Volume One, Chapter 158: For My Sake, You Must Live Well.

Liang Jinmo indeed had matters to discuss with the doctor concerning Gao Ying's upcoming treatment.

Originally, he had planned to call, but since he was already here, it was naturally better to talk in person.

The doctor stated that Gao Ying's current condition was difficult to evaluate. While she was not having episodes as frequently as before, she appeared overly indifferent to external stimuli and had lost interest in everything.

Liang Jinmo listened quietly. Once the doctor finished, he asked a question: "Does this illness... have a genetic component?"

The doctor was clearly taken aback, looking at him with slight surprise before quickly giving a professional reply: "Depression itself does have a certain degree of genetic predisposition, but heredity is not the main factor in triggering it. Those with a family history simply have a relatively higher probability of falling ill. Additionally, family environment, endocrinology, and emotions all have an impact."

Liang Jinmo lowered his gaze, deep in thought.

The doctor probed cautiously: "Is there... another family member suffering from depression? If so, you should pay attention to it early on."

"No," he raised his eyes, his tone calm. "I was just asking. Is there any specific treatment plan for my mother moving forward?"

He understood that feeling all too well—a total apathy toward everything in the world.

In truth, it was not despair, but a pure, simple weariness. It was the feeling that nothing had any meaning, not because death held any temptation, but simply because living was devoid of joy.

Just like when he jumped off the bridge into the artificial lake: he simply did not know where else he could go, nothing held any meaning, and no one was waiting for him.

It was a kind of dead silence where one could no longer find any expectation; those who had never experienced it could hardly understand.

Occasionally, when mixed with other emotions, it could breed a desire to drag the whole world down with him, to make the entire universe perish together—like that time he returned to Beicheng from abroad.

Before coming back, his heart had truly stirred with a faint excitement, imagining seeing Xu Zhi, wondering what he might say or do, or perhaps saying and doing nothing at all, just catching a glimpse of her.

Yet he saw her with Liang Muzhi, saw how intimate they were.

He flew back to the United States alone, frantically hallucinating on the airplane about a plane crash, picturing a scene of shattered flesh and blood.

Of course, none of those things happened. He returned to the States, looking just as he always had, attending classes every day, going to work at his mentor's firm... He numbly continued that kind of existence.

Only occasionally, very occasionally, would he look at the developed photograph kept inside his wallet, and think back to that birthday years ago, to the box of chocolates Xu Zhi had given him.

Sometimes he thought that if only he were a cat, a cat surely wouldn't reminisce about the cat food someone once fed it years and months ago, but he kept reminiscing about that box of chocolates.

Even though it was bitter beneath the sweetness, that box was the only trace of sweetness in his gloomy days.

The doctor said: "I actually suggest that family members interact more with Ms. Gao. Necessary external stimuli are crucial; they can induce some emotional changes in her, even if it's venting—like pouring her heart out or crying... Things like that can help her release some pressure when she refuses to communicate. Of course, one must mind the methods."

Liang Jinmo truly had no heart to interact much with Gao Ying; after all, the time when he had wanted to be close to her had long since passed.

He asked the doctor, "Are there any other ways?"

"There aren't really any better ways... We can only follow the previous treatment plan," the doctor replied.

As he continued chatting with the doctor for a while, the doctor suddenly received a phone call.

The caregiver on the other end reported that Gao Ying was crying.

The doctor's expression shifted slightly. Hanging up the phone, he stood up. "Your mother is crying. Let's go see what's happening."

Liang Jinmo was momentarily stunned.

He rose to his feet and followed the doctor downstairs.

When they reached the backyard, Gao Ying was still weeping.

As for Xu Zhi, though her eyes were rimmed with red, she appeared unusually calm at that moment. She simply watched Gao Ying cry in silence, uttering not a single word.

The doctor rushed straight toward Gao Ying, while Liang Jinmo, the moment he spotted Xu Zhi, strode quickly to her side. Frowning as he stared at her reddened eyes, he asked, "What happened?"

Xu Zhi stood up, took his hand, and said, "It's nothing. I just talked to her for a bit."

Doubts lingering in his heart, Liang Jinmo raised a hand to gently touch the corner of her eye, his voice very soft: "You cried?"

Xu Zhi replied, "I'm really fine."

She had simply failed to control her emotions just then.

She had already rehearsed those words on the way here, needing to get them off her chest, yet there was one thing she had kept hidden from Gao Ying.

The incident of Liang Jinmo jumping into the lake.

To this day, she had never told a soul about it. She wanted that secret to remain forever between the two of them.

Gao Ying was crying bitterly, her eyes swollen by the end. Supported by the caregiver as they prepared to return to her ward, she suddenly stopped after a few steps. Turning back to look at Liang Jinmo, she parted her lips and called out in a raspy voice, "Jinmo..."

Liang Jinmo looked back at her, his eyes like silent, dark pools, devoid of a single ripple of emotion.

He did not go to support her, did not ask why she was crying, did not offer comfort—he said not a single word.

Yet Gao Ying remembered that, once upon a time, long, long ago, when he was still very small and she cried at home, he would coax her. With his very tender, childish voice, he would ask why she was crying and say, "Don't cry, Mommy."

The words she wanted to say could not pass her lips. Tears fell once more, and eventually, she was led away by the caregiver.

The doctor hurriedly followed them as well.

Only the two of them were left on the lawn. Liang Jinmo asked Xu Zhi, "What did you two talk about?"

Xu Zhi was not quite willing to say. Wrapping her arms around the man's arm, she couldn't help rubbing her cheek against it. She desperately wanted to embrace him right now, but the occasion was clearly unsuitable, so she could only murmur softly, "Let's go back."

Liang Jinmo truly cared little about Gao Ying's state. Since Xu Zhi said she wanted to leave, he took her toward the parking lot.

On the way, he called the doctor, who said they were currently trying to communicate with Gao Ying and that crying out like this might actually help her condition, given how long she had remained unresponsive to the outside world.

Ending the call, the two of them got into the car. He realized, with a rare flicker of curiosity, "Are you really not going to tell me what you said to my mother?"

As he spoke, he leaned over to fasten her seatbelt.

Xu Zhi met his gaze. Suddenly, she reached out, caught his hand, and spoke: "I told her that I thank her for giving birth to you, giving me the chance to meet you, to know you, and to be with you."

Liang Jinmo froze, motionless for a moment.

Shifting her position, Xu Zhi opened her arms and hugged him, resting her chin on his shoulder. Tilting her face up—though she still felt a slight urge to cry, she held it back—she continued, "Really... being able to be with you makes me feel so lucky. Brother Jinmo, I don't care what others think of you; to me, you are the most precious thing in this world. So, for my sake, you must live well."