Three to Five Years

Zi Yan and Professor Luo Xia arrived safely at the hotel. After settling down in their suite, Zi Yan sent a text to Susu to let her know that they were safe. Shortly after the text was received and left on seen, Susu responded with a bunny sticker raising its thumbs.

Seeing the response made her smile subconsciously. She forgot when the last time was when she smiled like this. The heaviness in her chest also lightened after Susu accepted her and her grandfather.

Knock Knock

"Coming!" She shouted and rushed to peek at the tiny door hole.

"Dad? Didn't you say that you would get some rest?" She frowned slightly at the thought of his health being her top priority. His solemn expression made her lips stick together as he walked into her room.

"I was going to take some rest, but something started to bother me after we separated. I wondered for a while before figuring out what it was that made me feel unease." He spoke with such a serious tone that she couldn't help but straighten her slightly hunched back.

She crossed her arms, poured filtered water into the water kettle boiler and took a seat across from him. Her eyes stared straight into his.

"There's no need in trying to read my mind. You should know by now that your abilities are limited to certain people. You can't read Susu's or mines. Unless we choose to communicate with you through that way or else you can't spy on my thoughts. That's how Susu figured out your thoughts and mine while we were there." He smiled and reminded her of her limited capabilities.

Hearing his words made her heave a huge sigh, "Alright, I give up. What is it that you are worried about?"

"Tell me the truth. What's Susu's condition?" The creases on his forehead deepened as his worries showed on his face.

"Like I said already. We need to find Qian Ling because she can heal the remainder of the drug in her body." The sound of water bubbling in the kettle intensified the atmosphere in the room.

"Of course, I already know that part of the truth. I'll be straightforward and ask you directly then. How much time do we have left to find Qian Ling before that drug releases into Susu's system? And what information do we have about Qian Ling to track down her whereabouts?"

When she tried avoiding the questions, she stood up from her seat and bent over to reach from the teapot. He interrupted her and moved the teapot away. "I don't have much time left. With my current condition, I can at most last a few more years. Within these years, I want to make sure my granddaughter is safe and healthy. I'm not sure why you're hiding this part, but we definitely have limited time."

She retracted her arm and clenched her hands to a fist. Without a word, she walked over to the water kettle and disconnected the power cord from the outlet. He continued to press on the subject; not giving her a chance to switch topics.

"You already know that I was supposed to die on that surgery table a few years ago. I was midway into walking through the dark road in my death bed, but somehow woke up back in the hospital. Since then, I've obtained the same abilities like yours and your abilities have deteriorated. Did you think that I wouldn't have noticed? I only kept quiet about it."

The hand on his cane tightened its grip as he dug the truth from her. He knew that she must have done something or else he would have been dead. She sucked on her lips for a few minutes before opening her mouth to speak.

"Fine. I'll tell you. We only have at most five years to find Qian Ling if she's still alive, that is. From what I know, she had a family and was brutally taken away from them out of nowhere. At first, she thought it was a kidnap, but later realized that a dead body was found at the car explosion that she was involved in. Those bastards wanted to keep her there alive for research."

She took a heavy deep breath before saying everything at once. "I have the least percentage of confidence in finding her because the labs could have been moved to different locations. If so, we would have to find a way to figure out all places to run searches in. In order to do that, we...need to send someone in there without raising their suspicions of that person being a spy."

"As for this plan, it's not at all coming together. Susu can at most last from a range of three to five years. If her cancer is properly under control, then that would be the best estimate I have for her. God forbid, but if something does happen to her again, I won't have the ability to heal her anymore."

His eyes shut tight as he listened to her explanation and plans towards saving Qian Ling. When she had finished that part of the story, he had two questions left for her. "Two more questions. Why didn't you tell us all these essential informations? And, is your deteriorated abilities because of me?"

"I was planning to have everything sorted out first before sharing it to anyone. If you hadn't force it out of me, then I would have kept it until everything was prepared. I know you've been wondering about your surgery from years ago for a while now, so I'll also be truthful to you. Yes, my abilities have deteriorated over these years, and it was me who saved you."

"I once swore that I would never let anyone close die before we destroy those bastards. Everyone must be there to witness this. When you were breathing your last breath on your death bed, I made a trade. I learned from mother that we have the ability to transfer our life force to another person to prolong their life. While transferring the life force, I've overused my ability."

She placed the kettle down and reached for the teapot. With a smile on her face, she poured the boiled water into the pot.

"You shouldn't have done that." He said after a while of silence.

"Even if you gave me a million more chance to rechoose, I would have done the same. I won't forgive those disgusting jerks for messing up our family. You've suffered too much and haven't avenged for mother with your hands. If I didn't do anything, I would be full of regrets. Aren't we fine and healthy now?"

She wiped the tea cups with a clean cloth before putting it back on the table. "But if you didn't do that, then you could have helped Susu. She could have had longer time and less risk if you spent that life force on her instead."

"Dad, no matter what had happened before and will happen in the future, we won't be able to change it. I only know that at that moment, my decision was to save you. Besides, I really can't do more than removing half the drug from her body regardless of whether I had my full life force or not. Only Qian Ling could do it. That's what mother told me before we separated. She and Zi Lan both saw through Susu's future."

"What did they say about her?"

"They couldn't see her future after this incident. That's why Zi Lan sealed her abilities as well as formed a protection charm for her. The charm would delay whatever is killing her body, but once it expires, only one person could save her. Mother told me right before we separated that her last prediction showed that Susu had hope. The person who could change her life around was Qian Ling."

"I see." He wrinkled his brows as his determination to win the battle against those rotten bastards increased.

She pushed the cup of brewed tea towards him and smiled reassuringly, "don't worry too much for now. Luck is on our side this time. Since we already sent a nice gift to Yin Zin Leung, why don't we send off some gifts to his partner in greed?"