"What's wrong?" Jiang Ruolan asked when she saw Xian Zihao's wrinkled eyebrows.
"Sister-in-law, I only have a small fever. My brother insisted on asking the doctor to come and examine me. I do not want to see a doctor!" Xian Guiying rarely acts like a child. As Jiang Ruolan walked, she immediately pulled her to the side of the bed and then hid behind her. Xian Guiying stuck out her head and stuck her tongue out at Xian Zihao.
Xian Zihao was helpless but still said in a tone that could not be refused. "I already called Dr. Li, you should see him even if you don't want to. Do you still think this is just a normal fever after your body burned like this?"
"I'm fine." Xian Guiying muttered coldly.
"Guiying," Jiang Ruolan turned to comfort her.
"No matter what, let's see a doctor first!" Xian Zihao continued to speak in an elder brother's tone, "Don't even think about playing any tricks on me. You're having a hard time with your body! Did I call the doctor here to harm you? I just want him to examine your body."
Xian Guiying did not say a word. She lowered her head and hid behind Jiang Ruolan, no longer speaking back.
"Zihao I want to talk to Guiying alone." Jiang Ruolan said.
"No." Unexpectedly, Xian Zihao didn't indulge her as usual. "You're pregnant. Guiying is having a fever, the possibility of you getting infected is very high. Follow me out."
"But Guiying …"
Xian Zihao resolutely brought her out of the room. While Jiang Ruolan was feeling sorry for Xian Guiying, Xian Zihao immediately whispered to her, "Don't forget that you're not alone right now. You carry our baby. Yesterday, your body was unstable and you nearly got sick."
"I want to keep Guiying company." Jiang Ruolan knew that Xian Zihao was doing it for her own good, but she truly felt sorry for Xian Guiying.
"I know you love her but I love her too. That's my sister." Xian Zihao kissed Jiang Ruolan on the forehead, pushed her out of the room gently, and whispered, "Go rest, stop wandering around. I'll go watch her."
Jiang Ruolan imitated Xian Zihao's actions and gripped his hand tightly. She then looked up into his gentle eyes and said, "Zihao, once the doctor comes here, no matter what happens to Guiying, you have to take her feelings into consideration and don't hurt her."
Xian Zihao sensed something behind her words. He looked at Jiang Ruolan for a while with a calm gaze. In the end, he did not ask any further and only nodded his head lightly.
After that, Jiang Ruolan went back to the living room.
Jiang Ruolan didn't know how long Xian Guiying would last. Even if she avoided seeing the doctor, sooner or later, her stomach would show. Could it be that Xian Guiying wanted to give birth to her child quietly abroad? Last night, when Jiang Ruolan looked at some books related to a child's birth, she had noticed that if the child was not born through marriage, the child would not have a household registration and couldn't be born in this country. If the child was born abroad, that's meant Xian Guiying would only be able to go to some small, illegal hospitals.
Children born from a single unmarried mother and with their father were unknown, cannot be registered in the birth certificate, and it was difficult for them to get treatment in the hospital after birth. ¹
Jiang Ruolan kept watching Dr. Li's back until he entered the small guest room at the back.
After an unknown amount of time, Dr. Li still hadn't come out, but Nanny Cheng came to call Jiang Ruolan for dinner. She followed Nanny Cheng to the dining room and saw that the Old Man was already awake.
"Spoiled girl, you ran out when I was asleep?" Old Man leaned leisurely on the recliner with a blanket in his arms as he glanced at her.
Jiang Ruolan was very embarrassed.
'Old man, you sure are full of evil tricks. Just now, when I was covering you with the blanket, you opened your eyes and peeked at me. I pretended not to notice it, but now you are trying to rattle me out.'
Jiang Ruolan decided to give the Old Man some face. "Grandfather, how long have you been sleeping? An hour has already passed, so I came down."
The Old Man snorted and did not continue to hit her. He changed the topic, "Zhan An, didn't they say that women who are pregnant like to eat sour food? Go ask Nanny Cheng to prepare a plate of sour plums for this spoiled girl, just in case she rattles me out to other people, telling this Old Man doesn't care for his great-grandson."
Although Jiang Ruolan's pregnancy effect and vomiting were quite obvious these two days, it was still better than Xian Guiying's.
Jiang Ruolan didn't reject the sour taste, but she didn't feel that she particularly wanted to eat it either. However, when she heard the Old Man's words, she immediately decided to indulge him.
Old Man Xian was really a quirky old man, tsk tsk.
However, he was pretty cute while trying to pretend that he didn't care about her.
"Dad, it's been years since you cared about such small matters." Sure enough, Zhan An went to get Nanny Cheng to prepare some sour plums and placed the plate on the coffee table, along with the two plates of sour grapes and sour oranges.
Zhan An smiled and said, "A few years ago when Zihao and Guiying were born, you still did not retire from the army and did not hug them much. But now look at you. You must be really excited right?"
The Old Man stood up while holding his walking stick, "What spoiled girl is carrying is also a good fortune to our Xian Family. I only felt pity for Luixian for not being able to be my granddaughter-in-law. If I have another grandson, I'd definitely let him marry her."
Zhan An's gaze stiffened immediately. Jiang Ruolan also looked at the Old Man with a cold gaze.
She started to secretly think that if Jiang Yijun was really a child of the Xian Family.
God, Jiang Ruolan had heard that Jiang Yijun had a lot of girls chasing him at school a few years ago, but no one was accepted by him. She remembered that Jiang Yijun had told her that he really hated women who felt very good about themselves. If Cui Luixian were to marry him, Jiang Yijun would not set foot in Xian Family even if he were to die.
Just as Jiang Ruolan was thinking this, the Old Man suddenly looked at Zhan An. "Zhan An, I'm old. I knew Jian did something wrong back then, I hit him a thousand times, and he hasn't done it again. This Old Man doesn't have much to ask for right now. I just want all of my grandchildren to be around me and not a single one is missing."
The Old Man paused for a moment as if he was considering something. He then said, "All right, call Guiying for dinner. If she still has a fever, send food to her room. Even like this, she still deliberately making my life difficult!"
Zhan An smiled. "Sure, dad. I'll go call her now."
The Old Man acknowledged and went upstairs with his walking stick.
Zhan An picked up a few big sour plums from the plate and shoved them into Jiang Ruolan's hands, "These sour plums were washed by Nanny Cheng and the others. They were all sterilized and non-toxic. Eat it. You must pay attention to the food you will eat. Don't eat dirty things."
Jiang Ruolan took the sour plum. "Mom, I'll go get Guiying."
"No need, rest." Zhan An said, but just as she was about to walk out, she saw Xian Zihao in the living room, seemingly on his way to enter the dining room.
"Zihao?" Seeing Xian Guiying standing behind him, Zhan An couldn't help but laugh. "Sure enough, this girl only listens to you. It's almost time for dinner. The Old Man is asking me to call for you guys."
While saying that, Zhan An walked forward and looked at his daughter with concern. "I just saw Dr. Li's car left, so how is it? Still burning? During the day, you said that it was just a small cold, but now you're having a fever and you even don't want me to call a doctor. It was indeed only your brother can persuade you."
"Mom, I'm fine. I only have a cold." Xian Guiying said softly before raising her head to look at Xian Zihao, who had pursed his lips and remained silent.
.
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****
Glossary:
¹ For Chinese women, unmarried motherhood was a taboo. Single women without a valid "reproduction permit" from the government are routinely denied birth certificates for their children. They will not be given a hukou (the official household registration) and so their child will have trouble gaining admission to school or access to affordable healthcare.
