"Okay, thank you, Mom," Xie Zhendong said, picking up the still warm porridge beside him. "You're already this old, why do you go on a hunger strike when you throw a tantrum, like a child? I'll feed you."
The old lady chuckled and said, "Put it down, I can eat myself. You should go and do what you need to do. You've worked too hard all these years."
Xie Zhendong picked up the spoon from the porridge bowl and still fed it to his mother's lips, saying, "Mom, just let me feed you a bowl of porridge."
The old lady didn't refuse anymore, but still said with a smile, "Being served by a son is different from being served by others."
The mother and son then started chatting and laughing. Although this generation of the old lady, like Feng Rou, doted on her only son, her husband was very strong and disciplined Xie Zhendong strictly.
Even though she felt heartache, she still went along with her husband, so she didn't spoil Xie Zhendong.
The love she hadn't showered on Xie Zhendong before, she later poured onto her grandson, Xie Qining. Xie Qining received the double affection of his mother and grandmother, which is why he turned out the way he is today.
...
From yesterday to this morning, Feng Rou had a severe headache, and then she saw the gossip news online, accompanied by photos of them going to find Zhan Jiayi and their pictures at the apartment entrance.
Some photos had their faces blurred, while others didn't, making it obvious to anyone who they were.
Now, it was a mess. Last night she was still thinking about how to explain this to Xie Zhendong, but now it had escalated even further.
Feng Rou didn't know how Xie Huibing handled things, even bringing reporters.
She angrily called Xie Huibing, but Xie Huibing had no idea there were reporters taking pictures and hadn't notified any reporters.
Feng Rou put down her phone, somewhat confused. There were no big stars living in that apartment. Why would gossip reporters know they were looking for Zhan Jiayi and deliberately stake out and secretly take pictures?
How could such a coincidence happen in the world?
The only possibility was that Zhan Jiayi had notified the reporters, and she wanted to make a bigger scene.
This woman was too cunning and too insidious.
Feng Rou originally felt she should be superior to that woman, but now she felt an immense threat.
She would never admit that Zhan Jiayi and the child in Zhan Jiayi's womb were related to her, even if she died!
Thinking that Xie Zhendong would definitely come back to argue with her today, she waited anxiously for a day.
Until night fell, she still hadn't seen Xie Zhendong's shadow.
After having dinner alone, instead of waiting for Xie Zhendong to return, she received his two male assistants.
They arrived at the Xie family's house and were very respectful to her, saying, "Madam, Mr. Xie asked us to collect some of his daily necessities and a few clothes."
Feng Rou maintained her dignity as Mrs. Xie, and with a smile, asked, "Is he going on a business trip? Why isn't he coming back to get them himself?"
One of the male assistants said shrewdly, "There's a lot going on in the group recently. Mr. Xie is still in a meeting, so he asked us to get them for him. Could you please pack them for us?"
"Okay, please wait a moment." Feng Rou elegantly called an old servant and went upstairs to their room.
After entering the room, she just sat there, not packing anything for Xie Zhendong. Only the old servant was busy packing some of Xie Zhendong's personal belongings into a suitcase.
Feng Rou thought with a heavy heart, it would have been better if Xie Zhendong had come back to argue with her. Now that he planned to not come home at all, what did that mean!
"Madam, what else do you want to pack? Are these clothes enough?" the old servant asked cautiously.
"Whatever, pack as many clothes as you want. I wish he would die outside and never come back," Feng Rou said hatefully.
The old servant dared not ask further and could only pack the suitcase full of Xie Zhendong's usual preferences.
After the two male assistants left with the suitcase, Feng Rou quickly called her informant in the group.
The reply she received was that Xie Zhendong had not been to the group all day, and there was no meeting to attend in the evening.
Feng Rou could no longer hold back and cried into her pillow. It seemed that Xie Zhendong would not be back in the short term, and he intended to live happily with that woman outside.
...
Xiao Xingxing had been in the children's hospital for a week. All the examination results were out, and they were the same as the diagnosis by the pediatrician at that private hospital.
Severe endocarditis, and surgery was the best course of treatment.
Now, they only needed to continue suppressing the bacteria in Xiao Xingxing's body with medication, prevent him from having a fever, and wait for his body to recover before formulating a further surgical plan.
The examinations from both hospitals yielded the same results, forcing Tianyi and Susu to face reality.
They came out of the expert's office and did not immediately return to Xiao Xingxing's ward.
Susu walked to a corner of the corridor, looking at the examination results and was on the verge of tears.
Tianyi comforted her, "Illness needs treatment. Don't worry too much. The doctor didn't say there's no hope."
"But didn't you hear what the expert just said? The surgery has risks, and it's not guaranteed to be completely cured. If it's not cured, Xiao Xingxing will have heart problems for life, and there will be life-threatening episodes at any time..."
"No, he will definitely be cured," Tianyi said, not so pessimistic. "I will send Xiao Xingxing's examination results to experts abroad and see where the surgery has the highest success rate. We'll take him there."
"Okay," Susu also managed to cheer herself up and said, "I want to let Xiao Xingxing be discharged tomorrow. He really wants to go home. His current condition doesn't allow for immediate surgery anyway. It might be better to recuperate at home. What do you think?"
"Alright, I'll go and tell the doctor now. You go back to the ward and stay with him," Tianyi said, then turned and headed back to the office.
Susu put away the diagnosis results, tried to relax as much as possible, and returned to the ward with a smile to tell Xiao Xingxing the good news about being discharged.
...
The next day, they took Xiao Xingxing home. To avoid putting any psychological burden on the child, they hadn't told him about the surgery yet.
The doctor prescribed the medication the child needed to take during this period and gave them many precautions.
Susu meticulously noted everything down, planning to put aside her studio work and take good care of Xiao Xingxing when they got back.
Each of them held one of Xiao Xingxing's hands, letting the child happily leave the hospital.
As they passed by the hospital's garden, they unexpectedly met Zhan Jiayi, who was strolling in the garden.
Susu saw her wearing a patient's gown and asked curiously, "Why are you hospitalized here? Are you pregnant?"
Zhan Jiayi saw Gu Susu and her husband coming out of the pediatric section with their child and assumed they were bringing the child for a doctor's visit.
"That's none of your business, what does it have to do with you?" she said, then turned and walked away. Two middle-aged women, who were specifically taking care of her, followed behind.
Susu couldn't be bothered with her affairs, thinking it was possible she was pregnant with Xie Zhendong's child.
"Let's go," Tianyi, who despised women like Zhan Jiayi the most, disdainfully held Xiao Xingxing's hand and continued walking out.