Chapter 181 Once I Was 13 Years Old Part 2

Zi Long, ever the obedient bodyguard, immediately listened to his orders. He smirked and accelerated suddenly, and the teens in the backseat ended up slamming against the backrest in surprise as he began to weave through the streets.

"Thanks Shang Jing," Jingwei said weakly, wiping his tears on his hands as snot began to fall from his nose. Shang Jing frowned in disgust and handed him a tissue box. "What would I do without you?"

"Probably die alone somewhere," Shang Jing said, before wincing at his poor choice of words. He didn't want to kick Jingwei when he was already down, but old habits of insulting other people were hard to break. 'Unlike your mother. '

"True," Jingwei gave a watery little sniff. He didn't seem to mind Shang Jing's verbal slip, his mind still on more pressing issues, the weight of his mother's condition weighing heavily on his mind.

To think he rejected Lady Yu's calls so carelessly! What kind of son was he? He would never forgive himself if his actions cost him his last moments with his mother. At that thought, Jingwei nearly broke down sobbing.

"Don't worry, you're not to die without my permission," Shang Jing said. Jingwei gave a weak laugh in response, thinking that Shang Jing was joking, trying to cheer him up and lighten up the somber mood in the car.

But Zi Long caught Young Master Wu's eye in the rearview mirror, and gave him a slight shake of his head in warning. Only he knew that Young Master Wu wasn't joking.

Sun Jingwei didn't know it, but he was forever trapped in the web created by the Young Master, and his Young Master would never let him escape. He would keep him safe and warm and content, as long as Sun Jingwei never betrayed him. For the sake of Wu Shang Jing's sanity, Zi Long hoped he never would.

'Let them remain the best of friends.' Zi Long prayed to himself. 'Let Sun Jingwei continue to be oblivious to the darkness lurking beneath the gentle veneer of Wu Shang Jing's pale face.'

In no time at all, the familiar sight of the Sun family mansion came into view. Zi Long pulled over in the driveway, and Jingwei took off like a rocket, bolting from the car even before it had fully stopped.

Zi Long and Shang Jing didn't rush along with him. Deep down, they knew there was no point. The faster Jingwei ran, the faster he would break his own heart, and the both of them didn't want to face the sight.

Meanwhile, Jingwei didn't realise that his best friend wasn't running behind him. He was intently focused on racing through the familiar long hallways, with all its twists and turns. He knew the route to his mother's sickroom like the back of his hand, but never has he felt this kind of dread crawling up his throat, threatening to choke him whole.

Was it just him panicking, or was the entire mansion strangely silent?

"Mom! Mom! What's going on?" Jingwei yelled as he ran into her room, half-expecting to see his mother sitting up by her favourite spot at the window so that she could gaze at the rose gardens outside.

The doctor had advised her to stay indoors because the weather was getting colder outside, claiming that she should not be exposed to unnecessary chill. The family had agreed, despite her protests. Her sitting by the window that was cracked slightly open was the compromise everyone agreed on in the end.

Jingwei burst into her room, and looked around desperately, panting wildly due to the impromptu exercise.

His mother wasn't at her favourite spot. With mounting horror, he turned to look at the bed.

There she was, lying peacefully on the bed. It looked like she was asleep, but there was no way a simple nap would have thrown the entire household into an uproar. Lady Yu was silently sobbing at her side, and Tianwei was already staring at him with red-rimmed eyes, still clad in his school uniform.

His brother must have rushed back home from school too when he got the news - and of course Tianwei picked up the phone when Lady Yu called him the first time. Lady Yu probably called him first too, because Tianwei was reliable like that.

The man of the household, his dear Father, however, was nowhere to be found.

"Mom?" Jingwei repeated hesitantly, refusing to believe the truth laid out before his eyes. He took several shaky steps towards the bed, but part of him didn't dare to look too closely.

If he just took a quick glance at the bed, it would look like his mother was simply asleep. She had been doing more of that lately, drifting off in the middle of conversations and needing to be carried back to her bed as she lost energy.

Chemotherapy was brutal on his mother's body and soul, and no matter how positive she was, Jingwei knew her lack of strength and energy ate at her, especially when it seemed that the cancer was here to stay.

Jingwei was still delusionally hoping that maybe his mother just took an extra long nap? And then forgot to breathe? Forgot to wake up?

In his mind, it was inconceivable that his mother would pass away like this so quietly, so unassumingly.

Unfortunately, Jingwei's eyes saw what his mind refused to accept. It was crystal clear to him that his mother's chest was depressingly still.

"Mom! Wake up! Don't scare me like this!" Jingwei screamed as he grabbed one of his mother's free hands, and nearly screamed in shock. Even when his mother was ill, her hand had never felt this cold before. It was completely frozen, but it was degrees colder than a living hand.

"Shut up! She's gone," Tianwei said bitterly, his throat hoarse as though he had also been screaming before Jingwei arrived. "All your screaming can't bring her back."

"That cannot be!" Jingwei yelled, more tears forming in his eyes as his brother's words sank in.

Tianwei would never lie about something like this - his brother had never made a joke in his entire life, always so uptight and rigid. "I don't believe you!"