Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
She wiped her bruised body with a basin of hot water. Everywhere hurt, but the strength she applied remained hard as though she wanted to erase the trace. She was tainted, so tainted that she couldn’t even look at herself. Moreover, others.
She had no idea if he would let her off, but she knew she must think of a way to make him save Rainy. She wanted him to save her if it meant she would lose Rainy. She couldn’t possibly watch Rainy die. Her daughter was only three years old.
She dragged her heavy feet and went to lay down on the apartment’s only bed. With Rainy in her arms, she reached out to caress her daughter’s much thinner hair. Tomorrow, she would have to check Rainy back into the hospital because she knew tonight wouldn’t be the last that she came back late.
The bedside lamp was extinguished. In the dark, no one knew a tear had slid from the corner of her eye or how deep the pain had been in her eyes.
In the morning, Rainy was spotted wearing her new clothes. She allowed Xia Ruoxin to carry her quietly. “Mommy, are we going to the hospital?” she looked up and asked Xia Ruoxin. They were heading in that direction.
“Yes, Rainy. Are you afraid?” Xia Ruoxin caressed her daughter’s cheek with her left hand as she asked.
Rainy shook her head. “No. I am brave, and I haven’t cried.” The moment she finished talking, she hid in Xia Ruoxin’s arms coyly. She had actually cried, secretly.
Xia Ruoxin closed her eyes helplessly and swallowed her own tears. She held her daughter tighter. Rainy had grown. It was getting tough to carry her with one functioning hand.
In the hospital, the nurses were trying to play with her as they had not seen her for a few days. Everyone in the hospital adored her naturally because of her pretty face and her obedience.
“Rainy, do you miss me?” A young nurse pinched Rainy’s cheek as she squatted beside her and asked. The child had beautiful features, like a little child star. Her mother had done well, giving birth to such a pretty baby.
“Yes.” Rainy gave a shy smile. The nurse kissed her hard on her cheek in response and proceeded to pull her away to play.
Rainy looked back. A look of disappointment registered on her face. With Dolly in one hand and the other in the nurse’s, she started walking.
The doctor flipped through Rainy’s medical chart in the hospital ward. He took a look at the pale-looking woman. She looked sickly. He wondered if she would be the next person to be hospitalized.
“Miss Xia, it seems that we have some good news for you.” The doctor put the chart on the table and smiled out of the blue. A look of slight comfort lit his face. “The International Bone Marrow Bank has found a suitable match for Rainy. Once we have obtained the donor’s approval, we can proceed with the operation. This is great news to us. It is also a really gratifying thing.
“Moreover, what surprised me about this is… it’s not just one person but two who matched Rainy’s bone marrow. Rainy would not have to go through more chemotherapy as soon as one of them agrees… which is soon.”
Xia Ruoxin rested both her hands on the table, and her eyes widened in disbelief. She was trying to think of a way to broach the subject to Chu Lui before she heard this pleasant surprise. It means that there was hope that her daughter would be saved.
