Seeing the child had withdrawn into himself, the female doctor sighed inwardly and said with pity, “You should get some proper rest. We’ll come ask you again tomorrow.”
After the female doctor left, the ward fell into complete silence. Yang Haoran was feeling deeply emotional and depressed.
Yang Haoran’s vile and filthy ideas had crossed Liu Ruoxi’s bottom line, causing her to fly into an uncontrollable rage. His resistance only further escalated the situation until it spiraled out of control. In the past, even if she hit him, Liu Ruoxi would at least show concern for his injuries afterwards. This time, however, she was completely ignoring him, which clearly showed the anger in her heart had not subsided.
Yang Haoran was also well aware that he absolutely deserved this severe beating. But, having been beaten so brutally, he also felt a rising resentment within himself. Since Mom cares about Dad and cares about her image in Dad’s eyes, then fineβhe would make sure Dad found out that Mom is a sex slave, a bitch in heat. Otherwise, wouldn’t this vicious beating have been for nothing?
He also completely failed to understand Mom’s magnanimous behavior regarding the matter of that other woman, Zhuang Hui, showing up at their door. What was she thinking? Why was she so forgiving, to the point of defying all common sense?
The night was long. Yang Haoran drifted off into a confused sleep, still full of doubts.
A little after 8 a.m., Yang Haoran woke up. Lying alone in the hospital room, he cut such a lonely figure that even the nurses felt pity for him. During breaks in their work, they chatted with him for a few moments, making him feel a little less isolated inside.
Learning that Yang Haoran was awake, the female doctor came by to check on his condition and ask about the unfinished conversation from the previous night. Yang Haoran gave a few perfunctory answers, claiming he had injured himself by accident. The statement was so blatantlyζ·θ‘ it left the female doctor speechless.
It was almost 9 o’clock. She had just come to check on him before her shift ended. Seeing that Yang Haoran was being uncooperative, she stopped pressing him.
Seeing the female doctor was about to leave, Yang Haoran quickly asked, “How long until I can be discharged?”
“Just lie here peacefully. Don’t think about being discharged for the time being,” the female doctor said, giving him a taste of his own medicine. Yang Haoran felt rather annoyed. What about medical professionalism? He wanted to press for clearer details, but the doctor turned and left.
Just then, the female nurse changing his IV drip by his bedside spoke out of turn: “Being discharged depends on your recovery progress. Your other injuries are all superficial; theyβll generally heal in about a week. But youβve broken two ribs. Even if you are discharged, youβll need to rest quietly at home for a month or two.”
The female nurse’s meaning was simple: she was advising him to rest and recover peacefully. Given that no one seemed to be looking after him, being in a hurry to leave the hospital was worse than just lying here for a month or two to heal properly. This was also the female doctor’s intention.
After understanding the situation, Yang Haoran’s spirits sank. He couldn’t get up because of the pain in his chest, and he wondered if his mother would come to see him today.
By noon, Yang Haoran’s lunch was fed to him by the female nurse, just like his breakfastβit was all thin congee. The hospital’s food naturally wasn’t anything great.
Not long after the female nurse left, she came back in. Just as Yang Haoran thought she had come to chat with him, he saw the radiant and captivating Aunt Shen as well as Shiwen following behind her.
Shen Qing was carrying a flower basket and fruitβclearly, she had come to visit him.
“My, what important personage is this? How did you end up in such a miserable state?”
“Haoran, are you alright?”
Aunt Shen and Zhou Shiwen walked to Yang Haoran’s hospital bed one after the other. Seeing their concerned expressions, Yang Haoran felt a warmth in his heart. Aunt Shen might seem to be teasing, but the concern on her face was unmistakable.
“Aunt Shen, Shiwen, I’m fine. It’s just a bit boring in the hospital.”
“Aunt Shen, has my mom come?”
Yang Haoran said two sentences in quick succession. Seeing the hopeful look on little Haoran’s face, Shen Qing shook her head, her heart aching a little for him. This Ruoxiβeven if little Haoran did something excessive, she shouldn’t have hit him so hard, and only told her about it now. Afterwards, Shen Qing and Shiwen kept the despondent Yang Haoran company for a while, chatting. Shen Qing peeled an apple for Yang Haoran, cut it into small pieces, and fed them into his mouth.
Their intimate manner made Zhou Shiwen feel indescribablyε€ζ. If he were hospitalized, would his mother be this attentive?
This had nothing to do with that aspect.
After Yang Haoran finished the fruit, Shen Qing asked her son to step out. She wanted to talk to little Haoran alone. Zhou Shiwen tactfully gave his mother and Haoran some private space.
After all, his mother and Haoran had a special relationship. Just the day before yesterday, she had even bought a dog crate for him.
Once Zhou Shiwen left, Shen Qing asked Yang Haoran, “Little Haoran, what happened yesterday?”
Ruoxi had only said that she had beaten her son badly enough to be hospitalized and asked her to visit him. She was unwilling to say more, so Shen Qing didn’t know the specific details.
“Aunt Shen, it’s my fault too, yesterday⦔
Yang Haoran recounted yesterday’s sudden events to Aunt Shen, including the other woman showing up at their door, his mother’s magnanimity, and the subsequent conflict that erupted during their conversation which led to him being beaten for his filthy ideas. He held nothing back, explaining everything clearly and in full detail.
After finishing, Yang Haoran looked at Aunt Shen and poured out his grievances: “Aunt Shen, do you think my mom still has feelings for my dad in her heart? Otherwise, why would she be so forgiving? She even found a wife for my dad.”
Hearing little Haoran’s complaints, Shen Qing covered her mouth and chuckled lightly. “Little Haoran, you’re thinking about this the wrong way. This is actually a good thing.”
Aunt Shen’s answer made Yang Haoran freeze. Seeing his confused gaze fixed on her, Shen Qing patiently explained: “Little Haoran, have you ever heard a saying?”
“What saying?”
“Guilt leads to forgiveness.”
As the simple, clear answer left Aunt Shen’s red lips, Yang Haoran didn’t understand at first. But the more he turned it over in his mind, the brighter his eyes became. Yes, why hadn’t he thought of that? Mom found a wife for Dad, so what about her?
Didn’t that mean her heart was leaning towards him? So Mom wasn’t unbothered by Dad’s affair; on the contrary, if Mom still cared about Dad as much as she used to, how could she possibly defy common sense by tacitly allowing Zhuang Hui to be with Dad?
Watching little Haoran gradually break into a foolish,η΄η΄ smile, Shen Qing said with an amused smile, striking a cautionary note: “Little Haoran, don’t celebrate too soon. This doesn’t mean Ruoxi has no feelings for your father left in her heart. Otherwise, Ruoxi would have agreed to the divorce.”
“The current situation is both complex and simple. What you need to do is make your father’s place in Ruoxi’s heart grow smaller and smaller, until he is gone and she belongs only to you.” Shen Qing pointed the way for Yang Haoran. Yang Haoran urgently asked, “What should I do?”
“Just do what got you this beating in the first place.”
Seeing Yang Haoran was still confused, Shen Qing laid it out clearly for him: “There are two aspects. First, have Zhuang Hui move into your houseβlike you said before, have them live on the first floor. If Ruoxi sees them every day, she will naturally, gradually and subconsciously, become disillusioned with your father. Second, let your father know that Ruoxi is your sex slave, your bitch in heat. Destroy Ruoxi’s image in your father’s mind.”
The more Yang Haoran listened, the more appalled and alarmed he became. If they did this, there was simply no way Dad and Mom could ever reconcile. But it was also extremely difficult. There were two major challenges: How to get Mom to agree to let Zhuang Hui move in? And how to let Dad know about his relationship with Mom without Dad beating him to death?
With a bitter smile, Yang Haoran explained these difficulties to Aunt Shen. This time, Shen Qing did not share everything she knew. Smiling, she said, “Little Haoran, you can’t ask me for everything. You need to learn to think for yourself.”
“If you want to openly and rightfully possess Ruoxi, you cannot avoid suffering some hardships. You must remember, you are the master of the house now!”