The next few days with the old ones still around, Xue Ting got home from work to find it was strangely quiet. She shrugged it off thinking since it was nearly midnight and everyone was asleep. However, she went to her room to find Qiu Wen was not around.

The sky was threatening to pour a heavy rain with the loud occasional thunder as she lamented on the rainy days lately. She counted her blessings that little Brisbane was home with Dan and Pam so she did not need to worry about her. She has gotten quite used to Qiu Wen staying out late due to new projects and orders he was taking on as she decided to give him a call later after showering.

She began to feel uneasy with Qiu Wen not home yet even after she had dried her hair. She decided to head downstairs to the kitchen for a drink. That was when she was startled by Qiu Wen who was grunting on the couch in the dark; drunk and asleep but still gibberish. She walked over wanting to put him in a more comfortable position when she saw his phone ring with the caller ID "Grandma".

She looked upstairs and wondered why would she call them from there or did they returned home but she was not informed. Xue Ting took a look at Qiu Wen who was worn out as she shook him.

"Wen, grandma is calling." No response from him.

"Wen..." She shook him harder but still no response.

The phone screen darkened when she wanted to pick up. "Must be tough on you to work so hard on this job yet you had to attend socialising events hmm…" She said as she helped him to loosen his buttons when his mobile rang again.

She felt uneasy with a call from an old lady who should be asleep this late and it seemed persistent as she quickly picked it up this time.

"Hello?" Sounds of sniffs were heard from Grandma.

"Oh, oh Ting Ting.. Sorry, it must be late to disturb..." Grandma sniffed again.

"It's alright. What's wrong? Why are you crying? Are you alright Grandma? Are you upstairs? I will come now…" Xue Ting asked feeling very concerned.

"I'm alright. I'm alright... Sorry, we left abruptly… Where is Qiu Wen?" The question made her turn to a helpless husband who was soundly asleep. Grandma decided not to explain about the reason they left due to they were about to find out.

"Oh, he is ..." She took a long stare at him as she thought to lie about him in the shower and struggle to wake him or just say he was asleep.

"Asle..." Before she could finish the word, a sentence of gloominess overwhelmed her as she slowly registered what Grandma just said.

"Is alright. Just get him to visit the family doctor's hospital quickly to see his Grandpa. He is..." Grandma was controlling her emotions. "... He might not make it..."

"I will come now." With that Xue Ting hung up and grabbed her car keys and purse asking Jia Yi for the details of the hospital over the phone.

She informed him of the situation and got him to update the three of them who were asleep as she drove off in the stormy night. She recalled the times she was young when she first met Grandpa.

Grandpa was gentle and loveable. His smile has just the right elements of attraction to melt your sad and upset self with his wonderful jokes and made-up stories.

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When she was in a disagreement with Qiu Wen and James, she knew visiting him along the way from school before her home and after James' home was her best medicine. Grandpa would never fail to wave her in and hand her candy after their storytelling sessions. He would get her to make peace with the boys using the candies he gave.

He would also play along to Xue Ting's foul mood. He often regarded the boys' mood as a typhoon (Wen Typhoon and Xin Typhoon) because Xue Ting was not shining.

Xue Ting did not understand him at first. Then only then, when she grew older and learned more about figurative languages, did she finally make sense of what he meant. She should smile more because her smile was the one that always melted away the boys' bad mood.

"Regardless of how bad their mood is, a smile with warmness is always the remedy to their sunnier days. Smile more girl, you look radiant." She would never forget his last words when she decided to leave and drop by to visit the old folks one last time in the early morning.

They knew she was very upset but they were sad being helpless with her predicaments. They wished to meet her again and who knew they did.

Despite this brief moment of reuniting, she was grateful.

Grateful for his motivational words which made her strive for her twins and ensure someday they all met.

Glad that he was still the same loving Grandpa and that her twins felt his love which she could not provide as her own father and grandparents had left early.

She hoped this would not end like this. Although he may have missed prime time with the twins while they were young but she wished he could stay longer to be her source of motivation as the storm ahead of her in life seemed ruthless.

While she wiped her tears away, the lightning struck with a loud rumbling thunder. It sent a shiver down her spine as she stopped midway trying to keep her emotions in control.

After a few hesitations, she mastered her courage and approached the intensive care unit. Grandma was smiling with teary eyes as she held onto her hand.

"Grandma…" Xue Ting called out with a crack in her voice as Grandma hugged her.

"Ting Ting…" Grandma held her and Xue Ting could tell how sad Grandma was. She was reminded of her requests back in the animal shelter as Xue Ting reminded herself to fulfill her wish later on.

"Is he alright? Was he sick all along?" Grandma tried to control her sobs as she nodded. "He did not want to burden all of you," Grandma said as Xue Ting wiped her uncontrollable tears away.

"Go see your grandpa. Go..." Grandma urged as Xue Ting braced herself and controlled her tears before stepping into the dimly lit room. Grandpa saw her and instantly beamed with a warm smile.

"Ting Ting..." He gently called out as Xue Ting got confident that he was getting better since he could still speak though was very weak.

He reached for her right hand as she sat next to him. Words were caught in her throat as she let a stream of tears flow while she struggled to control them. The warmth on her palm was ever so comforting and she knew it could be her last time holding to it, sobbing like when she was young during an argument with the boys. He gently squeezed her palm.

Grandma walked in trying to comfort Xue Ting. "Girl, everyone will leave someday. It's just a matter of time..."

He patted her palm. "Grandpa is old... But we are happy to watch you grow into a woman... It must have been tough all those years with the twins..."

After all these years, both Grandma and Grandpa had always been the ones who knew what were the unspoken words. She nodded as she sobbed even more.

"Thank you... For sharing the twins with us..." Grandma helped Grandpa to convey his last message to her as Xue Ting looked up at them. She saw so much hope in his eyes as though he knew they were his grandchildren.

"Grandpa… Grandma…" She blinked away her flooding tears as she watched him nod indicating he could guess the twins were his grandchildren.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." She said as her voice cracked for another sob.

Grandma hugged Xue Ting as she let out all of her guilt in Grandma's arms.

"How could we miss it? Their talent, their eyes, and their eating habits are so similar to Qiu Wen... No matter how much you hide, we know their traits... Silly girl... Wouldn't they be more stubborn and angry always if they were James?" Grandma tried to tease Xue Ting who sobbed even more as Grandma gently caressed her hair.

"We understand you have your reasons for hiding… We are sorry that we had raised our daughter wrongly..." Grandma comforted her as she calmed down from her sobs in her embrace.

"Promise me not to let Qiu Wen know... Please... Not just yet... Their relationship has been strained lately due to our sudden marriage. I don't want to give him more trouble.." Xue Ting pleaded as Grandma nodded while Grandpa was smiling so widely being very proud of how Xue Ting had become all these years, proving he was right about her when she was young.