Not many people knew about Yang Haoran’s hospitalization.
After his father and Yaoyao had stayed for a while, Shen Qing happened to return. They exchanged a few greetings, and Yang Haoran urged his father and Yaoyao to go back and rest, suggesting that Aunt Shen could take care of him.
Shen Qing, wearing a smile, saw the father and daughter off to the hospital entrance. She was quite familiar with Yang Wenfu, as they had been alumni in the past, and he was also the husband of her close friend Liu Ruoxi.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries at the entrance, Shen Qing watched as the father and daughter drove away before heading back inside.
Half an hour earlier, Shen Qing had spoken with Liu Ruoxi on the phone.
Shen Qing: “Ruoxi, I understand the situation now. Have you cooled down?”
A slightly cold voice came from the other end of the line: “How is he?”
“You were so harsh, Ruoxi. Little Haoran is pitiful now, like an unwanted child,” Shen Qing feigned a sigh. “If you don’t want him, why not let me adopt him? I happen to have time to take care of him.”
Liu Ruoxi fell silent for a moment. She knew her friend Shen Qing was speaking in a joking tone, but there was also a hint of reproach for her excessive harshness.
Shen Qing didn’t press further and went on to describe Yang Haoran’s injuries. Aside from other minor issues, the main problem was two broken ribs, which was quite troublesome—as the saying goes, it takes a hundred days to heal from such injuries.
After the two women discussed a solution, the matter was considered settled. For them, given their unique resources, as long as he was still breathing, it wasn’t a big deal. The key was to avoid healing him too quickly, as that would seem too astonishing.
They planned to have Yang Haoran hospitalized for a week, following normal procedures. After that, they would arrange for his discharge under the pretext of recuperating at home. Once back home, he would be treated with a special potion. With the week-long buffer, the arrival of the miraculous potion would seem perfectly natural.
After all, Yang Haoran was also aware of the potion’s extraordinary effects.
Once their discussion concluded, Liu Ruoxi was about to hang up when Shen Qing asked with a light laugh, “Ruoxi, regarding how you handled the matter with Zhuang Hui, is it because in a few months, when your belly starts to show…”
Before she could finish, the call was disconnected on the other end. Shen Qing smiled, unbothered—she could still guess some of her friend’s thoughts.
After all, pregnancy couldn’t be hidden forever.
When Shen Qing returned, Yang Haoran didn’t waste much time on small talk before eagerly sharing his idea of categorizing his women into a pyramid-like hierarchy.
“A pyramid structure? Hehe…”
Shen Qing burst into laughter, her body trembling with amusement as she looked at Yang Haoran with a fond yet teasing gaze. “Little Haoran, have you been reading too much erotic fiction and lost touch with reality?”
Yang Haoran’s hopeful expression instantly stiffened. “Aunt Shen, you’re really not holding back, are you?”
Shen Qing watched his embarrassed reaction, her eyes glinting with mischief. “Little Haoran, you’re too caught up in appearances. Their status depends entirely on how much you care for them. The one you favor the most will naturally hold the highest position.”
Yang Haoran hesitated for a long moment before finally blurting out, “Then is there even a need to assign them ranks?”
This once again sent Shen Qing into fits of laughter, her lush, captivating cheeks blooming like peach blossoms. “What do you think?”
Lying in his hospital bed, Yang Haoran turned away, burying his face in the white pillow and closing his eyes in frustration. He refused to engage with her any further—she was too infuriating.
“Oh dear… Master, are you angry?”
During his week in the hospital, Yang Haoran lived in utter comfort. Aunt Shen treated him like royalty, attending to his every need. She prepared a variety of nourishing meals daily to help him recuperate, worried he might grow bored, occasionally took him out in a semi-reclining wheelchair to bask in the sun, and gave him a full body wipe-down every night…
After the National Day holiday ended, Liu Ruoxi requested sick leave for Yang Haoran, which led to the news of his hospitalization leaking out.
Ji Youxi, Xiao Shaowan, He Muchen, his close friend Wei Ming, and others all came to visit Yang Haoran. This also marked their first meeting with Shen Qing.
The interactions were relatively harmonious, as some relationships had yet to be fully revealed. On the day of his discharge, Yang Haoran saw his mother again after a long time. Her expression was cold as she went through the discharge procedures for him.
During the previous week, Yang Haoran had thought his mother had truly been heartless for not visiting him even once. It was only when Aunt Shen secretly informed him that his mother had come to see him late at night—more than once—while he was fast asleep. She would watch his sleeping face for a long time before leaving.
He knew this couldn’t have happened without Aunt Shen tipping her off. Otherwise, his mother wouldn’t have been able to time her visits so perfectly during his sleep, leaving him completely unaware.
Perhaps on one of those quiet nights, a solitary figure stood outside the hospital, waiting for him to drift into dreams.
When they returned home, it was a bright noon. The atmosphere between mother and son was somewhat strained.
Yang Haoran lay on his bed in his room, while Liu Ruoxi stood by the window, watching the gentle breeze rustle the leaves outside, lost in silence.
Liu Ruoxi stood with her back to Yang Haoran, her posture slightly tilted. He couldn’t see the expression on her face. From their reunion at the hospital to the discharge procedures and then returning home, aside from formal, perfunctory nods, the mother and son, who shared a deep blood bond, felt like the most familiar strangers.
Yang Haoran didn’t harbor hatred for his mother. Throughout the journey, he had been pondering how to break the ice between them.
The current atmosphere felt unfamiliar and unpleasant to him. Liu Ruoxi also seemed unsure how to broach the subject. Her usually exquisite, painting-like beauty, reminiscent of distant green mountains, was clouded with unspoken thoughts, her brows slightly furrowed.
Her usually lively son was now unusually quiet in her presence for the first time, even making her uneasy. Her full, vermilion lips parted and closed several times, hesitating and uncertain.
She wondered if her son was resentful of her for being too harsh and was now resisting her in this way. But someone had to break the deadlock. After a moment, her lush, red lips slowly curved upward, and her voice, clear and flowing like a mountain spring, uttered:
“I’m sorry!”
“Mom, I’m sorry!”
In the quiet room, two voices sounded almost simultaneously, as if connected by their mother-son bond.
Yang Haoran looked at his mother in surprise as she turned around. Their eyes met, and under her son’s astonished gaze, Liu Ruoxi’s usually composed and confident demeanor faltered. A faint blush crept unnoticed across her cheeks.
Seeing his mother’ flushed face and her evasive gaze, Yang Haoran knew she was struggling with her pride. Her apology was unexpected. He broke into a playful grin and said, “Mom, you’re blushing!”
“Shut up!”
Liu Ruoxi snapped in flustered irritation, but then paused, momentarily stunned. Was she blushing?
Even without a mirror, the warmth spreading across her face reached deep into her heart. Her emotions suddenly became chaotic, her heart sinking step by step. Since when had it started? Was it that night when they crossed the line, and her son confessed with deep emotion, “Your beauty has accompanied my entire childhood!”?
Or was it during that vacation trip when her son grew jealous for her sake? On the deck, warmed by the breeze that intoxicated visitors, the curve of her lips had lifted.
Perhaps it was the sunny day and the leisurely atmosphere that obscured the sprouting of emotions.
Or the panic that arose when she realized she was pregnant… the concessions made during their arguments… turning a blind eye to the matters involving Zhuang Hui and Wenfu… the discomfort she felt upon learning her son had a girlfriend…
Liu Ruoxi revisited these fragments of the past, her heart tangled in complexity. Did she truly see Haoran only as her son?
Seeing his mother suddenly lost in thought, her hand resting on her abdomen, Yang Haoran found it strange and asked, “Mom, is your stomach uncomfortable?”
At that moment, he still hadn’t considered the possibility.