Chapter 48: Unbearable (1/2)

Cheng Xi picked up her phone and called the hospital, instructing them to inform her first if anyone tried to inquire about Chen Jiaman’s condition, even if they were a member of her family.

She actually didn’t know if Lin Fan would go there straight away, but she knew that he would definitely go at some point.

Indeed, right when she was about to leave her house, she received a call from the head nurse, informing her that a man had come to visit Chen Jiaman. Because it wasn’t visiting hours, she hadn’t let him in, but she did explain the patient’s condition to him in detail.

Cheng Xi asked, “Did he mention his name?”

“He said that his surname was Wang. He seemed like a somewhat young and tall lad, quite handsome.”

The hospital also had security footage so that Cheng Xi could take a look for herself. Because of the disaster last time a ‘family member’ had visited Chen Jiman, the head nurse had been especially careful this time, and was able to send Cheng Xi a picture taken by the security camera.

The image wasn’t very clear, but it was good enough that Cheng Xi could easily recognize just who had visited Chen Jiaman.

Even though the man in the image had covered his face the entire time, the body very clearly belonged to Lin Fan.

A refined and handsome look, but somewhat thin.

Cheng Xi waited for a long while at the place where Lin Fan’s mother had agreed to meet her. It was almost past lunchtime when Lin Fan’s mother finally appeared.

She came alone and was dressed plainly today, wearing a long shirt, pants made of white down, and a green facemask. If not for the fact that her eyes were exposed as she entered the room, Cheng Xi would not have been able to recognize her.

Cheng Xi stood up, and Lin Fan’s mother walked straight up to her. She stood there for a while, looking at her, before taking off her face mask and sighing, “I didn’t think that it would really be you.”

Lin Fan’s mother clearly hadn’t managed to identify Cheng Xi’s voice over the phone, so when she said, “It would really be you,” it was clear that Lin Fan had informed her about it beforehand.

Cheng Xi smiled and invited her to sit. “Would you like to eat something?”

“No.” She looked at Cheng Xi directly. “Did you already know that it was me?”

“No, but I identified your voice in the middle of our phone call.”

“Really?” Lin Fan’s mother was somewhat surprised, and she laughed at herself. “I, on the other hand, couldn’t identify you at all.” Her eyes drooped as she played with her facemask. “I only realized it was you after Lin Fan told me that it was you who wanted to see me.”

“Sorry. I didn’t intentionally try to hide my identity it from you, I was also very surprised by this coincidence.”

“Right, surprised. Who knows,” Lin Fan’s mother mumbled, only breaking out of her stupor after a while. “Alright. What happened to that family?”

Her voice wasn’t as cold as when she had answered the phone, but it was clear that she didn’t like them either. Cheng Xi explained what she knew, but when Lin Fan’s mother heard that Chen Jiaman’s grandmother had died at Chen Jiaman’s hands, Lin Fan’s mother only laughed coldly, as she said, “Truly, a just retribution!”

And when she heard Cheng Xi recount what Chen Fuguo had said in the hospital, she laughed even more coldly. “He’s really gotten better at acting, hasn’t he? Being better to his daughter? If he had really wanted to do that, he would have done it before she became a victim. It’s more that he was desperate and just wanted to drag at least a few others down with him, right?”

Cheng Xi had to admit, as someone who had once shared a bed with Chen Jiaman’s father, Lin Fan’s mother knew him very well.

Cheng Xi also didn’t know what to say because she could hear that Lin Fan’s mother didn’t need her acknowledgment.

After getting up to speed on the situation, Lin Fan’s mother finally asked about Chen Jiaman. “Can her illness be treated?”

“That will depend on what happens in the future. Even if a patient suffering from mental illness is able to leave the hospital, there’ll be a long period during which she’ll need her family members’ support and accompaniment. This is necessary for her to slowly reintegrate into society and get back on track again.”

“And if not? Will she just stay crazy, as she is now?”

Cheng Xi remained silent, agreeing tacitly.

When Lin Fan’s mother saw Cheng Xi’s reaction, she took a cigarette out of her bag and lit it. Only after taking a few deep breaths did she say, “Actually, it’s fine even if she’s crazy. This way, at least she won’t know everything, so she won’t have to be pained by her father and her own actions.”

“Mrs. Lin!” Cheng Xi frowned.

“Can you not bear to listen to my words?” Lin Fan’s mother glanced at her and smiled, beautiful in its own grimness. “I’m just telling the truth. How hard it is to live! You’re only free after you go crazy or die, just like that man. Ha, if he wanted to toss that girl to me and have me raise her, then why didn’t he do it fourteen years ago? At that time, I would have taken her away with me even if I had to suffer a bit---but he waited until she was crazy and silly before throwing her to me. What kind of person does he think I am?!”

She was obviously emotionally agitated, and nothing Cheng Xi could say now would help. Instead, she chose to say nothing and listen passively.

Lin Fan’s mother, as expected, complained a great deal. The general gist of her words matched what Cheng Xi had gleaned from other sources. Chen Jiaman’s father loved to gamble, and he did it so often that he even developed good acting skills from it. Thus, those who didn’t know the truth all thought that he was a good, honest, responsible man.