On September 29th, the jasmine buds grew a little bigger, as if ready to bloom in full glory.
Meng Chen’s condition also gradually improved, having survived the most dangerous period, but whether he would regain consciousness still depended on Meng Chen himself.
The Omega had experienced cardiac arrest three times, and Zeng Lin hadn’t closed his eyes for three days, visibly losing weight at an alarming rate.
On October 1st, the first jasmine flower bloomed.
A small bud, yet it unfolded with vibrant vitality.
On the evening of October 2nd, the weather turned gloomy as rain began to fall. The old man had been by Meng Chen’s side all these days, sometimes recounting childhood stories, sometimes offering long-overdue apologies.
The old man said that when Meng Chen was young, he loved playing in the rain, changing into his raincoat and boots, and splashing in puddles with glee. As a child, Meng Chen wasn’t particularly mischievous, but he loved following his mother. In the past, when times were tough, the child’s mother would embroider, and Meng Chen would embroider too. Despite his lack of skill, he once embroidered a “duck” instead of a crane, but no one was allowed to laugh.
The old man mentioned that their family fell apart later on.
Zeng Lin crouched beside the old man, listening for a long time.
Lively? For Meng Chen, it seemed like an unfamiliar word, just like “fragile,” it felt out of place for a life as tumultuous as his.
On October 7th, Zeng Lin went away for a trip and returned a week later with an elderly woman, her hair streaked with gray.
—It was Meng Chen’s mother.
Coincidentally, the place where he found the old woman was just a few steps away from the bar where Meng Chen had worked. The old woman was employed at a restaurant, and when Zeng Lin found her, she had just finished washing the last dish, with grime seeping into the crack of her nails.
The bar owner happened to come out at that moment and was taken aback upon seeing the two.
Zeng Shao and the old woman didn’t seem to know each other well, yet they appeared familiar. It was merely a coincidence that the bar owner remembered the young master’s recent instruction to credit all his bar expenses to the waiter named Meng Chen; the very next day, an old woman came looking for him.
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The bar owner had a deep impression of the old woman, her stooped back and rough, cracked, peeling hands.
“How can I help you?” the bar owner set down the glass in his hand.
The old woman rummaged through her belongings.
It was a well-worn cloth bag, adorned with a crudely embroidered “duck.” After searching for a while, she took out a golden bangle.
Evidently, the old woman had kept the bangle in good condition.
“Mr. Chen said you’re a man of honor. Please help me with a small favor in exchange for this bracelet.” Mr. Chen was the owner of the neighboring restaurant, and as if to prove the bangle’s value, the old woman added, “This bangle was given to me as a dowry twenty years ago, it’s genuine. Please, you must help me.” She was about to kneel.
The bar owner swiftly stopped her, supporting her with one arm. “Just tell me what you need, and I’ll do my best to help if I can.”
Despite his refusal, the old woman insisted on giving him the bangle, and the bar owner had no choice but to accept it temporarily. Seeing the bar owner take her possession, the old woman finally seemed to be relieved.
“You have a kid named Meng Chen working here, that quiet, fair-skinned Omega.”
“Yes, I remember him,” the bar owner replied.
“That child is ill and needs treatment.”
“Here’s four thousand yuan, it’s not much,” the old woman placed a wad of cash, triple-wrapped in plastic bags, into the bar owner’s hand. “Please find a way to add it to his salary without letting him know it’s from me.”
“That kid is quite stubborn.”
“Then you must tell me, are you Meng Chen’s—”
“My ex-husband’s surname was Meng.”
After that, the old woman visited almost every month, always bringing four thousand yuan.
How could a restaurant worker have any savings? The bar owner didn’t know how many jobs the old woman had to work to persevere for three whole years.
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Back in the present, the bar owner returned to his room and took out the pair of bangles from two years ago.
“Xiao Meng quit his job here recently, Auntie. You should keep this.”
The old woman’s lips trembled.
“It’s no big deal. Xiao Meng has always been a good kid and worked diligently.” The bar owner waved his hand and went straight back to the bar.
After the bar owner left, the old woman composed herself before speaking:
“Chen Chen…did his surgery go well?”
“He has passed the critical period,” Zeng Lin had been searching for Meng Chen’s mother since hearing the old man’s words that day.
“He’s just been sleeping. I believe he would want to see you.”
The old woman looked up at the tall man before her. She had some impression of him, as he had sent Meng Chen home a few times. But in her memory, wasn’t he an alpha? The old woman had been worried then, being a beta herself, and had researched a lot about injuries to an Omega’s glands. Meng Chen had been hurt there, and staying close to an alpha would undoubtedly be a burden.
But seeing the sweet smiles on Meng Chen’s face, the old woman said nothing—she only wanted her child to be happy.
“You’re not an alpha?”
“I used to be,” Zeng Lin subconsciously rubbed his neck, “but then I made a mistake, and—this happened.” He had to take responsibility for his actions, even if the price was his life.
On October 15th, the old woman saw her child face-to-face for the first time.
Meng Chen was indeed “sleeping” quietly, with his vital signs improving. The oxygen mask had been removed, and the Omega lay in the hospital bed, breathing steadily.
On October 17th, the jasmine suddenly bloomed overnight, filling the air with its fragrance.
On October 21st, the Omega’s eyes showed signs of movement.
That jasmine plant had bloomed again.
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