Step by step, a gentle breeze leads to a smooth path

Chapter 276 Sneaking Home

The elderly mother lay alone on the bed, her eyes fixed on the door. "Mom!" Ning Xueyan hurried forward. A gust of cold wind blew in, and she shivered. She looked to her left and saw that both windows were open.

"Mom!" Ning Xueyan called out again, and only then did her mother focus her gaze on Ning Xueyan.

"Yan'er, why are you back? Hurry... hurry up, they'll see us." Ning's mother pushed Ning Xueyan aside urgently, gesturing for her to leave quickly.

"Mom, Mom, it's okay, Lingling is watching outside. Are you hungry? I'll feed you some porridge and some steamed buns I made myself."

Ning Xueyan went to close the door and windows first. It was already winter, and the room belonged to a patient. It must have been done by her two sisters-in-law. If you asked, they would probably say it was to air out the smell!

She didn't ask any more questions, afraid of upsetting her mother. Her mother was sick, but her mind was very clear.

Sigh, everyone gets old eventually, why be so cruel? God is watching!

Touching her mother's cold hands, Ning Xueyan thought that next time she would bring a thermos and put it in the quilt so that her mother would be warmer. She could also ask Lingling to secretly change the hot water. She could manage that.

Ning Xueyan fed her mother half a bowl of porridge and half a steamed bun. The elderly woman, who had been hungry for a long time and was also sick, could not eat greasy food, nor could she eat too much at once.

"Mom, there are still some steamed buns and two meat buns here. I'll hide them so you can eat them tonight."

"Yan'er, give the meat buns to Lingling. Don't leave them in my room; they'll smell them. Remember to open the window when you leave."

"Mom, you'll get cold. Just tell Lingling—no, Ning Tianqi—that he closed the door when he came back. It's his wife's doing. I doubt he'd dare say anything." We can't let Lingling get beaten up. Let Ning Tianqi see what his wife has done.

"Yan'er, live your own life well and don't worry about me, cough cough cough... Mom doesn't have much time left. From now on, just look after that girl Lingling. She's a good girl, and she's been beaten a lot by her mother for taking care of this old woman, cough cough..." Ning's mother seemed to be giving her last words. She was suffering so much living now, but she couldn't bring herself to end it all.

Hou Guoguo and the others left all the windows and doors wide open, and she didn't say anything to stop them. Perfect, let this old woman freeze to death, so as not to drag her Yan'er and Lingling down with her.

"Mom, don't say anymore, take a rest. I know everything." Ning Xueyan gently patted her mother's back to help her catch her breath.

"Mom, Hou Guoguo is sleeping. Ma Xiaolan went out. Let me help you wipe yourself down."

Ning's mother has always been a meticulous person. She knew that if she got sick and couldn't move around, she would suffer. But she still shook her head and refused.

"Mom, I am your daughter, and it is only right that I serve you. Even if they find out, I am not afraid." Finally, at Ning Xueyan's insistence, Lingling boiled a large pot of water and helped to give Ning's mother a good bath. The sheets on the bed were also changed and washed.

The commotion woke Hou Guoguo up. She rushed into the room, about to yell at someone, when Ning Xueyan handed her a two-yuan note before she could even open her mouth. Hou Guoguo refused to take it, so Ning Xueyan handed her another one.

Her expression immediately changed, and she beamed with joy, saying tactfully, "Sister, you'll come again next time. I know what to say about the sheets and firewood later."

Hou Guoguo was secretly delighted. She didn't have to do anything and earned four yuan for free. Later, when she opened the courtyard gate to collect the sheets and clothes, she would shout and the neighbors would all say that she was a filial daughter-in-law, gaining both fame and fortune. They would hope that her sister-in-law would come more often.

Ning Xueyan ignored her, helped her mother lie down, and then left to avoid running into Ning Tianbao and his brother on their way home from get off work. She wasn't afraid; she just didn't want to get entangled with those heartless people.

She offered to take Ning's mother to her home, but Ning's mother firmly objected. She had two sons and wanted to die in front of them, not as a burden to her daughter. When Ning Xueyan tried to persuade her again, Ning's mother closed her eyes and ignored her.

When Song Tingnan returned home on the weekend, she saw Gao Haoran sitting at the gate and happily walked over. "Master, Master, were you waiting for me?"

Song Yanchu, who came back with him, scoffed, "You wish! He's waiting for the delivery guy!"

"What delivery person? Uncle, you ordered something delicious again? Is Sister Ning delivering it again?"