Luo's Mother Takes Medicine

The sun was setting, its slanting rays streaming through the window, setting the hallway ablaze with golden light.

"Tap, tap, tap." The crisp sound of clean white sneakers echoed against the floor, accompanied by the gentle sway of a ponytail as the girl climbed the stairs.

Stopping at her doorstep, Luo Xi took out her keys and opened the door. The familiar scent of medicinal herbs greeted her, something she had long grown accustomed to.

"Xi Xi, you're back?" A voice called from a small room nearby. Luo Xi quickly changed into slippers and hurried over. "Mom, how are you feeling?"

The medicinal smell was even stronger inside the small room. The frail woman lying on the bed had dry, yellowish hair, her face pale but still bearing traces of her former beauty. She forced a weak smile. "I'm fine. The doctor said I'm doing a little better today."

"Really? That's great!" Luo Xi's face brightened.

Luo's mother reached out and brushed aside her daughter's bangs. "You've been working so hard—going to school and helping your dad at the night market stall. I can't do anything to help. I'm just a burden."

Luo Xi shook her head vigorously, clasping her mother's hand in hers. "Mom, don't say that. We're family."

Suddenly remembering something, Luo Xi reached into her pocket and pulled out a small white paper packet.

"Oh, Mom, Ye Chuan gave me this family remedy."

"Family remedy?" Luo's mother looked puzzled. Since when did the Ye family have a family remedy? Weren't they fruit sellers before?

"Yeah! You wouldn't believe how much better Ye Chuan looks now—completely different from before!" Luo Xi eagerly explained.

Luo's mother knew Ye Chuan had always been sickly—pale-faced, prone to coughing, and lacking vitality. Hearing that he had recovered after taking this remedy, she simply smiled and shook her head.

She had heard countless stories like this before, having tried numerous so-called "family remedies" herself.

Most likely, Ye Chuan's improvement was just due to his youth—nothing to do with the medicine.

"You're still calling him 'Chuan Chuan' at your age? Your birthday is in a couple of days—why don't you invite him over for dinner?" Luo's mother teased.

"I-I've called him that since we were kids! What's the big deal?"

Luo's mother chuckled knowingly. "Oh, I know exactly what's going on."

"Ugh!" Luo Xi's face flushed, and she abruptly stood up. "Mom, I'll go brew the medicine for you!"

Just then, the sound of the door unlocking echoed through the house.

A middle-aged man walked in, his face weathered but his gaze firm and resolute.

"Dad," Luo Xi greeted him.

"Hm." Luo's father responded with a nod. As Luo Xi's stepfather, he wasn't one for words—his care was always shown through actions. Noticing Luo Xi preparing the medicine, he glanced at the time.

"Luo Xi, you're brewing the medicine earlier than usual today."

"It's a family remedy Ye Chuan gave me. He said it worked really well for him, so I thought Mom could try it," Luo Xi explained.

Luo's father frowned, his voice roughening slightly. "The doctor said your mother's condition worsened today. Don't give her random medicine."

Worsened?

But she said she was doing better?

Luo Xi froze, her hands stiffening as she glanced toward the room.

From inside, Luo's mother spoke up. "Come on, what harm could trying it do? It's not like things can get much worse for me."

Luo's father stood silently for a long moment before sighing. "How much of this medicine is there?"

"Just one packet. Ye Chuan took it himself."

Luo's father shook his head. "Fine, let your mother try it. But don't ask Ye Chuan for more. If his family really had some miracle remedy, would he have been sickly all these years?"

"Okay." Luo Xi finished brewing the medicine, letting it cool slightly before bringing it to her mother.

Luo's mother took a sip—and immediately her face turned deathly pale. "?!!!"

The putrid, nauseating taste sent her into a violent coughing fit, her hands clutching the blanket in a death grip.

"Mom?! Mom?!" Luo Xi panicked, quickly setting the bowl aside. "Are you okay?"

Luo's father rushed in from the other room, patting his wife's back.

"I told you not to give her strange medicine!" he snapped, glaring at Luo Xi.

"I—I didn’t mean to, I just—" Luo Xi stammered, her face ashen.

Finally, Luo's mother caught her breath, forcing a weak smile.

"This medicine... tastes like expired fruit mixed with banlangen. It's awful."

"And why are you yelling at Xi Xi? What did she do wrong?"

Luo's father said nothing, silently wiping the spilled medicine from his wife's clothes.

"Mom, I'm sorry. I won't bring random medicine again," Luo Xi said guiltily.

Luo's mother shook her head with a smile—but then, her expression shifted in surprise. "Huh?"

"Mom? Should we go to the hospital?" Luo Xi asked anxiously, seeing her mother's sudden dazed look.

Luo's father frowned.

"No, it's just... I feel stronger somehow?" Luo's mother lifted her arm in disbelief. Her limbs, usually weak, now felt full of energy. Even her pale complexion had gained a faint flush of color.

Luo's father noticed it too, touching her cheek. "Your face does look a little better?"

Luo Xi perked up. "Could it be Ye Chuan's medicine working?"

"It's only been a few seconds," Luo's father said skeptically.

But Luo's mother looked at the remaining medicine on the table. "Xi Xi, give it to me."

"Mom, it's—"

"It's fine. I trust you... and I trust Ye Chuan." Luo's mother smiled. She had just been unprepared for the bitterness.

Having taken countless herbal medicines before, she was no stranger to bitter tastes—but this was on another level.

Taking the bowl from Luo Xi, she steeled herself and downed the rest in one go.

Her face paled again, but this time she didn't make a sound—only gripping Luo's father's arm so tightly he winced.

"Cough, cough." Setting the bowl down, Luo's mother hesitated for a moment before getting out of bed and taking a few steps.

"How... how do you feel?" Luo's father asked.

A look of pure joy spread across Luo's mother's face. "Oh my god, why do I feel so much energy? It's nothing like before—I don't feel weak at all!"

Overwhelmed by the unfamiliar sensation, she even jumped a few times to prove it. "See?"

Luo's father stared in disbelief. "This... this medicine works that fast? And it's actually effective?"

Could there be something illegal in it?