Lin Fan ground the Ganoderma lucidum into a fine powder with a mortar and pestle, then dissolved it in a bowl of warm water. He instructed, "Old Li, feed it to her yourself."
"Mm-hmm, okay."
Li Jian took the porcelain bowl and walked step by step into the bedroom.
"Wife, time for your medicine. You'll be better after taking it."
Li Jian supported his wife's upper body, slowly pouring the Ganoderma water from the bowl into her mouth.
He knew the medicine was expensive, so he moved with extreme slowness, afraid of spilling a single drop that might affect the treatment.
After she had drunk more than half the bowl, he was surprised to see that his wife's complexion had improved.
"Divine Doctor Lin! My wife seems to be getting better!"
Li Jian shouted loudly.
"Don't shout, don't shout. It's late at night," Lin Fan said, standing at the doorway and waving his hand.
"Oh, right, right."
"Ugh~"
Suddenly, a soft moan almost startled Li Jian.
Li Jian looked closely and saw his wife's eyelids move.
"Wife!"
Li Jian had never been so nervous in his entire life.
"Ajian, you rascal, did you hit me while I was sleeping? Why does my body hurt so much?"
His wife opened her eyes and complained.
"Xiumin, you..."
Such an ordinary remark struck Li Jian like a bolt of lightning, making his head buzz.
Li Jian was overwhelmed with emotion and burst into tears.
"You... Ajian, why are you crying? Is there a stranger in the house?"
Liu Xiumin, seeing her husband cry, got up despite the pain in her body.
"I didn't say anything. No, Ajian, why have you aged so much?"
"Wife!"
Li Jian hugged his wife tightly, still sobbing uncontrollably.
"I thought you would never wake up."
"Eleven years!"
"I waited for you to get better every day. I dreamed of you getting better!"
Li Jian vented his emotions hysterically, his sobs choking him.
"Ajian, what happened? Tell me quickly, what's going on?"
Liu Xiumin was bewildered.
Although she didn't understand the situation, her husband's grief made her want to cry too.
"Mom~"
A tearful cry.
The boy's eyes were red, and he rushed past Lin Fan.
He wiped his tears continuously, but they wouldn't stop.
"Are you... Li Shu?"
Although she was his mother, she hesitated to recognize him, as more than ten years had passed and the child had grown up.
"Child, come and see your mother. Your mother's illness is cured."
Li Jian beckoned him over.
"Mom~"
Li Shu cried out and rushed to embrace his parents.
Neither father nor son could speak; they could only cry.
Liu Xiumin wanted to ask something, but influenced by her husband and son, she also began to cry.
Lin Fan watched the family of three reunite with deep emotion.
For more than ten years, they had been so close yet felt worlds apart.
Such pain was unimaginable to outsiders.
Zhou Yi was quietly crying, sniffling, her makeup smudged.
Lin Fan took out a few tissues and handed them to her. "Wipe your eyes."
"Thank you."
Zhou Yi took the tissues and dabbed her eyes. "Xiao Fan, you've done a truly great deed!"
"Don't praise me. Young people can't handle too much praise," Lin Fan said humbly.
"Look at you, you deserve praise!"
A long while later.
A conversation could be heard from the second bedroom.
"What? I was insane for a full eleven years?"
"Ajian, is what you're saying true?"
Liu Xiumin's eyes were wide with alarm, and she gasped.
After a moment, she looked at her aged husband and her grown son, finally believing the truth.
"Where's a mirror? Ajian, find me a mirror."
Liu Xiumin desperately wanted to know what she looked like now.
"I'll go get it. Usually, I remove the mirrors from the room because I'm afraid you might break something and hurt yourself," Li Jian said, rushing out and heading for the bathroom.
As he ran, he told Lin Fan and Zhou Yi, "I'll find her a mirror first. I'll thank you both later."
"No problem, you go ahead and do what you need to," Lin Fan said with a smile.
"Yes, be right back, very soon."
Li Jian found a small mirror and ran back to the second bedroom.
Liu Xiumin was touching her face.
She could clearly feel the many crow's feet around her eyes and the rough texture of her skin, so different from the smooth, supple skin of her youth.
"The mirror is here."
After handing over the mirror, Li Jian suddenly thought of something and pulled his hand back slightly.
"Wife, I've taken care of you for so many years, and I'll continue to do so in the days to come."
A blush appeared on Liu Xiumin's face. "What are you saying in front of the child?"
As she spoke, she eagerly took the mirror.
When she saw her disheveled, weathered, and haggard face in the mirror, her expression immediately showed disappointment.
"I'm so old now."
She sighed.
"I'm old too."
Li Jian smiled. "Our child has grown up, so of course, we're old."
"That's true."
Liu Xiumin nodded gently.
Eleven years had felt like a nightmare, and she had almost not woken up. What more could she ask for?
"Divine Doctor Lin."
Li Jian's voice trembled as he led his wife and son to Lin Fan.
"Thank you for saving our family."
With that, the family of three knelt down simultaneously.
Lin Fan quickly stood up to help them. "Please, please, don't do this. What era are we in? Get up."
"No, Divine Doctor Lin, you saved our entire family. We can never repay your great kindness, even if we work ourselves to death."
The eyes of the family of three were filled with gratitude as they looked at Lin Fan.
"Old Li, Xiao Fan is a doctor with a benevolent heart, and he has saved countless lives. Please get up," Zhou Yi also helped to assist the family.
After Li Jian stood up, he seemed to have something to say and sent his son away.
"I'll go make some hot water for tea."
As the mistress of the house, Liu Xiumin felt embarrassed seeing the empty tea table with no tea set or fruit platters.
She walked into the kitchen and saw that everything was still as it had been years ago, which made her shed tears again.
"Ajian, where's the tea?"
She opened the cabinets and felt around but couldn't find the old tea caddy.
"I'll find it for you."
The couple busied themselves in the kitchen for a while and returned with steaming hot tea.
"Divine Doctor Lin, please have some tea."
Liu Xiumin held the teacup with both hands and respectfully offered it.
"Thank you."
"And this lady..."
Liu Xiumin looked Zhou Yi up and down, realizing she didn't recognize her.
"I'm Old Li's friend, Zhou Yi. To be honest, your Old Li is now the director, and I'm in real estate, so this is..."
Zhou Yi winked, not hiding her intentions at all.
"Sister Zhou, you invited Divine Doctor Lin, didn't you?"
Liu Xiumin was a shrewd woman and immediately understood the hidden agenda.
"My husband and I will never forget your great kindness," Liu Xiumin promised.
Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Lin Fan spoke up. "Old Li, what exactly happened before the incident back then?"
As he asked, his gaze naturally shifted to Liu Xiumin.
Undoubtedly, she, as the victim, was most likely to know the truth.