Chapter 71: The Life He Gave Away

Fortunately, his maternal grandmother was still in good health, so they managed to continue caring for him at home for as long as they could. But eventually, the day came when caring for him at home was no longer possible.

When that happened, the cost of professional care suddenly became a tremendous financial burden on his family. Both of Qiu Nuoya’s parents were only children, and their family was not particularly close with their extended relatives. As a result, there was no one else to take care of his grandparents.

His grandparents had some savings of their own, but it was barely enough to make a difference. By that time, Qiu Nuoya had already found a job, so most of his earnings went toward paying for his grandparents’ care.

The household had two sources of income, Qiu Nuoya and his father, and at the time, things still seemed financially manageable. Then his father, who had always been somewhat of a workaholic, suddenly collapsed.

He was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. By the time they discovered it, it was already too late. Less than a month passed between his hospitalization and his death.

With one of the family’s primary breadwinners gone, their finances immediately became extremely strained. Fortunately, his father had life insurance, so the family did not fall into poverty overnight. But that money was not going to last forever.

Using the insurance payout left by her husband, his mother placed his paternal grandparents in a care facility and began working herself.

Now the household depended on the combined income of Qiu Nuoya and his mother. However, his mother had been away from the workforce for a long time and was already getting older. There was no way she could find a well paying full time position.

Instead, she worked several jobs. She worked at a supermarket in the morning, as a cleaner during the day, and at a convenience store at night.

Naturally, Qiu Nuoya tried to do the same. He even considered secretly taking a night job, despite his workplace having a strict policy against side jobs. But then...

"Qiu Nuoya, you’re such a kind and hardworking boy. But you don’t have to work this hard. You should enjoy your own life and live it for yourself."

Qiu Nuoya could not say anything. His mother was working far harder than he was. How could he possibly take her words as an excuse to stop trying?

Still, he did not want to secretly work a second job at a company that prohibited side jobs and risk getting fired. So he eventually changed careers and moved into customer service, a field that offered more flexible hours and allowed employees to have additional work.

By the time Qiu Nuoya reached his thirties, his paternal grandparents passed away one after another.

After that, he and his mother began living with his maternal grandmother. His maternal grandfather was already living in a care facility, and they had believed his grandmother was still in good health. However, once they began living together, they realized that she had also become considerably weaker.

It was not long before she needed daily care as well. Around that time, there had been several occasions when Qiu Nuoya came close to starting a relationship. However, whenever he explained that he was caring for his grandmother at home, that he had very little savings, and that marriage was not something he could consider anytime soon, the women who seemed to have feelings for him would simply say they needed some time to think.

After that, they would gradually distance themselves from him.

As the years passed, Qiu Nuoya reached his mid thirties. Then, as though they had planned to leave the world together, his maternal grandparents passed away one after another.

There was something strange about married couples who had spent many years together. When one of them passed away, the other often seemed to lose their vitality almost overnight. But with that, Qiu Nuoya’s long life of caregiving should finally have come to an end or at least, that was what he thought.

After seeing both sides of the family through to the end, his mother must have finally let go of all the tension she had been carrying. Not long afterward, she collapsed from exhaustion.

Just like his father, his mother had spent years accumulating fatigue without realizing it. Once everything was over, the strain seemed to catch up with her all at once.

She suddenly looked much older, and her body no longer moved the way it once had.

Whenever his mother saw him, she would repeatedly apologize. "I’m sorry. I’m so sorry."

Seeing her like that was incredibly painful for him. His mother had worked hard for so many years. Far harder than he ever had and yet she continued apologizing to him.

Eventually, his mother passed away.

At that time, he was thirty seven years old. He was devastated by her death. But at the same time, an awful thought crossed his mind.

Ah... I’m finally free.

Qiu Nuoya loved his family. His grandparents and parents had all been incredibly important to him. But the time he had lost could never be returned. When his grandmother’s dementia had become particularly severe and she had begun wandering around constantly, Qiu Nuoya had repeatedly declined invitations from his friends because someone had to stay home and watch her.

Eventually, his friends stopped inviting him out altogether. But Qiu Nuoya understood.

That had been the choice he made. His friends were not at fault.

Some time after his mother’s death, an overly meddlesome supervisor approached him with a marriage proposal. The woman seemed kind and gentle, and her circumstances were surprisingly similar to Qiu Nuoya’s own.

"Mr. Qiu, I heard that you’ve spent many years taking care of your family. My parents and grandparents have also been having some health problems lately... I’ve been thinking that I need to start considering the future, so I would really appreciate hearing your advice as someone with experience." She said it with a bright smile.