Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Mom, I’m getting married. Weren’t you worried that I’ll be alone? You can put your mind at ease now. Besides, that person was someone you like. It’s Xia Yixuan. You’ve always been kind to her, and she’s been nice to you. Mom, how great would it be if you woke up. Your son is getting married.” Again. This was his third marriage.
“If possible, I only want one wife.”
He placed Song Wan’s hand on his forehead. In that instant, he felt really tired. So be it. It was just another woman bound to him legally, and there would not be any change to his life. Besides, Xia Yixuan really was good towards his mother, and that was enough.
It had nothing to do with love. He was not interested in love anymore. His life was just like that.
Not everyone married for love. Many put up with it for a promise and responsibility.
He let go of Song Wan’s hand and let the caretakers in to take care of her. He returned to his study to continue working, burying himself in it.
What he did not know was that Song Wan’s fingers moved slightly the instant he set them down.
Xia Yixuan had been busy with preparations for her wedding in the coming days. She had forgotten about her medicine and Song Wan.
…
Back in the Lu family, Jian Qingying was complaining about why her daughter had not returned yet. Other people’s daughters were like a warm fluffy blanket, but her daughter was like an extra coat that disappeared from time to time and left her mother behind.
The Lu father and son finally consoled her with words and got her to watch TV outside.
“How’s your sister?” Lu Ke’en asked his son. He wanted to visit her, but Jian Qingying was home; he dared not go there openly. Jian Qingying reacted especially strongly with it came to things regarding their daughter. He dared not let her catch anything, or else they would never be able to hide it from her.
“Much better.” Lu Jinrong evened his breath. “I visited her in the afternoon. She can sit up now. After all, she was badly hurt. It takes a while to recover, but she’s recovering well. She’ll be able to walk after a while.”
“It’s better to stay in the hospital a few more days.” Lu Ke’en thought it was better for his daughter to spend more time in the hospital. She had surgery, and she would have to do it again after anything untoward happened.
“I know.” Lu Jinrong agreed. No matter what his father said, he would agree to it. As for the doctor, it depended on what the doctor said.
However, when Lu Ke’en was about to ask something, the door was opened from outside.
Jian Qingying’s eyes were red, and her body was shaking like leaves in fall.
Her lips were quivering.
“What happened to my daughter?”
…
Xia Ruoxin placed the book on her lap. Her other hand was attached to a needle so she did not move it. She was used to having a needle in her the whole day. It was nothing much; all she had to do was change the needle occasionally.
The door was opened from outside. Before she could react, she heard a woman’s voice coming from outside.
“Xiaohua, my Xiaohua.”
Xia Ruoxin’s heart felt warm and fuzzy.
Gao Yi said that the only thing she said while she was unconscious was ‘Mommy, it hurts’.
Even now, she was not sure if she was calling out for Shen Yijun or Jian Qingying when she called out for her mother. Compared to Shen Yijun, Jian Qingying was more like her mother.
She doted on, protected, and loved her.
Sometimes, she would imagine how the Lu family would dote on Rainy if her little girl were still around. After all, Rainy was such an obedient and pretty child.
“Mommy…” Xia Ruoxin called out.
Jian Qingying felt her nose shrivel. She turned to glare at the father and son behind her as she pointed at them. “You all are too much. My daughter’s hurt this badly, and yet none of you told me. You even got me to watch TV. Haven’t you thought of how I feel as a mother? You just stabbed me in the heart.”
The father and son looked down, unable to rebuke.
Jian Qingying had been yelling at them like this the whole way.
“Mom,”—Xia Ruoxin pulled Jian Qingying’s hand up—”don’t blame daddy and brother. I asked them not to tell you. See? I’m fine,” she said weakly. Her body was in worse shape than before.
Jian Qingying gently touched her daughter’s short hair. She knew how much the child cherished her hair, but it was this short now. She could not help but feel sad.
The child before her was her daughter. She lost a daughter back then. What was she to do if she lost her child again?
She moved her hand downwards and placed it on Xia Ruoxin’s face, her voice hoarse.
“Mommy doesn’t care whose child you were before. However, you’re part of our family now; I’m Jian Qingying’s daughter. Don’t worry, Mommy will protect you. If anyone bullies you, Mommy will fight them.”
Xia Ruoxin was not surprised. Only the Lu father and son’s eyes were wide open. The same expression on their similar features.
“Mom, how did you know?” Lu Jinrong had never imagined that Jian Qingying would find out the truth about Xia Ruoxin. He thought that they had done a good job hiding it from her.
“What’s there not to know?” Jian Qingying held her daughter’s hand. “It doesn’t matter if I gave birth to her. Since she has my daughter’s face, she’s my daughter. Since you don’t want me to know, I’ll pretend that I don’t know.”
“But Mom, when did you know?” Lu Jinrong was stammering a little. The person whom they thought they were lying to was the most clear-headed of them all.
“I knew the first time you told me.” Jian Qingying turned to face hers on as she spoke. “I know your sister was gone when she was seven. I sent her off one last time at the hospital.” At this point, she could not hold her tears back and wiped her years. “My Xiaohua was so small and so obedient. She knew she was probably not going to make it so she held my hand. ‘Mommy, don’t worry. Xiaohua’s going to a faraway place, but Mommy needs to believe that Xiaohua will be back,’ she said.”
“My Xiaohua is the most obedient so see? She really did come back.”
Xia Ruoxin smiled. She already had a feeling. Sometimes, she found that Jian Qingying seemed to be looking at another person through her. There were also a few times that she saw Jian Qingying spacing out as she stared at old photos. She was thinking of the original Lu Xiaohua, and she felt that Jian Qingying knew. She was pretending not to know.
