Volume 1, Chapter 111: Heart-Wrenching
“Hello, may I ask which ward Mrs. Wu Wanqing is in?”
Song Qingyu hurried to the hospital and, with the nurse’s guidance, found the VIP ward.
When Chu Xingzhi saw her, he immediately came forward. “Xiaoyu—”
“Where is Grandma? How is she?”
Chu Xingzhi’s face was as pale as paper, his voice thick with emotion. “Not very well. The doctor said she may not make it to the New Year.”
Song Qingyu’s heart sank violently, and her eyes reddened at once. “How can that be? Wasn’t the surgery last time a great success?”
The operation to remove the cranial hemorrhage had indeed gone very well, but after she was discharged and returned home, the old lady’s condition worsened day by day.
Her spirits were poor as well.
This morning, Chu Xingzhi had happened to be at home for breakfast. When he went to call for Grandma, he found her face grim and dark, struggling for breath, and immediately rushed her to the hospital.
The ward door opened, and Wu Yijun stepped out.
She glanced at Song Qingyu with a displeased expression. “The old lady wants you inside.”
Song Qingyu nodded and walked into the ward.
Seeing that Chu Xingzhi’s gaze kept following Song Qingyu, Wu Yijun warned him in a low voice, “The moment your grandmother was admitted, you rushed to call Song Qingyu. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to.”
“What do you think I’m up to?”
“Now that your relationship with Yu Ru is stable, the best thing would be to settle your marriage as soon as possible, instead of still pining over a married woman who no longer loves you.”
Chu Xingzhi looked at Song Qingyu in the ward, his eyes hotter than usual.
A bad premonition suddenly surged in Wu Yijun’s heart. She stared at Chu Xingzhi in disbelief. “You... you’re not still thinking of getting back together with Song Qingyu, are you?”
Chu Xingzhi said nothing.
“You’ve lost your mind? Do you know who Sheng Yuru is? She’s Gu Yuandong’s cousin. You seduced her and then abandoned her—do you think she’ll let you off?”
Chu Xingzhi looked at her with open mockery. “Wasn’t she the one you told me to get involved with?”
Wu Yijun’s expression turned grave. “I only did it for your own good—”
“Stop saying it’s for my own good! If you really were thinking of me, how could you not know what I want most?”
Chu Xingzhi took a deep breath and forced down the emotions in his chest. “Grandma is ill. I don’t want to argue with you. From now on, whatever I do, please do not interfere anymore.”
Wu Yijun: “...”
Inside the ward.
Looking at the old woman on the bed with the oxygen tube in place, tears spilled from Song Qingyu’s eyes at once.
It had only been a little over two months since they last saw each other, yet Grandma seemed to have grown so much smaller, her vitality all but gone.
“Grandma...”
The old lady slowly opened her eyes. The instant her cloudy gaze fell on Song Qingyu, it brightened a little. “Xiaoyu...”
Song Qingyu rushed over and took her hand. It was icy cold, the back of it mottled with age spots, her fingers stiff and thin.
“Grandma, you have to get better soon. I don’t like seeing you lying in the hospital.”
Wu Wanqing smiled. Given her current condition, even smiling took effort.
With difficulty, she lifted a hand and wiped the tears from Song Qingyu’s face. “Don’t cry. My beautiful Xiaoyu won’t be pretty if she cries.”
Song Qingyu pressed the old woman’s hand against her cheek, wanting to hold back her tears, but she simply could not.
“Does your husband treat you well?”
Song Qingyu nodded. “He treats me very well. He takes good care of me.”
“Bring him over sometime and let me see him. I’ve never met him.”
“Okay.”
Perhaps thinking of something, the old lady sighed. “Our Xiaoyu really has grown up. I still remember the first time I saw you, so timid and at a loss. Seeing you getting better and better now makes Grandma very comforted.”
“Grandma...”
Song Qingyu held the old woman and cried. She had so much to say, yet did not know how to tell her.
“Xiaoyu, Grandma wants to eat dumplings...”
Song Qingyu hurriedly nodded. “Okay, I’ll go home and make them for you right away.”
The old lady, exhausted, closed her eyes. After waiting until she had fallen asleep, Song Qingyu picked up her bag and left the ward.
Outside, Chu Xingzhi and Wu Yijun both wore even darker expressions.
When they saw Song Qingyu come out, Chu Xingzhi suppressed his emotions and walked up. “How is Grandma?”
“She wants dumplings. I’m going home to make some for her.”
“Can you even make dumplings?”
Song Qingyu did not answer and walked away directly.
At that moment, in the president’s office of the Celestial Enterprise Group.
Pei Jingmo had been waiting for Song Qingyu to bring him the cake, but after waiting the entire morning, he still had not seen her.
When lunchtime passed and Song Qingyu still had not come, he called to ask, only to learn that she had taken leave.
Hearing that she had rushed off in a panic to the hospital, worried that something might have happened, he used Pei Jingmo’s number to call her.
“Hello, Jingmo...”
Hearing that Song Qingyu’s voice was wrong, Pei Jingmo asked worriedly, “What is it?”
“Grandma was hospitalized. She wants to eat dumplings, but I’m too stupid. I can’t even make dumplings.”
Hearing Song Qingyu crying, Pei Jingmo’s heart tightened. “Where are you?”
“At home.”
“Wait for me—”
After hanging up, Pei Jingmo stood up, grabbed his coat, and left the office. Just then, He Shubai came up to greet him.
“President Gu, we should be leaving.”
There was a very important business summit in City S, and Pei Jingmo had originally been due to attend on behalf of the Celestial Enterprise Group.
“Secretary He, you go to the summit in my place.”
“The chairman attaches great importance to this summit. If anything should happen...”
“Even if the sky falls, I’ll hold it up.”
“...Yes.”
By the time Pei Jingmo rushed home, the kitchen was already in complete disarray.
Flour was everywhere, along with lumps of dough that had not been kneaded properly. The dumpling filling had also been chopped into a chaotic mess.
Tears streaming down her face, Song Qingyu kept kneading the dough. Her little face had no color left in it at all.
Seeing blood on the dough, he felt a jolt of alarm and strode over quickly, lifting her hand. Sure enough, her finger had been cut and was still bleeding.
“Jingmo, you’re back. I can’t do anything right. Help me, okay?”
“Okay.”
Pei Jingmo coaxed her gently and led her to the living room. After disinfecting the wound, he put on a bandage.
“Grandma is Chu Xingzhi’s grandmother?”
Song Qingyu’s body trembled violently. “She’s not doing very well. I’m so scared.”
She was truly frightened now. There were not many people in this world who were good to her, and Grandma was one of them. She did not want to see anyone else disappear completely from her life.
“Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid.”
Pei Jingmo gathered her into his arms, patting her back and soothing her softly. “I’ll stay with you all the time.”
“I want to make dumplings for her.”
“Okay. We’ll make them together.”
Pei Jingmo worked quickly, cleaning up the kitchen and preparing the dumpling filling and wrappers.
When Song Qingyu wrapped the dumplings, tears kept falling, and no matter how she tried, she could not make them properly.
Pei Jingmo lifted her face and wiped away her tears. “You can’t cry while making dumplings.”
Song Qingyu sniffled. “Why not?”
“The dumplings will turn bitter, and Grandma won’t be happy eating them.”
“Really?”
“Mm.”
“Okay.”
Song Qingyu forced herself to smile. “I won’t cry anymore. I’ll smile. I want Grandma to eat happily.”
“Mm. We’ll make them together.”
Holding Song Qingyu’s hand, Pei Jingmo taught her as they made the dumplings together.
“Can you go to the hospital with me later? Grandma wants to see you. I promised her I’d bring you over.”
Pei Jingmo was a little surprised, but he still smiled and nodded. “Okay. I’ll listen to you.”
That evening, after cooking the dumplings, the two of them took them to the hospital together.
Chu Xingzhi was delighted to see Song Qingyu, but when he saw Pei Jingmo beside her, his expression instantly turned cold. “What are you doing here?”