Gu Beixian carried Su Hua to the parking lot, opened the car door with one hand, and placed her in the passenger seat.

Su Hua had cried herself into a mess, her pale little face streaked with tears, looking utterly devastated. Anyone who saw her would feel heartbroken.

Gu Beixian got into the car, fastened her seatbelt, hugged her, and whispered in her ear, "Be strong, I'll take you to the hospital right away."

Su Hua couldn't hear what he was saying; her mind was filled with thoughts of her grandmother. Her grandmother was gone.

She no longer had her grandmother.

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Gu Beixian drove the car at breakneck speed.

Finally arriving at the hospital, he got out and opened the car door.

Su Hua stumbled out of the car, almost falling, her legs too weak to walk.

Gu Beixian simply picked her up again and strode towards the inpatient department.

In the ward, Su Peilan was covering her face, crying uncontrollably.

Grandmother lay on the hospital bed, covered with a white sheet, her face also covered.

It felt like something had collapsed inside her. Su Hua's heart tightened suddenly, as if someone had tied a rope around it, making it hurt so much she couldn't breathe.

She struggled to get out of Gu Beixian's arms and staggered towards the bed.

Gu Beixian hurriedly supported her.

The doctor lifted the white sheet, letting her take one last look.

Grandmother's eyes were tightly closed, her face pale and gray, her lips already turning blue.

With a thud, Su Hua knelt on the ground, her eyes blurred with tears.

She wiped them desperately.

She wanted to take a good look at her grandmother, but no matter how much she wiped, she couldn't dry her tears.

She leaned on the bed, hugging her grandmother's waist, crying hysterically, "Grandma, Grandma," but her grandmother could no longer respond.

She patted her grandmother's face, trying to wake her up, but her grandmother would never wake up again.

She cried like a child, feeling so lonely, so lonely, with a deep, bottomless sadness in her heart.

Grandfather was gone, and now grandmother was gone too.

The two people she was closest to had left her one after another.

She felt like she had become an orphan, all alone.

Gu Beixian, fearing her knees would get cold on the icy floor, helped her up.

Su Hua stubbornly refused to get up from the ground.

Gu Beixian had no choice but to place a pillow under her knees, then went to the bathroom to get warm water, wetting a towel to constantly wipe her tears.

By the end of her crying, Su Hua had no more tears left, her voice hoarse from crying, just kneeling there numbly, staring at her grandmother's face, motionless.

Su Peilan wanted to take her mother's body back to their hometown, Su Village, to be buried next to her father.

Gu Beixian went out to call his assistant, arranging for a hearse and funeral services.

An hour later, his men found a hearse and carried grandmother's body into the car.

A convoy of several cars headed towards Su Village.

The professional funeral team quickly set up the mourning hall, dressed grandmother in burial clothes, and placed her in the coffin.

That night, Su Hua, dressed in mourning clothes, kept vigil, with Gu Beixian accompanying her.

As night deepened, he urged her to get some sleep.

Su Hua shook her head lightly.

Gu Beixian had someone bring bedding and made a bed on the floor, forcing her to lie down for a while.

During the days of keeping vigil, Su Hua spent most of her time kneeling numbly, only dozing off when she couldn't hold on any longer.

She didn't sleep, and Gu Beixian didn't sleep either, watching over her.

Afraid she would faint from excessive grief, afraid she would feel lonely and scared, afraid she would have dark thoughts, and even more afraid of losing her.

He didn't know how to comfort her, so he just held her hand tightly, offering his shoulder for her to lean on, silently accompanying her.

Under the eternal lamp.

Her pretty little face was as pale as the cold moon, her large, furry eyes filled with deep sorrow, her long eyelashes drooping like a dying butterfly's wings.

She looked so haggard, stubbornly kneeling in front of her grandmother's coffin, motionless.

Her thin, frail body was silhouetted in the orange light, her bones almost visible.

These past few days, he had felt more heartache for her than ever before.

So much so that many years later, Gu Beixian could never forget this scene. Whenever he thought of it, his heart would ache.

In the yard.

A relative with a sharp tongue approached Su Peilan and said, "Your son-in-law's legs seem fine. I heard he was disabled and could only sit in a wheelchair?"

Su Peilan knew they laughed behind her back, saying she sold her daughter to a cripple for money.

She lifted her swollen eyelids and glanced sideways at the relative, "My son-in-law was just injured, temporarily in a wheelchair. His legs healed a year ago."

The relative pursed her lips, "Really? That was quick."

"Of course, my son-in-law is blessed and has a great destiny. Good people are protected by heaven."

The relative smiled, her tone sarcastic, "I heard your in-laws are very wealthy. Is little Hua treated well in their family? Our small households can't compare to big families like theirs."

Su Peilan shot her a cold look, "Not at all. Their family respects my daughter very much."

The relative smacked her lips, "Then why didn't your in-laws come? Deep down, they still look down on us. High branches are hard to climb."

"Though they didn't come, they sent money. My mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law each transferred two hundred thousand to my account. My son-in-law treats my daughter exceptionally well. He's been by her side day and night these past few days, without closing his eyes. Can your son-in-law, even without money, do that?"

Su Peilan was always straightforward, never holding grudges overnight.

That relative was her cousin, who had been jealous of her since childhood.

She had planned to take this opportunity to humiliate her, but ended up leaving in a huff, her face dark.

Three days later.

It was time to take grandmother's body for cremation.

At dawn, Gu Beixian brought a bowl of food, urging Su Hua to eat.

She had no appetite, but local customs dictated that descendants shouldn't have an empty stomach before cremation.

Su Hua hastily ate a few bites.

The hearse arrived, and Gu Beixian's men, along with some relatives, carried grandmother onto the hearse.

Su Peilan and several relatives cried loudly.

Su Hua stood by the hearse, tears streaming down her face, standing as close to her grandmother as possible.

She silently said in her heart: Grandma, don't be afraid, I'm here.

The custom was for the deceased's family to escort the hearse out, the procession quite grand, including relatives, villagers, and grandmother's students.

The hearse started slowly.

Su Hua held onto the hearse's handle, tears streaming down her face, following it out of the village.

As the hearse reached the road and began to speed up, her outstretched hand grew farther from the cold car door.

It felt like the sky was falling.

She was so sad she didn't know what to say, just desperately reaching out, running to chase the hearse.

Gu Beixian, fearing for her safety, quickly stopped her.

Su Hua, crying so hard she went limp, collapsed.

Gu Beixian helped her up, holding her tightly like a child.

She couldn't walk, so she reached out, but her hand couldn't touch the hearse, which was getting farther and farther away.

She watched the hearse disappear, crying until she couldn't make a sound.

On the way home, she vomited by the roadside.

Gu Beixian wiped the vomit from her mouth, comforting her gently.

She could hear his voice around her, but couldn't make out what he was saying.

She only knew that the person in the hearse was her grandmother, about to be consumed by fire.

She was about to lose her grandmother completely.

She would never have her grandmother again, never again.

After the cremation, grandmother's ashes were brought back.

On the day of the burial, the sky was overcast, with a light drizzle falling.

A cold wind swept through the muddy path, chilling to the bone.

With Gu Beixian's support, Su Hua, along with her mother and relatives, went to the willow grove behind the village to bury grandmother next to grandfather's grave.

The willow grove was eerie, even in broad daylight, the cold seeping in.

But with grandfather buried there, and grandmother soon to be, Su Hua felt no fear.

Not far from grandfather's grave was the resting place of Ah-Yao, who had once saved her life.

Her three most beloved people were all buried here.

She felt a sense of closeness.

Su Hua leaned quietly against Gu Beixian, watching the yellow earth being shoveled onto grandmother's coffin, gradually filling the pit, forming a new grave, soon marked with a carved tombstone.

Paper effigies and flowers were burned, the flames lighting up half the cold willow grove in the wind's wailing.

Crows cawed, flying to distant trees.

Su Hua stared at the photo of grandmother on the tombstone, tears streaming down her face.

Gu Beixian kept wiping her tears.

As she cried, Su Hua suddenly smiled, her eyes red, and said to him, "I shouldn't be sad. I should be happy for grandmother. She's gone to find grandfather, the person she most wanted to be with. They are buried together, keeping each other company, never lonely again."

Gu Beixian responded with a hum, silently gazing at her swollen eyes, wanting to say: After a hundred years, let's be buried together too.

He opened his mouth but didn't say it.

It was inappropriate, and he feared the unpredictability of life, making promises he couldn't keep.

He said nothing, just held her hand tighter, tilting the umbrella entirely towards her.

After the funeral, Gu Beixian supported Su Hua as they walked back.

For several days, she had no appetite, growing thinner and thinner.

Her frail figure was like a slender bamboo, so thin it seemed a gust of wind could topple her.

Gu Beixian saw this, his heart aching, holding her tightly, wishing he could bear all her pain.

As they walked.

Suddenly, his pupils contracted, spotting a tall figure by the broken bridge at the edge of the village, looking over from a distance.

The man stood sharply, wearing a black jacket, with short black hair, a mask on his face, long legs, and an aura unlike ordinary people.

He stood there like a statue, unmoving, his dark eyes deeply and quietly watching Su Hua.

Even from such a distance, one could feel the deep sorrow in his eyes.

Gu Beixian's heart sank.

Instinctively, he knew it was Ah-Yao.

The figure was almost identical to the one in the photo Chu Mochen had given him.

His eyes gradually filled with coldness. Gu Beixian tilted the umbrella forward, blocking Su Hua's view, preventing her from seeing Ah-Yao, and Ah-Yao from seeing her.