That night, Tian Sangsang slept alone. In the middle of the night, she sensed movent in the bed and realized Jiang Jinghuai had just returned. He used to hold her when they slept, his body warm against hers. But now, he slept farther away, leaving a cold, indifferent back between them.
Tian Sangsang felt her heart ache sharply. She placed her hand on her lower abdon, feeling deeply aggrieved. She swore she hadn’t thrown up on purpose—it should have been a joyful occasion. But instead, they thought the worst of her, without considering that she was just pregnant. Nobody thought about her pregnancy; all they focused on was her mother-in-law’s car accident.
She wanted to say she was pregnant, but stubbornness held her back. Why did everything have to be her fault? Why must she humble herself?
Ever since she entered this household, she’d had enough of feeling unvalued and overlooked.
The next morning, Jiang Jinghuai went to the hospital again. Ye Binyi needed to stay for half a month. By noon, he returned ho to visit his son. At least he had so conscience and hadn’t abandoned ng Shuyan. Watching the father and son talk, the scene felt warm, and Tian Sangsang’s eyes grew hot.
If there was love once, then tears could flow freely for that fleeting mont of happiness and joy.
Perhaps she could try once more. Lower her pride, give them both a chance.
She wanted ng Shuyan, and the child in her belly, to have a complete family.
A faint smile ford on her lips as she turned and walked toward the kitchen.
The yam and pigeon soup in the pot was ready. The pigeon at was tender, opening easily at the touch of chopsticks. She carefully prepared a light al suitable for the patient. When the driver ca to pick up ng Shuyan and take him to the cultural palace, Jiang Jinghuai was about to leave again. Tian Sangsang hurriedly grabbed the food box and caught up to him.
She asked softly, "Have you had lunch yet?"
Jiang Jinghuai paused, surprised by her question. He nodded lightly. "Yes."
She looked nervously at his resolute profile and asked, "Are you heading to the hospital now?"
"Yes."
Holding back a hint of excitent, she said, "I made so food. It’s very nutritious. Should I bring it to Mom?"
"Did you even check the ti?" Jiang Jinghuai frowned slightly, his voice steady but impatient. "She already had lunch." Was this her attitude?
"Oh." Faced with his blunt remark, Tian Sangsang stiffened, summoned her courage, and said, "Then—there’s sothing I actually want to tell you. I—um, I..." She clenched the hand resting on her belly, suddenly overco with shyness. She used to be able to say anything shalessly, yet this was—
She hesitated. He rubbed his temples wearily. "Right now, nothing is more important than my mom’s well-being."
The words she wanted to say were swallowed back. Her grip on the food box tightened as the smile on her face faltered. "Then I’ll go with you to the hospital, to see Mom together."
Jiang Jinghuai sighed deeply. "You better not go and provoke her anymore. The doctor said she can’t handle any agitation right now."
Tian Sangsang’s face paled.
Her previously rosy, beautiful complexion was now ashen, her expression even more sorrowful than crying. Despite his simring frustration, Jiang Jinghuai couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt. Lowering his tone, he said, "You can eat the lunch yourself. Aunt Zhang will handle Mom’s als; you don’t need to worry about it."
She rushed into the kitchen, leaning her back against the door as tears spilled uncontrollably. She bit her lip and fingers hard to keep herself from sobbing out loud.
In the past two days, her tears seed endless, her throat perpetually tight, her heart heavy and painful.
"Fine! If you don’t eat, I’ll eat myself!" Wiping away her tears, Tian Sangsang opened the food box, took out the lunch, and angrily shoved a piece of broccoli into her mouth. The more she ate, the more tears fell, so even dripping into the rice.
"Ridiculous!" she cursed under her breath.
She tossed the lunch into the trashcan and vented her anger by dumping the pigeon soup into the sink, flushing it away with water, and throwing the leftover at into the garbage!
Her patience had its limits!
**
Tian Sangsang was walking down the street when she saw a pregnant woman across from her. The woman’s belly was large—she seed at least six or seven months along. Her clothes were tattered, one hand holding a bag and the other picking things off the ground.
Why would a pregnant woman be rummaging on the street? If it wasn’t out of desperation, surely she wouldn’t have to. Where was her family? Tian Sangsang found herself even more sensitive and sentintal now that she, too, was pregnant.
Noticing her gaze, the pregnant woman quickly walked over, glaring fiercely. "What are you looking at? Never seen a beggar before?!"
A beggar? She was a beggar!
Tian Sangsang wanted to offer so comfort, but no matter what she said, it would be wrong. Furthermore, the woman’s aggressive deanor and hostile gaze made her nervous, and she fled.
Terrible.
Was she now unwanted, destined to beco soone like that one day? To endure strange looks from others? Pitiful and hateful at the sa ti.
No, no—she had money. How could she ever end up like that?
She walked absentmindedly and before she realized it, she was standing in front of City First Hospital. She raised her head to look up. Her mother-in-law was on the fourth floor, her father-in-law was on the fourth floor. Her husband and even Hua Jun were all on the fourth floor—it had nothing to do with her!
She wanted to turn back, but heard the sound of an argunt.
"Ma’am, Dr. Li is very busy; he really doesn’t have ti to see you again. There are many patients in the ward waiting for his treatnt—his ti is extrely valuable. Please don’t cause trouble, okay? This is a hospital, we prohibit loud disturbances!" said a nurse.
Outside the hospital stood two won, one sitting and one standing. They wore brightly colored, coarse, hospun clothes, and in this sprawling Beijing setting, it was clear they were from the countryside—even their accents were different.
The standing woman said anxiously, "We’re not here to cause trouble, we really ca to seek treatnt. Please, have pity, let us go in again."
The nurse sighed. "You don’t have enough money. Even if you want treatnt, you can’t afford it. Dr. Li is an expert in orthopedics; every treatnt has a fixed price. He already examined you—the leg needs acupuncture, and the acupuncture fee is over 100 yuan. You need to gather the money and co back later!"
"If we could gather it, we would’ve already done so. My mom’s condition can’t wait. Is there any way to write an IOU instead?"
"No! What do you take this hospital for?"
The woman retorted, "Isn’t it supposed to be a place for healing people?"
"Who says hospitals must treat everyone for free? If that were the case, anyone without money would co here for treatnt, and it’d be chaos."
The nurse, helpless, went back inside. Though she sympathized, hospital rules were inflexible.
Ultimately, it was a common enough scenario: no money, no treatnt.
Tian Sangsang stood there watching the two won, their figures overlapping with faces from her mory. Even their voices sounded familiar. She frowned slightly, then walked closer and hesitated, "Second Aunt?"
Second Aunt Tian wiped her eyes, looking at her closely. Suddenly her expression brightened with surprise and joy: "Are you Tian Sangsang?"
No wonder she reacted like that. Tian Sangsang understood they still saw her as she used to be. She nodded lightly, "Yes, it’s ."
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