Wan Donglin was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
No wonder he'd come home to find Lady Daqing peering at various floating particles and dust motes through a microscope. He felt a pang of guilt. He spoke softly to his mother, "It's all my fault, Mom."
"Why would you blame yourself?"
"If it weren't for my being held up, you wouldn't have had to stay here for so long. We've grown accustomed to this terrible air quality, but how can you bear it?"
She had long been accustomed to the lush green mountains, clear waters, blue skies, and white clouds of life abroad. For an elderly woman like her, with a chronic respiratory system disease, to suddenly switch to this city perpetually shrouded in heavy smog—it would be a miracle if she didn't collapse.
"Mom, you should go back tomorrow."
Liu Daqing dismissed the notion. "It's just a minor ailment. Even when I was abroad, it would flare up occasionally. It has nothing to do with you. Besides, I lived here for decades before!"
