Return to 88: Starting from Marrying My Sister-in-law

The wheels rolled over the wet road surface, which was bathed in the orange glow of the city lights, making a monotonous, hypnotic rustling sound.

The car windows kept out the chill of the night, but they couldn't keep out the suffocatingly low pressure inside.

Yin Mingzhu leaned back in the back seat, her head resting against the cold glass window, her eyes closed, her thick eyelashes casting a small shadow beneath them.

Her breathing was still somewhat heavy, as if an invisible boulder was pressing down on her chest, making each breath difficult and suffocating.

The energy I had mustered in the office before leaving get off work dissipated quickly like the receding tide, leaving only exhaustion and a lingering, heart-wrenching dull ache that spread from my chest to every part of my body.

The driver, Lao Zhang, was focused on the road ahead, not daring to disturb him in the slightest.

Yu Li, the assistant in the passenger seat, frequently and carefully observed her boss through the rearview mirror.

The face in the mirror, usually radiant and confident, was now deathly pale, its brows furrowed, and even with its eyes closed, the pain and tension were clearly visible.

Yu Li's heart clenched tighter and tighter.

"Sister Mingzhu."

Yu Li finally couldn't hold back any longer, and spoke in a very soft voice, with a cautious probing tone.

"You...you still don't look well. How about...we go to the hospital now? Don't force yourself to stay like this."

She recalled how Yin Mingzhu suddenly turned pale and clutched her chest, struggling to breathe, in the office before she left work. She was terrified at the time, but her boss managed to deflect the scare with a simple, "It's nothing, just an old problem. You'll be fine after taking your medicine."

A few seconds of silence lingered in the carriage, broken only by the soft hum of the engine and the sound of the wind outside the window.

Yin Mingzhu's eyelids twitched slightly, but she didn't open them. She squeezed out three words from between her lips, conveying an undeniable weakness and stubbornness.

"no need."

It's that line again!

Yu Li sighed inwardly.

She knew this boss, who had shown her great kindness, all too well.

Sister Mingzhu is like a precise and robust machine, not allowing herself to show any "malfunctions," especially at a time when the company is in turmoil.

In her dictionary, "showing weakness" is not an option.

"Then...then shall I walk you to your doorstep?" Yu Li asked again.

"No need." Yin Mingzhu finally opened her eyes, her gaze somewhat unfocused, her eyes vaguely falling on the shimmering lights flashing past the window. Her voice was low but clear as she gave the instruction, "When we get to the villa, put me down. Have Old Zhang take you home first."

She paused, took a breath, and the sound of her breathing was heartbreaking.

"Tomorrow morning... same time as always, come pick me up to go to the company."

"Sister Mingzhu! You're like this..." Yu Li said anxiously.

"Do as I say." Yin Mingzhu interrupted her, her tone authoritative and unquestionable, though this authority was like a thin layer of fragile ice beneath which lay a torrent of exhaustion and discomfort.

Yu Li opened her mouth, but seeing Yin Mingzhu in the rearview mirror close her eyes again, pursing her lips tightly, as if refusing to talk anymore, she could only swallow back all her worries.

She knew that continuing to persuade him would only annoy her boss.

The car came to a smooth stop at the next intersection.

Yin Mingzhu pushed open the car door, and a sudden gust of night wind rushed in, causing her to involuntarily shiver. She then straightened her back, grabbed her briefcase, and got out of the car without looking back, walking unsteadily towards the villa area across the road.

"Old Zhang, drive slowly and make sure Assistant Yu gets home safely." She gave the order without turning her head, and then her figure disappeared under the shade of the trees.

"Yes," Old Zhang replied.

Yu Li watched her boss's disappearing figure, which looked particularly thin and lonely in the night.

She immediately took out her phone and dialed that familiar number without hesitation.

The phone was answered after only two rings by a gentle, concerned middle-aged woman's voice: "Hello? Lili?"

"Aunt Lan!"

Yu Li's voice carried a hint of barely concealed anxiety.

"Boss, she...she just got out of the car and went into the residential area by herself. Are you home? She's in a really bad mood today, and she's also having some health problems. She almost couldn't breathe before leaving get off work. I saw that her face is still pale. I tried to persuade her to go to the hospital, but she absolutely refused...Please keep a close eye on her at home!"

Ma Xiulan, on the other end of the phone, was busy in the kitchen at that moment.

In the clay pot simmering over a low flame on the stove, milky white fish soup was bubbling away, its rich aroma filling the entire space.

Upon hearing her daughter's assistant's words, she immediately frowned and stopped what she was doing.

“This child…” Ma Xiulan sighed, her voice full of heartache and helplessness.

"I knew it! She's been under a lot of pressure lately, with all those awful things at work... Sigh, I made her some soup, thinking it might warm her up when she gets home. Okay, okay, Lili, thank you for your hard work. Go home now, you must be exhausted after a long day. I'll keep an eye on her. Don't worry, I'll persuade her to drink some soup and get some rest later."

"Okay, Aunt Lan, thank you for your help. The boss is... too stubborn."

Yu Li's voice was choked with emotion.

"Sigh, she's always been like this, strong-willed. It's alright, leave it to me, you go back and rest." Ma Xiulan comforted her and hung up the phone.

She turned off the heat and carefully lifted the lid of the casserole a crack to let the steam escape.

Thinking of her daughter's furrowed brows and increasingly gaunt face, Ma Xiulan felt as if an invisible hand was gripping her heart tightly.

She also held a sinecure position at the company, and she was well aware of the numerous difficulties the company was facing.

The burden on her daughter's shoulders was so heavy that it made her, as a mother, feel breathless just thinking about it.

Just as she was taking the casserole away from the stove and preparing to take it to the dining room, the doorbell rang at just the right moment.

"You're back?" Ma Xiulan felt relieved and called out towards the living room.

She instinctively thought that she needed to quickly give her daughter's irresponsible sister and brother-in-law a piece of her mind; it was all their fault.
As she mentally prepared her words of reprimand for her youngest daughter, she carefully carried the pot of scalding hot fish soup out of the kitchen.

However, the daughter, who was tiredly changing her shoes, was not in the living room as expected.

Her gaze unconsciously swept towards the entrance hall.

Upon seeing this, Ma Xiulan's blood seemed to freeze instantly!

"Bang—!"

A piercing crack shattered the silence of the room.

She slammed the pot of fish soup, which she had carefully simmered for several hours, onto the smooth floor tiles!
The scalding soup, carrying fish and tofu, splashed everywhere. A few drops of hot soup landed on Ma Xiulan's ankles and calves, which were wearing slippers, and instantly caused a burning pain.

She screamed "Ah!" but didn't care about herself at all.

Her eyes widened in horror as she stared intently at the figure lying on the floor next to the shoe cabinet in the entryway!
Her daughter, Yin Mingzhu!

Yin Mingzhu lay sprawled on the cold floor, her body contorted in an unnatural position, her face deathly pale, her lips even slightly cyanotic. Her black briefcase lay scattered to the side, its contents—documents, reports, and contracts—everywhere, like a chaotic battlefield. Her eyes were tightly shut, her jaw clenched, her expression one of unspeakable agony. She seemed as if her bones had been removed, or as if she were bound by an invisible force, trembling slightly, yet unable to utter a sound.

"Mingzhu! Mingzhu! My daughter! What's wrong with you?!"

Ma Xiulan practically tumbled and crawled over, her voice trembling and choked with sobs.

She tried to lift her daughter up, but all she felt was coldness and stiffness.

She shook Yin Mingzhu's shoulders violently and slapped her cheeks, "Mingzhu! Wake up! Talk to Mom! Mingzhu!"

The only response she received was Yin Mingzhu's tightly furrowed brows and the barely suppressed, extremely painful sobs deep in her throat. She seemed to want to respond to her mother, but the terrible, invisible constraints prevented her from even opening her eyes, and her breathing became increasingly rapid and shallow.

A tremendous fear gripped Ma Xiulan's heart, almost suffocating her.

Her hands trembled so much she could barely hold the phone. She frantically unlocked the screen, dialed the wrong number several times, and finally, with trembling hands, dialed the emergency number.

"Hello?! Is this 120?! Help! Help! My daughter... my daughter has fainted! She can't be woken up! She can't breathe! The address is..."

Ma Xiulan recited the address incoherently, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.

After hanging up with 120, she immediately dialed Yu Li's number again, her voice filled with desperate sobs: "Lili! Lili! Come back quickly! Mingzhu... Mingzhu has had an accident! She's collapsed at the door... I can't wake her... I... I called an ambulance..."

The piercing siren of an ambulance shattered the tranquility of the night.

Under the cold lights at the entrance of the emergency room, Ma Xiulan and Yu Li, who had rushed back, paced anxiously, their faces filled with fear and confusion.

After a series of emergency examinations and consultations, Yin Mingzhu was wheeled into a ward. She was still connected to monitoring equipment, and her face was still pale, but her breathing seemed to be more stable. However, she was still unconscious.

Holding a thick stack of test reports, the doctor walked up to Ma Xiulan with a serious expression: "Are you Ms. Yin Mingzhu's mother?"

"Yes, yes, doctor, my daughter... how is she? How could she suddenly be like this?" Ma Xiulan's voice was hoarse from crying.

The doctor adjusted his glasses, his tone grave: "Preliminary diagnosis: severe somatization symptoms triggered by an acute anxiety attack, accompanied by an acute asthma attack. Her lungs are audibly wheezing on auscultation. Blood tests and imaging have ruled out other organic lesions. Considering her medical history and current mental state..."

The doctor paused, seemingly considering his words: "Ms. Yin suffers from severe depressive disorder, you know that, right?"

Ma Xiulan's face paled even further, and she nodded with difficulty: "I...I know a little. She keeps saying she's fine, just under a lot of pressure..."

"That's the problem."

The doctor sighed.

"Depression itself does not directly cause asthma attacks, but a large amount of research and clinical evidence shows that there is a very close 'two-way association' and 'comorbidity' relationship between the two. Simply put: First, people with asthma have a much higher risk of developing depression than the average person; second, conversely, people with depression also have a significantly increased risk of developing asthma or having uncontrolled asthma."

This isn't a direct cause-and-effect relationship, but rather a vicious cycle where the body and mind influence each other. Extreme anxiety, stress, and depression directly stimulate the nervous and endocrine systems, leading to respiratory spasms and triggering or worsening asthma. Conversely, the suffocating and near-death sensations during an asthma attack exacerbate anxiety and depression, creating a terrible cycle.

He looked at Ma Xiulan's pale face and his tone became more serious: "Your daughter's condition this time is a typical case of severe somatization reaction triggered by intense emotional fluctuations, combined with an acute asthma attack. It's extremely dangerous! She needs absolute rest right now."

I suggest that, at least in the short term, she should put aside all work, rest properly, and cooperate with psychotherapy and antidepressant medication. Otherwise, if her depression is not effectively controlled and continues to worsen, these severe, life-threatening somatic symptoms—such as today's rigidity and difficulty breathing—are very likely to recur!
Moreover, repeated attacks make asthma treatment more difficult, and it may even develop into a persistent, uncontrollable condition. This is not a trivial matter, and family members must take it seriously!

Ma Xiulan felt her legs go weak; the doctor's words struck her heart like a hammer blow. She struggled to process the information, her lips trembling, "Give...give up work? But doctor, the company...the company can't do without her right now..."

"You have to leave, whether you want to or not!" the doctor said firmly. "Is her life more important or your job? She is a patient now, a critically ill patient who desperately needs care and rest! You need to understand the seriousness of this! If this continues, the consequences will be unimaginable! Once she wakes up, you family members must communicate well with her and make sure she cooperates with the treatment and rest."

After saying that, the doctor gave some more instructions before turning and leaving.

Ma Xiulan walked into the ward, looking utterly dejected.

Yin Mingzhu was already awake, leaning against the headboard with an IV drip in her hand. Her face was still pale, and her eyes were somewhat vacant, but when she saw her mother come in, she subconsciously straightened her back, trying to maintain that sense of control.

“Mom…” Her voice was hoarse.

Ma Xiulan walked to the bedside, looked at her daughter's haggard appearance, and remembered the doctor's words, tears welled up in her eyes again.

She forced herself to hold her daughter's hand, the one that hadn't been injected, which was ice-cold.

"Mingzhu."

Ma Xiulan's voice was choked with sobs.

"Did you hear what the doctor said? Please, Mom, listen to the doctor, okay? Put work aside for now, come home with Mom and focus on getting better. If you ruin your health, you'll have nothing left..."

Yin Mingzhu's brows furrowed instantly, a hint of resistance and impatience flashing in her eyes.

"mom."

She interrupted her mother, her voice weak but filled with an unyielding stubbornness.

"The company can't do without me right now. I know that. This time... it was an accident, I was just too tired. I'll be fine after one night's rest."

"You know what you're talking about? What do you know?!" Ma Xiulan's voice suddenly rose, filled with long-suppressed anxiety and lingering fear.

"If you were really capable, you wouldn't have gotten yourself into this state and been carried to the hospital! You almost scared your mother to death, you know that? You're just too strong-willed! Too strong-willed, Mingzhu!"

As she spoke, tears finally streamed down her face uncontrollably.

Yin Mingzhu turned her face away, her lips pressed into a pale line, clearly indicating her refusal to communicate.

The atmosphere in the ward was tense.

Yu Li stood to the side, wanting to offer advice but not daring to speak.

"Alright, Mom." Yin Mingzhu closed her eyes wearily, her voice heavy with weariness. "You should go back now. It's almost midnight. Yu Li is here with me, that's enough."

"How can I leave in peace when you're like this?" Ma Xiulan said, wiping away her tears.

“I can’t sleep even more with you here.” Yin Mingzhu’s voice was soft, but it was like a dull knife cutting into her mother’s heart.

"I still have a few documents to go over with Yu Li later... and there's a morning meeting at the company tomorrow..." She paused, as if she had used all her strength to say the arrangements.

"Tomorrow... could you cover for me at the company for a day? Reassure the employees that I... have a bit of a cold and fever and am resting at home. Keep everyone calm."

Looking at her daughter's tightly closed eyes and refusal to communicate, and hearing her arrange work even in her hospital bed, Ma Xiulan's heart sank completely.

She knew that anything she said would be futile, only making her daughter more agitated and provoking her. She felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

“Fine…fine…” Ma Xiulan let go of her daughter’s hand dejectedly, her voice hoarse.

“That’s all we can do…” She turned to Yu Li, her eyes full of pleading and entrustment, “Lili, your boss… is in your hands now. You have to… you have to keep a close eye on him! If anything seems even slightly wrong, ring the bell to call the doctor immediately! Do you hear me?”

"Understood, Aunt Lan, don't worry! I will stay by your side at all times," Yu Li quickly assured her, her expression solemn.

Ma Xiulan walked to the ward door, turning back every few steps, and placed her hand on the doorknob, but hesitated to turn it.

She still had a heavy weight on her heart.

After much hesitation, she couldn't help but turn around, looking at the pale yet stubborn profile on the hospital bed, and cautiously spoke with a hint of uncertainty:
“Mingzhu…look, you’re so sick this time…should we…tell your sister Mingyue? And…perhaps…they’ll consider your illness…”

"don't want--!!!"

Before Ma Xiulan could finish speaking, Yin Mingzhu on the hospital bed suddenly erupted into a shrill scream, like a powder keg that had been lit!
She sat bolt upright, clutching her head with both hands, her body trembling violently. Her eyes instantly filled with terror and extreme resistance, her voice shrill and almost inhuman: "No! I don't want to! I won't tell anyone! I don't want anyone's pity! No! Mom! If you dare tell them! I'll kill myself! I, Yin Mingzhu! As long as I live, I don't need anyone's pity! Especially not their... Ah... I don't want..." (End of Chapter)