After half an hour had passed.
The blue taxi came to a halt in front of a hilltop villa.
At the entrance of the mansion, various luxury cars such as Rolls-Royce and Bentley had been neatly parked, and the entire area was filled with people.
Most of those present were members of the Shen family, while others were family friends and close acquaintances.
It was drizzling lightly. Everyone was dressed in a uniform black tunic, holding black umbrellas, and speaking in hushed tones.
As Shen Lian stepped out of the taxi, he quietly observed the surroundings. A subtle sensation stirred in his blood—many of those present shared a faint familial connection with him. He nodded slightly.
It seemed that in the past few decades, the Shen family had continued to flourish.
"Miss Shen is here."
No one knew who called it out, but the moment those words were spoken—
Swish. Swish.
Everyone turned their attention toward Shen Qingqing, parting automatically to create a path.
A middle-aged man with a balding head stepped forward, patted Shen Qingqing lightly on the shoulder, and sighed.
"Qingqing, be strong."
Upon hearing this, Shen Qingqing's mind felt like it had exploded. Her thoughts went blank.
Her knees buckled, and she nearly collapsed.
"Uncle Zhang, is Grandma really...?"
The balding middle-aged man gave a solemn nod, his expression complex.
"The doctor said just now that Old Lady Shen likely won't make it past midnight. Right now she's only holding on thanks to a pacemaker and oxygen support. Hurry in. Your parents are already inside."
Tears burst from Shen Qingqing's eyes on the spot.
She had been raised by her grandmother since childhood. In terms of emotional closeness, she was far closer to her grandmother than to her own parents.
"Grandma..."
Biting her lower lip, Shen Qingqing grabbed Shen Lian's hand tightly. Her legs felt like lead as she walked step by step toward the villa.
As soon as they entered, a doctor in a white coat came out of one of the bedrooms. Facing Shen Qingqing, he said with a helpless expression, "Miss Shen, we tried our best. I'm sorry."
Shen Qingqing's eyes were blank. She held Shen Lian's hand and stepped slowly into the bedroom.
The room wasn't large. In the center was a hospital bed.
Shen Man, who was in her eighties, lay there with medical tubes connected all over her body and an oxygen mask on her face.
Her once rosy complexion had turned a ghastly gray. Her eyes no longer carried any trace of vitality.
Standing on either side of the hospital bed were a middle-aged couple, their eyes swollen and red, clearly having cried.
"Grandma!"
Seeing this, Shen Qingqing felt as though her mind had been struck by thunder. She couldn't hold back any longer.
It was only now that she truly realized her grandmother, who had been by her side throughout her childhood, was about to leave her forever.
"Qingqing."
The red-eyed middle-aged man helped Shen Qingqing up and guided her to Shen Man's bedside. His voice was hoarse.
"Mom, Qingqing came to see you."
Shen Man's eyes shifted with difficulty. When she saw Shen Qingqing, she tried her best to reveal a faint smile of relief.
"Grandma... Why did it come to this..."
"Why didn't you tell me you were dying..."
Shen Qingqing clutched her grandmother's cold hand in both of hers and sat on the ground crying, her voice trembling.
Only then did the middle-aged man, Shen Pangui, notice Shen Lian standing behind Shen Qingqing. Forcing down the grief in his heart, he frowned.
"And who are you? A friend of Qingqing's? I'm sorry, today is a mourning day for the Shen family. Please leave."
Shen Lian looked at him but said nothing.
Instead, he turned to look at the woman on the bed.
That gray-haired, barely-breathing elderly woman overlapped with the memory of a little girl who used to follow behind him cheerfully every day.
"You there, didn't you hear me? Please leave—"
Before Shen Pangui could finish, Shen Qingqing wiped her tears and interrupted, forcing herself to remain calm.
"Dad, I brought him here to see Grandma."
"Hm?"
Shen Pangui frowned. "Don't be ridiculous. Today is your grandma's final day. Why would you bring some friend here—"
"Dad, please, just hear me out."
Shen Qingqing cut in quickly. "I met him while cleaning the ancestral house today. He said he's our missing grand-uncle..."
Before she could finish.
"What? You're saying this man is the grand-uncle who disappeared sixty years ago?" Shen Pangui's face turned red with anger. "Qingqing, are you out of your mind? He looks so young. Are you mocking the Shen family?"
"Dad, I know it sounds crazy. But doesn't he look seventy or eighty percent like the grand-uncle in those old photos? I suspect he might be a descendant of our grand-uncle, so I brought him to see Grandma."
Shen Pangui looked at Shen Lian again. For a moment, he was visibly startled. The resemblance really was uncanny.
But then, he sneered.
"Hmph. With today's plastic surgery, anyone can be made to look like someone else. Maybe he's an enemy of our Shen family. He knew we were searching for the missing grand-uncle and found someone who resembled him from the old photos. After surgery, he pretends to be his descendant just to get close to us."
"Someone, get this man out of here!"
Two black-clad bodyguards at the door responded immediately, stepping into the room to seize Shen Lian.
The ward turned chaotic.
"You're too noisy."
After being silent for so long, Shen Lian finally spoke.
He slowly raised a hand and pressed it gently into the air.
And in that moment—
The entire ward seemed to freeze.
The IV fluid that had been flowing, the dust in midair, the spit from mid-conversation, the ticking clock, Shen Pangui, Shen Qingqing, and even the bodyguards reaching toward him—
Everything froze in place.
Utter stillness.
Under the stunned gazes of Shen Pangui and the others, Shen Lian walked toward the hospital bed, step by step.
He arrived beside the bed and looked down at Shen Man, who was on the brink of death.
A gentle smile appeared on his face.
Then softly, he spoke.
"Little sister, brother came back to see you."