Upon learning about Mo Yinshu's death, Xu Xingguang was deeply pained but quickly regained her composure. After all, the soul beneath her youthful facade had been hardened like a fortress through ten lifetimes of reincarnation.
Xu Xingguang glanced at Xu Zeqing, asking, "My mom has always been in good health, and she was so young. How exactly did she die?"
Xu Zeqing, who had been keeping his head bowed, finally lifted it slightly.
Meeting Xu Xingguang's gaze, he explained in a low voice, "After you became a vegetative patient, Jiang Heng used despicable means to ruin our company in order to force us into submission. The company's financial chain broke, and your mom, trying to save it, attended a banquet seeking investment. She drank too much, and on her way home, she encountered a torrential rain and drowned with her car in the Yujiang River..."
Upon hearing this, Xu Xingguang closed her eyes, a deep red quickly filled her vision.
Thinking of her mother with a wine glass in hand, humbly seeking investments among businessmen, broke Xu Xingguang's heart.
Her mother, Mo Yinshu, was a talented writer, and Xu Xingguang inherited her writing prowess.
Mo Yinshu had the pride of a literati, loved tranquility, and never favored socializing or envied wealth. Her pride never allowed her to humble herself before others.
What exactly did Xu Zeqing do and say, and what role did he play in all of this, needed thorough investigation.
Moreover, even if everything You Jingqiu said was true, Xu Xingguang still couldn't accept You Jingqiu's identity nor forgive Xu Zeqing's actions.
After all, it hadn't even been three years since her mother passed.
Xu Xingguang stared at the unfamiliar wedding ring on Xu Zeqing's left ring finger and suddenly laughed sarcastically, "My mom's body isn't even cold yet, and you already have a new love by your side. Dad, you really are heartless."
Though her tone wasn't heavy, Xu Zeqing blushed with shame. Seeing that Xu Xingguang was eyeing the wedding ring, Xu Zeqing, feeling guilty, covered it with his right hand.
Noticing this, You Jingqiu's face looked grim, but she was too overwhelmed by tonight's events that her mind couldn't process it, so she remained silent.
The gloom on Xu Xingguang's face passed swiftly, and she then smiled with innocent serenity. "Dad, Aunt You, thank you for taking care of me these past three years. Your kindness is engraved in my heart, and I will definitely, one day, repay it doubly."
Though her tone was calm, Xu Zeqing and You Jingqiu's hearts raced wildly.
'Repay doubly'—these four words sounded unsettling.
Just then, the night-duty nurse arrived at Xu Xingguang's ward, temperature gun in hand.
Seeing Xu Xingguang awake, the nurse was startled, then rubbed her eyes, confirming that Xu Xingguang had truly woken up, before raising her voice to call out, "Doctor Zhang, the patient in bed 12 has woken up!"
With the nurse's loud announcement, everyone in the building knew that Xu Xingguang, in the vegetative patients' ward on the third floor, had awoken.
Soon, all the duty doctors and nurses flocked to Xu Xingguang's room, surrounding her like she was an alien.
A person who had been asleep for three years, with bodily functions weakening, destined to die, suddenly awakened!
One had to admit, Xu Xingguang had performed a miracle.
As the doctors crowded around Xu Xingguang, bombarding her with questions, You Jingqiu and Xu Zeqing took the opportunity to slip out of the room.
Standing in the hallway outside, Xu Zeqing realized his back was drenched in cold sweat.
You Jingqiu took a long breath and, thinking of something, turned to Xu Zeqing, saying, "That girl really is lucky to wake up at such a critical moment. I wonder if that sickly Huo from the Huo family is dead, missing this good opportunity, and we..."
"Shut up!" Xu Zeqing's face suddenly turned dark, his gaze drifting over the hoard of medical staff in the room, he warned You Jingqiu in a low voice, "The Huo family's illness is a closely guarded secret. If anyone hears this, my cousin can forget about working on Divine Concealment Island!"
"Remember, regarding the Huo family, we know nothing. Tonight, we're simply visiting the hospital together and coincidentally encountered Xingguang's awakening."
You Jingqiu understood the stakes involved. She nodded forcefully and replied in a hushed tone, "Don't worry, I get it."
The Huo family is an ancient noble family in Xia Country, with a history of over three hundred years, now living secluded on Divine Concealment Island. No matter how turbulent Xia Country becomes, the Huo family remains steadfast, the power elite all living under their influence.
Those who pass the rigorous screening to work on Divine Concealment Island are all talented individuals with academic and practical prowess.
Xu Zeqing's uncle, Hong Ruhai, is a gardener for the Huo family.
If he gains recognition from the Huo family, he'll have the chance to join the massive Huo financial group, officially serving it.
Being a gardener is merely a stepping stone for Hong Ruhai to work internally for the Huo family.
Hong Ruhai, orphaned young, was raised by Xu Zeqing's grandparents. Though of higher seniority, he is younger than Xu Zeqing by five years and grew up alongside him.
Thus, Hong Ruhai, though a cousin, shares a deep bond with Xu Zeqing akin to that of an uncle-nephew.
Jiang Heng dared not utterly destroy the Xu family due to Hong Ruhai's existence.
The one referred to by You Jingqiu as 'sickly' is named Huo Wen'an, the eldest grandson of the Huo family, appointed as the family's Captain by Mr. Huo, but he has been plagued by severe illness for years.
The outside world doesn't know the specifics of Huo Wen'an's illness, only that the Huo family has been scouring the globe for expert doctors these past years.
Regrettably, no one worldwide has been able to treat Huo Wen'an.
Aware of his impending death and unwilling to pass on his illness to his children, Huo Wen'an is adamant about not marrying or having children.
Mrs. Huo, worried for her son's loneliness and solitary death, plans to find a pure and clean excellent woman to arrange a ghost marriage with her eldest son.
Once wed, the chosen woman must accompany Huo Wen'an in death.
Even in old society, such a notion would be criticized, much less so in modern, highly civilized society.
Logically, no parent would willingly subject their daughter to such grievance.
But this is the Huo family—a noble family whose words can determine the fate of other families. To marry Huo family's eldest son is to gain their help and protection; who could resist such temptation?
When Mrs. Huo announced seeking a companion for her beloved son, the prestigious families of Xia Country rushed to discreetly provide information on their daughters, including Jiang Family, the richest in West City.
The Xu family's background wasn't even qualified to be part of this.
It was thanks to Hong Ruhai's work on Divine Concealment Island, having caught wind of the search and knowing they had a fitting candidate within their own extended family.
That person was Xu Xingguang.