Chapter 4: Going Home

Although this seemed a bit… “hypocritical”?

But for her life full of unknowns, this little morally questionable thing didn’t seem to matter much.

It was just saying some insincere words, she wasn’t hurting anyone.

Thinking this, her heart calmed down quite a bit.

The day of discharge was a grand occasion for both her and the hospital.

Not only did every attending doctor set aside their work to personally bid her farewell, even the hospital director came in person to offer blessings.

This kind of fanfare left her somewhat at a loss.

She originally thought it was because of her family background, but after learning the details, she discovered that these doctors couldn’t wait for her to get better soon.

After all, her illness was extremely difficult to treat, but if cured, it would undoubtedly add a golden signboard to the hospital’s reputation.

Thus, the benefits from publicity alone would far outweigh continuously squeezing money from her as a patient.

Xu Jiu had been an adult who entered society in her previous life, so now, she wasn’t particularly surprised by some rules of the adult world.

But this also served as a reminder to her.

“Should I change my mature personality… at least hide it in front of this body’s relatives…”

She pondered slightly in her heart, while glancing subtly at the gentle woman beside her.

Yes, she still didn’t know what the previous Xu Jiu was like in others’ eyes.

From rebirth until now, she had completely acted according to her own ideas.

It was also thanks to her being quite lucky, otherwise with her being so slow on the uptake, she would have exposed countless flaws long ago.

Thinking this, Xu Jiu sighed slightly.

“It’s been a long time since going far away, by the way baby you’ve only just recovered not long ago, if anything happens on the road you must say it, especially regarding your body.”

Seeing her sigh, the woman reminded her with great concern.

“Mm, I know.”

The woman lightly hummed in response upon seeing this, then led her together into the sedan heading to the airport.

Before leaving, Xu Jiu took one last look at this hospital that carried many of her memories, deeply engraving the scene into her mind.

This feeling wasn’t reluctance, but her vow that she absolutely didn’t want to come back in this lifetime.

Not just here, she never wanted to return to any hospital bed again, because for her, that was a memory she absolutely didn’t want to recall.

Xia Country, S City—

As the Xu family’s private plane slowly landed at the international airport, this also marked the end of her years of seeking treatment abroad.

Feeling the same sentiment was the woman beside her.

Although to this day Xu Jiu still didn’t know the other’s name, it didn’t affect her treating the other as her mother in this world at all.

Although it seemed she originally was.

Especially upon learning that for all these years to accompany and care for her, the other hadn’t returned home, usually reuniting with family only through video calls, the gratitude and closeness in her heart toward the other increased even more.

“When I took little Jiu and left home for M Country, you were only half Mom’s height, didn’t expect so many years to pass, little Jiu you’ve grown into a big girl.”

“Mom is very touched, back then I thought I wouldn’t see you like this…”

Stepping onto familiar land after so long, tears involuntarily fell from the corners of the woman’s eyes.

Perhaps back when the other took her away to seek treatment, she had feared whether only she herself could return.

Thinking this, Xu Jiu could also understand why the other was so moved.

As a mother, drifting overseas alone with her daughter for so many years, not only outwardly without support, but also worrying every day whether waking up would bring unsettling news, she couldn’t imagine how fragile one’s heart would become living long-term under such pressure.

“Mom…”

“It’s okay now, from now on you don’t have to think about these things anymore, I’ll always be by your side.”

Looking at the woman beside her trembling slightly with sobs, she took the initiative to step forward and quietly hold the other’s hand.

“Xiao Jiu…”

“Really, letting you see Mom’s embarrassing side again, making it seem like this parent isn’t even as strong as her own child.”

The other wiped her tears, her face once again showing a guilty smile, this made Xu Jiu feel inexplicably upset for some reason.

Even though she felt unfamiliar with her identity in this world, after so many days of interaction, she had gradually substituted into everything that originally belonged to this body.

Including familial relationships.

She was someone with very strong adaptability.

Just like although at first she felt extreme rejection and resistance toward becoming a girl, after discovering that all this seemed unchangeable, she also began trying to accept the new self.

After all, living was living no matter how, moreover she originally didn’t view the difference between men and women as heavily as others, because aside from gender, there were far too many things people cared about.

“Right, Mom, about us coming back, do Dad and brother know?”

From the airport all the way to the sedan that came to pick them up, she suddenly asked curiously.

“Guess.”

“Wu… don’t know?”

The woman covered her face and chuckled lightly upon hearing this, Xu Jiu was also depressed about it.

“For such a big matter, I definitely notified your dad, actually I even wanted him to prepare a welcome banquet for you, but considering little Jiu your physical condition… this day you’ve just gotten off the plane and have a long car ride home, Mom is afraid you won’t get rest and can’t hold up…”

“…Mm.”

“It’s okay Mom, I understand, actually I didn’t care about these formal things to begin with, as long as I can return home I’m very satisfied.”

She hugged the cushion pillow in the car tightly with both hands.

Her perennial physical weakness caused her to instinctively want to find things that could give her a sense of security when in unfamiliar places, even in the car it was the same.

“Xiao Jiu… sigh, actually, you don’t have to be so sensible…”

“? Why…”

“Nothing, just pretend you didn’t hear it, treat it as Mom’s nonsense.”

The woman smiled apologetically, for some reason, the other’s behavior made her always feel there was some unspeakable difficulty behind it.

Being too sensible wasn’t good? Or why would parents hope their child became unruly.

She didn’t understand, because she had never deeply understood the thoughts of rich people.

The car drove from the suburban airport toward the city center, it wasn’t until she saw the familiar street scenes around that Xu Jiu slightly reacted, the place she was heading to now seemed to be the same city as where she lived before her death?!

At first she still didn’t believe it, until she saw the direction signs at the traffic intersection, familiar place names one after another along with memories constantly surged into her mind.

This seemed a bit unexpectedly coincidental.