Yuan Qiran might have been confronted directly by Su Li for the first time, caught off guard for a moment before rage began to rise within him.
Ever since his cousin deposed him from the position of president, Yuan Qiran’s qi cultivation skills had diminished considerably.
Now, just like that, his habitual expressionless face was on the verge of breaking.
"Do you really have to be at odds with me?"
"Ah Yin misses Xinghe a lot, and so does your son. You should go see him."
Su Li raised an eyebrow, her sarcasm tugging at her face. Then, remembering the person on the other end of the call couldn’t see her, she couldn’t help but speak with a hint of impatience.
"At this point, stop talking to me about things that don’t matter. The whole country probably knows what’s going on inside..."
"Besides, I only have one son named Su Wuchen, and he’s doing just fine abroad..."
Don’t keep bringing up an illegitimate son everyone clearly knows about to disgust people.
Yuan Qiran was silent for a long while on the other end. Finally, with resignation, he said, "Regardless, you and Ming Ting have seven years of mother-son affection, and Mom keeps talking about you. Can you really be that heartless?"
With a snap, Su Li hung up the phone.
The phone rang again immediately.
"Have you calmed down? Can we talk business now?"
Su Li and Yuan Qiran had no close relationship to speak of. Su Li took Yuan Qiran’s calls only because he had once naively provided a substantial amount of seed money.
Though he did so while being duped by her.
"Ming Ting is ill, gravely ill, and he may not make it... Can our conflict not affect an innocent child?"
Yuan Qiran was still attempting to persuade Su Li.
"Yuan Mingting has never seen me as his mother..."
Su Li’s tone grew colder, "If that’s all you called to say, then we have nothing to discuss."
Su Li hung up the phone again and then blocked Yuan Qiran’s number.
The only reason she hadn’t deleted it before was that she wanted to see him fall from his lofty position, to have the chance to mock him.
Now that she had seen it, she found it tasteless.
In the past, even when clearly so angry, she would have patiently juggled the situation. But her strength and indifference were privileges of her status. With her power to do as she pleased gone, she was just a man slightly more capable than the average.
Yuan Qiran’s call had no effect on Su Li; after nibbling on some delicacies, she forgot all about the nausea Yuan Qiran induced.
Yuan Qiran, clutching his cellphone with fingers gripped tight, couldn’t calm down for a long time.
The woman he had never taken seriously had thoroughly defeated him.
Yuan Qiran gritted his teeth, his face twisted in the shadows like that of an evil ghost.
But Yuan Qiran, now cut off from power entirely by Yuan Jingran, was utterly helpless. Even if he wanted to do something to Su Li, he could only fantasize about it.
The moment Yuan Qiran dialed Su Li’s Number, Huayin stood silently outside the study door. After the study fell completely silent, Huayin waited a little longer before she went back to the kitchen to get a nourishing soup and gently pushed open the study door.
Yuan Qiran, with his back to the door, turned as he heard the noise, his deep eyes falling on Huayin. His voice was colder than his expression, "Who let you in?"
Huayin called out grievously, "Qi Ran..."
Having grown accustomed to her husband’s gradual coldness since marriage, Huayin used to be heartbroken at first. Now facing such attitudes, she only felt a sense of disappointment.
But she still had to put on the proper face.
Tears reddened her eyes; her lips quivered; she gazed at Yuan Qiran, barely holding herself together.
Yuan Qiran’s heart softened as he watched her.
After all, she was the woman he had spoiled for so many years. Although Yuan Qiran had been consistently dissatisfied with Huayin in recent years, the affection he had shown her hadn’t been fake.
Huayin knew exactly how to act to soften Yuan Qiran’s heart.
Otherwise, she couldn’t have maintained the title of ’Madam of a wealthy household’ under the disapproval of Yuan’s parents and her husband’s lack of regard. She had withstood it for three years.
"Do you need something?"
Yuan Qiran was the first to break the silence.
Seeing an opportunity, although Huayin cared about the call, pressing matters were more important.
"Has Su Li agreed?" she asked tentatively.
"I told Ming Ting too, his brother would come to see him, and he seemed really happy about it, as if his spirits had lifted."
Huayin probed, "Or does Su Li hold a grudge against me? I could apologize for what happened before..."
As long as she had a chance to see Xinghe, there might be a possibility...
Mentioning Su Li, Yuan Qiran’s mood deteriorated further, "She didn’t agree."
Huayin forced a smile, "Don’t you, as his father, want to see him?"
Huayin let those provocative words slip out.
Fortunately, Yuan Qiran’s sour mood meant he didn’t notice Huayin’s slip.
"Let’s not talk about this for now. What has Doctor Shao said recently?"
Beneath the surface of forced calm, Huayin was in a state of frantic anxiety, like an ant on a hot pan.
"Doctor Shao says if they can’t find a match, we need to be prepared for the worst..."
Huayin’s lips trembled as she spoke.
"But he also said if a certain Su from M country performs the surgery, maybe Ming Ting could pull through this time."
Remembering the offhand remark Doctor Shao had made, Huayin’s eyes sparked with strong hope. Stammering, she said to Yuan Qiran, "Qi Ran, do our family connections abroad account for something? Can we get Su to come over...?"
Yuan Qiran, however, felt it was not that simple. If hiring her was feasible, considering Doctor Shao’s professional ethics, he would not have hesitated to suggest it to family members.
If he hadn’t mentioned it, it implied the idea was impractical.
Besides, Yuan Qiran’s ability to exert influence even within the family’s hospital network was minimal. Forget international connections, even domestically, his available resources were a mere shadow of what they once were.
"I’ll think of a way for this matter," Yuan Qiran said, not willing to let Huayin lose hope, he hastily placated her.
After leaving the study, Huayin’s expression fell completely.
She had learned not to depend on others, especially men.
Ming Ting was her only child, while her husband had more than one.
Perhaps before, believing in the depth of Yuan Qiran’s affection, she could entrust everything to him. But now, she couldn’t risk it.
If—she thought hypothetically—Xinghe suffered an irresistible accident, would Qi Ran focus on saving the other child instead?
No matter what it took, she was determined to see Xinghe.