Chapter Eighty-Five Death

  "What? You're actually... actually Mr. Dongfang's daughter?" He stared at me in surprise, shaking his head and muttering to himself: "Unbelievable, truly unbelievable!"

  Since I told Vi about my background, she has been looking at me with a strange gaze.

  "When I first found out you and Ouyang Luo weren't biological siblings, that already hurt me once. Now telling me this again, it hurts me once more! My young heart can't take it! Mr. Dongfang, that's Mr. Dongfang..."

  I was really defeated by her. "Wei Er, why didn't anyone see Yu Bing?" I haven't seen Yu Bing since school started, and now it's almost time for class, Yu Bing is never late!

  "Ah, she hasn't arrived yet!" Veer suddenly realized that Yubing hadn't come to school. I picked up my phone and dialed her number, it was connected, but no one answered, what's going on?

  "Isn't anyone going to answer? Nothing's going to happen, is it?" I started to get anxious.

  "Speaking of which, these few weeks you haven't been here, Yīng Bīng has been very abnormal. She often makes mistakes and even doesn't take classes seriously."

  "Abnormal?" Frequently making mistakes? This is indeed not Yu Bing's style. What exactly happened, I suddenly feel a sense of foreboding.

  "Go!" The English teacher walked into the classroom and warmly greeted everyone. Class had already started, but Yubing hadn't arrived yet. I suddenly stood up, "Teacher, I have something to ask for leave!"

  "What's wrong?"

  What's wrong? How should I put it? I'm afraid something might happen to Yīng Bīng, and I want to go look for her.

  "Teacher, she's dizzy, I'll take her to the infirmary to have a look!" Vera suddenly stood up and said.

  "Go on, go on!" The English teacher waved her hand. Vi immediately pulled me out of the classroom.

  "We're going to find Yīng Bīng now!"

  "Where is she going? Is it her home?"

  "Hmm. I'm worried that something might have happened to her, she always bears everything alone and never tells anyone else. Let's hurry up! Hopefully nothing has happened."

  Wei and I found Yujie's home, having known her for so long without ever visiting her place, and didn't know that she was just renting a small room. Just as we were about to go upstairs, a woman in her 40s stopped us.

  "Where are you going?" she asked.

  "Hello, we are here to find the owner of this house for rent!" I replied.

  "I'm the landlord here, you're looking for Yīng Bīng, aren't you?"

  "Yes, yes, how did you know?" Viola asked in puzzlement.

  "You guys are wearing school uniforms just like Yu Bing! Alas, this child is really pitiful, going to school every day and also working part-time to earn money for her mother's medical treatment. Yesterday..." The landlord's voice choked up here, and tears flowed down.

  Is Yu Bing's mother ill? Why have we never heard about it before?

  "What happened yesterday?" Viola asked.

  "Her mother passed away last night! Yu Bing is such a poor child, losing her mom so suddenly!" The landlord wiped away tears.

  "Boom——" Vee and I were like being struck by lightning, suddenly speechless. Yīn Bīng's mom had passed away? She died from illness? Why? Yīn Bīng must be very sad now, she has been living with her mom since childhood, they relied on each other, one day she found out her mom suddenly passed away, I can feel Yīn Bīng's emotions right now.

  "Where is she now?" I asked, grabbing the landlord's hand.

  "In the house, from yesterday to now, not a single word has been spoken, her mother has already been sent for cremation!" Before the landlord had even finished speaking, Vera and I quickly rushed upstairs to Yubing's room.

  The light inside was very dim, and we saw Yu Bing lying on the bed, hiding in the corner, hugging her knees, with her head deeply buried. Her appearance made people's hearts ache.

  "Ying Bing, you..." I don't know why, but I wanted to comfort her, yet I couldn't say a word. Tears kept flowing down my face. Ying Bing seemed completely unaware of our arrival, she didn't react at all and remained curled up in the corner of the bed.

  I climbed onto the bed with Vi and sat down beside her.

  "Yīng Bīng, I'm sorry, we just found out..." I grasped Yīng Bīng's hand, her hand was icy cold, so cold that it chilled my heart.

  She still didn't respond.

  "Yīng Bīng, why are you doing this? It's so hard for me..." Wei'er said, also bursting into tears.

  "Ying Bing, I know you're heartbroken. Don't stay silent, cry it out! You'll feel a little better if you do." She always stays quiet like this, swallowing all her grievances into her belly.

  "Yīng Bīng……” Seeing this, I really couldn't say a word, feeling so heart-wrenching, so sad, and so sorrowful. Wei'er and I burst into loud sobs. Yīng Bīng finally had some reaction, she seemed to be crying too, and cried together with us.

  In my heart, Yīng Bīng is always strong, she won't easily cry, forever burying her thoughts in her heart. Now she's crying, crying very sadly. Heaven knows how sad she is.

  The only sound in the room was our crying. "Xiao Yue, my mom is dead, she's dead... I'll never see her again, I won't be able to see her anymore... I've lost everything..."

  "No, you still have us, and me and Wei'er, we'll always be by your side!" I held up Yu Bing's face, brushed away the hair that was stuck to her face, she looked so haggard, tears streaming down her face. She fell onto my shoulder and burst into loud sobs.

  "Why, when I had nothing at all, did even my dearest mother have to leave me?"

  "Yīng Bīng, we still have each other!" Wei'er said tearfully. I nodded in agreement.

  “……”

  The door suddenly opened, and the light shot in, stimulating our eyes. Two men came in, and the one standing in front looked very familiar. Where had I seen him before? Ah! It was the man we saw at a coffee shop when Yubing and I went job hunting last time.

  He is Bingyue's dad!

  "Yīng Bīng..." he called out.

  Ying Bing raised her head and looked at him, her eyes full of hatred. "Why did you come here? Doesn't this place have nothing to do with you?"

  "Yi Bing, I'm sorry. I didn't know your mom had cancer all along. Sorry to hear that she passed away today. I'm so sorry, I came too late!" His expression was also very sorrowful, like a child who did something wrong apologizing over there. Actually, it's clear that he still likes Yi Bing, otherwise he wouldn't have rushed out of the coffee shop last time.

  "What's the point of knowing now? Can you bring her back? You've never cared about us, Mom loved you so much, she was holding your photo when she died, but you never came to visit her. Now that she's dead, you show up, what's the use? I hate you, you're the person I hate most in this world! Leave, I don't want to see you again, get out!" Yubing almost shouted.

  "Sorry, I didn't know you hated me so much. Let me finish and then I'll leave. I came to tell you that I'm your father, and from now on, I'm your legal guardian. Someone will come to pick you up this afternoon!" After he finished speaking, the person behind him placed a document on the table next to Yubing. He glanced at Yubing, turned around and left the room, but turned back to look at Yubing again at the door, "Sorry!"