"Justin's right. You're not the same now. At that time, you were still in your early twenties. You were enthusiastic and reckless. No one could stop you, and you were unscrupulous—but it's different now. You're a mother and sister. You have other more important roles, too. You have to take care of yourself for your benefit and for the people who love you, like us!" Quinton held Renee's other hand and dragged her toward the department of trauma without any hesitation. "Let's go. You need to get that wound bandaged. When we're sure that you're fine, we'll talk about Joanne's affairs." "Yes, let's go and get it bandaged. Your forehead is hurt and bleeding. But you held on for such a long time before you came out. You didn't take your body seriously at all." Justin dragged Renee toward the same place and kept nagging her, too."Oh, gosh! Stop this nagging. You hurt my ears from all this nagging!" Renee behaved like someone who was forced on the spot. She could hear nothing but thei
"I don't know. I really don't know."Joanne held her head, shaking it and crying endlessly. She felt that the world was full of darkness and ugliness. She had once wanted to get close to the wonderful things. But whenever she was about to reach it, she would always find herself falling into deeper darkness. Thus, she wondered if she would get better. She had lost confidence and got too timid to try. If the price of searching for wonderful things was to experience pain, she would rather not go through that. She would wait until she rotted, turned bad, and went missing."No, you'll get better! You have to be confident. It's just like the darkness before dawn and the sunny day after a thunderstorm. We need to be optimistic and active. Then, we'll get lucky," Renee countered.In truth, she felt quite desperate since she did not even believe in such motivational tripe. She wondered if everything would get better if dawn came after darkness. She was quite puzzled, just like Joanne
"Okay, we won't drive you to a mental hospital, but you must listen to the doctors. You have to tell them everything." Renee did not expect that method to be effective. At the very least, Joanne had calmed down and was willing to talk to Renee. Thus, Renee acted like a temporary doctor to smoothly converse with Joanne.Joanne looked up at Renee and begged Renee while crying, "Okay, I'll listen to you. Don't catch me. Don't take me to a dark room. Don't electrocute me!" Renee put her hands on her waist and solemnly ordered Joanne, "Okay, lie down. Don't move too much. You just had a gastric lavage. You need the infusion to keep your body well. If you move too much, you'll tear off the needle.""Okay, I won't move around." Joanne lay in bed and leaned against the head of the bed. She looked at Renee pitifully with teary eyes, too scared to move."And you can't harm yourself again. If I find that out, I'll lock you up in a dark room!""No, don't!" Joanne shook her head vigorously
Joanne was unresponsive and did not even look at Renee. Renee was heartbroken. This was worse than watching Joanne take the pills to kill herself in bed. The doctor was right. Joanne's mental issues were worse than her physical illness. Even if she were saved, she would do it again if her mental issues were unresolved. But it was understandable after considerable contemplation. Anyone who had gone through Joanne's hardships would be gloomy and depressed, even if they had only suffered one of her hardships. Joanne had been suffering through those hardships from when she was young up until now. It was already very difficult for her to hold on until now. Besides, she had been lucky."Joanne, I know you're sad, but please talk to me. Talk to me about your sadness, please." Renee took a deep breath and tried to approach Joanne. She sat on the edge of the bed and held Joanne's hand."Don't touch me!" Joanne finally reacted exaggeratedly. She glared at Renee with bloodshot eyes an
Joanne was transferred to an ordinary ward and soon regained her consciousness. The nurse informed Joanne's family that they could visit her. However, Quinton stood at the door of the ward and was too timid to enter the ward.Renee noticed something wrong with him and asked him softly, "What's the matter with you, Quinton?" "Nothing. Go in and see her. I'll stay here." Quinton's eyes shone with anxiety as he looked at the door of the ward. He wanted to pay close attention to everything related to Joanne, but he got too timid to even peek at her from the crack between the door and its frame. "Don't you want to go in and see her? Maybe… Joanne needs you now." Renee was unclear about who Joanne needed at the moment, but she guessed that Joanne should need Quinton at the moment. After all, people wanted to see those most important to them and they cared about the most when they almost died and were at their weakest. Joanne probably still hated Quinton, but Quinton must be the mo
Quinton had suddenly gone reckless and obstinate, and then humble and cautious. At first, Renee became aloof, but later she felt sorry for him.She hugged him and patted his back gently. "Don't worry, Quinton. I'll take good care of myself. I won't hurt myself because I know that you love me. If I'm unhappy, you'll be unhappy, too. Similarly, you have to be safe and sound. If you're unhappy, I'll be unhappy too." "I know. I just got too worried about her and didn't control my emotions well." Quinton leaned against Renee's shoulders. He had always been strong and cold, but at that moment, he showed a side of weakness and could not stop crying.Most of the time, he regarded Renee as his younger sister. When he was utterly helpless, he would regard Renee as his mother. He had never met his mother, but he imagined that his mother must resemble Renee very much. Only his mother would accept his weakness and helplessness. Only his mother would tolerate him unconditionally and forgive