Chapter 693: Cherish Your Beloved Ones When They Are Still Alive

"Do you have any cigarettes?"

Karl pulls open the drawer and throws an entire box of cigarettes to him.

Rex immediately opens it. It's evident that he is quite anxious. Sitting beside him, Lily can see his
fingers trembling violently.

When he puts the cigarette close to his mouth, the cigarette is even slightly crooked because of his
trembling hand.

Lily knows that he is trying his best to suppress his emotions.

Over the years, he has lived and worked independently, and he rarely has the opportunity to stay with
his family. Besides, the complex family environment has led to his lonely character.

This doesn't mean that he makes light of his family. On the contrary, he values kinship the most. It's just
that he doesn't know how to express his affection to his loved ones.

Since he always conceals his true emotions, he tends to feel extremely sad and powerless when facing
such a situation.

Rex quietly finishes smoking a cigarette. Actually, his mind has gone completely blank. To be more
specific, he is in a trance for he has no idea what to think about.

As long as he thinks of Grandpa's illness, he is too distressed to keep thinking.

After stubbing out his cigarette in the ashtray, Rex finally says, "Karl, let's all ... get ready."

It's out of Karl's expectation that Rex will say this after remaining silent for a long while. He thinks that
he will refuse to believe in reality and ask him to propose more feasible plans like before. It's to his



great surprise that Rex tells him to get mentally prepared for the worst result.

Perhaps it's because Rex's words are too unexpected, Karl paused for a moment after hearing this.
After a while, he nods and says, "OK. I will try my best."

Rex remains expressionless, and he looks as calm as a pool of stagnant water. "My grandfather also
knows about his own physical condition, right?"

"Yes."

Other than the doctor, his grandfather must be the only one who knows best about his physical
condition. Since Grandpa still remains conscious, he must know he is close to death no matter how the
others comfort him.

Grandpa won't be able to hold on for much longer, and if the treatment continues, he won't stand the
great physical torture.

Rex closes his eyes. He doesn't dare to imagine the sufferings Grandpa has experienced recently and
the greater pain he is about to have. All he can do now is to face the harsh reality with a peaceful mind.

"I'm leaving."

Karl doesn't know how to persuade him to stay, and it doesn't seem to be the right time to do this. So
he just says, "Be careful on your way home."

With that, he winks at Lily, signaling her to take care of Rex, who is on the verge of breaking down.

Taking the hint, Lily also gets up and follows Rex.

When Rex walks to the office door, he suddenly stops. Fortunately, Lily stops in time, or she would
have hit his back by now.



She looks at him worriedly. "What's wrong?"

Rex closes his eyes and remains silent.

If he walks out of this door today, he will stop fantasizing that Grandpa will recover. Instead, he will
think about how to prepare for the coming funeral and take care of the family affairs after Grandpa's
death.

Rex seems to face a life-or-death choice when standing at this door. He has to muster up his courage
and use all of his strength to pass through it.

Holding his breath, he closes his eyes and everything is in darkness now.

He stands in front of the door for nearly five minutes before finally taking steps. The moment he walks
out of the door, tears roll down his cheeks uncontrollably and fall onto the ground.

Lily keeps following behind him until they reach the end of the corridor. Facing the window, Rex rests
his arms on the edge of the window and slowly lowers his head. It seems that he suddenly loses all his
strength, and Lily is afraid he will fall to the ground at any moment.

His broad shoulders tremble slightly. Without looking at his face, she is sure that he is crying.

They have been together for so many years, and Lily rarely sees him crying. However, after his
grandpa suffers from the illness, Rex always sheds tears from sadness.

As the old saying goes, blood is thicker than water. It's so cruel for Rex to know that his loved one is
going to die, and he needs to prepare for Grandpa's funeral.

The night wind blows in from outside the window and messes up the hair on his forehead. Standing
behind Rex, Lily looks at him with concern. They both remain silent, and he doesn't even turn around.
However, she can tell that he is overwhelmed with grief now.



She wants to give him some time to calm down, so she restrains her urge to hug him. She clenches her
fists so tightly that her fingernails dig deep into her palms and leave some red marks on her skin.
However, she doesn't care about the pain at all.

After taking a deep breath, she slowly exhales. Since she can't bear to see his distressed look
anymore, she takes a step forward and holds him in her arms.

She puts her arms around his waist tightly, with her cheek pressed against his slightly cold clothes. She
is so close to him that he can clearly hear her heartbeat.

"I will always be with you."

She doesn't know why she suddenly has the courage to make such a promise. However, she indeed
has this idea right now. No matter what happens to Rex later, she will always be by his side.

"A lifetime is too long..." His voice is hoarse, and every word seems to be filled with sorrow. "I can't
save him, I can't..."

Hearing this, Lily feels sorrier for him. "People are all born to die. Rex, you can't decide the life and
death of anyone, including your own. All we can do is to cherish our beloved ones when they are still
alive."

A sad smile appears on his face, but it only lasts for a short while. "I don't have time, nor do I have a
chance."

This is what saddens him the most. In the past, he thought that he could only offer financial support to
his family by working hard. Moreover, he even once felt that he was the most unwanted one in the
family. Therefore, after his mother remarried, he avoided coming back home to a greater extent. To be
more specific, he only went home a few times a year.



But that day, when he went back to the old house to get some stuff, he saw many red certificates of
merit after the servant opened the drawer in Grandpa's study. At that moment, he went a breakdown.

He won those certificates from his excellent performance in final exams when he was a child. He
himself has forgotten some of the certificates, but his grandfather keeps them for so many years.

He remembers that when he was young, Grandpa was stern. He was not as amiable as the elders of
other children, and he had always been very strict with him.

He now realizes that from a long time ago, Grandpa has hoped that he can become an outstanding
man after growing up.

His grandpa must be so proud of him that he keeps those tattered certificates until today.

Rex doesn't dare to think back. His heart aches too much, as if someone is smashing it with a hammer.
He even can't breathe smoothly.

He seems to have ignored many of his grandpa's feelings and painstaking efforts towards him.
Grandpa never mentions these to him, and it seems that he doesn't expect his grandson to repay him.

Cherish?

He has no time to cherish. The cruelest thing in this world is that when you want to cherish someone,
that person is no longer by your side.


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