Do Not Speak Ill of My Mother!-Chapter 656 - 601: Return to the Imperial City

The storm in Haidu has settled, and the ninety billion compensation agreement exploded like a thunderclap. It not only opened a new path for Sea Star Company but also carved Yan Yueqing’s awe-inspiring name on the chessboard of power and capital.

She initially planned to return to C City to visit her grandfather, but an emergency call from the Imperial City Sanatorium suddenly changed her plans—Grandma Ji was critically ill.

Even though the new medication alleviated Grandma Ji’s pain, years of chronic illness had already drained her vitality. It was a blessing that she could comfortably spend these last few months. Despite the medical staff’s kind concealment, Grandma Ji was well aware of her own condition. She held on until last night before earnestly asking the doctor to contact Yan Yueqing, hoping to see her one last time.

In the suburbs of the Imperial City, Jingxin Sanatorium is surrounded by greenery, serene and otherworldly.

Sunlight poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows, spilling onto the polished floor. The expensive disinfectant mingled with the fresh scent of green plants permeated the air, a world apart from the damp, decaying atmosphere of Canglong Village.

In the ward, the machines emitted a low hum. Grandma Ji’s withered hands gripped Yan Yueqing’s wrist like iron pincers, with strength that belied her frailty.

Her face, crisscrossed with wrinkles, was streaked with tears, and her murky eyes struggled to focus: "Miss Yan... you are the Bodhisattva who saved our lives, our reincarnated parents... with these rotten bones of mine... I could end up in this heavenly place..." She pointed laboriously to the picturesque garden outside the window and the white coats in the distance, "Look... this place... this medicine... and Little Leh..."

Speaking of her grandson, a spark suddenly lit in her eyes: "He can attend the best school now! The teachers all say he’s a star descended from the heavens! If it weren’t for you pulling him out of the remote mountains... who knows if he could ever leave the mountains in this lifetime!"

The intense emotions triggered a bout of heart-wrenching coughing.

Yan Yueqing allowed the clear pain from her wrist to linger, while her other hand gently soothed the elderly woman’s heaving back, her voice gentle yet firm: "Grandma, be at ease and recover. This is what I should do. Once you’re better, Little Leh can soar ahead without any worries."

"I won’t be getting better..." Grandma Ji’s tears flowed like a spring, filled with nearly devout gratitude, "I can’t let go of Little Leh! The school... the school wants him to skip grades! You’ve seen so much... how many grades do you think he should skip? Let him skip! The sooner he finishes, the sooner he can work for you!"

The words "work for you" were spoken with force and urgency, eager to repay the kindness.

Yan Yueqing’s fingertips paused slightly.

This sacrificial "repayment" weighed a bit on her heart.

The first meeting in Canglong Village, Ji Li’s eyes were like those of a wounded young wolf, and when he first arrived in Imperial City, he held onto old newspapers reporting her "dark history" with a cold scrutiny, flashing through her mind.

Is this "repayment" truly the old woman’s wish, or a shackle placed on Ji Li?

She gently withdrew her reddened wrist and tucked in the blanket corners for the old woman, her voice steady: "Grandma, skipping grades concerns Little Leh’s future. It’s not just about academic ability but also his personal wishes and mental readiness. The school and teachers have their considerations, but the final decision lies in his own hands."

Her gaze turned towards the verdant landscape outside the window, her tone solemn: "As for working for me... you misunderstood. My support for Little Leh is solely in the hope that he, with his talent and effort, can reach the heights that truly belong to him—not for me, not for any individual, but to achieve greater, more meaningful things: to serve more people on this land, to serve the country."

"Crack!"

An ear-piercing brittle sound suddenly came from outside the ajar door.

Outside, Ji Li stood as if frozen.

The buckle of his brand-new backpack strap, clutched tightly in unconsciousness, had the sharp plastic edges deeply embedded into his palm, yet he was completely unaware. The sharp pain couldn’t suppress the churning nausea and anger in his heart.

Hypocrite! More of those high-sounding, graceful words!

He stared intently through the crack in the door at that elegant and composed figure inside.

The off-white suit, exquisite hair, appearing so impeccable under the sunlight.

"Serve the country"? What a noble excuse! Just a sugar coating on her cold ambition!

The words "the sanatorium is convenient for taking care of Grandma" echoed from Canglong Village, only for Grandma to become her new drug’s observation subject...

Now, she’s trying to use "national duty" to tame him?

To clean up this "country bumpkin" and carefully nurture him, is it really to set him free?

Ridiculous! The final destination for a fostered piglet is nothing but its owner’s chopping block, right?

"Little Leh?" A nurse passed by with a tray of medicine, surprised at the pallor of his face and his trembling body, "You’re not going in? Grandma’s been talking about you all morning!"

Ji Li abruptly lowered his head, using his bangs to cover the icy hatred in his eyes, biting his lower lip until he tasted blood to forcibly suppress the turmoil within him. With a nearly self-destructive resolve, he pushed the door open and entered.

"Little Leh!" Grandma Ji’s eyes lit up as she struggled to sit up, "Quick! Quickly thank Miss Yan! She’s been thinking about your grade skipping! Hoping you could become a scientist and serve the country someday! What a promising future..."

Ji Li ignored Yan Yueqing, walked straight to the bedside, and placed his backpack down stiffly, his voice sullen: "Mm, got it."

Grandma Ji’s smile froze, anxiously saying: "Mm what? Quickly thank Miss Yan! She..."

"Grandma!" Ji Li suddenly raised his head, his voice rising, casting an icy glare at Yan Yueqing, and challenged defiantly: "Are you so concerned about my grade skipping? Just say it! How many grades do you hope I skip? One year? Two years? Or straight to university? The sooner I finish the textbooks, the sooner I achieve, the sooner I can work for you—"

He emphasized the last two words deliberately, curling his lips in a cold sneer, "—isn’t that what you wanted? Why bother beating around the bush with talk of ’nation’ and ’value’?!"

"Ji Li!!!" Grandma Ji was so enraged by these rebellious words that her whole body trembled violently, pointing at her grandson and coughing with heart-wrenching intensity, her face turning from white to blue.

"Grandma! Don’t get excited!" Yan Yueqing immediately stood up to stop her.

Her face showed no anger, and her eyes, calm like a deep pool, pierced through the hostility and anger in the boy’s eyes.

Amid the suppressed coughing of the elderly woman and the "tick-tock" of instruments, she slowly spoke, her voice not loud but weighted with the gravity of her words: "Ji Li, my only expectation of you is that you stand at the height that truly belongs to you. This height is not to please me or to repay a kindness, it only concerns the limit your ability can reach. As for consent?"

She paused slightly, her eyes showing no anger, only sorrowful understanding, "The only consent I seek is that you get there with your own will and strength. That’s all."

She no longer looked at the boy’s stiff face, briskly picking up her coat: "Regarding skipping grades, discuss it well with Grandma and the teachers, let me know anytime once you’ve decided." She turned to Grandma Ji, her voice softening: "Grandma, please rest, don’t get upset. I will head out first, I will come back another day to see you."

The sound of high heels crisply faded into the distance, taking away the warmth of the hospital room.

The footsteps vanished, and Ji Li finally, as if drained of energy, loosened his clenched fists in despair.

"Foolish!" Grandma Ji cried and pounded the bed in despair, her voice hoarse with desperation, "What we owe Miss Yan... we can’t repay in several lifetimes! She wants you to live with dignity and contribute to the country! How come... how come you are so ungrateful!!"

The boy’s body was as tense as stone.

Grandma’s lament was like needles in his ears, yet it could not penetrate the thick ice wall in his heart.

Sincerity? He clenched his teeth fiercely, recalling the unwilling and desolate look in Qin Youran’s eyes when she was taken away by the police.

If sincerity is so precious, why could she snatch away someone’s love and still smile so openly?!

He instinctively reached into the deep corner of his pants pocket—there, hidden, was a nearly shattered corner of an old newspaper, his weapon against "hypocrisy."

In the dead of night, the garden of the sanatorium lay silent, and the icy moonlight could not dispel the chill in Ji Li’s heart.

He sat on a bench, once again taking out that treasured old newspaper.

Under the moonlight, the photo showed Qin Youran’s gentle smile as she distributed cakes in the orphanage. This was from last year’s newspaper, taken before she was brought onto the program...

Who could have guessed that just a program, by going against Yan Yueqing, Aunt Qin would end up in prison?

In stark contrast was the large report beside it, depicting Yan Yueqing in an imposing manner at a technology forum, the headline striking: "The Philanthropy Queen Lays Out Ultra New Energy, Another Move in the Capital Game!"

"Contribute to the country... Pillar of the state..." Ji Li stared at the radiant photo of Yan Yueqing, squeezing out a sneer between his teeth, "It’s all a lie... you just want to use me!"

In his mind, images of Yan Yueqing and Qin Youran alternated constantly.

A little child, utterly devoid of the innocence of this age, left only with ongoing confusion and frustration!

He thought for a long time but couldn’t figure it out, so he simply got up to return to his room and see if Grandma had fallen asleep.

Just as he reached the entrance of the main building of the sanatorium, a shrill scream like a dagger pierced through the quiet night!

"302! Quick! Room 302! Ji Wanning! Heartbeat stopped! Blood pressure unreadable!"

The sharp alarm and urgent footsteps from the nurse station exploded instantly!

"Grandma——!!"

Fear seized hold of Ji Li instantly! It was as if his entire blood flow reversed, his mind went blank! He charged madly towards the third floor like a frantic young beast!

His heart pounded wildly within his chest, he could hardly breathe.

At the moment he pushed open the door of room 302, the blinding red light of the emergency lamp flashed frantically, casting the entire room like a scene from purgatory. Doctors and nurses surrounded the bed, shadows shifting, commands urgent and chaotic.

"1mg of adrenaline, IV push!"

"Continuous chest compressions! Do not stop!"

"Prepare to defibrillate! Charge 200J! Everyone step away from the bed!"

Ji Li’s legs went weak, nearly collapsing onto the ground. His gaze was fixed desperately on the lifeless body on the hospital bed, Grandma’s withered face appeared even more ashen under the red light.

However, amid this chaos, that familiar figure beside the bed struck him like a lightning bolt, leaving him paralyzed with shock!

Yan Yueqing!