December 9th, clear skies, Changping, Beijing, Everlasting Peace Cemetery. All arrangements for Lena Brown’s burial, including the grave and the religious services, were taken care of by Everest Zuck. After Yusuf Zuck returned, he had been busy for many days, and finally, Lena was to be laid to rest. Collins Brown was picked up early by Yusuf Zuck and taken to the cemetery, and there were others who attended the funeral, including Samuel Ross and his group, Felix Zuck was there as well, Miles O’brien came along with Anna Cooke who was off work for the weekend. Everest had found the abbot of Hu Guo Temple, along with a group of high monks, to personally chant sutras for Lena’s salvation. After an hour of chanting, it was time for Lena’s coffin to be lowered into the grave and for her gravestone to be erected. "You all go back, Samuel, take Collins home." After all the religious rites were completed and the burial was over, and after Collins had cried her tears, Yusuf Zuck then asked everyone to leave. Actually, he was feeling very agitated inside; he dared not think about what Lena might look like because the thought would ignite an inexplicable rage within him. Such a wonderful girl, at such a wonderful age, she ended up losing her life in a foreign country because of him. She had so much of life to enjoy, so much of a future to experience. But in the end, her dreams vanished with her departure. Yusuf Zuck dared not think of the day he spent with her, did not dare to think of her standing naked at the head of the bed, standing before him, nor could he bear to think of the moment of her death, the reluctance, confusion, and despair in her eyes. Yusuf Zuck cried, squatting before Lena’s grave and sobbing uncontrollably. If everything could start over, he would not hesitate that day; if he could do it all again, he would not have made her his interpreter. If he could start over, he would have given her a happy life. But nothing could be redone. Yusuf Zuck’s gloomy mood, which had been accumulating for almost a month, erupted at that moment. Everyone else had left, and there he sat alone in the snow-covered cemetery, weeping bitterly. Others could not understand the heartache of witnessing a beloved life crumble into nothingness in an instant. Follow current novᴇls on novᴇlfire.net Yusuf Zuck never allowed his life to be filled with too many regrets, but Lena Brown left him with a lifetime of remorse and hatred that he could not reconcile or rectify. At one in the afternoon, Yusuf Zuck had stayed in the Ice Sky Snow Land cemetery for over three hours before he finally turned and left. When he came out of the cemetery, he found that Collins Brown, Miles O’brien, and Anna Cooke had not left, and Samuel Ross and the others were sitting in the distant car. Only Everest Zuck and Faye Webb had taken the monks and left. "Yusuf Zuck, thank you, my sister will bless us from heaven," said Collins Brown, before turning to leave and getting into Samuel’s car. Yusuf Zuck also got into Miles O’brien’s car, and then the cars slowly drove away. Miles O’brien did not ask any questions, but Anna Cooke kept sneaking glances at Yusuf Zuck through the rearview mirror. His eyes were red with bloodshot veins, clearly showing he had been crying. She was curious about the past Yusuf Zuck had with that woman and was also suddenly struck by how a man as solid as a rock could cry too. "Take me to the Ferreni Grand Hotel, and then you all can go to the shop," he said. "Okay," Miles nodded and glanced at Yusuf Zuck through the rearview mirror, saying, "Yusuf Zuck, she won’t blame you." "Mhm," Yusuf Zuck hummed softly, then closed his eyes. At 2:30 in the afternoon, Yusuf Zuck met with Samuel Ross and his wife, Alec Petty, who waited for him at the Ferreni Grand Hotel for nearly ten days. The couple hadn’t changed much and were very enthusiastic. Yusuf knew that they did business in the Northeast, and it seemed to be quite a substantial one. "I don’t have a Hong Kong and Macau Travel Permit!" After exchanging pleasantries upon meeting, Yusuf got straight to the point, "And I wasn’t joking before, I’ll see the patient but the consultation fee is one hundred million, otherwise forget it." "The reason I saved Collins on the plane was because I was in a good mood, and the child was strong and adorable, so I could do it for nothing, not even leaving my name behind, but the situation is different now. First, I am not a doctor to begin with, and second, it takes two to tango, that’s just how I am!" "Mr. Zuck, rest assured, we have already prepared the hundred million consultation fee, you don’t need to apply for the Hong Kong and Macau Travel Permit, someone will escort us there when the time comes." "You trust me this much? Willing to risk a hundred million?" Yusuf frowned and said. Alec Petty said with a smile, "Before you cured Collins, we had sought after a very respected and extraordinary person, who said Collins was incurable. After you cured her, he personally visited our home to see Collins and declared that you were a true master, that Collins was blessed to have met you." "Also, the reason we came to find you to go to Hong Kong is based on that extraordinary person’s suggestion. At first, we didn’t want to contact you, but after everyone else had tried—many famous experts from all over had been consulted to no avail—that’s why we came to you." "If it weren’t for some particular reasons, we wouldn’t want to bother you." Alec Petty was the kind of well-educated woman, now a wife and a mother, who appeared especially serene and intellectual. She spoke in an organized way, always with a smile, giving a sense of closeness. She was the kind of a young woman that gave no reason for dislike. "May I ask, what is your relation to the patient? Just a regular client?" Yusuf asked earnestly. "She is my grandfather." Alec did not hide the truth this time, and said frankly, "It wasn’t convenient to explain over the phone. There is some... discord between me and my Clan, and when I was very young, I was taken away by this bad person." She pointed teasingly at the grinning Samuel Ross, "My family doesn’t bad person, but he’s my husband, the father of my children, so looking down on him is looking down on me." "I’ve always believed that the word ’family’ changes as one gets older and the environment changes. I have my own family, my husband and my children, so if someone doesn’t like my husband and children, they are looking down on me, Alec Petty, so I definitively cut ties with them." "My sister can be very stubborn, I might have said too much, please don’t mind me, brother!" Alec said, laughing and shaking her head as she further bridged the relationship with Yusuf. "Did you two pay for this money?" Yusuf asked after some thought. "Yes, we didn’t dare tell them. If we did, they might think we’re conspiring with outsiders to defraud them of their money!" "Understood." Yusuf nodded, internally praising the couple for their actions. Despite their strained relations with their family, when family matters arose they were willing to pay out of their own pocket and fulfill their filial duties without wanting others to gossip. Samuel Ross just sat by, smiling and looking at his wife with warm eyes! "Where’s little Collins? Why isn’t she here?" Yusuf suddenly inquired about the little girl. "She’s at school. However, we’ve bought a house in Beijing and plan to spend the Spring Festival there. We’ll bring her to thank you then!" "Great, I’ll treat you to a meal then. When you’re in Beijing, you’re the guests. But when are we leaving?" "We booked a flight to Shenzhen this evening because you said you would be back today." "Okay, let’s go tonight, but I’m hungry, I haven’t had lunch yet, let me take you out for a meal." "Sure, then we won’t hold back," Alec quickly agreed.