"Forget it. That's a radioactive toxin, something to do with physics or chemistry. Lin Tang practices traditional Chinese medicine; the two are worlds apart. If he puts on a brave front and tries to treat your father, he'll fail. Then he'll be humiliated by your peculiar mother, and you might even call him useless. Why should he bother asking for trouble?"
Shen Youling was speechless. She slumped to the ground, dejected.
It does seem that way. So all my efforts were for nothing? Is accepting this reality all I can do now?
What bewildered Shen Youling the most was realizing that as she resigned herself to the cruel fact of her father's impending death, she wasn't as grief-stricken as she had imagined. It felt more like a void had been carved out of her chest, or as if an invisible string that had always been attached to her had suddenly snapped. She couldn't put a finger on the feeling, nor could she find the words to describe it.
