The Great Dream God

Wei Yanren's childhood is like a colorful painting, with every stroke soaked with happiness and laughter. In his memory, the sun always generously sprinkles on the courtyard, surrounded by green trees, birds singing and flowers blooming. Those carefree days are like eternal poems. However, life is not always as peaceful as poetry. A sudden storm broke the tranquility of this family.

His grandmother, that kind and warm presence, was suddenly plagued by illness. Wei Yanren's father, an extremely filial son, did not hesitate to give away everything in the family just to exchange for his mother's glimmer of life. Gold, silver, jewelry, land and family property, everything, turned into a panacea for the disease at that moment. At the grandmother's funeral, his father's eyes flashed with a determined light. He said to Wei Yanren in a low and powerful voice: "Even if you use up your last penny, you must fight for a glimmer of hope for your loved ones. Human life is more important than Mount Tai. No matter what the outcome, we can't give up any family member." Although Wei Yanren was ignorant, his father's words were like a brand, deeply engraved in his heart.

However, fate did not let this family off. A year later, tragedy struck again. Wei Yanren's mother, a gentle woman, suddenly fell ill and became increasingly weak. In just half a month, her smile was swallowed by the pain, leaving Wei Yanren with endless sorrow. The family's savings had long been gone, and they could not afford the expensive herbs prescribed by the doctor. They could only watch the candle of life extinguished before their eyes, powerless to save the situation. The death of his mother was like a sharp sword that pierced Wei Yanren's young heart. The pain was deep and unforgettable.

In the last chapter of her life, the mother lay on the sickbed, weak but firm, her fingers tightly grasping Wei Yanren's hands like dead branches, the hands that were once so gentle now carried endless worries and reluctance. Her words, though weak, were like a candle in the cold wind, trembling and bright, deeply imprinted in Wei Yanren's heart.

"My child, you must remember that if your father falls ill one day, no matter how serious his illness is, you cannot spend all your money to treat him. You must keep the money for yourself, because life is always full of unknowns, and you may also face the attack of illness tomorrow. How I wish you could understand that you are unique in this world, and your life is more precious to me than anything else." The light of maternal love flashed in the mother's eyes, and it never went out even at the brink of life.

"Mom is not afraid of leaving this world. What I am afraid of is that you will be like your father, who is willing to sacrifice everything for others, even himself. I was once very proud of his selflessness, but that is also a pain that cannot be erased from my heart. I don't want you to repeat his path. I hope you can learn to protect yourself, even if it means becoming a little selfish."

Her voice gradually faded away, like leaves falling in the quiet autumn night, but her words of advice, like unforgettable poems, echoed in Wei Yanren's ears. He looked at his mother's pale face, her eyes full of deep expectations and endless love for him. He knew that this was his mother's last teaching, the last chapter she wrote with her life.

At this moment, Wei Yanren understood that his mother's "selfishness" was not real selfishness, but love and protection for him. He felt heartbroken, but also determined that he would follow his mother's teachings and protect his life, because that was his mother's deepest expectation for him and the best way for him to repay her love.

At the solemn and mournful funeral, Wei Yanren's tears were like pearls falling from a string, sprinkling all over his mother's coffin. His cries, like a sad elegy, echoed in the empty ancestral hall, touching the hearts of everyone present. However, his father, the heartless man, was furious at this moment, and roared at Wei Yanren, who was crying: "You must learn to be perseverant! As a man, you must stand up straight and be as tough as a rock!" Wei Yanren's crying stopped abruptly, and he could only hold back the grief in his heart and force himself to be strong.

Three years later, it was like a ruthless storm that swept through their peaceful life. His father was suddenly attacked by a disease, which was like a greedy beast, eroding his body step by step, starting from one arm, then the other, then the torso, until the brain that carried wisdom and emotion, and finally the legs. The doctor's diagnosis was like a sharp knife that cut Wei Yanren's heart. He painfully realized that his father was gradually losing control of his life, but his madness was that he still insisted on using the remaining money to try treatment.

One day, the father dragged his staggering steps and came to Wei Yanren with difficulty, his eyes burning with determination. He looked at his son in front of him, his voice trembling but firm: "I will use this money to treat the disease. This is the last glimmer of hope for our family. As a member of the family, I hope you can understand and support my decision!" Hearing this, Wei Yanren was silent for a moment, and his tightly closed lips slightly opened: "I will think about it carefully!"

At that moment, Wei Yanren's heart was full of contradictions and struggles. He knew that the money meant the last guarantee of their lives, and he also understood that his father's persistence was based on his desire for life.

Wei Yanren's words were like sharp arrows, piercing his father's heart. The resolute statement echoed in the quiet air, and his father's face was instantly shrouded in a haze of astonishment. His eyes changed from initial doubt to deep disappointment, as if he had seen an unacceptable truth. The corners of his mouth twitched weakly, but he could not squeeze out any words of rebuttal. He just nodded slowly, and the movement was as heavy as a thousand-pound stone. He turned and left, his back looking particularly lonely in the night, and disappeared into the endless darkness.

At dawn, Wei Yanren, filled with guilt and uneasiness, pushed open his father's door. That scene was as cruel as a nightmare. His father was hanging between the beams, and the light of life was dimly extinguished in the room. The suicide note lay quietly on the ground, as if telling of silent grief. His father's handwriting trembled on the paper. He regretfully admitted that he had misjudged Wei Yanren. He thought raising a son could help him grow old, but he never expected that the child he raised with his own hands would become a ruthless betrayer. He chose to end his life in this way. He did not want to become a disabled person in pain. He wanted to leave with dignity, like a real man.

When Wei Yanren saw the suicide note, anger and self-blame swept over him like a storm. He tore up the evidence, as if trying to tear his heart apart. He immediately contacted his uncles and uncles to tell them the sad news of his father's death. Facing the questions of his relatives, Wei Yanren held back his tears and made up a lie: "Father has been crying every day since the death of my mother and grandmother. Perhaps he missed them too much and couldn't bear such a blow, so he chose this path."

However, only Wei Yanren himself knew the truth. It was his words that pierced his father's heart like a sharp sword, making him choose this path of no return. Wei Yanren knew that he could not face the cruel fact, so he chose to remain silent and conceal it, burying the sinful secret in his heart and letting it gnaw at his conscience.