Ding Jinshi’s words left He Zhilan stunned, utterly unable to speak. She didn’t know how to comfort Ding Jinshi. To be married to someone she didn’t love, to bear the child of someone she didn’t love, these were feelings He Zhilan would never comprehend. Thus, she couldn’t find the words to comfort Ding Jinshi.
Compared to Ding Jinshi, He Zhilan felt that she was truly blessed.
"Having the child is rather a good thing", she continued, "In the future, at least I’ll have something to live for, at least something to keep me going, so I don’t just live like a walking corpse. A body without a soul. The child could be my only hope and concern in the future. If my life is not going to be a happy one, I hope my child’s will be. I’ll do my best to make her happy."
He Zhilan nodded, "With you as her mother, she will surely be happy."
Ding Jinshi chuckled softly, "Me? I fear my love for her may not match that of Ding Long, her father’s. The Ding Family was not particularly pleased that I gave birth to a daughter, whereas Ding Long, since her birth, can hardly wait even a few minutes without checking on her. This child sure knows where to be born. Having Ding Long as a father is indeed her fortune."
"Isn’t Ding Long so affectionate towards her because she is your child?" He Zhilan added. Seeing that Ding Jinshi remained silent, she changed the topic, asking what the baby’s name was.
"We haven’t decided yet. When I was pregnant, everyone assumed I was having a boy, so her grandparents only prepared a boy’s name. Ding Long wanted to add the family’s generation name to hers, but the elders seem reluctant", shrugged Ding Jinshi, "No matter, if the Ding Family doesn’t want this granddaughter, I, Ding Jinshi, can raise her by myself. If that leads to a divorce with Ding Long, I’d be more than happy."
He Zhilan lowered her gaze to the little girl, and sighed quietly, uncertain how to respond to Ding Jinshi’s words.
The possibility of Ding Jinshi divorcing Ding Long seemed unlikely, especially under these circumstances. On one hand, their marriage was an alliance between two families, and thus, a divorce was not to be taken lightly. On the other hand, Ding Long would never cave in to his family’s pressure and divorce Ding Jinshi just because they had a daughter.
After leaving the hospital, He Zhilan visited a silversmith’s shop and had a pair of bracelets made for the little girl. Initially, she planned to bring them to the hospital as gifts to Ding Jinshi’s daughter at noon, but the crafting of the handmade silver bracelets required time, and she was also informed of this rather late, causing the delay.
Before New Year’s Day, He Zhilan made another trip to the hospital to give the bracelets to Ding Jinshi. They symbolized her blessing for the child. Afterwards, she packed her things and went to the military base with He Dongxue to visit He Teng.
Both He Zhilan and He Dongxue had been busy recently and they hadn’t seen He Teng in quite a while.
New Year’s Day at the military base was lively. Only upon arrival did they learn that there would be a performance by a cultural troupe in the afternoon. He Dongxue was thrilled upon hearing this. However, her excitement vanished within half an hour when she spotted Gu En.
"Why do we always run into this annoying woman every time we visit the base?" He Dongxue grumbled, linking arms with He Zhilan and trailing behind He Teng. Meanwhile, Gu En and Tang Tang were approaching, accompanied by Lan Li.