Volume One, Chapter Three: Refusing to Take the Son

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Ji Yanli reconsidered. Usually, Shu Xingruo was obedient, gentle, and considerate toward him. Even when he went to the airport to pick up He Xin, she never mentioned divorce. He thought to himself, "Shu Xingruo clings to the title of Mrs. Ji more than anything. Would she ever agree to a divorce? Absolutely not." He comforted Ji Zhixu, "Don't worry, your mother won't leave us."

Ji Zhixu’s large eyes were red and swollen from crying as he pitifully looked at Ji Yanli. "Dad, please bring Mom back." Ji Yanli frowned tightly; he had no intention of coaxing that woman. "You go take a bath and go to sleep first!" he said, then instructed Aunt Zhang, the nanny, to take him to bathe.

After going to bed, Ji Zhixu fussed again, wanting a bedtime story. "Mom used to tell me stories every night. Dad, I miss Mom." Ji Yanli took a book from the study to tell him a story, but Ji Zhixu complained, "Dad, you sound like an AI. It’s not lively at all. I’d rather find Mom!" He called Shu Xingruo again, but she still didn’t answer.

Ji Zhixu ran to Ji Yanli’s room with a tearful face. "Dad, you have to bring Mom back quickly, or my heart will break." Ji Yanli said, "Your mother will be back in less than three days. She can’t bear to leave us." Hearing this, Ji Zhixu finally felt reassured and went to sleep.

Meanwhile, Shu Yanzhao returned home from the pharmacy. Shu Xingruo was in her room reading a book on pharmacology. Shu Yanzhao asked, "Ruo Ruo, what are your plans for the future?"

Shu Xingruo put down the book. "Grandpa, I want to go back to work at Xingzhi Hall. Is that okay?" Shu Yanzhao was overjoyed by her decision. He had yet to find a suitable heir for his medical skills. Shu Xingruo was highly gifted; as a child, she could learn a thing or two just by watching him prescribe. Marriage and childbirth had delayed her studies, but it was not too late to continue now.

That night, Shu Xingruo couldn’t sleep. It was the first time she hadn’t stayed with Ji Zhixu at night, and her heart felt like a piece had been carved out. She picked up her phone to watch a video of Ji Zhixu, growing increasingly sad. She put the phone down and got up to read until around three in the morning before feeling some sleepiness and lying down.

In the morning, Shu Xingruo was awakened by a call from Ji Yanli. She instinctively wanted to answer.

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Ji Yanli had never called her before; it was always her calling him. Shu Xingruo hesitated for a moment, then pressed the hang-up button.

Ji Yanli called again, and Shu Xingruo hung up once more. After the third call, she considered blocking him to avoid the trouble. But since the divorce papers hadn’t been signed yet and she still needed to deal with him, she didn’t block the number.

Ji Yanli sent a message: "Zhixu is running a high fever, keeps calling for Mom. Please come back quickly."

Shu Xingruo replied, "If he’s sick, take him to the hospital. I’m busy." It wasn’t that she didn’t care about her son; Ji Zhixu broke her heart too deeply.

Ji Yanli called again, and this time Shu Xingruo answered. "Shu Xingruo, what’s going on? Our son is sick, and you’re not coming back?"

She was no longer the gentle, tender woman she once was. Coldly, she said, "I have things to do. Our son isn’t mine alone; you can take care of him too."

Ji Yanli replied impatiently, "Can you stop causing trouble? I have an important meeting this morning."

Shu Xingruo ignored him and hung up.

She got up, washed, and changed into a pale moon-white modified qipao. Her hair was pinned up, her brows arched gracefully, her small oval face delicate, her nose sharp and elegant—she looked both gentle and dignified.

She took Shu Yanzhao’s car to Xingzhi Hall. Her workspace had been prepared early in the morning.

Shortly after sitting down, a middle-aged woman with a sallow complexion came for a consultation. "Doctor, I can’t sleep. Even with sleeping pills, I only get three hours, and my head hurts terribly." She looked listless and dejected.

Shu Xingruo reached out her slender fingers to take her pulse on both wrists, examined her tongue coating, and asked a few questions. Then she said, "You have excessive heart fire and insufficient kidney water. You’re overthinking."

The woman asked, "Is there any way to treat it?"

Shu Xingruo replied, "I’ll give you one acupuncture treatment and prescribe three doses of medicine. Come back in three days, and try to relax more."

The woman sighed, "My son brought a boyfriend home for the New Year, and I was strongly opposed. We didn’t even have a good New Year. I thought they had broken up, but recently I heard they want to buy a house and live together. Can you imagine how stressed I am?"

Shu Xingruo arranged for her to lie down on the acupuncture bed and administered the needles, gently advising, "Getting anxious won’t change anything. It’s better to let things be."

Meanwhile, Ji Yanli didn’t call Shu Xingruo again. He sighed and asked Butler Liu and Aunt Zhang to take Ji Zhixu to the hospital, then headed to a company meeting himself.

Ji Zhixu croaked, "Dad, I want Aunt Xin Xin to stay with me."

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Ji Yanli called He Xin to come over. When she arrived at the hospital, Ji Zhixu was already lying in bed receiving an IV drip, his small face flushed red and looking very pitiful.

Ji Zhixu brightened upon seeing He Xin. "Aunt Xin Xin, you finally came."

He asked Butler Liu and the others to leave so that only He Xin would accompany him.

After everyone left, he said, "Aunt Xin Xin, I want some water. The hospital doesn’t have my favorite Evian. Could you buy some for me at GA Mall?"

GA Mall was over ten kilometers from the hospital. He Xin didn’t want to go, but Ji Zhixu lamented, "Aunt Xin Xin, I feel terrible. Please help me buy it. Dad said Aunt Xin Xin takes care of people better than Mom."

He Xin had no choice but to grit her teeth and go.

When she returned with the water, Ji Zhixu’s IV line backflowed a bit of blood, startling her. She hurriedly called a nurse. Ji Zhixu broke down crying, "Am I going to die?" His cries were deafening.

The noise attracted other patients’ attention and sparked gossip. "How could they leave such a little child alone in the hospital?" "She’s obviously a stepmother; she doesn’t care about a child that’s not hers." "Right? The kid’s getting an IV, and she’s wandering around. So irresponsible, scared the child half to death."

The head nurse hurried to comfort the sobbing Ji Zhixu, "It’s okay, sweetheart. Auntie fixed it; nothing will happen." Then she scolded He Xin, "Don’t run around when you’re watching a child. Blood backflow is dangerous. If something happens, who’s responsible?"

He Xin was speechless.

After the IV was done, He Xin wanted to take Ji Zhixu home. He said, "Aunt Xin Xin, I’m hungry. I get carsick if I ride hungry. Can you buy me some food? I want shrimp dumplings from Guangji."

Guangji Teahouse was twenty kilometers from the hospital. He Xin was overwhelmed. She wanted to refuse but saw Ji Zhixu’s pitiful eyes and had to agree.

After finishing his meeting, Ji Yanli rushed to the hospital. Seeing Ji Zhixu lying alone on the bed playing with a tablet, he was annoyed. "Why are you alone? Where’s Aunt Xin Xin?"