Chapter 30: The Innate Bond Between Mother and Daughter

After that embarrassing incident, Lu Hankai received a warning from the student council.
Although his uncle was the vice dean, ultimately, he still had to be mindful of the Nangong family. His uncle sternly reminded him not to provoke anyone from their family again.
Lu Hankai was unwilling, but since he had just been reprimanded, he had no choice but to keep a low profile for a while.
When Nangong Xin heard about the incident, she stayed angry for days. In contrast, Xianyu Jing enjoyed a few peaceful days.
Soon, Saturday arrived.
She had already arranged with Mrs. Nangong to return to the Nangong estate. Early that morning, Su Cha drove Xianyu Jing back to the villa.
When they arrived, the doctors were already preparing in the dim chamber where the ice coffin was kept.
Xianyu Jing and Mrs. Nangong waited in an adjacent observation room, separated from the chamber by a thick pane of transparent glass, allowing them to see everything clearly.
Before the blood draw, Mrs. Nangong gave Xianyu Jing a gentle warning: “In a moment, the doctors will raise the temperature of the ice coffin. Your mother may awaken from her hibernation, so you should be mentally prepared.”
Xianyu Jing’s expression showed a trace of hope. “Does my mother wake up every time she’s examined?”
“In these past ten years, she’s only awakened five times,” Mrs. Nangong replied. “But after so many years in hibernation, her memory has faded, even become confused at times.
Sometimes she mistakes the doctors for enemies, or says strange things. Don’t take it to heart. And don’t rush forward to reveal yourself—it could agitate her, speed up the spread of toxins in her body, and worsen her condition.”
Xianyu Jing took these instructions seriously and nodded solemnly. “I understand.”
Everything was ready.
In the chamber, there were two doctors and a nurse, all from the research department of Angel Hospital.
Housekeeper Xue waited quietly by the side. She glanced toward the observation room, and once Mrs. Nangong nodded, she signaled for the doctors to begin.
A younger female doctor stood to the left of the ice coffin, carefully adjusting the temperature. On the right, an older male doctor, wearing a protective mask, held an advanced blood-drawing device.
Inside the ice coffin, as the temperature slowly rose, Xianyu Jing’s mother’s skin, pale as snow, gradually took on a healthy flush.
The male doctor pressed her arm with his fingertip; once he felt the flesh was soft enough, he deftly inserted the device.
As the bright red blood flowed into the collection chamber, the doctor hastened the process.

At that moment, Xianyu Jing’s mother’s eyelids fluttered, then slowly opened.
She gazed blankly at the ceiling, where the Nangong family crest was carved. After a moment, her pale blue eyes began to dart about the room.
Her gaze swept over the two doctors, a flicker of emotion in her eyes. “What more do you want from me? No matter what you do, I won’t tell you where Yingying is…”
Perhaps from her long hibernation, her voice was hoarse and weak, but it carried a stubborn, unyielding tone.
The two doctors kept their faces impassive and continued their work.
“You’ll never find her. You can’t hurt her. She’ll be all right…”
The “Yingying” her mother kept muttering about—wasn’t that the childhood name she herself used? Xianyu Jing wondered.
Though more than a decade had passed and she remembered nothing of her mother, hearing that her mother still worried about her made Xianyu Jing’s eyes sting and her chest ache.
Suddenly, the once-muffled voices from her memories became clear.
“Yingying, you must hide well, don’t let them find you…”
“Yingying, take care of yourself. You can do it—Mama believes in you!”
“Yingying, I’m sorry… Mama loves you…”
Again and again, the voices echoed in her mind, the sorrow in Xianyu Jing’s heart nearly overflowing.
The woman lying in the ice coffin, enduring physical pain and inner torment, was her own mother.
No matter how they had been separated, or for how many years, her mother had never stopped loving her.
At that moment, she longed to step forward and speak to her, if only for a moment.
Perhaps it was a mother’s intuition—suddenly, Xianyu Jing’s mother fixed her gaze on the observation room, her chest rising and falling violently, her body trembling.
The female doctor quickly turned the temperature back down. The male doctor withdrew the blood-drawing device and prepared to close the coffin.
Suddenly, Xianyu Jing’s mother grabbed the edge of the coffin, crying out, “Don’t hurt her, don’t hurt her…”

Because of her movement, they couldn’t close the coffin, and sweat broke out on the male doctor’s brow.
In the observation room, Xianyu Jing could barely contain herself. “Auntie, can I say a few words to her?”
“No!” Mrs. Nangong refused without hesitation. “If you meet her now, she’ll abandon her hibernation and her illness will worsen. She’ll never live to see the day the antidote is created!”
Xianyu Jing’s heart was torn.
Inside the coffin, as the temperature dropped again, her mother’s grip on the edge loosened, her arm finally falling limply.
Once the lid was secured, Xianyu Jing saw her mother slip back into hibernation, her breathing faint, her body motionless.
It had only been twenty minutes, yet for Xianyu Jing, it felt like a small, bitter parting between life and death.
“Jingjing, don’t be sad. We’ll develop the antidote and save your mother!” Mrs. Nangong’s voice was gentle and comforting. “Ziyu went to Country Z on business this time, also for your mother’s sake.”
Xianyu Jing’s spirits lifted at these words. “Big Brother found the person who poisoned my mother?”
“Once Ziyu returns, we’ll know more,” Mrs. Nangong replied.
Once Xianyu Jing had composed herself, the two left the observation room for the tea lounge.
Housekeeper Xue had already prepared refreshments. Mrs. Nangong continued the earlier conversation: “Jingjing, have you gotten used to living at the Nangong residence with Ziyu? Has he been looking after you?”
Xianyu Jing nodded. “Yes, Big Brother treats me very well.”
“That’s good.”
Mrs. Nangong smiled in satisfaction. “Ziyu has lived alone for years. With no one to talk to, he’s become rather cold. Now you’re living together, you can keep each other company and look out for one another.”
There was a subtle meaning in Mrs. Nangong’s words, but Xianyu Jing didn’t catch it. “I’ll do my best not to trouble him.”
Mrs. Nangong patted Xianyu Jing’s hand kindly. “The Nangong family is your support now. Don’t worry about being a bother! If you need anything, just tell Ziyu. He cares more about you than his own business!”