"Mom, I'm really not sick," Xi Xianya didn't want to go to the hospital.
Ai Yifeng came over to help and said, "Auntie, she's not sick, you don't need to worry."
Her mother looked at the two of them, startled, and asked, "Are you two hiding something from me? Xiaoya, do you have, do you have some terminal illness?"
Xi Xianya quickly shook her head and said, "Mom, where did you get that idea? I'm not sick."
"She's not sick, she's..." Ai Yifeng almost let it slip, but he pulled back the words he was about to say.
Her mother immediately questioned Ai Yifeng, "If she's not sick, then what is it? You know too, right?"
Ai Yifeng felt that this wasn't his place to say, so he scratched his head and said, "Auntie, Xianya, you two chat, I'll go wash up first."
With that, he went into the bathroom, closed the door, and let out a long sigh. Whether to reveal it or not was still up to Xi Xianya to decide.
Her mother glanced at Xi Xianya again, and it dawned on her. Looking at her daughter, she said, "What exactly are you two hiding from me? You're not sick, could it be, could it be... you're pregnant?"
"Mom." Xi Xianya pulled her mother back into the room and closed the door. "Can you stop asking? I..."
As she spoke, she covered her mouth, feeling like she was going to vomit again. Her mother quickly handed her a plastic bag, which further confirmed her suspicion.
Xi Xianya clutched the plastic bag but didn't vomit, though her stomach still felt very uncomfortable.
Her mother gently patted her back and said, "When did this happen? Is it Yifeng's child? I think you two should get married as soon as possible."
"Mom, no, it's not his child," Xi Xianya lied, lowering her head.
Her mother was shocked and quickly asked, "Then whose is it? You, you!"
Having done something so foolish, her mother pointed at her, not knowing how to scold her.
She still lowered her head and said, "Mom, please don't worry about this."
"I'm your mother, who else would worry?" her mother said angrily, "Since it's not Yifeng's, I'll go with you to the hospital to have it aborted."
"I don't want to abort it, I want to give birth to this child," Xi Xianya said, raising her head with great determination.
Her mother thought she had gone mad and asked, "Then who is that man? Does Yifeng know about this?"
Xi Xianya fell silent again.
This made her mother extremely anxious. She said, "You don't even dare to say who that man is, he must be an irresponsible person. Yifeng knows about this and is still so good to you. If you don't hold onto a man like this, what kind of man are you planning to find!"
Xi Xianya shed silent tears, not knowing how to explain this to her mother.
She also couldn't tell her mother about her situation with Zhao Jianhua. If her mother found out that she was actually bailed out, she was afraid her mother would not be able to handle the shock and fall ill.
Her mother couldn't be bothered with that. She directly grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the room, saying, "Crying now is useless. We're going to the hospital, you must go to the hospital, this child cannot be kept!"
She felt her mother's strength suddenly become immense. She was pulled out of the room by her mother and into the living room, where she bumped into Ai Yifeng, who had just come out of the bathroom.
Seeing her mother's angry demeanor, he quickly asked, "Auntie, where are you two going?"
"I'm sorry for bothering you during this time," her mother said, unable to face Ai Yifeng. "We should find a place and move out. Xiaoya and I are going out for a bit."
Ai Yifeng saw that Xi Xianya was still in her pajamas and quickly stopped them, "Auntie, there's no rush. If you need to find a place, I can help you look."
"We'll talk about the housing later. Right now, I'm taking Xiaoya out for something important..."
"Mom!" Xi Xianya shook off her mother's hand. "Can you please not do this? I'm not going to the hospital!"
Her mother couldn't control herself and scolded, "Do you even know what it means for a woman to have a child out of wedlock? It's not a game! If I say this child cannot be kept, then it cannot be kept!"
"Auntie, this is Xianya's and my child. We both want this child," Ai Yifeng said, pulling Xi Xianya from her mother's grasp.
Her mother felt dizzy and asked, "Your child? But Xiaoya said this child..."
"She doesn't want to get married too soon, so she's not admitting it's my child," Ai Yifeng made up a reason, thinking he could appease her mother.
"Is that really true?" Her mother sat down, holding her head, her face already looking unwell.
"Mom, what's wrong?" Xi Xianya worriedly tried to put her arm around her.
Her mother pushed her away and said, "Is what Yifeng said true? You lied to me because you didn't want to get married?"
Xi Xianya, afraid of making her mother feel unwell again, could only nod and say, "Yes, I'm still young, and it's a bit early to talk about marriage now."
"Silly child, you're in your twenties. This is the perfect age to get married," she said, looking at them. "Since you have a child, you should give the child a complete family. Listen to me, you two go get your marriage certificate first, and then pick a good day for the wedding."
"Auntie, I'll listen to you," Ai Yifeng agreed.
Xi Xianya thought Ai Yifeng was just playing along with her act and also said, "Mom, I understand."
Her mother's face lit up with a smile. She held both of their hands and said, "That's right. Look how well-matched you two are. Don't bicker over such things anymore."
After speaking, she got up and said, "You two talk nicely. I'll go to the kitchen and make you a nutritious breakfast."
Xi Xianya wanted to stop her mother, but her mother had already entered the kitchen.
Ai Yifeng looked at her and asked softly, "Why are you deliberately acting cold towards me? The child you're carrying is mine, isn't it?"
"Let's talk outside," Xi Xianya glanced at her mother, who was busy in the kitchen. "Let me change my clothes."
She then turned and went back to her room. In the room, she didn't change her clothes immediately but picked up an outfit and stood there in a daze.
She didn't know what to do now.
She couldn't tell her mother the truth, nor did she want to implicate Ai Yifeng.
But seeing that Ai Yifeng was still devoted to her, she couldn't bear to hurt him again and again.
She didn't know how long she had been lingering in her room. By the time her mother called her for breakfast, she had no choice but to change her clothes and come out.
Ai Yifeng saw that she was deliberately avoiding him and didn't force her to speak her true feelings. He decided to pretend to reconcile with her for now, so as not to worry her mother.
...
For the past few days, Feng Rou had been having someone track Zhan Jiayi's whereabouts.
However, she found nothing out of the ordinary. Zhan Jiayi went to the group every day and then returned to the Xie family mansion. She hadn't been to any hospitals.
Now, the old lady had moved back into the Xie family mansion and was no longer in the nursing home.
The people she sent to track and monitor her also didn't see the old lady leave the mansion to go to the hospital.
However, there were doctors and nurses going in and out of the mansion every day. Feng Rou wondered if Xie Zhendong was recuperating in the mansion.
To confirm this, at night, she had someone find a nurse who had access to the Xie family mansion.
This nurse was suddenly grabbed on her way home. When someone removed her hood, she screamed for help.