"Of course, without me, where would she come from?" Fang Yue answered without a second thought, pursing her lips as she said, "Back then in the hospital, it was just me and my maternal cousin. I was in pain the entire night before I gave birth to the child. Had I not fought to deliver her, would she still be alive?"
Jiang Jing silently lowered his eyes. He couldn’t agree with Fang Yue’s words; while Fang Yue did carry the baby for ten months and endured the hardship of childbirth, what about how the child was lost?
He was unwilling to speculate with the greatest malice.
The Xu family couple managed to raise a child during an era where having enough food and clothing was difficult, and they loved and cherished her from a young age; based on this alone, Jiang Jing had nothing but respect for the Xu family.
"If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all," Gu Hai said with an impatient look on his face.
The sound of the traveling car quieted down instantly. Fang Yue, resentful, could only look out at the scenery passing by the window.
In Shuanghe Village, the news that Xu Nianhua was not the biological child of the Xu family spread as if it had wings, quickly becoming the talk of the town.
After seeing off the curious and gossiping villagers, the family sat in the living room, the atmosphere somewhat oppressive.
"This day has still come," Ji Ying sighed. From the moment she brought Xu Nianhua home, she had been worried about when Nianhua’s biological parents might show up, especially during the first month, when she feared that she would have to give the child back in the blink of an eye.
As time passed and she watched Xu Nianhua grow up, from babbling to taking her first steps, all the way to adulthood, today’s Xu Nianhua was no longer the malnourished little thing that they had first picked up; she had grown into a beautiful, graceful young woman who would be getting married in a few years.
Ji Ying had thought that life would continue forever, but then the Gu family came.
In the hospital, Zou Yaru woke up and turned pale when she heard the doctor’s advice to take care of her body. She glanced subconsciously at Cheng Hao beside her.
Cheng Hao stood there, listening intently to the doctor’s words, not even uttering a word in response to the rebuke for not taking proper care of his wife. This attitude of his reminded Zou Yaru of the days when they were together; once she got hurt, Cheng Hao rushed her to the hospital, anxious and tense.
Although it was her own carelessness, Cheng Hao was very self-blaming. She remembered the doctor scolding Cheng Hao just after treating her wounds.
Memories from the past surged to her mind, and tears involuntarily filled Zou Yaru’s eyes.
She had made a terrible mistake.
Zou Yaru turned onto her side to sleep, her eyes concealed by the covers, yet they were brimming with uncontrollable tears that dampened the bedding.
She bit her lip hard, afraid that Cheng Hao would notice.
"Are you okay?" Xu Nianhua, who had brought dinner to see Zou Yaru, noticed that the current Zou Yaru seemed different from the one who had initially come looking for Cheng Hao.
As for what was different, Xu Nianhua couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
"Mmm," was the soft response from Zou Yaru.
"The doctor said that after the miscarriage, your body wasn’t well taken care of. You might feel uncomfortable during your periods; he suggested it would be best for you to take some medicine, either Western medicine or traditional Chinese medicine. What do you think?" Xu Nianhua tried to find a topic.
"It doesn’t matter." Zou Yaru lowered her eyes; what was there to fear from pain? It was good to feel it; pain would remind her constantly of the foolish things she had done!
The atmosphere in the hospital room became awkward in an instant, and Xu Nianhua no longer knew what to say.
"Nianhua, can you help me?"
Surprisingly, Zou Yaru’s voice echoed in the ward.