Xian Zihao's expression darkened as he held her hand tightly. "Ruolan, I …"
Jiang Ruolan smiled and shook her head, "It's also because of you; for the first time, I feel sadness and despair after hope. If it wasn't for your appearance and if it wasn't because you didn't like interfering in strangers' affairs, I would not see the world clearly. There are many things that I actually cannot rely on others to survive."
"Zihao, in fact, you were the one who taught me the first lesson of my life. You always said that I was like a hedgehog, but in reality, this hedgehog was born because of you. That winter, I learned to be independent." As Jiang Ruolan spoke, she smiled and looked at him.
Seeing the deep pain and remorse in Xian Zihao's eyes, she intentionally made the smile even wider. After that, she giggled and asked, "What? Feeling sorry? Regret it?"
Xian Zihao's lips curved into a beautiful curve as he placed his arms around her shoulders and hugged her. He then whispered in her ear, "Time and temperament can teach teenagers a lot of things, but I don't want to turn you into a hedgehog. Please forgive me, Ruolan?"
Jiang Ruolan silently shook her head in his embrace. She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly, absorbing the warmth of his embrace.
"To be able to make it this far, everything is worth it."
At this moment, the door of Zhou Qingling's room opened and she slowly walked out. Her legs became more agile after recovering for the past years. As long as she didn't walk too fast, it wouldn't affect her normal walking speed.
"Mom, you're done." Jiang Ruolan pulled away from Xian Zihao's embrace and turned around. She straightened her hair and walked towards Zhou Qingling, smiling.
Zhou Qingling naturally saw what happened just now and simply curled her lips. Her gaze swept Xian Zihao and finally, a faint smile appeared on her face.
"Chiahao and An Na are outside?" Zhou Qingling asked him.
Xian Zihao nodded and pointed to the window at the side. "They're playing over there."
"I'll check on the kids. You two must be tired from the journey. Go back to your room and take a shower. Rest for a few hours. No need to be in a hurry to cook dinner." Zhou Qingling walked closer, looking at Xian Chiahao and Xian An Na outside the window then turned around and went downstairs.
At this moment, Xian Zihao's cell phone rang. Jiang Ruolan gestured for him to pick up the phone and go downstairs with Zhou Qingling.
When she returned to the second floor, she saw Xian Zihao put down the phone at the same time.
"What's wrong?" Jiang Ruolan asked hesitantly as she watched the look in his eyes getting darker.
Xian Zihao looked at her for a moment and said, "Jiang Guanyu was diagnosed with esophageal cancer while he was imprisoned and is now at the middle stage."
"Esophageal cancer?" Jiang Ruolan was shocked. "Was it because the food in there wasn't good?"
"There are many causes for this type of cancer, basically excessive amounts of smoking, drinking, eating hot foods, and esophageal inflammation directly worsens to the level of esophageal cancer. A moment ago, someone just called and said that if Jiang Guanyu went to the hospital for surgery, there is still a chance for him to recover temporarily." Xian Zihao said indifferently. His fingers searched for the number on his phone, as if he were trying to call someone.
Jiang Ruolan didn't say anything. She just leaned against the wall with her head lowered.
Noticing her sudden silence, Xian Zihao didn't interrupt her train of thoughts. He just dialed a few numbers on his cell phone and then went to the side to make a call.
Jiang Ruolan walked to the window and looked outside. He saw Zhou Qingling sitting on a stone bench, hugging Xian Chiahao and playing with him. Xian An Na opened her arms to ask her grandmother to hug them together.
She looked jealous and stomped her feet from time to time, but Zhou Qingling was purposely teasing her, turning her body away to ignore the little thing whose mouth was pouting.
After an unknown period of time, Jiang Ruolan felt a warmth on her shoulder. Turning around, she saw Xian Zihao standing behind her.
"I don't really know if my mom really forgot about what happened the last few days or if she faked it. She didn't want to tell me, afraid I would be worried. But at least now I could understand why she insisted on going to the prison to see them even though she knew it was a trap set by Zhan Lian."
Jiang Ruolan lowered her head and sighed, then said in a low voice, "Since she insisted on staying here, I know that she still hasn't let go of him completely. I couldn't understand why she still hung onto a bastard like Jiang Guanyu."
"Love and hate are both extremes." Xian Zihao said calmly, "I contacted the person in charge there. They know what to do."
Jiang Ruolan pursed her lips, no longer saying anything. She just looked outside the window at Zhou Qingling and said softly, "Zihao, help me tell Zhan Lian, if she wants to bring Jiang Guanyu to the hospital for treatment, if she wants to save his life, she must use her own dignity. She doesn't have to do anything outrageous, as long as she sincerely apologizes in front of my mother. If she doesn't want to, let her continue to hug Jiang Guanyu and wait for his death."
She turned and looked at Xian Zihao. "Do you think I'm being cruel to my father?"
Xian Zihao smiled. "You're thinking too much."
Jiang Ruolan turned her head away uncomfortably. "I just …"
"You just want to see if Zhan Lian can really subdue her dignity for the sake of her husband. If she can't do it, it will only prove that she really doesn't care about her husband, but you still won't just watch Jiang Guanyu die. In the end, you still wish I could find the best doctor to save him, right?"
Xian Zihao was looking at her with a faint smile, but his words were true.
Seeing that he had seen through her, Jiang Ruolan didn't reply. In the end, she could only say in a very small voice, "Actually, this isn't the time for me to choose. Since he is unwilling to accept treatment, he definitely has his own wish. I don't want to care too much about him. Being able to save his life isn't because I'm soft-hearted, that's just because of my mother. I just want my mother to have a reason to continue living a good life."
"Would you like to arrange a meeting with Jiang Guanyu?" Xian Zihao pushed a strand of hair from her cheek behind her ear as he spoke softly.
Jiang Ruolan firmly shook her head and said after a while, "I won't."
"He's not worthy of us doing so much." She looked out the window. "As a man and a father, he was a failure and I had no reason to meet with him."
Then, she raised her head and said, "Zihao, let's solve this matter quickly. When my mother is in better shape, can we invite Senior Huang to come here?"
Xian Zihao smiled thinly as if he understood what she was thinking, "Why don't we take your mom to F City after our wedding? Let her look around and stay at Aerial Club. Maybe it's better this way."
Jiang Ruolan raised her eyebrows. "Wedding?"
Yes, it was a wedding, but Xian Zihao didn't say much to Jiang Ruolan. Instead, he smiled mysteriously.
