Chapter 25: Don't You Want Me Anymore?

Biting her lip, soft sobs escaped through the cracks, and for nearly an hour, Hua Lianxi lay motionless, letting the pain in her arm and the blood spread. Her heart felt brutally torn apart, and all her attempts to appear strong crumbled in an instant.

Greed and seeing money as the most important thing had become her labels. With a self-mocking smile, Hua Lianxi finally showed a bitter smile.

The next day, Hua Lianxi hid in her room all day, with heavy curtains tightly drawn, plunging the day and night into complete darkness. Her eyes lost focus as she stared blankly at the ceiling.

From night to day, and then back to night, the vast Xiao Yue Residence remained empty and silent. Since Kong Chengyi slammed the door and left, he hadn't returned. Hua Lianxi lay on the bed in silence, her tears gradually drying up.

Suddenly, the buzzing vibration broke the eerie silence. The light from the phone screen flashed in the darkness. Hua Lianxi turned her head with difficulty to look at the phone, staring quietly at the flashing light. As the vibration stopped, the only light dimmed, restoring the room to silence.

Slowly closing her eyes, she moved her injured arm slightly, feeling the sharp pain clearly. Suddenly, she opened her eyes in the dark, remembering something. Frightened, she opened her eyes wide, her exhausted body losing strength. Struggling, she crawled up with hands and feet, reaching for the phone and frantically pressing the screen, trying to find the number that had just called.

The screen suddenly switched to the number, and the vibration in her hand made Hua Lianxi's tears overflow instantly.

"Hello, it's me. What's wrong?"

Just over twenty hours later, Hua Lianxi rushed out of the airport, anxiously checking her phone, afraid of missing any calls.

She couldn't hear the noise around her or the repeated airport announcements. After reading the text message on her phone, she clutched it and started running through the airport. Her already weak body swayed as she ran, seemingly about to faint at any moment. Just as she was about to reach the exit, she collided with a man dragging his luggage from the other side.

With a low groan, Hua Lianxi fell softly to the ground, closing her eyes in dizziness.

"Are you okay?" A familiar, rich voice sounded, and Hua Lianxi's hazy mind conjured the gentle image of Cheng Shaobai.

"Lianxi? Lianxi? What's wrong? Why are you in America?" The luggage in his hand fell to the ground as Cheng Shaobai reached out to catch the stumbling person. Recognizing her, he was shocked to find it was the woman who had made his heart flutter.

Cheng Shaobai immediately shouted, "What's wrong with you? Why do you look so pale?" Her small, delicate features were covered by heavy dark circles, and her soft body seemed like a floating feather.

After the dizziness passed, Hua Lianxi opened her eyes, seeing Cheng Shaobai's anxious face. She managed a smile, realizing the voice wasn't an illusion.

"Did I hurt you when we collided? Where does it hurt? Tell me." Seeing her smile, Cheng Shaobai's heart relaxed slightly, but he was still worried he had injured her, given his taller and sturdier build.

Touching his hand, Hua Lianxi slowly stood up, shaking off the pain, "I'm fine, I didn't get hurt!"

Without time to say more or dwell on past unpleasantness and awkwardness, Hua Lianxi hurriedly moved forward, calling back to him, "Brother Cheng, I'm sorry, I'm in a hurry. I'll explain later!"

With lingering doubts and concern over her pallor, Cheng Shaobai picked up his luggage and chased after Hua Lianxi.

Anxiously hailing a cab, Hua Lianxi dialed a number, "It's me, I've arrived, I'm coming over right now!"

"Where are you going? I'll take you, I have a car!" Panting, Cheng Shaobai grabbed her arm, insisting on giving her a ride after hearing her call.

Hanging up, Hua Lianxi was about to refuse but was interrupted again.

"This is America; I know the roads well, and it's hard to find a cab at this time!" Usually, rows of taxis waited at the airport exit, but now none were available, most being pre-booked pickups.

Glancing at the time, Hua Lianxi considered for a moment before deciding to accept Cheng Shaobai's offer, "Thank you, Brother Cheng, please take me to Andes Hospital!"

"Andes Hospital?" Repeating the name suspiciously, Cheng Shaobai's brows furrowed with growing concern.

Driving swiftly, Cheng Shaobai overtook one car after another, reaching Andes Hospital in just 40 minutes.

Quickly unbuckling her seatbelt, Hua Lianxi didn't even have time to speak to Cheng Shaobai before rushing into the hospital.

Parking the car, Cheng Shaobai also headed into the hospital, spotting Hua Lianxi through a glass window, her shoulders trembling as she sobbed.

Biting her lip hard, Hua Lianxi pressed her hands against the window, her tearful eyes fixed on the woman bound to the bed in the hospital room, softly calling, "Mom! Mom..."

Cheng Shaobai approached slowly, wrapping her in his arms, gently patting her shoulder, unable to bear seeing the woman tied up in the hospital room, her forehead wrapped in heavy bandages and her left wrist also bandaged.

"Mom... Mom... Why can't you let go? Why are you so stubborn? Don't you want me anymore?" Hua Lianxi cried out in anguish, clutching Cheng Shaobai's clothes, unable to stop her tears, heartbroken by her mother's relentless self-harm and desperate to hold her tightly.

In just three months away, she heard from the doctors that her mother's condition had improved, no longer lost in painful memories weekly, needing heavy medication to control her. She had hoped to soon take her mother home, but then received a call from the attending physician, informing her of her mother's sudden self-destructive behavior, repeatedly banging her head against the wall and attempting suicide by cutting her wrist, seeking escape from her self-created nightmare through self-harm.

All her hopes and dreams shattered instantly, and this time, she almost lacked the courage to face it. She feared losing her mother, the only family she had in the world. Without her, she would be like a rootless plant, lacking any support to survive.

"It's okay, Auntie is okay!" Cheng Shaobai comforted her, recalling the past years when she lived in constant fear, tirelessly caring for her mother, resisting fiercely when her mother lost her mind and tried to harm herself, enduring daily torment.

"Why won't she come out of the past? Why can't she see me? Doesn't she love me? I'm her only daughter!" Hua Lianxi's painful cries erupted, her fragile strength breaking, overwhelmed by her mother's selfishness, shutting herself away and hurting her daughter.

"Give her more time; she'll come around and love you again!" All the comforting words seemed powerless now, Cheng Shaobai's heart ached, unable to bear her burden, silently staying by her side, watching the sleeping Hua Zhenzhen under the effects of sedatives.

"Ten years, she's been trapped in meaningless memories for ten whole years! She's cruelly abandoned me! How can she be so heartless?"

One day during college, after returning from volunteering at the elderly home, Hua Zhenzhen suddenly went berserk, hysterically shouting, smashing everything at home, ignoring her daughter's fear. She finally grabbed a knife, slashing her arm, smiling as she watched the blood flow before stopping her madness. That day marked the beginning of Hua Lianxi's nightmare, turning their home into chaos and insanity, with Hua Zhenzhen spiraling into self-harm and suicide attempts, even losing her mind and trying to strangle her daughter.

Closing his eyes in pain, Cheng Shaobai found no words to comfort her, gently wiping her tears, staying by her side, waiting for Hua Zhenzhen to wake, regretting not being there to protect her, to lessen her suffering, to be her support.

With swollen eyes and bitten lips, Hua Lianxi's desperate cries couldn't awaken Hua Zhenzhen from her self-imposed world. As the sedative's effects wore off, her mother opened her eyes, showing no reaction, as if Hua Lianxi was just a stranger.

The hollow gaze pierced Hua Lianxi's heart like a sharp dagger, leaving her breathless with pain.

"Mom, it's me, your darling Lianxi. Are you okay?" Holding back the heartache, Hua Lianxi crouched by the bed, her trembling hand touching her mother's needle-marked hand, gently caressing her sallow face.

With open eyes, staring blankly at the ceiling, Hua Zhenzhen seemed to live in her own world.

"Her condition was much better, but something on TV that day triggered her, causing her to become hysterical, screaming, 'I'm not, I'm not... You're all wrong...'!" Standing at the foot of the bed, the attending physician explained the situation to Hua Lianxi while recording medical notes, "Then she suddenly ran into the wall, rushed out of the room, found a knife somewhere, and slashed her wrist until the blood flowed."

Silent tears fell onto Hua Zhenzhen's sallow face, leaving Hua Lianxi unable to ask more questions, as the familiar madness and bloodshed had haunted her more than ten times, terrifyingly familiar.

"Mom, look at me, I'm Lianxi. Haven't you seen me in a while? Do I look fatter? I've gained weight recently!" Lowering her head, pressing her face against her mother's restrained hand, Hua Lianxi smiled, letting her mother feel her face.

Every time her mother briefly forgot herself, briefly lost herself, Hua Lianxi held her hand tightly, repeatedly telling her she was Hua Lianxi, her only daughter.