49: Grandpa's Past

Neither Grandpa nor Maternal Grandpa realized the danger at the time.

Grandpa even smiled and greeted the man.

"Hey, have you eaten?"

Who knew the man wouldn't say a word.

Just as he was passing the two old men,

he suddenly pulled out a knife hidden in his cotton-padded jacket sleeve!

A polished, shiny butcher knife!

That strike was aimed at Grandpa's head! It was fast and vicious!

Grandpa didn't react at all!

"Watch out!"

Maternal Grandpa was three years younger than Grandpa and had a sturdier build.

At that moment, he didn't have time to think and shoved Grandpa out of the way!

Squelch—

That vicious butcher knife landed squarely on Maternal Grandpa's arm!

Blood sprayed out instantly.

Hot, bright red blood,

splattered onto the pristine white snow.

Red.

White.

Two extreme colors intertwined, so glaring it made one's heart race.

"Grandpa! Maternal Grandpa! Time to eat!"

Inside the house, a young Lin Chao was pushing open the door, about to call the two old men back for the lunch that symbolized reunion.

Then,

he saw this scene.

Time seemed to hit the slow-motion button at that moment.

He saw Maternal Grandpa's tall frame slowly collapse.

He saw Grandpa's face, filled with terror, aging ten years in an instant.

He also saw the murderer's face, wearing a hideous and triumphant grin.

"Ah—!"

A short, suppressed low growl erupted from the depths of his throat.

Lin Chao bolted upright in bed, his chest heaving violently as if he had just struggled to shore from deep water.

His forehead was covered in cold beads of sweat.

A sliver of grayish-white morning light peeked through the gap in the curtains, dimly illuminating the luxurious bedroom.

But before Lin Chao's eyes, there was still that glaring white and that shocking red.

That dream again.

That bloody nightmare that had haunted him throughout his adolescence.

He raised his hand and wiped the cold sweat from his face, his palm feeling slick and chilly.

Why today of all days?

Why did this long-buried memory return so vividly tonight?

Lin Chao panted, leaning against the headboard, his mind a tangled mess.

After a moment, he seemed to realize something, and a bitter curve tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Probably... because he had picked up the needles again today.

To treat Yan Qiaoqiao.

Picking up the very thing that had once been strictly forbidden had ultimately touched his most sensitive nerve.

Once the floodgates of memory are burst open, the surging past can no longer be held back.

He remembered.

After the man hacked down Maternal Grandpa with one blow, he didn't stop.

His bloodshot eyes stared fixedly at the terrified Grandpa, and like a crazed beast, he roared and lunged again!

"You old geezer! Give me back my father's life!"

Grandpa stumbled backward, tripped by the snow underfoot, and fell onto his backside.

At that moment, young Lin Chao's mind went blank.

Fear, like countless cold hands, instantly gripped his heart.

But he only knew one thing.

He couldn't let him hurt Grandpa again!

By the door sat a low wooden stool for changing shoes, which Grandma used to sit on while putting on her shoes.

Without a second thought, Lin Chao lunged forward, grabbed the stool, and smashed it down onto the man's back with all his might!

Thud!

A dull, heavy sound.

The man stumbled from the blow, lurching forward two steps and nearly falling.

Now!

Lin Chao threw the stool aside and, like an enraged young leopard, pounced!

He didn't try to grab the other's arm; he knew he wasn't strong enough.

He threw himself onto the ground and, using every ounce of strength he had, tightly hugged the man's legs!

"Help! Murder!"

The boy's raspy, changing voice shattered the winter afternoon silence of the village, filled with tears and despair.

The neighbors finally heard the commotion and rushed out with shovels and brooms.

Several strong young men scrambled to finally pin the madman down in the snow... Maternal Grandpa's life was saved.

But that arm, which once steadily held a scalpel and twisted Silver Needle as fine as cow hair, was completely ruined.

The tendons were severed.

From then on, let alone practicing medicine to save people, he even needed help just to lift a rice bowl.

And from that day on, Grandpa and Maternal Grandpa seemed to have reached a silent agreement.

They locked away their medicine boxes, burned their medical books, and never treated anyone again.

They only said one thing to Lin Chao.

"Xiao Chao, you cannot study medicine."

It was categorical and left no room for argument.

Lin Chao's grades had always been among the best.

But after that incident, he became listless, as if his backbone had been removed.

In the second half of his senior year, his grades plummeted.

In the end, he only got into a mediocre Second-tier university.

His parents had no medical talent, and Maternal Grandpa used to rub his head and brag to the neighbors that God was fair, passing the skills of both families down to this grandson across generations.

Lin Chao had also aspired since childhood to become a respected doctor like his grandfather and maternal grandfather.

But fate just had to play such a cruel joke on him.

"Whew..."

Lin Chao let out a long breath, as if to exhale all the pent-up frustration of many years.

He picked up his phone from the bedside and took a look.

Eight o'clock in the morning.

The sky was already bright.

He threw off the smooth, cool silk quilt and walked barefoot into the bathroom.

Ten-plus minutes later, he walked back out.

After a shower and a change of clothes, that gloomy boy seemed to be locked back into the depths of his memory.

He was still the same Lin Chao, wearing a casual suit and appearing gentle yet distant.

The SUV drove smoothly out of the underground garage and merged into the morning rush hour traffic.

Downstairs from the company, the familiar breakfast stall was steaming.

Lin Chao parked his car and walked over.

"Boss, one shredded pancake with egg and pork tenderloin."

"Coming right up!"

The food sizzled on the hot iron griddle.

That familiar aroma of oil and flour, the smell of daily life, wafted into his nose.

There were quite a few people; he had to wait in line.

Lin Chao stood at the end of the line, waiting patiently.

The early morning air still had a chill, but the sizzling sound from the breakfast stall's griddle and the heat mixed with the aromas of dough, oil, and sauce were enough to dispel all coldness.

Just then, a bus stopped at a nearby station.

The doors opened, and a crowd of commuters filed out.

Lin Chao's gaze instinctively followed them, then paused slightly.

In the crowd, the figure wearing a light blue dress and carrying a canvas bag was exceptionally familiar.

It was Yan Qiaoqiao.

Today, she had her hair tied in a fresh ponytail that swayed with her steps, full of youthful vitality.