Chapter Ninety-Two: The Children's Fans Go Online!

Seeing Madam Zhang Mingrong’s condition, Li Shixin understood that she was suffering from senile dementia. It hadn't been serious before, so her family hadn’t noticed. But today, the shock of the funeral had confused her all at once, resulting in such a commotion.

For the elderly, this is the greatest fear—never knowing when the decline might come, when bodily functions might begin to fail, bringing pain to oneself and trouble to others.

After receiving a lecture from the police, Zhang Mingrong’s daughter, Wang Qiang, wiped away her tears and thanked the officers. She supported her mother as they left the station.

The old lady had spent the day outside, and her hands and face were marked with frostbite. Wang Qiang wanted to take her to the hospital, but the old woman stubbornly refused. She insisted on treating everyone to a meal, saying that so many people had been mobilized to search for her, and she must thank them properly.

Over twenty veteran fans from the online group had come out tonight, but there were more than thirty children accompanying them. It truly was a large-scale operation.

Many had rushed out without eating, and after a night of running around in the cold winter, their stomachs were rumbling. So, everyone found a nearby restaurant.

While waiting for the food, Wang Qiang sat beside Li Shixin with her mother.

“Uncle Li, I’m sorry.”

Seeing Wang Qiang’s face full of guilt, Li Shixin smiled gently. “Why are you apologizing to me?”

Holding her mother’s hand, Wang Qiang wiped her eyes. “A few days ago, my mom said she wanted to follow her idol, and I thought it was troublesome. She’d suffer on set every day, and I’d have to drive her back and forth. But tonight, when I heard her talk about picking me up from kindergarten, memories flooded in—my mother braving wind and rain, pushing her bicycle to take me to and from school…”

Her voice caught. “She worked at the tile factory, busy and exhausted every day. But when I was small and weak, she cherished me like a treasure, no matter how hard or tiring her job was. Now she’s old, and I find her a burden…”

“Sigh,”

Li Shixin shook his head, patting Wang Qiang’s arm. “Child, the fact that you think like this means you’re a good daughter. There’s an old saying: when parents are here, you still have a place to go; when they’re gone, only the way home remains. While your mother is still here, be good to her. Don’t apologize to me—just take good care of your mom and spend time with her. That’s more important than anything.”

Wang Qiang nodded and held onto Li Shixin’s hand. “Uncle Li, you’re a good man.”

???

Li Shixin frowned at this middle-aged woman.

What’s going on? Why am I suddenly given the ‘good person’ card?

“My mom went through all this trouble, and you personally mobilized so many people online and in person to look for her. It proves that, confused as she may be, she followed the right idol. From now on, not only is my mom your fan, I am too!”

“That’s right, Uncle Li. We’re your fans now, too!” The sons and daughters who had accompanied the elders chimed in with laughter.

Clearly, Li Shixin’s tireless efforts tonight and his sense of responsibility toward his fans had earned everyone’s admiration.

Ping! Received bonus cheers for [Recognition]: 5721 points!

Well, thank you all, then.

Accepting the cheers, Li Shixin laughed and cupped his hands to everyone.

“But Uncle Li, I have one more request,” Wang Qiang said once the room quieted down. “You must keep acting.”

“When my mom was going to the set every day, she was full of energy. No signs of dementia at all. But these past few days, stuck at home because of the cold, her spirits have changed. What happened tonight isn’t entirely because of Aunt Zhou’s passing.”

“Yes, Uncle Li, my mom always says every winter is hard for her. She sighs at home all day, but since joining your support group, she has things to do, goals to pursue, and her spirits are much better.”

“So, Uncle Li, you must keep acting, so my mom can keep following you!”

Li Shixin had already mulled this over in the afternoon. Now, faced with the children’s requests, he nodded. “After coming back from Old Zhou’s funeral, I had an idea. I want to set up a little theater. Since I have no productions for the next two months, I’ll perform some stage plays for everyone.”

The moment Li Shixin shared his idea, the veteran fans perked up!

“Oh, that’s a great idea!” Grandpa Liu Feng grinned so widely his dentures nearly fell out. “That way, we can watch you perform every day. We won’t have to worry about boredom this winter!”

“Yes! It’s a wonderful idea! Shixin, you’re always so clever!” Wu Ming stood up excitedly. “I fully support you! Brother Shixin, tell us more!”

Faced with a flood of questions, Li Shixin chuckled. “I haven’t thought out the details yet. But I know how to run a theater troupe. As for personnel, I have some ideas. Tomorrow, I’ll start looking for a venue.”

“Brother Shixin, we know your situation. Setting up a theater, you probably don’t have enough funds, right? Do you need our support?”

“That’s right, Little Brother Shixin. Rent in Rongcheng is expensive—you’ll need quite a bit of money for a place!” Grandpa Liu Feng waved his trembling hand. “My youngest son is in real estate. I’ll ask him to find an eight-hundred to a thousand square meter place for you.”

With that, the old man beckoned his grandson to make arrangements over the phone.

Whoa!

Everyone stared in surprise. Liu Feng—who looked unremarkable and dressed like a simple farmer—had a son in real estate and spoke of securing a huge venue as casually as buying a couple kilos of pickled vegetables.

His hidden tycoon status was truly astonishing!

Just as everyone was reeling from Brother Feng’s generosity, a shout came from the hotel entrance.

“Is this the group that was looking for the old lady?!”

“Hey!” Li Shixin turned and saw a police officer at the door. He quickly stood and raised his hand. “Officer, what’s wrong?”

“You elderly folks really are something. Out looking for someone, and you lose another of your own without noticing!”

Huh?

Hearing the officer’s complaint, everyone was bewildered.

Just then, the officer led someone inside.

Everyone looked closely—it was none other than Qiao Hong!

“The old lady said she was looking for Zhang Mingrong, but besides that, she couldn’t remember anything. The public brought her to the station. Lucky you hadn’t left yet, or we’d have had to call you back.”

On hearing this, Li Shixin and the others hurried forward to bring Qiao Hong over.

“Searching for people like this—isn’t it just like the Calabash Brothers saving Grandpa? Keep a close eye this time! Don’t lose anyone again!”

“Alright, alright,” everyone thanked the officer, stifling laughter, and helped the still-dazed Qiao Hong to a seat.

Watching Qiao Hong’s eyes, which had just begun to clear, Zhang Mingrong sighed, “I’ve truly sinned. Sister Qiao, why did you come out looking for me in your condition? If anything happened to you, I’d be wracked with guilt!”

Embarrassed by Zhang Mingrong’s reproach, Qiao Hong lowered her head and laughed shyly, clutching her drink. “I forgot I had dementia…”

(｡-ω-)-ω-)-ω-)-ω-)-ω-)-ω-)……

Everyone was speechless.

A sigh escaped from Madam Zhang Mingrong. After a moment’s thought, she tentatively patted Qiao Hong’s arm. “Sister Qiao, what does it feel like to have senile dementia?”

“Feel like?” Qiao Hong released the straw from her mouth. “Hmm… Actually, it’s pretty nice.”

What’s good about dementia?!

Faced with everyone’s astonished looks, Qiao Hong smiled. “Unhappy things are soon forgotten. In the end, only what you want to remember remains. And… and every day you can make new friends.”

In the midst of silence, Zhang Mingrong picked up a drink from the table, scooted over to sit by Qiao Hong, and put the straw to her lips.

=￣ω￣=,=￣ω￣=

“When you put it that way, dementia does sound good.”

“Mm-hmm! It’s just troublesome when you get lost.”