That night, Emma made up her mind to take the photo and confront her mother.

The next day at noon, when I met Emma at the hospital, the clock pointed precisely to 12. She looked nervous, constantly licking her lips, and waved at me with one hand while the other remained in her pocket. I knew that unseen hand was grasping something. I smiled at her, trying to comfort her, but didn't know what to say.

At that moment, I saw Auntie.

Auntie never liked me, or rather the Bai family never liked me, because—I am a girl. But this time, she was unusually enthusiastic. Emma was dragged into the ward by her. Mom was holding a kettle, looking astonished.

"I saw this girl outside the door, so I pulled her in," Auntie said loudly.

Mom stood in front of Dad's bed like a guardian deity, glaring at Emma. "Get out!"

Emma took a step forward, meeting Mom's gaze, "I have something to say."

Mom suddenly raised her hand, and I quickly pushed Emma away. A kettle of hot water "sizzle" spilled on the ground.

"What are you doing!" Auntie pushed Mom, "Whether you like it or not, this matter must be dealt with! We only have Xiao Jun as our son!"

"What do you mean?"

"What?" Auntie looked suspiciously at Dad, "You didn't tell her?"

"Oh, well, I haven't asked Xiao Ai yet..."

Auntie impatiently waved her hand. "Since that's the case, I'll say it for you. Xiao Jun wants to be with this girl, so you should divorce him!"

I widened my eyes, completely unable to comprehend the meaning of that sentence. Emma hurriedly explained, but it didn't matter. For so many years, the Bai family had been encouraging Bai Jun to divorce and remarry, even bringing women to see him in the early years.

Mom stood motionless.

"Don't act like this, who are you putting on a show for? Who told you not to be able to give birth? It was hard enough to conceive," Auntie said, "but it was a girl. I told Xiao Jun to divorce you long ago, and he always said to wait. Now Xiao Jun likes this girl, why not fulfill their wish."

"I'll never divorce!" Mom's face was ashen, like a wax statue. Her eyelids were propped open, her eyes staring at Emma with resentment and hatred, making me shiver.

"Always talking about dying." Dad said.

"Do you think she would really die? The year she had Yuqing, didn't she make a big fuss too? Writing farewell letters, disappearing, making us search everywhere, even reporting to the police! What happened in the end? She went back to her parents' house!" Auntie sneered, "Bai Jun, I'm telling you, if you don't make it clear with her, no woman will dare to come near you."

"You don't need to worry, I know what I'm doing."

"Do you think I want to worry! Since you were young, for your studies, finding a job, doing business, what didn't I help with? The only thing I didn't care about was your online romance! It's fine if you want an online romance, but you had to find someone who couldn't conceive." Auntie pointed at Mom's nose.

"Didn't she give birth later!" Dad said.

"How much effort it took! I don't know how many red envelopes I gave to Dr. Sun in gynecology! He even suggested adoption, who knew she suddenly got pregnant. Hmph! What a coincidence! We told you to get divorced one day and the next day she was pregnant."

"Yes, yes, thanks to you, thank you. Is that enough?"

"Now you know to thank me? That time I arranged for her prenatal checkups, how many did she attend? She was about to give birth but ran back to her parents' house with a big belly! Who knows if it was luck or misfortune, gave birth without a doctor or a midwife! The child was full-term, but the girl brought back was as small as a kitten."

Wasn't I a premature baby? I stared at Mom, and she said nothing, her face pale.

"The child is 17 years old, why bring it up!" Dad said.

"Why not? I think Xiao Ai is a good girl! If you want to be with her, you should hurry! She came to see you on purpose, how considerate!" Auntie grabbed Emma's hand and patted it.

"I'm not! I'm here to find her." Emma broke free from Auntie's grip, suddenly pulling out the photo, looking at Mom, "Why did you lie? You know where she is, don't you? You..."

Mom snatched the photo, crumpled it into a ball, and rudely pushed Emma out of the ward. Ignoring Auntie's loud yelling, I quickly chased after them and found them in the fire escape.

"...know. I'm not familiar with her."

"You worked in my house for two years and left because you were going to marry Bai Jun."

"So what? We haven't been in contact since."

Mom tore the photo into pieces.

"Lies! Someone saw you at Qinghe Railway Station!"

"I don't remember."

"Really? I can ask Bai Jun." Emma said.

Suddenly, Mom slapped Emma, "Stay away from him! He knows nothing."

Emma's face turned red from the slap, her eyes burning, "I'll do anything to find her!"

"What if you find her? The dead can't come back to life."

"My mom is dead?" Emma trembled all over.

Mom's face darkened, and she said nothing for a long time, just glaring at Emma fiercely.

"Is she dead? Is my mom dead?" Emma grabbed Mom's collar, crying.

"Yes."

Mom pushed her away forcefully and walked back to the ward without looking at me or saying a word.

Emma looked soulless, muttering "Impossible." I led her out of the hospital, and standing on the bustling street at noon, the warm sunlight made me want to cry.