The moment Dani’s knock sounded, the room fell silent.
When Qi Yuqing heard that familiar call of “Yuqing,” all the color drained from her face. She felt as though a poisonous snake had coiled around her neck, making it hard to breathe.
That damned viper—the woman who had ruined half her life—actually dared to show up at her door. If Yuqing weren’t pregnant, she would have gone out and slapped the vile woman across the face.
Zhang Chenghui pointed at Qi Yuqing, signaling for her to keep quiet, then turned to open the door.
“If you dare let her in, I’ll go to the hospital entrance and expose every disgraceful thing you’ve done over the years.” With that, Qi Yuqing sat down on the sofa.
“Tell her to get lost!” she then spat coldly.
She was beginning to feel a faint discomfort in her abdomen. Controlling her breathing, she reminded herself that she couldn’t lose her temper. The baby was what mattered, and nothing could go wrong.
Once Shao Tingting gave birth, she would expose their disgusting faces and drag those two illegitimate children into the light. People always said that children shouldn’t be held responsible for their parents’ sins, but then why had they schemed against her and made her unable to have children?
Later on, she even suspected that her own child had been killed by Dani while she was unconscious. Otherwise, she had already been seven months pregnant. According to the old saying, a baby born at seven months could survive, while one born at eight months might not. How could the baby have simply died without even being rushed into emergency treatment?
Zhang Chenghui stopped in his tracks. The flesh on his face twitched several times.
“Yuqing, Dani only brought the child here because she needs medical attention. The child really is sick…”
Suppressing his anger, Zhang Chenghui didn’t dare lose his temper. This was the family compound, and he was afraid that if this woman went crazy, she would spout all kinds of nonsense. He simply couldn’t understand it. The two of them had gotten along perfectly well before, so why was she taking out her anger over Shao Tingting on Dani?
“That bastard child is sick, so why didn’t she take her to the hospital? What does she want from my house? Do I look like a doctor? You’re a urologist, aren’t you? What, has Dani developed a urinary disease that requires your personal treatment? You’re an expert both at work and in your personal life. Not only can you treat urinary disorders, you can even cure male infertility. For instance, if Shao Tingting’s husband can’t have children, you can still get his wife pregnant.”
There was no attempt to hide the sarcasm in Qi Yuqing’s words. She simply wanted to humiliate Zhang Chenghui.
“Qi Yuqing, how can you say something so horrible? I want a child, and you can’t have one. Without destroying our marriage, I came up with a solution that benefits everyone. Wasn’t it all for our family?”
Zhang Chenghui clenched his back teeth. How had he never realized before that Qi Yuqing could be so unreasonable?
Just because she couldn’t have children, did that mean he no longer deserved a son?
What had happened back then wasn’t his fault, either.
She had insisted on returning to the village and showing off. If she had stayed put and behaved herself, Dani would never have found out. Everything could have remained peaceful, but instead, she had made things difficult for everyone. He had given the Wang family who-knew-how-many benefits just to keep them quiet.
In the end, wasn’t the current situation all because Qi Yuqing had brought it upon herself?
Now that Qi Yuqing refused to give her consent, Zhang Chenghui still didn’t dare open the door. He was afraid the matter would blow up and damage his reputation.
“Knock, knock, knock… Yuqing, are you home?” The knocking from outside continued.
Qi Yuqing sat on the sofa and took a bite of her apple, ignoring it completely.
Zhang Chenghui paced anxiously around the room. It couldn’t go on like this. Dani really was something else. If no one answered the door, couldn’t she wait a while? Why did she have to keep knocking nonstop?
“Ah… Zhang Chenghui, come out quickly! Yanyan’s nose is bleeding again! My poor Yanyan, boo-hoo… Zhang Chenghui, come out!”
Dani’s cries rang throughout the entire family compound.
Hearing her sobs, Zhang Chenghui stopped hesitating and opened the door.
Xiao Mandong followed the other residents over to Zhang Chenghui’s door to see what was happening.
But this was no ordinary spectacle. It was a frightening sight.
A girl of fourteen or fifteen stood there with blood pouring relentlessly from her nose. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t stop it.
Zhang Chenghui was startled when he opened the door.
The girl had her head tipped back, but blood still gushed from her nose. Her neck and clothes were covered in it. Dani pressed a hand over the girl’s nose, yet blood continued to seep through her fingers.
“Chenghui, think of something! What do we do?” Dani’s voice cracked as she cried.
Zhang Chenghui froze for two seconds before coming to his senses. “Quick, take her to the hospital!”
He hoisted the girl onto his back and ran toward the hospital, with Dani staggering along behind him.
Xiao Mandong glanced at the blood on the ground, then at Qi Yuqing standing beneath the window.
Yuqing’s face was expressionless. One hand covered her stomach as she watched the three of them disappear into the distance.
Xiao Mandong didn’t want to disturb her. Some things were better left for Qi Yuqing to figure out on her own.
When Xiao Mandong returned home, she had just finished eating. She hadn’t even put down her chopsticks when hurried knocking sounded at the door.
“Doctor Xiao! Are you home?”
She got up and opened the door. A young nurse she didn’t recognize stood outside, panting heavily from running.
“Doctor Xiao, Director Qi needs you to go to the hospital immediately. A patient’s nose won’t stop bleeding. Director Qi has managed to control the bleeding, but she needs you to come and consult on the case.”
Xiao Mandong guessed that it was the girl from earlier.
“All right. Let’s go.”
She put on her coat, locked the door, and followed the nurse toward the hospital.
When she pushed open the emergency room door, she immediately saw the girl from before. The girl was leaning against the hospital bed, her face deathly pale. Dani was crying as she wiped the blood from the child’s face with a towel.
The chief of the otolaryngology department, who had just gotten off work, had also been called back. After hearing what had happened, he took the examination records from the nurse and frowned.
“Dizziness for more than a year, fatigue, frequent unexplained bruising, and bleeding that won’t stop… This doesn’t look like an ear, nose, or throat problem.”
Xiao Mandong said nothing. She walked to the bedside, lifted the girl’s wrist, and felt her pulse. Then she checked the other wrist before gently lowering her hands.
She quietly went over to Director Qi and said, “The pulse is thin and rapid. There’s deficiency of both qi and blood. And that’s not all. I can feel a stagnant, sluggish quality beneath my fingers.”
“This child may have a blood disorder.”
Director Qi nodded, his eyes falling on Yanyan’s face.
The child came to stay with his daughter for several days every year. He knew she was a relative of Zhang Chenghui’s, and her features bore some resemblance to both Zhang Chenghui and his daughter.
A sudden ache seized his heart, and he couldn’t help remembering the child his daughter had lost all those years ago. If that baby had been born safely, the child would probably have been about the same age as this girl by now.
He pulled himself out of his thoughts and looked at Zhang Chenghui.
“Chenghui, I need to know the child’s family medical history. Has anyone among her relatives ever suffered from a similar illness?”
At those words, Dani suddenly turned toward Zhang Chenghui.
Zhang Chenghui’s expression stiffened. He said nothing, but his eyes flickered instinctively.
