44. Mom, please make up with Dad quickly.
Two o’clock in the afternoon.
Jiang Zhi came out of the restaurant carrying a large bag and several small ones, the heavy shopping bags causing her fingers to turn white. The sun was shining brightly, and a gentle breeze was blowing, but a faint gloom was evident between her brows.
After navigating through the noisy crowd for a while, she still had some way to go to her parked e-bike.
Jiang Zhi pressed her lips together, stumblingly found the wall of a milk tea shop to lean against.
As she loosened her grip, the gifts fell to the ground, and she slowly slid down along the wall until she squatted fully on the ground.
Beneath her slightly messy black hair, a pair of peach blossom eyes that should have been bright and watery, along with the distinctive mole at the outer corner of her eye, now looked dull and lifeless, like pearls covered in dust.
So tired.
Really so tired.
Everywhere was tiring.
Jiang Zhi twisted her sore wrist and took out her phone from her small bag, finding Gu Zhi Nian’s contact on WeChat, hesitatingly typing.
What should she say?
Sorry, Brother Gu, I accidentally kicked the person you introduced me to?
Ugh…
Is that too direct?
It was clearly that person who had ulterior motives and made the first move; if she had been even a second later, she would have been touched. This was hardly more than self-defense.
She didn’t even know if that person was still lying on the ground, rolling around.
Then again…
Looking at the gifts she spent a lot of money on, she thought about the anxious feelings she had before coming here.
Jiang Zhi sighed heavily, her back becoming increasingly hunched. She buried her head between her knees, her vision blurred, and the pebbles on the ground seemed to shimmer gently in her eyes.
She had failed.
She wasn’t even upset that the person tried to get her to obey his rules… maybe just a little? But mostly, she felt guilty and deeply powerless.
Without Principal Wang’s help, how could Qian Qian hope to go to school?
Jiang Zhi couldn’t figure it out. After all, it was with the help of Sister Jiang and Brother Gu that she had glimpsed a ray of hope; without them, she was nothing.
Really useless…
No, no! Can’t have internal strife!
Jiang Zhi suddenly lifted her head. With people flowing in and out of the street, she slapped herself twice to summon her resolve, took several deep breaths, and stood up abruptly.
If she was this anxious, how should Qian Qian feel?
She should go back first, explain the circumstances to Sister Jiang and Brother Gu, and then discuss Qian Qian’s schooling. Given Brother Gu’s character, she believed he wouldn’t blame her.
Sad feelings come quickly and leave just as fast; excellent emotional regulation—this is probably one of her few strengths.
With her thoughts sorted, Jiang Zhi picked up the heavy gifts and walked back to her e-bike.
As she walked, she muttered angrily.
If she had known that BYD’s service was so terrible, she definitely wouldn’t have wasted money buying so many expensive things and wondered if she could still get a refund.
After finally loading everything back onto the bike.
Jiang Zhi wiped her sweat with a tissue, squinted at the blazing sun in the sky, but then her stomach grumbled loudly.
She was hungry.
She hadn’t eaten breakfast or lunch, and having just moved such a big pile of things, how could she not be hungry?
Once again, Jiang Zhi cursed Principal Wang in her heart; she couldn’t get back the deposit for the restaurant reservation, essentially losing the sesame while still dropping the watermelon.
Should she go eat a bowl of noodles?
The thought of fragrant noodles popped into her mind, and Jiang Zhi couldn’t help but swallow.
But when she looked at her e-bike, which stood motionless with flat tires, reality hit her hard again.
She almost forgot about her beloved e-bike.
It was just a flat tire; she had only bought it a little over a year ago, so losing it wasn’t an option, but leaving it there wasn’t a solution either.
Good grief.
So today, not only did she fail to accomplish anything important, but she also didn’t get to give away the twenty-thousand yuan worth of gifts, and now she had to incur extra repair costs?
Is the tire under warranty?
For the first time in a long while, Jiang Zhi felt that childhood sensation—feeling like the whole world was against her.
She sighed sadly, wanting to call the repair shop on her phone, but just as she was about to dial, Sister Jiang called her.
“Hello.”
Not understanding why Sister Jiang was calling, Jiang Zhi puzzledly brought the phone to her ear.
As soon as it connected, she heard a lot of voices on the other end, extremely noisy and irritating. Jiang Zhi subconsciously frowned, pulling the phone slightly away from her ear.
That’s strange.
Why is it so noisy?
Isn’t Sister Jiang supposed to be at home with Qian Qian? Did she take Qian Qian out?
Sister Jiang’s next sentence answered her question: “Xiao Zhi, Qian Qian… has a bit of a fever. I took her… to the hospital for an IV.”
Jiang Zhi’s face turned pale.
——————
Hospital.
This was Jiang Zhi’s second time stepping into this place.
More than half a month ago, for her new identity, she had visited the hospital for a check-up, even running into Lin Shuwan while having her blood drawn, a memory she recalled vividly.
Unlike last time.
Jiang Zhi hurried up the stairs to the pediatrics treatment room on the third floor. When she reached the door, Jiang Zhi leaned against the doorframe, using one hand to support herself at her knee, trying to catch her breath.
“Xiao Zhi…”
Following Sister Jiang’s voice, Jiang Zhi quickly found the two people in the last row.
At that moment, Qian Qian, her familiar little girl, who always seemed to have endless energy and was always smiling, lay on the bed like a wounded little bird, an IV needle in her hand, weakly resting.
Jiang Ruyan was right next to Qian Qian. A female nurse was skillfully changing Qian Qian’s IV drip; she turned around and happened to see Jiang Zhi approaching them.
“You must be this child’s mother, right?”
“…”
Jiang Zhi numbly nodded.
Hearing this, the nurse looked at her with a hint of reproach, saying, “How could you be such a mother? The child is burning up to 38 degrees before you bring her to the hospital. If something really happens, it’s you who will be worried about it!”
“I…” Jiang Zhi looked at Qian Qian on the bed, her eyes filled with helplessness. “Qian Qian was fine this morning; I really didn’t know…”
“This age group of children doesn’t have a fully developed immune system and can’t express themselves well; it’s indeed challenging to spot when they fall ill.”
The nurse continued, “So as parents, you need to pay extra attention to your child. If you notice a problem, you must bring them to the hospital in time. Do you understand?”
“Mm, mm…”
Jiang Zhi mechanically responded.
It was clear that this nurse was very dedicated. After scolding Jiang Zhi for a few more moments, she took the used IV bag and left the pediatric treatment room.
“That nurse was too much; Xiao Zhi, you don’t have to blame yourself too harshly…” Jiang Ruyan hesitated for a moment, walking over to Jiang Zhi to comfort her good friend.
Jiang Zhi bit her lip, her voice low and lost. “But she’s right.”
No, not just right.
She was even more irresponsible than the nurse said.
Actually, yesterday at the hotpot restaurant, seeing Qian Qian drenched in sweat, she had already considered the possibility of Qian Qian developing a fever, but she still held onto a sense of luck, thinking it wouldn’t be that coincidental, so she didn’t pay much attention.
She could have prevented it.
It was a very simple operation; adjusting the air conditioning temperature down or letting Qian Qian wear a few more clothes… See, it was really simple…
But why did she do nothing?
Jiang Zhi suddenly felt an inexplicable acidity in her eyes, her nose itch. Sometimes when guilt reached its limit, the desire to cry became difficult to control.
She walked to the bedside. Seemingly sensing the movement, Qian Qian opened her eyes and saw Jiang Zhi.
“Mommy…”
The little girl whimpered, “Qian Qian’s head hurts so much, and the injection hurts too, woo woo woo…”
She clutched Jiang Zhi’s hand, what she said causing Jiang Zhi another wave of guilt: “Daddy is a bad guy; when Qian Qian is sick, Daddy doesn’t come to see me.”
Jiang Zhi suddenly felt a bit breathless.
In the next few minutes, perhaps due to her confused state, the little girl said many hard-to-understand things intermittently.
“Mommy, when Qian Qian is sick, Mommy is not allowed to get sick, okay?”
“Qian Qian can help Mommy too.”
“My drawing is not finished yet, Mommy, you mustn’t sneak a peek while Qian Qian doesn’t have any strength, okay? I’ll tell you secretly…”
“Daddy said, that rain…”
“Ah, no! If I say that, it’s no longer a surprise! Mommy, you’re bad; you can’t trick Qian Qian!”
As she spoke, Qian Qian’s voice grew smaller and sleepiness overtook her. She held Jiang Zhi’s hand, and as her volume diminished, her grip gradually relaxed.
“Mommy, please make up with Daddy quickly.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the child’s murmur was replaced by the sound of snoring, and the little girl fell into a deep sleep.
“…”
Jiang Zhi looked at Qian Qian in her dreams and carefully withdrew her hand from hers, giving Jiang Ruyan a glance, and they walked out of the treatment room together.
Before Jiang Zhi could say anything, Jiang Ruyan took the initiative to explain what had happened—
It turned out that she noticed Qian Qian had been inside the house without coming out and, worried, entered the room only to find the little girl had already developed a fever, lying on the floor.
“Thank you, Sister Jiang.” After hearing the whole story, Jiang Zhi sincerely thanked Jiang Ruyan.
If it weren’t for Sister Jiang’s timely visit to the hospital with Qian Qian, and her not being home, who knows what situation would have unfolded?
If it had come to that, she would never have forgiven herself.
Seeing that Jiang Ruyan still looked concerned, Jiang Zhi pretended to be relaxed and smiled lightly:
“Oh, I’m really fine. Look at you; the nurse said so too, Qian Qian is okay, she’ll be fine after the injection.”
“But…”
Jiang Ruyan shook her head, hesitated for a moment, bit her lip, and then pulled out a piece of drawing paper from her bag, handing it to Jiang Zhi.
“I think you need to see this.”
Jiang Zhi took the drawing paper.
The content on the paper caught her eye. Although the little girl’s drawing style was quite abstract, it wasn’t difficult to understand—rainy day, street lamp, man, woman.
But for some reason.
As soon as she saw this drawing, Jiang Zhi suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity, as if she had seen this drawing somewhere before.
Her eyelids involuntarily twitched.
Had she seen this drawing?
Or perhaps…
Jiang Ruyan didn’t notice her strange reaction and was analyzing to herself:
“You know, the man drawn here should be the father that Qian Qian imagines, right?”
Every time she thought of this, she genuinely felt sorry for the little girl. A child that obedient, with such a good mom, yet she ended up with such an irresponsible father.
“…”
Jiang Zhi’s hand gripping the drawing paper unconsciously tightened. The bright lights of the hospital were glaring, and the scorching sunlight pierced through the corridor, suddenly making her think of many things.
Mom, did you and Dad have a fight?
Dad said before that he would protect Mommy and Qian Qian for a lifetime.
Just call Dad over! Mommy, please call Dad quickly!
It’s related to Dad!
Mom, please make up with Dad soon.
“…Who knows?”
Jiang Zhi expressionlessly returned the drawing paper to Jiang Ruyan. She shrugged and did not directly answer the question, instead glancing sideways at the digital clock hanging on the hospital wall.
Three thirty in the afternoon.
She heard the nurse say Qian Qian’s IV would continue until the evening, so before that…
There should still be time?
“Sister Jiang, please help me watch Qian Qian for a while.”
Jiang Zhi lightly pressed her lips together, exhaustion unprecedented in her eyes, then suddenly smiled slightly at Jiang Ruyan, forcing a shallow smile.
“I have something to attend to.”
