Wang Meixia was so startled by Xiao Mandong's words that she forgot the wound on her abdomen and shot up from the bed.
"Hiss—" A searing, gut-wrenching pain shot up from her lower belly. All the color drained from Wang Meixia's face, cold sweat instantly soaking through her clothes. She gripped her stomach with both hands, letting out agonized moans. Before Xiao Mandong could even get up, the hospital room door burst open with a bang.
Old Lady Wang and Wang Yuanyuan, who had been eavesdropping outside, rushed in. Seeing Wang Meixia clutching her stomach, her face as white as paper, Old Lady Wang exploded on the spot: "You wicked Xiao Mandong, you jinx! I'll fight you to the death—"
Xiao Mandong dodged the clawing old woman as she lunged at her, and sprinted out to find a doctor. There was no way she was going to let anything happen to Wang Meixia while the two of them were alone in that room.
Soon, a doctor and nurses came rushing in. As the physician examined the wound, Old Lady Wang kept wailing and cursing.
"Shut up! If you keep making a racket, I'll have security throw you out." She had been a doctor her whole life and had seen all kinds of family members, but she had truly never encountered a family like this before. The child was in the observation ward, and they asked every single day when it could come out. Just yesterday, they had stormed into the office and screamed at her, accusing the doctors of deliberately keeping the child locked up just to collect the two-yuan-a-day observation fee.
Old Lady Wang was so scared by the doctor's sudden reprimand that she clamped her mouth shut. If she got kicked out of the hospital, where would she stay? And her daughter would have no one to take care of her.
The doctor lifted Wang Meixia's abdominal bandage and saw that the stitches on the surface had split open, with blood still seeping through the wound. The doctor shouted angrily: "What the hell did you do? It's only been a few days since surgery, and you've torn the wound open! We'll have to stitch it up all over again. If you move around like that next time and it tears through all the layers, not even God could save you."
The nurse brought over antiseptic solution, needles, thread, and a bottle of procaine. They re-administered the local anesthetic and re-sewed the wound right there in Wang Meixia's room. But local anesthesia only dulled the surface pain—as the needle and thread pierced through flesh, the agonizing tugging sensation was unavoidable. Wang Meixia trembled all over from the pain, tears and cold sweat streaming down her face together.
Xiao Mandong's eyes fell on Wang Meixia's horrifying wound and her deathly pale face. For a brief moment, Xiao Mandong's heart felt as if an invisible hand had seized it hard. Perhaps this was an instinctive reaction written in the blood—even if she hated her to the bone, seeing her like this still stirred an uncontrollable ripple in the depths of her heart.
That feeling lasted only a few seconds. Quickly, Xiao Mandong pulled herself back, and the flicker of hesitation in her eyes was instantly frozen over. She told herself: If Wang Meixia hadn't been so guilty, why would she have gotten so worked up when asked about Xiao Zhenyu's origins? She remembered her past life, when Lu Na was sick and she had begged Wang Meixia to lend her some money. Wang Meixia had said they were already two separate families—she was now a member of the Zheng family, and she shouldn't come to her about Xiao family matters anymore. If she couldn't keep her job, that was her own fault. Everyone had to pay for their own actions; the blisters on her feet were from the shoes she herself had walked in. She would apply the same logic to Wang Meixia.
After the doctor finished treating the wound, he said coldly: "After the re-stitching, she must stay strictly in bed for at least three days. You need to go pay the follow-up fees for the anti-inflammatory shots and dressing changes as soon as possible."
The doctor gave further instructions on care before leaving.
Old Lady Wang was nothing but a bully at home. She bowed and scraped, nodding obsequiously as she saw the doctor off, then immediately switched back to her nasty face, pointing at Xiao Mandong's nose: "Did you hear that? This is all your fault. You have to pay for this, or you're not leaving this door today."
"How much do you want?"
Old Lady Wang thought she'd have to argue with Xiao Mandong for a while, but she never expected this wretched girl to agree so readily.
"Two hundred yuan," Old Lady Wang said after a moment's thought, landing on her ideal figure.
So far, Wang Meixia's hospital stay and the child's observation fees had totaled 175 yuan. Asking for two hundred wasn't unreasonable—after all, this wretched girl hadn't lifted a finger to help, so she should pay more.
"Fine." Xiao Mandong agreed without hesitation. Old Lady Wang looked at her in disbelief, and now she deeply regretted not asking for more since the girl was being so cooperative today. Since she'd agreed to pay, Old Lady Wang softened her tone: "See? Children should be filial. Be a good girl, and I'll find you a good husband in the future—"
Before Old Lady Wang could finish, Xiao Mandong cut her off: "Don't you worry about my future. Since Xiao Zhenyu isn't my real brother, then give me back the money my father left for him. Plus the thousand yuan for my sister, minus the two hundred—you owe me three thousand eight hundred."
At those words, Old Lady Wang nearly choked on her own blood. She had overheard Xiao Mandong asking Wang Meixia about Xiao Zhenyu's origins from outside the door, and she'd thought that after hurting Wang Meixia, the matter would be dropped. But this wretched girl had brought it up again. There was no way she could ever admit to something like this.
"How dare you slander your own mother like that! Xiao Zhenyu was raised in the Xiao family since he was little. How could he not be a Xiao child? Who told you such nonsense?"
Wang Yuanyuan, meanwhile, only wanted to flee. If her grandmother found out that she was the one who had spilled the beans, she'd skin her alive.
Wang Yuanyuan turned to leave, but Xiao Mandong grabbed her: "Wang Yuanyuan, where are you going? Why don't you tell them? Repeat what you said that day. You also said my real brother is with your mother—which of your two brothers is my real brother?"
By now, Wang Yuanyuan was terrified, her hands and feet ice-cold. She knew full well how serious this matter was.
Old Lady Wang was utterly stunned that Wang Yuanyuan was the one who had let it slip. That stupid girl really had no sense—she'd say anything! Was she just asking for trouble? As for how Wang Yuanyuan had found out, Old Lady Wang had already figured it out—it must have been that loose-lipped Li Fengmei. The moment she got back, she'd skin her hide.
"You're lying! When did I ever say that? Don't try to frame me!" If she just refused to admit it, what could Xiao Mandong do?
"Smack!" Old Lady Wang slapped Wang Yuanyuan right across the face. "You little trollop! Your aunt has been so good to you since you were little, and this is how you repay her by spreading lies about her? Where's your conscience? You're just as rotten as that dead mother of yours! Even if your aunt didn't help you get that city return slot, you can't go around making things up to ruin her reputation."
Xiao Mandong had to admire Old Lady Wang—at her age, she was still quick on her feet!
Wang Yuanyuan looked as if she'd been gravely humiliated, staring at Old Lady Wang in disbelief. Even if her grandmother wanted to protect her aunt, she didn't have to accuse her of fabricating the story just to shut Xiao Mandong up. Was it to get revenge over the city slot? She shot a venomous glare at Xiao Mandong. Ever since Xiao Mandong had come to the countryside, her luck had gone downhill. Since childhood, Xiao Mandong had always been lording over her. Why should it be like that?
"Xiao Mandong, you just wait!"
With that, Wang Yuanyuan burst into tears and turned to run out, only to collide with someone at the door.
Wang Meixia, lying on the hospital bed, was in so much pain she wished she were dead and couldn't care less about their arguing.
Xiao Mandong could see that with the way things were going today, there was no way she would get the truth out of either of them. Still, one thing was certain: Xiao Zhenyu was indeed not a child of the Xiao family. This matter would have to be looked into slowly. She turned and left.
