Heart Flutter

Chapter 33

Afterward, Tang Yan and that young lady exchanged WeChat contacts. The lady also sent her the photo and went upstairs after thanking her.

When she returned to the room, Aunt Ji was still reading, but she took the initiative to ask, “Why were you in such a hurry just now?”

Tang Yan felt a stab of nervousness and waved her phone around to cover it up, saying, “I just added the WeChat of the sister who played games with me this morning.”

“Oh…” Something caught in Ji Yuqing’s heart. She could not pinpoint why she found Yan Yan’s behavior a bit odd, but she also believed that Yan Yan needed her own social circle.

Seeing that Aunt Ji did not say anything else, Tang Yan sat down quietly. She raised her phone and opened the photo in secret, tapped to save it, then enlarged it. Her heart felt hot, and her face felt flushed. Aunt Ji looked so beautiful in the picture, so photogenic that even without a beauty filter, not a single flaw showed on her skin.

In contrast, when Tang Yan stood next to Aunt Ji, Tang Yan looked one shade darker. Aunt Ji was truly fair, practically glowing. Tang Yan could not help holding her phone and admiring the photo for a very long time, entranced.

Meanwhile, as she read, Ji Yuqing felt a bit distracted. She kept glancing at Tang Yan, wondering if the girl was chatting with this new acquaintance because she seemed so immersed in her phone.

Once she finished admiring the photo, Tang Yan felt she still had not shown enough appreciation for that lovely candid shot. She simply went all in and set it as her phone’s screensaver, liking it more every time she looked.

The heavy rain lasted the entire day. By the next day, the sky had turned bright and clear, with endless blue overhead on the island. The transformation was so dramatic that it was hard to believe it had been dark and stormy just the day before.

It was their fourth day since leaving home. Due to the downpour, many island shops had closed for a day. They reopened that morning, revitalized. Along the roadside, many banana trees had broken, leaving branches and leaves piled everywhere. The island’s cleaning staff had also begun restoration work.

That day, Ji Yuqing planned to take Tang Yan to the other side of the island for a bike ride along the coastal highway. The weather was so perfect that working up a sweat outdoors seemed ideal.

However, shortly after leaving the inn, Ji Yuqing received a call from Hua Du.

Tang Yan did not dare ask many questions. She only knew that Aunt Ji stepped aside to answer the phone, telling her to wait where she was. During that time, Tang Yan watched Aunt Ji’s expression. It looked serious—very serious. She guessed it was bad news and that their trip might end that very day.

After a while, Ji Yuqing returned from the call wearing a somber and heavy look. She said to Tang Yan, “We might have to go back early.”

They had originally planned to stay for a week, and that was only their fourth day.

“All right!” Tang Yan agreed without hesitation, not asking for any explanation.

They headed back to the inn. On the way, Ji Yuqing asked curiously, “You’re not even going to ask me why?”

Tang Yan shook her head with a smile, showing great understanding. “If Aunt Ji wants to tell me, then you will. If not, it’s best that I don’t ask.”

Moved, Ji Yuqing patted her head. “I’ll explain it on the way.”

They returned to the inn, packed their luggage, checked out, and urgently booked the earliest available plane tickets to Hua Du.

They left and flagged down a cab to the pier. They first had to catch a boat to the mainland, then ride a train to the city, and finally board a plane out. They would likely reach Hua Du that evening.

While on the boat, Ji Yuqing slowly told Tang Yan the reason for their abrupt return.

“I never told you about my family situation, did I?”

Tang Yan paused, then nodded.

“I have a mother in her sixties who was diagnosed with Alzheimers more than three years ago. She has been living in a nursing home on the outskirts of Hua Du. I just got a call from her caregiver telling me my mother hurt her leg today and might need surgery. As her only legal guardian, I have to go back and sign some documents. Do you understand why I had to cut the trip short, Yan Yan?”

Tang Yan nodded firmly. “We should go back, definitely. May I also visit your mother?”

A faint smile appeared on Ji Yuqing’s lips. “Of course.” She paused and lowered her gaze. “Elderly people are prone to bumps and falls. One day, we will face it too.”

“No, you will stay young forever, Aunt Ji. You will never get sick!” Tang Yan said with complete sincerity.

Her serious tone made the still-upset Ji Yuqing laugh. “Then I would turn into some sort of old witch.”

Tang Yan scratched her head, not sure what to say to comfort Aunt Ji. She hurried to add, “You’ll still have me. I’ll take care of you.”

“Silly child.” Ji Yuqing reached out and touched her face. “Once you graduate from college, you’ll have your own life.”

At that point, Aunt Ji would probably be just a passing figure in your life.

The wind on the boat deck was so strong that Tang Yan could barely open her eyes, unable to face it head-on.

She actually wanted to ask about Aunt Ji’s father, given what had happened that day, but Aunt Ji did not bring him up, and Tang Yan dared not inquire. It was better not to.

After disembarking, they shared a ride to the train station. By the time they arrived at the airport, it was already afternoon, and they still needed to wait more than an hour before boarding.

Tang Yan had felt seasick ever since they took the boat, so while they waited, Ji Yuqing told her to lie down and rest, promising to wake her when it was time to board.

Tang Yan nodded obediently and placed her phone beside her while she leaned over the table to nap.

Across from her, Ji Yuqing stayed busy on her own phone, coordinating surgery details with the nursing home. The cost was not an issue, but she worried whether her mother, at her age, could handle such an invasive procedure. If they chose not to operate, her mother would likely face significant mobility problems in the future. She might even be confined to a wheelchair. The nursing home was currently outlining all the pros and cons, and this made Ji Yuqing hesitate.

She put down her phone and ran her fingers through her hair, then propped her forehead on her hands at the table. Across from her, Yan Yan seemed to have fallen asleep, her expression calm. Closing her own eyes, she pictured her mother happily sunbathing in the nursing home’s garden. Suddenly, she felt sure of her decision: if her mother was to stroll in the sun again the way she used to, the operation had to happen.

Just then, a message alert sounded, cutting through the silence between them. Startled, Ji Yuqing opened her eyes. It had come from Yan Yan’s phone. She glanced at it without meaning to and found that the screensaver on it was actually…