DF Chapter 116

Chapter 116: It’s Normal for Daughters and Mothers to Clash

Chapter 116 It’s Normal for Daughters and Mothers to Clash

Capital International Airport

Sheng Jia had just finished a meeting yesterday. After a short rest, she quickly came here to welcome Song Ningqiu.

She and Song Ningqiu had been apart for almost two months. The last time they met was when Sheng Jia placed the Norwegian natural gas field investigation report on her desk.

Busyness was Song Ningqiu’s defining characteristic.

Actually, this was true for both Song Ji’an and Sheng Jia, but Song Ningqiu wanted to be a qualified mother, so she would try to find time to be with her daughter.

But clearly, Song Ji’an and Sheng Jia couldn’t be treated the same way, or rather, children and mature adults should be treated differently.

Sheng Jia even called her “Director Song” at the company, all business, with a strong sense of distance.

After Song Ningqiu read the natural gas field report, she restrained herself and praised Sheng Jia for her thoroughness. Then, she asked her to wait for half an hour and scheduled a meeting with her after six o’clock.

Sheng Jia didn’t refuse because Song Ningqiu wanted to have a meal with her before leaving for the African exploration project the next day, a business trip that would last at least a month.

In the private room, the atmosphere between the two was more relaxed, but for the most part, they remained silent.

Song Ningqiu occasionally brought up topics to ask about Sheng Jia’s life, but Sheng Jia only answered her questions until Song Ningqiu also fell silent.

The aroma of grilled beef tongue filled the air. Song Ningqiu lowered her eyes and used serving chopsticks to add food to Sheng Jia’s plate. She sighed softly, seemingly helpless, and finally only left a word of advice: “If anything happens, call Mom anytime.”

The impression left on Sheng Jia that day was Song Ningqiu’s departing back—after she drove Song Ningqiu home, Song Ningqiu slowly walked inside.

She saw a lot of helplessness and hesitation, and even saw a hint of loneliness in this otherwise spirited woman.

In Song Ningqiu’s heart, Sheng Jia was not dispensable. She was a daughter she wanted to compensate as much as possible but didn’t know how to connect with. She was frustrated by her own powerlessness.

That day, Sheng Jia finally decided to make some changes.

Rather than a maternal figure, Song Ningqiu was more like an idol to her when she was young. She couldn’t bear to see her idol become lonely because of her.

She needed to find a way to get along with her mother, one that would make both of them feel comfortable.

An announcement rang out in the airport, stating that Song Ningqiu’s flight had landed.

Sheng Jia got out of the car. The scorching heat outside mixed with the cool air coming from the arrival exit. She slowly walked inside.

Her phone vibrated. Sheng Jia glanced at the caller ID, answered the call, and Wang Huiqiu’s voice came from the other end.

“How is it? Did you pick up your mom?”

“Not yet,” Sheng Jia replied softly. “Her flight just landed, so it’ll probably be a while before she comes out. Are you…”

Wang Huiqiu cut her off, saying, “I’m already on the train, the train to the Northwest.”

“Be careful,” Sheng Jia only instructed.

“You can tell your mom about this directly,” Wang Huiqiu laughed on the other end of the phone. “But she might scold you.”

“Let her have a peaceful meal first,” Sheng Jia said. “Besides, she’s never been angry with me.”

“But normal mothers and daughters will always get angry. Arguments are an essential part of human interaction,” Wang Huiqiu replied. “Have you forgotten what I said?”

Sheng Jia took a deep breath. “I remember.”

–Treat her like a mother, not an idol or a symbol of progress.

Wang Huiqiu’s announcement that she wanted to climb Mount Everest was like a powerful bomb dropped in front of Sheng Jia.

Of course, she couldn’t agree with her decision.

Wang Huiqiu was already in her seventies. Traveling to the Northwest at this age could cause a lot of suffering from altitude sickness, let alone climbing Mount Everest, which was practically suicide.

Not just Sheng Jia, but even Song Ningqiu would probably fly over overnight to stop her if she knew about this.

But Wang Huiqiu, looking at the sky above her head at the time, said, “Have you ever touched a cloud?”

“I haven’t, but I want to try,” she said. “I’ve been flying around in the city my whole life, working hard for Song’s. You know, since I was thirty, we’ve had to get medical checkups twice a year, strictly ensuring our physical health because Song’s wasn’t that stable back then. So, we, as Yu Mei’s trusted and reliable partners, couldn’t afford to have anything happen to us. Something happening to any of us would be a major blow to her. Our goal was development and stability. We fought for that goal almost our whole lives.”

“Later, I retired, but some habits couldn’t be changed. Cherishing life, stability, and what you used to say about me always thinking about the worst-case scenarios. These things have been ingrained in my bones. So, I don’t dare to do anything, thinking that as long as I live longer, that’s enough. But old friends are leaving one after another. Me, cherishing life so much, will probably end up alone in the end. That’s too boring.”

“So, I want to do something interesting. Do something I’ve wanted to do for a long time but didn’t dare to do.”

Sheng Jia pursed her lips. “Can’t you do something else? Does it have to be something life-threatening? Your body is still so strong, you can use the rest of your time to see different scenery.”

“There isn’t that much time,” Wang Huiqiu turned her head to look at her, with some helplessness in her eyes. “Sheng Jia, I don’t have that much time.”

“You’ve checked my medical records, right?” She continued, “But what you can easily find isn’t the real thing. I’ve worked hard my whole life to get to this position, how could I let you youngsters easily know my situation?”

“I only have less than a year left.”

This news shocked Sheng Jia so much that she felt dizzy.

She looked up in disbelief, moved her lips, but found that she couldn’t speak. In the end, she could only mutter, “Please don’t joke like this, okay?”

Wang Huiqiu looked straight at her, her eyes bright. “Don’t deceive yourself. You know I wouldn’t use something like this to lie to you.”

“I discovered it half a year ago. My body is aging, my thinking is becoming slow, I often forget things, and my heart is starting to have myocardial hypertrophy. This is irreversible. Sooner or later, it will become increasingly swollen until it crushes me and can no longer beat.”

“Is there no way to control it?” Sheng Jia blinked, but her eyes were a little sore.

Because she also knew that if there was even a little possibility of control, Wang Huiqiu wouldn’t be violating her ingrained habits and making such a one-way decision.

“What do you think?” Wang Huiqiu asked rhetorically. “So, Sheng Jia, don’t stop me. Now that you already know, then you should be the one to tell your mom, I really don’t want to face her crying face.”

At this moment, Sheng Jia had already compromised. She could no longer stop Wang Huiqiu’s decision, so she only sniffed and said in a low voice, “Then she will be very sad, and maybe she’ll be angry with you.”

“If she gets angry, you can speak to her on my behalf,” Wang Huiqiu smiled. “You should know what I would say if I were facing her.”

“I’m not good at arguing with her,” Sheng Jia said softly.

“No,” Wang Huiqiu said bluntly. “You’re very good at arguing. You can argue with me, you can argue with Fu Minglang, and even a few days ago, the Meng family’s little girl called to ask me how I was doing, telling me that you even argue with them and Ji’an. Before you returned to the Song family, Ningqiu asked me to investigate the Song family’s kinship, and I felt something was wrong. Following the investigation, I also found you. At that time, you and your Sheng family’s mother would also argue. But why is it that you don’t argue with your biological mother?”

Sheng Jia was slightly stunned. “Because I don’t want to make her unhappy.”

“It’s normal for daughters and mothers to clash,” Wang Huiqiu raised her hand and patted her head. “There has never been a smooth-sailing mother-daughter relationship. If they’re being polite, it means one side doesn’t consider the other a true family member.”

“Have you ever been polite to your Sheng family’s mother?”

No.

Sheng Jia had never been polite to Sheng Huaiying. They sometimes didn’t seem like mother and daughter, but more like friends fighting side by side.

“Do you know why? Because Ningqiu isn’t your mom, she’s just your role model,” Wang Huiqiu said slowly. “In these five years, you’ve been in a hurry to make up for all the knowledge you lacked, in a hurry to enter the group, in a hurry to do everything well, forcing yourself not to make mistakes, all because you only see her as a role model, as a benefactor, so you don’t dare to make mistakes, being careful in everything.”

“You’ve never thought that even if you make mistakes, Ningqiu will unconditionally cover for you. Even if you’re not that great, Ningqiu will firmly block all the gossip and resistance for you to secure your current position. You’ve always felt like you have no way out.”

“But that’s not true. She’s your mother, and the Song family is your backing. Even more than the Song family, me, Fu Minglang, we elders are also your backing.”

In the end, she only patted Sheng Jia’s shoulder.

“That’s all I have to say, Sheng Jia. I’m getting on the train the day after tomorrow.”

Sheng Jia looked up at her. The old woman standing there was now standing up straight, unable to see any pain. The sharpness in her eyes had disappeared, leaving only ease and tolerance.

“Have a safe trip.” Sheng Jia replied after a long silence. “Have fun.”

This was probably the blessing Wang Huiqiu wanted to receive the most.

And indeed, before she left the square, she laughed and patted Sheng Jia’s shoulder. She said to her, “Good girl, I didn’t misjudge you. In the future, use my lifelong legacy to do something brilliant.”

And now, the phone call ended. Sheng Jia pulled herself out of her memories. When she looked up again, she saw Song Ningqiu walking out from a distance, dragging her suitcase.

It had been two months since they last met, and Song Ningqiu had gotten much tanner, but when she saw Sheng Jia from afar, the expressionless look on her face immediately turned into a smile.

“Jiajia? You even brought flowers to pick me up?” Song Ningqiu raised her hand to pat Sheng Jia’s shoulder after she approached, her eyes full of surprise.

Sheng Jia handed her the flowers and suddenly said, “Mom, it’s been so long since we’ve seen each other, can I have a hug?”

Song Ningqiu was slightly stunned. She looked at Sheng Jia from head to toe as if she didn’t recognize her.

But the expression on Sheng Jia’s face was perfect, as if she really just wanted a hug after a long separation. So, Song Ningqiu pretended not to notice these abnormalities and reached out to hug her daughter, smiling as she said, “You’ve lost weight. Have you been too busy lately?”

“It’s okay, the trip to Norway was quite fruitful, it should make us a lot of money,” Sheng Jia also smiled. She quickly pulled out of Song Ningqiu’s arms, but even if she tried hard, she still felt a little unaccustomed.

Song Ningqiu held the flowers, and Sheng Jia consciously took her luggage. “I’ve booked a delicious restaurant, would you like to try it with me? As a welcome home celebration.”

“Sure,” Song Ningqiu didn’t even ask what dishes they would be eating, just leaving everything to Sheng Jia to arrange.

She was even holding onto some trepidation. In the past five years, Sheng Jia had never been so proactive in getting close to her. She was afraid that she would accidentally break everything.

In fact, she had felt this incredulous feeling when she learned that Sheng Jia wanted to pick her up from the airport.

This time, Sheng Jia didn’t bring any assistants. She drove Song Ningqiu herself to a private restaurant, which Fu Minglang had once brought her to. The food was excellent.

Song Ningqiu looked at her several times, always suspecting that something had happened to Sheng Jia.

Their meal was still dominated by silence. Sheng Jia stared at the food in front of her, suddenly not knowing how to speak.

Wang Huiqiu’s possible departure was still making her panic and feel extremely sad. It would only be more painful for Song Ningqiu.

“Jiajia, what do you want to say?”

Her momentary hesitation was enough for Song Ningqiu to notice. She asked bluntly, “From the moment I saw you at the airport, I felt like you were holding back something. Don’t hesitate any longer, you can say it directly.”

“Mom really wants you to tell Mom anything you want to say.”

Her eyes were filled with expectation and encouragement.

Sheng Jia’s silence grew even greater.

How could she say such cruel news to those eyes?

Wang Huiqiu had given her a task that was too difficult.

But in the end, she could only slowly say, “Mom, Grandma Wang only has less than a year to live.”