So, Zhao Haishuang said, "I don’t agree with you taking him to the doctor."
As soon as she spoke, she noticed Cheng Guomin’s face darken slightly.
Look at this. Cheng Guomin might act indifferent toward Cheng Lie on the surface, but deep down, he cares a lot.
He keeps saying it’s safer to keep him close, so fine, let him stay useless. But now he wants to make him healthy? And then what? Compete with Cheng Huai for the inheritance?
The more Zhao Haishuang thought about it, the angrier she became.
A bastard child—who does he think he is!
Cheng Guomin knew what Zhao Haishuang was worried about. He felt some things should be made clear, but no matter what, he couldn’t bring himself to say what he was hiding deep inside.
Forget it. Zhao Haishuang had misunderstood for so many years—let her keep misunderstanding.
After stewing for a bit, Zhao Haishuang saw that Cheng Guomin wouldn’t compromise. She realized she couldn’t push too hard. Right now, she had nothing, and Ah Huai was still too young to take over the family assets.
She had to endure for at least a couple more years.
For now, all she could do was wait.
She said, "When do you plan to take him abroad? With the company’s new project being so pressing right now, are you sure you can leave at this time?"
"Not right now," Cheng Guomin replied. "In a little while. I’ll contact the doctor first."
Hearing this, Zhao Haishuang didn’t argue further.
Actually, once she’d calmed down, Zhao Haishuang realized she’d been overthinking things.
Not to mention how difficult autism is to treat—domestic doctors hadn’t been able to help much, and even with advanced methods abroad, could they really make a difference?
Even if, against all odds, Cheng Lie was cured, he’d already wasted so many years. Education and such—at this point, he’d probably be no more than an illiterate.
They say he’s in high school, but who knows if he’s really learning anything?
With this line of thought, Zhao Haishuang stopped worrying altogether.
Let Cheng Guomin waste his energy if he wanted to.
Right now, that little bastard is a useless nobody, and Cheng Guomin thinks he might become smart.
When his illness is really cured, and they find out he’s still absolutely useless, won’t that be hilarious?
The more she thought about it, the happier Zhao Haishuang became.
Cheng Lie is already seventeen. Soon, when he comes of age, she can convince Cheng Guomin to abandon him without a hitch. Thinking of this, Zhao Haishuang felt relieved. As for whether Cheng Lie got treated or not, it made no difference to her.
"Ah-choo—" A sneeze came from the doorway—it was Cheng Huai.
After sneezing, Cheng Huai rubbed his nose.
"Ah Huai, did you catch a cold?" Zhao Haishuang heard the noise and came downstairs.
Cheng Huai had just returned from outside and was rubbing his hands together for warmth.
These days, the weather was getting colder, with significant temperature differences between day and night. He’d gone out wearing just a single layer, not anticipating how chilly it would be when he got back in the evening.
Seeing how lightly Cheng Huai was dressed, Zhao Haishuang frowned. "Don’t act like being young makes you invincible. Wearing so little—aren’t you afraid of getting sick?"
Cheng Huai rubbed his nose. "Mom, your son is full of life—what’s a little cold to me?"
Still, his hands were ice-cold.
It was only early November, so for South City, this time of year wasn’t particularly cold. Wearing less clothing shouldn’t have been a problem.
In past years, Cheng Huai dressed and never felt anything unusual.
But this year, Cheng Huai felt cold.
How strange—was his body weakening?
Cheng Huai rubbed his somewhat uncomfortable nose again and headed back to his room.
Zhao Haishuang glanced at the tightly shut door to Cheng Lie’s room and thought to herself, It’s almost time. By next year, she could finally kick that useless Cheng Lie out of the house.
By then, whether he lived or died out there wouldn’t matter to her.
Yun Shifei was still diligently studying. Even though her grades improved every time, she knew she couldn’t let up. At least not before the college entrance exams—she had to stay laser-focused.
If she didn’t do well, she’d regret it for the rest of her life.
In her past life, she hadn’t studied properly, which led to her suffering so much hardship later on in society.
Even with her parents helping her in subtle ways, she still struggled.
She could still remember how, back then, when she stood beside Mu Chengzhu as his girlfriend, so many people laughed at her.
In her past life, she hadn’t cared much. She thought as long as Mu Chengzhu liked her, what did it matter what others thought of her?
But in this life, Yun Shifei felt that everything had changed.
Now that she no longer cared about Mu Chengzhu, she suddenly realized how wonderful a phrase "study hard, improve every day" truly was.
Focusing more energy on herself—on studying, improving, and becoming more beautiful—with each tiny change, she felt an immense sense of joy.
A life was so much better than foolishly chasing after someone in her past.
Loving oneself first before loving others—this saying couldn’t be more true.
However, as winter approached, Yun Shifei received a call from her cousin, saying that Old Mrs. Xu had fallen ill.
When she got Xu Yuejiao’s call, even though Xu Yuejiao hadn’t explained the severity of Old Mrs. Xu’s condition, Yun Shifei could already guess that it must not have been a minor illness.
Otherwise, Xu Yuejiao would never have called her.
Yun Shifei immediately requested leave from school, saying she needed to visit Old Mrs. Xu.
For the first time, Yun Tiancheng saw Yun Shifei so anxious and reassured her, "Shi Fei, don’t worry. In a bit, Dad will drive you to Grandma’s house."
Yun Shifei nodded, but the worry on her face didn’t lessen.
Earlier, Sister Jiaojiao hadn’t explained things clearly over the phone, so Yun Shifei still had no idea how serious Old Mrs. Xu’s illness was. She only knew that Old Mrs. Xu had been hospitalized.
Yun Shifei’s face twisted with concern, her heart weighed down as though a heavy stone pressed on it.
Old Mrs. Xu, like her, hated pain and suffering.
Being in the hospital meant needles and, worse, maybe surgery.
Medicine, too—always so bitter.
Just imagining it made Yun Shifei’s heart ache. Her grandmother must be in so much pain, staying at the hospital.
That very day, Yun Shifei packed her things and went to the hospital with Yun Tiancheng to see her grandmother.
When they arrived, Yun Shifei learned that Old Mrs. Xu had collapsed from high blood pressure and had been rushed to the hospital.
The high blood pressure was due to eating too much junk food without restraint.
At her age, high blood pressure was highly dangerous—one wrong step and it could be life-threatening.
As a result, the doctor recommended Old Mrs. Xu stay in the hospital for observation for a couple of days.
When she saw Yun Shifei, Old Mrs. Xu glared at Xu Yuejiao. "Jiaojiao, are you trying to piss me off? Why can’t you just listen? I already said it’s no big deal, but you made your cousin rush over here. Shi Fei is in her last year of high school—every minute counts for her studies!"
"Grandma, it’s okay," Yun Shifei said, holding Old Mrs. Xu’s hand with a smile. "I’m glad Sister Jiaojiao told me. If you’d fallen ill and I didn’t come to see you, I’d feel guilty."
Old Mrs. Xu waved her hand dismissively. "I just fainted for a bit—it’s nothing."