1337 Group Photo
The moment Qiao Mei turned around, Liang Shu felt as if all the blood in her body was frozen. She had never met Qiao Mei before and the previous photos she saw were all taken when Qiao Mei still weighed more than 200 pounds. This was the first time she saw Qiao Mei in her current state.

She felt as if she had seen this face somewhere before, but she could not put her finger on it. After sizing Qiao Mei up carefully for a long time, Liang Shu acted as if she had seen a ghost. She panicked and used all her strength to move backwards. She kept whimpering, but no one knew what she was saying. It seemed as if she was begging for mercy, but also seemed like she was cursing.

“What’s wrong with her? Does she have other illnesses? Or perhaps she doesn’t want to see me,” Qiao Mei asked Liang Lan in confusion.

Liang Lan also did not know what was wrong with Liang Shu. Did Liang Shu ever have such a big reaction before? She had never even reacted like that when she had to meet Liang Can.

“Maybe my mother is too excited to see you. After all, she has been in this state for a long time and it’s been very difficult for her. Seeing you is like seeing hope.” As Liang Lan spoke, she even wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with her sleeve.
Liang Lan grabbed Liang Shu’s hands tightly and pressed them against the bed, whispering into Liang Shu’s ear, “Do you want to get well soon or not!”

Liang Shu struggled for a moment before calming down. She turned her head to the side so that she did not have to look at Qiao Mei, but it was not something that Qiao Mei cared about.

Qiao Mei knew that it was impossible for Liang Shu to like her within a short period of time. She also did not need Liang Shu to like her. Her only purpose in coming here this time was just to take a good look at this house.

Seeing Liang Shu in such a sad state, Qiao Mei felt a little emotional. No matter how strong and stubborn one was, one would not be able to retain any dignity or poise in the face of illness. However, Liang Shu only had herself to blame. If she had treated Liang Lan and Liang Guo fairly, perhaps she would not be in such a situation now. It was all of her own doing.

Qiao Mei saw many photos on the wall, and there was even one from when Liang Shu was a baby! However, she did not see Qiao Qiang among the photos on the wall. There was not a single group photo.

“Isn’t there any photo of my grandfather?” Qiao Mei asked.

“Uh… Back then, he was always in the army and did not have time to come home, so he was never around when we took photos,” Liang Lan explained.

Actually, they had many photos of him. When Qiao Qiang left the Liang family, Liang Shu had burned all those photos and no one really cared about it. They did not expect Qiao Mei to ask about this today.

“Huh… I thought she was a military spouse and all of you followed him around? You spent all your days together, so how could it be that you didn’t get to see one another?” Qiao Mei asked.

Liang Lan gnashed her teeth and looked at Qiao Mei. She did not expect Qiao Qiang to tell Qiao Mei so much about the past. She herself already could not even remember these things clearly.

“Oh right, I remember now! It’s because my father doesn’t like to take photos! He always hides at the side and watches us as we take photos, so he’s not in any of the photos,” Liang Lan said.

Qiao Mei knew what Liang Lan said was a lie, but she could not be bothered to expose her. There were many photos of Qiao Qiang at their house in Foshan Village. Qiao Qiang had brought all those back with him and most of the photos were of Qiao Qiang with his comrades. There were also photos of Qiao Qiang when he received his badges of honor. However, those were not well kept and some of the photos were already faded.

“Not even one?” Qiao Mei asked again.

Liang Lan was so anxious that her forehead was covered in sweat. After thinking hard, she suddenly remembered that they seemed to still have a photo of Qiao Qiang at home. However, it was kept in an old box and she needed to go and search for it.

“I’ll pass it to you next time once I find it. This house is in such a mess now. I don’t even know where the box is,” Liang Lan said vaguely.

Qiao Mei simply went to a chair at the side and sat down. She smiled at Liang Lan and said, “There’s no hurry. I have plenty of time today. Take your time to search for it. This house doesn’t look that big to me and I’m sure you’ll be able to find it within the day. If there’s really no other way, you can ask your mother. She probably remembers where it is.”

Liang Lan clenched her fists and wished that she could give Qiao Mei a tight slap to vent her frustration. Qiao Mei was clearly trying to make things difficult for her! However, Qiao Mei still had what they needed now. If she did not do as Qiao Mei said, it was very likely that Liang Shu would continue to remain like this. Did that mean that she would have to wait upon Liang Shu for the rest of her life?

As the saying went, a great person knew when to yield and when to stand tall. What was this bit of grievance worth? As long as she could escape from her misery, she was willing to do anything!

“Sure! Then you take a seat here. I’ll go and look for it now!” Liang Lan said as she forced a smile on her face.