Her chest heaved, her face dark as she glared at me. “Tang Li,” she seethed, “I see you’re determined to do this the hard way. You just wait.” With that, she spun on her heel and stormed out of the hospital room. I let out a slow breath and eased myself off the hospital bed. There was no time to wallow in grief. My father was gone, and I couldn't let myself drown in sorrow. After we took my father’s body to the funeral home, my mother sent for Tang Chen to be brought over. The poor, oblivious boy only seemed to realize something was truly wrong when he stood at the entrance, refusing to go inside. I turned to him. “What is it?” He looked up at me, his eyes already red-rimmed. “Isn’t Dad at the hospital? Why are we here?” How could I tell him his father was gone? He stared at me, his gaze stubborn and unwavering, waiting for an answer. An unspeakable wave of pain and guilt twisted inside me like a knife, tearing me apart. I drew a sharp breath. “Dad isn’t at the hospital. He’s here.” “You’re lying!” he cried, shoving me away. Tears welled in his eyes, threatening to spill over. “You’re lying, Sis! Dad’s at the hospital, not here!” I felt a cruel necessity in my words. “Dad passed away last night, Tang Chen. If you go in now, it will be the last time you see him.” He hesitated for a moment, then bolted into the funeral home. Inside, he found our mother, carefully washing our father’s body. Attendants came in to prepare the body for cremation. My mother held my father’s hand, tears falling one by one onto his face. Tang Chen ran to them, scrambling onto the gurney and clinging to our father’s body as the attendants tried to move him toward the incinerator. He looked at the attendants, his eyes red. “You can’t put my dad in that big furnace! It’ll hurt him!” His words shattered what was left of our mother’s composure. She broke down, sobbing hysterically, clinging to my father’s body like a child, refusing to let them take him. The attendants looked at me, helpless. The sight stole the air from my lungs, but what little reason I had left told me my father was truly gone. I pulled my mother and Tang Chen away. The attendants slid my father into the incinerator. The moment the door closed, my mother collapsed to the floor, all the life drained out of her. A few minutes later, my father’s ashes were brought out. My mother clutched the urn to her chest and fell silent for the entire journey home. My father wasn’t from Jingcheng, and tradition dictated that he be buried in his hometown—the fallen leaves returning to their roots. “Tang Chen, help Mom upstairs. I need to buy a few things,” I said when we got to the entrance of our residential community. We needed to set up a memorial tablet at home, which meant we needed offerings. Tang Chen nodded, silently guiding our hollow-eyed mother upstairs. I didn’t expect to see Gu Zhizhou at the community gate on my way back from buying the offerings. He was standing there, hands tucked in his pockets, his presence coolly elegant and impossible to ignore. I had already started to turn away when he spoke my name. “Tang Li.” My heart lurched. Sucking in a breath, I forced myself to walk toward him, tamping down my emotions. “Mr. Gu,” I said, my voice flat. “Is there something you need?” His dark eyes fell to the offerings in my hands, his brow furrowing slightly. “Shen Yan said you left the hospital before you’d recovered. What happened?” “Nothing!” I was in no mood to talk to him. “If that’s all, I’m going upstairs.” He grabbed my wrist. “Go back to the hospital.” The man’s grip was incredibly strong. I was too weary to struggle, let alone argue. “I’m fine,” I said. “I don’t need to go.” I could feel his displeasure as his grip tightened. “Unless you have a death wish, get to the hospital!” “No.” The word was barely out of my mouth before he yanked me forward, pulling me toward his car. The things in my hands scattered across the ground. “Let go of me!” I shouted, wrenching my arm free. I turned and knelt to pick up the scattered offerings. Gu Zhizhou reached for me again, and in that instant, everything inside me snapped. The moment his hand touched mine, I summoned every last bit of strength I had, tore my arm from his grasp, and shoved him back with all my might.