The temperature in Rochester was not high.

Shen Qiming wore a simple black long down jacket, but standing by the car, he looked different from others.

He was handsome, even among the sharply defined features of Westerners, his refinement was striking.

Without saying a word, he could attract many people’s attention.

Jin Yaotiao even heard the sound of a camera shutter, and behind her, people were discussing in a foreign language whether he was a celebrity from some country.

Even though they didn’t know who he was, they had the sense that they wanted his autograph.

Jin Yaotiao called the driver arranged by the agency to inform him of her location.

After hanging up, she smiled faintly. “What a coincidence.”

Shen Qiming didn’t say much, just walked over and started loading her luggage from the car.

He was tall and thin, and even in the puffy down jacket, he didn’t look bulky.

But the heavy, overflowing suitcases that Jin’s mother had packed seemed weightless in his hands.

---

On the car, Jin’s mother exclaimed several times, “It’s really a coincidence that we ran into Xiao Shen in Rochester. It’s just that we’ve caused trouble for him with all these suitcases. If I had known, I would’ve packed lighter.”

The Jin family had no support overseas.

This time in Rochester, Jin’s father couldn’t help at all, and it was up to Jin Yaotiao and the agency to handle the arrangements.

Jin’s mother, unfamiliar with the place, felt uneasy after arriving, seeing nothing but faces from different ethnicities, all here for medical treatment.

After passing through customs, she felt panicked and disoriented, unable to speak the language and always a step behind in understanding.

She could only watch her slim daughter, who seemed like she could be blown away by the wind, running back and forth, unable to help.

Although her daughter remained calm and reassuring, comforting her not to be nervous, she still felt guilty and nearly cried several times.

No matter how capable her daughter was, she was still her baby, cherished and protected.

With such a big issue at home, her daughter’s mental burden couldn’t be lighter than her own as a mother, yet she had to endure the pain while caring for them.

It was her own fault for being so useless as a mother.

Jin’s father sat in the backseat, looking out of the window, smiling but saying nothing.

Jin Yaotiao didn’t join their conversation.

She received a call from the agency’s contact person, who informed her that a house near the hospital had just become available.

The location and facilities were better than the originally booked one, and they could arrange for her family to stay there.

---

Registration, X-rays, tests, hospitalization.

Jin Yaotiao soon got busy.

The last time she interacted with this hospital, her father’s condition had already worsened to the point where he couldn’t even fly.

She had stayed by his bedside, knowing nothing, leaving the trivial matters like communicating with the hospital and doctors to others.

This time, she was handling things herself.

Although it was troublesome, it felt like a form of healing.

Sometimes, she would suddenly recall moments of despair, but when she came to, her father was there, energetic and happily touring the hospital rooms.

This made her believe she was truly experiencing a different kind of history.

The doctor was busy and somewhat arrogant, but delivered only good news.

For example, her father’s test results showed his condition was even more optimistic than previously estimated, so the surgery didn’t need to be rescheduled, and the plan could proceed as originally planned.

After hearing her translation, Jin’s mother suddenly collapsed to the ground, crying uncontrollably.

Jin’s father went to wipe her tears, frowning with a mix of annoyance and helplessness. “Look at you, the doctor said there’s nothing serious, and you’re still crying like this. You’re older than our daughter, and yet you can’t handle it like she does. Look at our girl. Can’t you learn from her?”

Jin Yaotiao signed the necessary consent forms, calmly standing by and smiling as she watched them.

---

The house arranged by the agency was indeed nice—spacious and bright. Compared to a hotel, it had a kitchen for guests to cook in.

Jin Yaotiao was making soup in the kitchen.

The aroma wafted out of the open window, attracting many morning joggers to look up and gaze curiously.

The lobster-based broth was clear and fragrant, with sea cucumber cut into small pieces, mixed with minced fish and shrimp meat, then gently stirred into the boiling soup like large pearls floating in the liquid.

Jin’s mother had a poor night’s sleep and was feeling a bit dazed. She made mistakes while trying to help, and when Jin Yaotiao saw her swollen, red eyes, she simply pushed her to sit at the table and eat.

The rice was brought from home—a special variety of new harvest rice airlifted from the north. It cooked up soft, fragrant, and glutinous.

It was paired with a plate of mushrooms, asparagus, and braised beef brisket. The local ingredients were limited, so the dishes were quite simple.

But despite their simplicity, the flavors were anything but ordinary.

The beef brisket, with a good balance of fat and lean meat, had been stir-fried to release its oil, then slow-cooked for hours in a clay pot. The rich broth seeped into the crisp, charred exterior, filling every fiber.

One bite and it was tender and juicy, with no greasy taste, just a refreshing, appetizing flavor.

The asparagus, only the tender tips were used, and they released their juice when squeezed.

Quickly stir-fried, they retained their fresh, vibrant green color, with a crispy texture and a pleasant sweetness, a perfect match with the robust braised beef brisket.

Despite having no appetite, Jin’s mother ate a big bowl of rice.

When she saw her daughter dressed too lightly, she stopped her lamentations and fussed over her, draping a coat over her.

---

When they entered the hospital room, Jin’s father had just finished his check-up and was unbuttoning his hospital gown.

As soon as Jin Yaotiao entered, he smelled the fragrance and his eyes quickly locked onto the thermos that his wife was holding.

He had been fasting and couldn’t drink any water, so the smell made him so hungry that he almost drooled.

The medical staff frowned at Jin Yaotiao and said, “The patient can’t eat.”

Jin’s mother hesitated, holding the thermos, looking at the foreign medical staff with a bit of anxiety.

Jin Yaotiao, understanding her mother’s intentions, spoke up: “This is the soup I made, specially brought by my mother for all of you.”

The medical staff were momentarily stunned.

They had not yet had time to eat, but it was the first time they had encountered a patient’s family bringing food for the staff.

Mother Jin swiftly set up the thermos box, and the fragrance filled the entire hospital room.

Several indifferent-looking medical staff glanced at the food and then at her.
After a while, someone nodded and said, “Thank you.”

The doctor who received the soup bowl stared at the round and fluffy fish balls in the soup with a puzzled look, likely because he rarely saw such standardized food.

But the food’s deliciousness, like beautiful music, transcended all borders.

After tasting the rich shrimp soup, their hesitant expressions relaxed immediately.

One of the doctors, who had been silent since Jin Father was admitted, couldn’t help but nod and praise, “Your daughter is really remarkable.”

Jin Mother, feeling uneasy, asked at this moment, “This surgery shouldn’t be too difficult, right? It’ll definitely go smoothly, right?”

The doctor, after hearing the translation from Jin Yaotao, looked at the examination report in his hands, sighed, and said, “The success rate is not low, but your father will be undergoing a complex cancer surgery. I can’t give you a hundred percent guarantee. But we will do our best.”

Jin Yaotao paused for a moment after hearing the answer, then a few seconds later, a smile appeared on her face. She nodded calmly and politely, “Thank you, then it’s hard work for you all.”

The doctor looked at her strength and admiration appeared on his face. He turned to Jin Father and, in a less formal tone, praised, “Your daughter is truly amazing.”

Jin Father didn’t quite understand, but he could understand a thumbs-up. He no longer felt envious of the others drinking the soup and smiled proudly, saying, “This is my daughter! She’s great! Number one! Good!”

---

In the waiting area, Jin Mother’s fingers trembled slightly, occasionally shedding a few tears.

She couldn’t sit still, often getting up to walk around, anxiously looking toward a certain area, fragile as if she could shatter with a touch.

Jin Yaotao remained calm and comforted her.

She even got her a cup of coffee.

Seeing her mother still unable to calm down, she decided to take her outside to listen to someone play the piano.

She stayed alone in the waiting area, staring at the smooth marble floor.

Suddenly, she smelled a faint and familiar cedar scent.

She didn’t raise her head but calmly asked, “Has President Shen passed by again?”

Shen Qiming looked at her and handed her a cup of hot milk, “Yes.”

Jin Yaotao smelled the milk and suddenly remembered that she hadn’t eaten anything for nearly a day.

She looked at the milk in the cup and felt an oddly familiar sensation.

It was like a long time ago when her father was in the operating room, Shen Qiming had sat beside her at the door.

At that time, she had been deeply shocked by the sudden change in her third uncle Jin Wenzhi’s attitude and, along with her father’s rapidly deteriorating condition, it made her doubt many things she had previously believed.

Her nerves were fragile, like a thin strand of hair.

Even now, she couldn’t clearly recall the details of that time.

Jin Yaotao smiled and said, “President Shen, thank you.”

Shen Qiming looked at her, his lashes lowering, “I haven’t helped you with anything.”

Jin Yaotao shook her head, “That’s not something you can help with.”

Whether in the past or now, life, aging, illness, and death—how could they be changed by human power?

The two fell into silence.

Jin Yaotao still didn’t take the milk.

She calmly said, “President Shen, we’ve broken up. You don’t have any responsibility to me. There’s no need to do this anymore.”

Shen Qiming looked at her, suddenly feeling at a loss, “Yaotao…”

Jin Yaotao said, “I know you might find this a bit unfamiliar, but I just want to focus on working and developing my career now. I’m sorry, even if you’re like this, I won’t go home to take care of you.”

Shen Qiming felt as if his breath had stopped for a second. It wasn’t until long afterward that he slowly shook his head, “I didn’t come here to make you go home and take care of me.”

He lowered his eyes and looked at the rejected cup in his hands, speaking in a softer tone, “We can’t get married, but we can still be friends.”

Jin Yaotao was reminded and thought for a moment, “That’s true.”

In the future, they would inevitably have to interact in business, and she had been too emotional in distancing herself from him because of their past relationship.

However, Shen Qiming, it seemed, was quite patient with friends.

Looking at it now, when she was with him, she was treated as a friend. Perhaps if Jiang Sen were sitting here, he would have brought a cup of milk to keep her company too?

Jin Yaotao suddenly thought of Jiang Sen sitting outside the operating room, whispering, crying, and drinking milk, and she couldn’t help but laugh. She finally took the cup of milk from Shen Qiming, “Well, thank you.”

Shen Qiming looked at the empty hand, watching Jin Yaotao smile, and for some reason, his mood brightened. He asked, “What are you laughing about?”

Jin Yaotao placed the cup aside and casually answered, “Nothing, I just thought of President Jiang.”

Shen Qiming’s smile froze, “…?”

---

Suddenly, there was movement from the direction of the operating room. Before Shen Qiming could ask, Jin Yaotao had already stood up quickly, looking at the person coming.

Jin Mother happened to return. As soon as she saw someone, she ran up, wiping her tears, asking nonstop, “How is it? How is it? Did it go smoothly?”

Compared to her, Jin Yaotao appeared much calmer, just staring at the person without speaking.

The person removed their mask, glanced at the family members present, and smiled.

“The surgery went very smoothly. The patient will be out soon.”

Seeing his smile, Jin Mother’s tears immediately fell again.

Jin Yaotao opened her mouth, slowly nodding toward the person, “Thank you, thank you for your hard work.”

“No need to thank us.” The person looked at Jin Yaotao, seemingly admiring her calmness. “The patient has a good mentality, and his condition was well controlled. The surgery was even smoother than we expected. As long as the follow-up treatment goes well, he’ll be able to live a normal life again, like before.”

The sound of the rolling wheels of a stretcher approached, as if it had crossed endless time and space.

Jin Yaotao stood straight, watching as the stretcher carrying her father slowly approached.

Her father, covered in medical tubes, lay in the bed.

For a moment, he even seemed to resemble the frail, withered image in her memories that she didn’t want to recall.

Her mother immediately cried and rushed forward, but she stood frozen, too scared to approach.

But in the next second, her father’s fingers suddenly moved, his eyes restlessly rolling, showing signs of awakening from anesthesia.

Jin Yaotao watched as he struggled to open his eyes slightly, his unfocused pupils moving everywhere, eventually stopping in her direction.

In that moment of eye contact, Jin Yaotao slowly stepped forward. She realized that her spine, which had been straight these days, suddenly became unbearably sore. “…Dad.”

Her father, with the needle tubes in his right hand, trembled and grasped her hand that she had extended.

It was cool, soft, and swollen with the needles, yet still very alive.

“Yaotao…” Jin Father’s lips painfully twisted as he tried to smile at her, his voice barely audible.

He said, “…Don’t cry.”

The tears that had not come before finally spilled out, and Jin Yaotao clutched her father’s hand, crying uncontrollably, “Dad, thank you, thank you.”

Thank you for still being alive. Thank you for wanting to live.

Shen Qiming stood a few steps away, staring blankly at Jin Yaotao, who was crying so hard she could barely breathe.

He suddenly felt panicked, wanting her to stop crying, but when he took a step forward, he hesitated and didn’t dare to touch her.

He could only follow behind at the end of the line, like a dog that had been beaten, trailing after its master.

The Jin family and doctors rushed into the hospital room, creating a separate world inside, leaving him at the door.

He stood outside the room, watching Jin Yaotao kneeling beside her father’s bed, speaking to him.

After a long while, he leaned against the wall by the door.

The wall was cold, and Shen Qiming raised his head, gazing at the bright fluorescent light overhead. He rubbed his chest, which felt as if pierced by fine needles. For some reason, two sentences from Jiang Sen suddenly flashed through his mind.

“Gege, you’re chasing a woman.”

“You’re doomed.”