"I handled everything secretly, he was in a small town near Tianjin Port at that time."

Su Xiaomeng clenched her fists... she was late, they were late...

"After arriving in London, just as expected, the wound was infected, nerves necrotized, his overall condition was unimaginably poor. During the first surgery, the doctor even asked me to prepare for the possibility that he might not make it through..."

"In the past one month, surgeries big and small, you can’t count them on one hand."

"Each time he was wheeled in... I was terrified, afraid he wouldn’t come out, afraid that I ultimately couldn’t save him."

"Afraid of hearing his words, and missing the chance for you to see him one last time..."

"Recently, I invited the United Kingdom’s top medical professors for a consultation on Arthur’s condition, resulting in two treatment plans."

"The low-risk option involves using a drug developed by the American Academy of Sciences, which has not yet been released on the market. The side effects... might shorten a person’s life by twenty years."

Eric quietly spoke.

These events, like scenes from a movie, the calmness and composure displayed by Yin Shixiu as he made his choice, still shook Eric’s heart.

Su Xiaomeng listened, her heart tightening.

"The high-risk option requires a long duration and unimaginable physical torture. Whether his body can withstand the toll of surgeries and medication is a concern..."

"Guess... which one he chose?"

Su Xiaomeng clutched Eric’s clothes, how... to choose?

Both are torment, both come at extremely high costs...

"To survive, sacrifices always have to be made..."

Eric knew what Su Xiaomeng was thinking, and murmured.

Su Xiaomeng slightly calmed her emotions, wiped her nose, and said,

"The first one... right?"

"...Why?"

Su Xiaomeng closed her eyes, her expression showing extreme pain, "The second one is more tormenting, with a long duration... how could he endure it...?"

Just thinking about it feels painful...

She understands Yin Shixiu, he is a man who seeks not length of life, but quality of life.

Spending time on treatment, making life prolonged and monotonous would not be his choice.

Even if it means shortening life by twenty years...

He wants to stand like a giant, not like a turtle withdrawn into its shell.

But... twenty years...

Su Xiaomeng’s nose tingled, does this mean that the time they could accompany each other suddenly—

"He chose the second one."

"..."

Su Xiaomeng’s petty concerns and lingering emotions were interrupted by Eric’s words.

She stared up in shock, her eyes swollen from crying, meeting Eric...

Eric’s blue eyes, with some admiration,

"He chose the second one, Xiao Meng. He chose it without even thinking..."

"..."

"He said, he’s already thirteen years older than you, and if he had twenty years less... it would be too short, he couldn’t bear it."

Su Xiaomeng closed her eyes, tears flowing down her cheeks.

She covered her face...

No matter for how long or when, she always underestimated his feelings for her.

"Look... how much pain he is enduring lying there..."

Eric spoke, "But he just wants to keep fighting on, not for revenge, not to make those who harmed him pay the deserved price... he simply wants to see you."

"..."

"Before every surgery, he repeats your name several times, when he’s just regaining consciousness, he murmurs your name..."

"Look at him, lying there like a dead man, not moving, but his dreams are all about you..."

Eric spoke with a tearful voice too.

Usually being by Yin Shixiu’s side, it didn’t feel like this, but now talking with Su Xiaomeng, his heart felt tight with pain.

"Do you remember the terrorist attack incident?"

He asked, but even if Su Xiaomeng didn’t answer, Eric knew.

Not only Su Xiaomeng, Yin Shixiu, but also himself... this life is unlikely to forget that terrorist attack incident, like a fire wanting to burn the sky of London red...

Eric turned his head slightly, looking at Yin Shixiu lying in the hospital room,

"What he’s doing now is just like what you did at that time, stubbornly wanting to survive..."

"I understand, I understand... I understand... sob sob..."

Su Xiaomeng responded while crying, nodding with tears.

Back then, the only belief she had to live on was Yin Shixiu, parents, children, everything else wasn’t unimportant, just at that moment, Yin Shixiu was her strongest support.

Tears wiped over and over, her cheeks hurt from wiping...

She couldn’t be like a useless fool here, tears are pale and powerless, useless except for expressing emotions.