My sister, whom I raised, has turned evil after faking her death for three years.

Jiang Ran was in a coma for seven days.

The high fever came on suddenly, like a storm that had been brewing for a long time. The fuse had been lit the moment she witnessed Su Qing's death, and it finally erupted in the emergency room.

Her body had already reached its limit at the operating table. She had been in the rain for too long, suffered from hypothermia, had a minor infection from a cut on her arm caused by broken glass that had not been treated in time, and had lost too much in just a few hours.

All of these factors combined caused him to faint in Sun Yaqin's arms and never wake up again.

Cui Ying stayed by her side for seven days without leaving her side.

She had an extra bed added to her room, but she almost never lay down on it.

She sat on the chair by the hospital bed all night long, holding her daughter's hand that wasn't receiving an IV, her thumb gently rubbing the tiny scratches on the back of her hand.

She dared not exert any force, dared not loosen her grip, and even dared not blink for too long, for fear of missing any subtle changes.

Jiang Ran was not at ease while in a coma.

She tossed and turned in bed, her brows furrowed, her lips moving occasionally, uttering broken murmurs that no one could hear.

Sometimes she would suddenly fall silent, a tear silently sliding down her cheek and disappearing into her disheveled hair along her temple.

Sometimes she would suddenly struggle violently, as if she were trapped by something, her arms flailing wildly in the air, and suppressed whimpers like those of a small animal coming from her throat.

Every time this happens, Cui Ying would bend down and hug her, pressing her head into the crook of her shoulder, and whispering in her ear again and again, "Mommy is here, Xiao Ran, don't be afraid, Mommy is here."

But Jiang Ran couldn't hear it.

Even if she heard it, she probably wouldn't feel at ease.

The car accident left her with few physical marks: a small abrasion on her forehead and a few shallow cuts on her arm, that was all.

But Cui Ying knew that these weren't the real reasons that brought her down.

The cake that Su Qing made herself was delivered to the club on time that afternoon, the day of the car accident.

Yan Ning personally drove over. He parked his car at the entrance of the club and called Su Qing three times, but no one answered. He then called Jiang Ran, but no one answered either.

He stood on the porch, looking at the huge cake box in his hand, and felt inexplicably uneasy.

  

Then he saw Jiang Mingchuan hurrying out of the club. The other man's eyes were red, and he whispered something to him.

Yan Ning loosened his grip, causing the cake box to wobble. He quickly steadied it again, but his fingers were already trembling.

He carefully placed the cake box on the reception desk and asked softly, "What should we do with this cake?"

Jiang Mingchuan was silent for a moment, then said to save it for now and talk about it when Xiao Ran wakes up.

This was the last thing Su Qing left her, and no one except Xiao Ran had the right to dispose of it.

The three-tiered deluxe cake was carefully stored in the Jiang family's cold storage room.

The fondant petals still gleamed with a soft sheen, the chocolate castle still stood firmly atop the tower, and the words "Happy 15th Birthday, Xiao Ran" on the small fondant flag at the top of the tower were still clearly visible.

The cream coating remains smooth as a mirror, and the raspberry mousse filling is still quietly waiting to be cut open, but the person who should have been standing in front of the cake, eyes sparkling as they took photos with their phone, will never come back.

No one dared to touch it, no one dared to move it. It was like the last note Su Qing left for this world, silently stopping on this gray, rainy day.

Su Qing's funeral was organized by Sun Yaqin while Jiang Ran was in a coma.

she knows.

Everyone knows.

This matter should be decided by Jiang Ran, but she is still unconscious, Su Qing...

In the end, she did everything she was supposed to do: choose a burial site, order a coffin, write an obituary, and arrange a memorial service.

She was very calm when she did these things, a stark contrast to her usual self, who would ramble on after a couple of drinks of fruit wine.

She had never cried in front of others before, but on this day, while sorting through Su Qing's belongings, she found a faded old scarf at the very bottom of her wardrobe. It was a scarf she had casually given to Su Qing many years ago, which she thought Su Qing had lost long ago.

She pressed the scarf to her face, smelled the faint scent of aromatherapy, and then, in the empty room, she hunched over and cried for a very long time.

It was only when she arrived that she realized that this child, whom she had treated like a younger sister for seven years, truly had no relatives or friends in the world except for Jiang Ran.

She had no parents, no siblings, and no one related to her by blood.

She gave Jiang Ran everything she had: her bank cards, her property, the money she got from returning her dress. She left everything she could to the little mushroom she had picked up, and when she left, she had nothing.

Jiang Mingyuan found Sun Yaqin and had a very serious talk with her.

He said the Jiang family has a private cemetery with a very nice and quiet environment, and they want to erect a monument for Su Qing there.

He said Su Qing was the Jiang family's benefactor, and they wanted to do something for her, even if it was just this last thing.

He spoke these words with a sincere tone, carrying a cautiousness that feared rejection.

Sun Yaqin thought about it for a long time before finally nodding.

Sun Yaqin originally didn't want the Jiang family to interfere in Su Qing's funeral arrangements. She knew that Jiang Ran hated the Jiang family, and she was afraid that Jiang Ran would be even more unable to bear it if she woke up and found out that her sister was buried in the Jiang family's place.

But she also knew that if Su Qing was there, Jiang Ran would be there too... Even if she hated that place, she would go there for her sister.

Perhaps it's not a bad thing for Jiang Ran to have a few more people who care about her.

On the day of the funeral, the sky was still overcast. It didn't rain, but the clouds were low, as if another downpour could come at any moment.

There weren't many people there: Sun Yaqin's family of four, Yan Ning, the Jiang family, and Sun Yaqin. She stood in front of the grave and spoke for a long time to the smiling photo of Su Qing on the tombstone.

She said, "Don't worry, Xiaoqing, we'll take good care of Xiaoran. The child is still in the hospital. I'll bring her to see you when she wakes up."

She said, "How can you be so silly? You can barely stand yourself, but you're still only thinking about your sister. You've always been like this, ever since the first day I met you."

She couldn't speak anymore at the end, she just stood in the wind looking at the photo, her tears dried by the wind and then wet again.

She agreed to let the Jiang family handle the cemetery, not because she felt the Jiang family had any right to make any decisions for Su Qing, but because she knew Jiang Ran would be here, and Su Qing would definitely want to stay where Xiao Ran could find her.

That child needs family now... not to replace Su Qing in her heart, but so that after losing her only relative in the world, there is someone by her side to tell her that she is not alone.