng Yunhan speak in this way, Yun mother too remembered that since he was a child, the third son didnât cry or make a fuss, he was steadfast. When he decided to join the army, he didnât listen to their advice; he was determined to join.
âMother, you wouldnât know; seeing him like this hurts me deeply. But for my sake, and for Huzi, he pulled through, he woke up. You wouldnât know, when he awoke and stared at me, it felt like I was dreaming. Even though he was in a vegetative state, and even the doctors couldnât assure us when Ahao would wake up. But he woke up after two months, itâs an extraordinary thing.â
In this era, medical science was not advanced; the definition of being in a vegetative state was vague, and there were hardly any precedents, only a few cases abroad. Yet, firstly, he was a soldier, and then there was the question of money.
âMother, as you know, Ahao is not good with words. He wonât say anything sweet, and since I married Ahao, Iâve known this about him. If he underwent a drastic change, then he isnât Yun Hao anymore.â He would have become a different person.
A crying child will get candy, Meng Yunhan knew this principle very well.
When she said those things, she was telling her mother-in-law that Yun Hao wasnât as strong as she imagined. He had weaknesses too, he just hid them well. He was also afraid of things, he too was flesh and blood, he too could feel the coldness of the world.
He was like a bottle of wine that had been stored for a long time, the charm would only be revealed after savoring slowly.
âMother, let the past be the past!â It was pointless to keep harping on past events.
A broken mirror could never go back to its original state.
She didnât want to go back to the beginning either.