"Of course not," Xie Zhendong felt a surge of hope again. He hugged her and said, "Take good care of yourself during the pregnancy, you don't need to go to the group anymore. Oh, and we need to hire two nannies, one to specifically prepare nutritious meals for you and regulate your diet, and another to take care of your daily needs."
Zhan Jiayi smiled. This was exactly what she wanted.
Due to past shadows, she was still a bit apprehensive when Xie Zhendong learned she was pregnant.
"There's no need to be so dramatic. I feel alright, apart from occasional nausea."
Xie Zhendong said solemnly, "You call this alright? The first few months are crucial. You must carry this child to term properly for me."
"Alright, alright. If you want to hire nannies, go ahead. But I don't want to be cooped up at home all the time. Let me go to work," Zhan Jiayi leaned into him happily.
Xie Zhendong's tone was unyielding. "We'll discuss work after the baby is born."
Zhan Jiayi had no choice but to comply and stop making demands.
Xie Zhendong helped her back to her room to rest. His desire for her had faded. He arranged for takeout from a high-end restaurant.
After they had dinner, Xie Zhendong lay with her in bed, contemplating converting one of the vacant rooms in the apartment into a nursery.
Zhan Jiayi hugged him and asked with a hint of worry, "Zhendong, you're expecting the child in my belly to be capable in the future and become the heir of the Xie family, aren't you?"
Xie Zhendong grunted. Although he and Feng Rou had three children, two daughters, like Feng Rou, were not very capable. They had married early and were living comfortable lives.
He certainly couldn't hand over all of the Xie family's assets to his sons-in-law. Therefore, even if Xie Qining was not capable, he could only consider him the sole heir. Kanshuwu.net
Now that Qining was going to prison for over a decade, inheriting everything was completely impossible.
Although Sasha had given them a grandson, a grandson was not a son. He could easily be controlled by his daughter-in-law, which was also a cause for his concern.
Ultimately, his own biological children were more reliable.
Zhan Jiayi voiced her concern, "Zhendong, but what if I give birth to a girl? That still won't solve your heir problem."
"Whether this child is a girl or a boy, I will raise them as an heir. If it's a girl, she might have to make sacrifices when she grows up. She'll either have to marry a live-in son-in-law or remain unmarried her entire life, dedicating herself to the Xie family."
Zhan Jiayi was completely reassured and said, "Okay, I will teach her from a young age. I believe even if she's a girl, she won't disappoint you in the future."
Xie Zhendong gently stroked Zhan Jiayi's long hair and said, "With a mother like you, the child will surely be outstanding in the future."
...
In the evening, Tianyi came directly to the hospital from the group. Seeing that Little Star's complexion had improved and his face was rosy, he was very happy.
He accompanied Little Star for dinner, played chess, and chatted.
Susu stood by, a smile on her face, but she hadn't said much all evening.
Tianyi could sense the anxiety hidden within her smile, but he didn't ask her anything in front of the child.
After Little Star fell asleep, he said, "You should go back and rest. It's my turn to stay tonight. You have to go to the studio tomorrow."
Susu said softly, "I told Shishi that I won't be going tomorrow. I'm going home to make some nutritious meals and his favorite dishes for Little Star."
"Ah, didn't you say the studio recently took on a major brand design?" Tianyi asked in surprise. "Did the doctor say anything about when the child can be discharged today?"
Susu walked out of the ward with a dejected expression. Tianyi had a bad feeling and immediately followed her outside the room.
"What's wrong? Does Little Star have any other health issues?"
Little Star had a fever repeatedly for a week. He had his suspicions, wondering if it was caused by another illness, but he still hoped it was just a common cold.
Susu's eyes turned red again as she replied, "The doctor said the child has severe endocarditis. They say it's related to his congenital heart defect and genetics. The situation is not optimistic. What do I do? I'm so scared. I can't lose Little Star..."
As she spoke, she threw herself into Tianyi's arms, holding him tightly, and the grief she had suppressed all day finally poured out.
Tianyi was stunned when he suddenly heard the news.
He had considered the possibility of the child having other illnesses, but he hadn't expected it to be so severe. He murmured, "Heart problems? No, he's grown this big. If he had a congenital heart defect, it would have been discovered long ago. Could the doctor be mistaken?"
Seeing his reaction, Susu said, "I thought the same thing when I first heard the results, but the doctor said they wouldn't be wrong..."
"No, tomorrow we'll take the child to a different hospital for another check-up. It's highly likely they made a mistake," Tianyi couldn't accept it.
Susu hummed in agreement, "Okay, let's go to a specialized children's hospital."
"Yes, the pediatricians there are more professional."
They both still held onto the hope of a misdiagnosis, which made them feel a little better.
That night, Tianyi stayed to watch over Little Star.
Susu returned to the villa. Thinking about Little Star's condition, she couldn't sleep. In the middle of the night, she quietly went to the kitchen.
She took out all the usable ingredients from the refrigerator. She began to simmer a light, nutritious soup for Little Star and also made some of his favorite dishes, but much plainer than usual.
She planned to take the prepared dishes and soup to the hospital in a thermos early in the morning.
...
After Feng Rou returned from abroad, she was ill for a period.
Even after recovering, she still spent most of her time in bed, sleeping and waking, looking thin and haggard, completely devoid of the will to live.
Reflecting on her life, her son was in jail, her husband no longer loved her, and it felt as if her life had been lived in vain. She no longer knew the meaning of living.
Although she hadn't left her room much during this time, she knew Xie Zhendong returned very late every day. He would glance at her, sigh, or say a few comforting words before sleeping in another room.
But she knew he hadn't come home last night; he must have gone to that woman named Zhan.
Her consciousness was clear, but she no longer cared about these things, feeling as if her heart had already died.
The curtains in the room were tightly drawn, and she could only judge whether it was day or night by the light filtering through.
She felt someone enter and, thinking it was a household servant bringing breakfast, said weakly, "Take it away. I don't want to eat anything."
But the person who entered did not retreat. They put down the tray, walked to the window, and without using the remote control, forcefully pulled open the heavy curtains, letting the sunlight flood in.
"Mom, how long have you been lying here like this!"
She heard her second daughter, Xie Huibing's voice. "Why are you here? Close the curtains for me."
"If I don't come, our entire family will be taken over by another woman." Xie Huibing did not obey her and did not close the curtains. Instead, she tried to pull her up from the bed.