She returned to the hospital room, where the dumplings sat uneaten. She had rushed over without eating when she heard from the nanny that her parents-in-law were on their way to Old Master Lu’s. Despite knowing that Ye Shuyun wouldn’t go unprepared, she felt the need to provide some form of evidence. It’s not like she wasn’t familiar with how ruthless Qin Xiaoyue could be.
And so she went, leaving the dumplings cold.
“I’ll get the hospital staff to heat them up,” said Lu Yi, picking up the box of dumplings. He knew she was sulky because the dumplings went cold.
Yan Huan happily picked up a packet of snacks to squeeze the air out of it. She liked to do that instead of eating it. Who knows where she got the weird habit from.
When she was done with three of them, Lu Yi was back with the reheated dumplings.
The hospital cooks clearly knew their stuff, for they did not toss the dumplings in a pot or microwave, but fried them until their wrapping were brown and crispy instead. Within the dumplings, the filling tasted the same, and Yan Huan found them very tasty.
She ate a dozen in a row, but Lu Yi snatched her chopsticks away before she could reach for another.
He then placed the dumplings on a table and began eating himself.
Yan Huan kicked him.
“Lu Yi…”
“Yea?” asked Lu Yi indifferently as he continued devouring dumplings.
“I’m the patient here.”
“You ate too much.”
“I’m injured.
”
“You ate too much.”
“I’m disabled.”
“You ate too much.”
Yan Huan began throwing a tantrum.
“I’m only a baby!”
“But I’m not your father,” said Lu Yi, turning around to pull the blanket to her chin. “Sleep, baby. You won’t feel hungry when you are asleep.”
Yan Huan humphed. She would ask Ye Shuyun to make more dumplings when she’s discharged, and she wouldn’t even let Lu Yi have one. What an awful guy to be bullying a patient.
Lu Yi was the type of person that kept his word, so he didn’t yield to Yan Huan’s pleas.
Three days later, Lu Yi fetched her home. The hospital wasn’t a convenient place after all, with all the eyes watching and mouths talking.
Everyone Yan Huan knew began paying visits after she got home.
“Nice get-up,” said Liang Chen, who had flown here from somewhere. She tried to give Yan Huan’s cast a squeeze.
“Woah! Don’t touch it, sister,” said Yan Huan, jerking away. A squeeze too hard would send her right back to the hospital.
“Casts aren’t that fragile,” said Liang Chen, rolling her eyes. “Sister? Didn’t you use to address me as senior? I liked you better back when you revered me. Look at you now, all your manners forgotten.”
“That was in the past,” said Yan Huan, hiding her casted arm beneath the blanket before the ‘cruel’ woman could try something again.
Liang Chen found great amusement in teasing Yan Huan in her current state. After tormenting her for a while longer, she left on high spirits.
Next to arrive was Yi Ling, with Little Lei in her arms.
Little Lei had grown up even more. He was a lot bigger than most kids now. Yan Huan had a bad feeling. What if the kid grows up to be a musclehead like Lei Qingyi?
She gave Little Lei’s meaty hand a squeeze. Little Lei
“Onty…” babbled Little Lei, his soft and pink cheeks pouting.
She could vaguely make out the words ‘Onty’ from his occasional babbling.
“Aunty, right? So clever,” cooed Yan Huan, running a gentle finger across his cheeks. Everyone loved young children, and Yan Huan was no exception. Sadly, she would never have children of her own. Even so, she felt like it was enough to look at Yi Ling’s child. At least one of them had a complete life.
Little Lei broke into a lovable, goofy smile. Tired from standing, he plumped his little buttcheeks onto the ground and began entertaining himself through blowing bubbles.
Yan Huan wiped the bubbles away with a piece of tissue and touched his face. His cheeks were so soft she didn’t want to take her hand off him.
“On…” babbled Little Lei ingratiatingly.
Lu Yi walked over and carried Little Lei into his arms, lest the naughty kid climbs onto Yan Huan’s broken arm.
“Say Uncle,” he said, giving Little Lei’s fat cheeks a squeeze.
Little Lei winced, struggling to come out with the word.
At length, he managed to say, “On..go…”
“Uncle,” corrected Lu Yi patiently.
“On…ko…” Little Lei was hardworking, but the words proved too difficult for his baby mouth.
Lu Yi gave up later on. It was too early to teach the kid to speak. Lei Qingyi used to babble even at the age of two, but his son had some hopes of doing better.
Yan Huan was dozing off by the time Yi Ling left. That was when Luo Lin arrived.
“That’s a bad injury,” said Luo Lin, prodding Yan Huan’s cast. “We can make a sensational headline out of this.”
“Good idea,” agreed Yan Huan. “How about ‘Yan Huan suspected to have been domestically abused by prosecutor husband’”?
Luo Lin stole a peek at Lu Yi, who was tapping away on his laptop, and made a cutthroat sign.
“Trust me, that will get removed right after we release it.”
Yan Huan knew she had the truth of it. No one dared to give Lu Yi a bad press, for he was always presented in a positive light. If she besmirched his name, Lu Yi might throttle her.
For her own safety, she knew better than to make a joke like this.
Remembering something, she sat up and pulled out a drawer, from which she found a few scripts she had recently acquired.
“Take these. It’s a cloak-and-dagger film. We’ll be filming it this year. You and Director Jin will decide on the cast.”
Luo Lin took the script, sat down beside her, and began leafing through. It was an exceptional script. She didn’t know where on earth Yan Huan got these scripts from, but she suspected magic at play. The prospect of breaking the viewership records again excited her.
“I believe Director Jin would want you to be the female lead,” said Luo Lin as she kept the script. Yan Huan wasn’t titled “The Queen of Viewership” by chance; every film and drama she had been a part of had huge success. Most importantly, she had an exceedingly-positive public image.