Chapter 122

Liu Mother took the letter, scanned it quickly, and her complexion darkened.

But she did not, as Su Yanhua had hoped, rebuke Wen Bin; instead she crumpled the paper into a ball, threw it on the floor, and shouted at Su Yanhua.

"It's just a torn piece of paper, a few careless words—does it really merit all your fuss? Wen Bin is a teacher; what's wrong if a female student admires him? That just shows my son is outstanding!"

She turned to Wen Bin, softened her tone slightly, yet with unmistakable bias: "Wen Bin, you really are… you can't even handle this vague mess cleanly, bringing trouble home!"

With his mother's support, Wen Bin felt even more confident; he tugged irritably at his collar and snarled impatiently at Su Yanhua.

"Did you hear? It's you overthinking, being paranoid all day, chasing shadows. I think you're just bored out of your mind!"

Su Yanhua stared in disbelief at the mother‑son pair, her heart feeling like it had fallen into an ice pit.

She had thought her mother‑in‑law would at least uphold justice, but she didn't expect…

"I overthink? I chase shadows?" She pointed at the paper ball on the floor, voice trembling, "Then how do you explain this letter? How do you explain that female student? You… you're colluding to bully me!"

"Enough!"

Wen Bin completely lost his patience; he pointed at Su Yanhua's swollen belly, his tone ice‑cold, brimming with unabashed disgust.

"Su Yanhua, I tell you, your most important task right now is to obediently give birth to the child for me!"

"Stop filling the air with nonsense, creating trouble. My affairs are none of your business. You can't meddle!"

His words were like a poisoned ice spear, stabbing hard into Su Yanhua's heart.

She looked at his openly cold and disdainful face, then at her mother‑in‑law's "you're being unreasonable" expression, and a massive wave of despair and isolation instantly engulfed her.

All her questions, all her grievances, to them became childish, out‑of‑line troublemaking.

She opened her mouth, wanted to say something, but found she couldn't utter even a single syllable.

Only scalding tears silently surged down.

She realized that in this household she was always an outsider.

Wen Bin's heart had perhaps already flown away, and she and the child in her womb were merely tools for his lineage continuation.

Liu Mother snorted, "Why are you crying? Hurry up and pull yourself together, what do you look like!"

Having said that, she dragged the pale‑faced Wen Bin out of the bedroom.

Su Yanhua sank deeper into the murky waters of the Liu family, while the Jiang Family Courtyard welcomed new hope.

……

Su Ruan's due date is within these few days.

After Jiang Ran returned from Guangzhou, he stayed virtually inseparable, guarding her, more nervous than before.

He brought back not only exhibition success and industry recognition, but also a clear plan for the future and a pent‑up drive to do even better.

But at this moment, all his career ambition was temporarily suppressed by the excitement and worry of soon becoming a father.

"Wife‑to‑be, how do you feel? Any discomfort?"

Jiang Ran, for the Nth time, leaned over Su Ruan, his brows knit, as if she were a porcelain doll that would shatter at a touch.

Su Ruan was leaning on a recliner, leisurely stitching the last tiny garment for the unborn baby, chuckled at his words, set down her needle and thread, and grasped his slightly sweaty hand.

"I'm fine, the baby's fine. Don't be so nervous, you're making my head dizzy."

"I'm not afraid…"

Jiang Ran muttered, squatted, pressed his ear against her high, swollen belly, listening to the movements inside, his expression like a curious, devout big child.

"Hey, this kid is pretty quiet today."

"Maybe it's a daughter, quiet." Su Ruan gently stroked his short hair.

"A daughter is even better! Like you, beautiful and smart!" Jiang Ran immediately looked up, eyes sparkling, "I'll definitely dote on her to the heavens!"

At that moment, Su Ruan's brows twitched slightly, and she let out a soft "hiss".

"What's wrong?!" Jiang Ran jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, his complexion changing.

Su Ruan felt the rhythmic, increasingly intense contractions, inhaled deeply, and, far calmer than Jiang Ran, said, "Jiang Ran… I think I'm about to give birth."

"Giving birth?! Now?!!" A buzzing rang in Jiang Ran's head, his mind went blank, his limbs didn't know where to go. He bolted toward the door, shouting incoherently, "Mom! Grandma! Dad! RuanRuan is about to give birth! Car! Right, to the hospital! I'll push the bike!"

Seeing his frantic, clumsy figure nearly tripping on the threshold, Su Ruan found it both funny and heart‑warming, and quickly called out, "Jiang Ran! Don't panic! First call Mom and Grandma, the things are already prepared! Then borrow a car from the factory!"

"Right, right, the stuff! The car!" Jiang Ran slapped his head, finally regaining some sense, and shouted hoarsely, "Mom! Grandma! RuanRuan is about to give birth!!"

That shout, like a massive stone dropped onto a calm lake, caused the entire Jiang Family to erupt instantly.

Li Huijuan, apron tied, rushed out of the kitchen, still holding a wok spatula.

Jiang Nainai, leaning on a cane, walked faster than usual, muttering "Amitabha" continuously.

Even the usually composed Jiang Jianguo hurried out of his study; though his face remained relatively calm, his hand adjusting his glasses trembled slightly.

"Quick! Huijuan, go fetch the prepared bundle!"

"Jianguo, go check whether the car is in the factory; if not, quickly think of a solution!"

Jiang Nainai, at the crucial moment, displayed the authority of the matriarch, commanding with poise.

Jiang Ran already rushed back to Su Ruan's side, wanting to hug her but not daring to press, his forehead breaking into sweat in anxiety: "Daughter‑in‑law, does it hurt? How are you?"

Su Ruan looked at his expression, which seemed even more painful than hers, endured the contraction, forced a smile: "It's okay… don't panic, just follow what Grandma said."

After a brief chaos, Jiang Jianguo successfully borrowed a small sedan from the factory.

Jiang Ran carefully half‑supported and half‑cradled Su Ruan as she sat in the car, sitting right next to her; one hand tightly clasped hers, the other hand unconsciously curled into a fist, the blue veins on the back of his hand standing out.

Li Huijuan and Jiang Nainai also squeezed into the car, carrying big and small bundles.

The car started and headed toward the hospital.

Jiang Ran's gaze was almost glued to Su Ruan's face, watching the slightly furrowed brows and the fine sweat at the corners of her forehead from the contraction, his heart tightening with pain.

He kept wiping her sweat with his sleeve, clumsily soothing: "Daughter‑in‑law, we'll be there soon, we'll be there soon, just endure…"

Upon arriving at the hospital, Su Ruan was quickly ushered into the delivery room.

The door of the delivery room slammed shut with a Bang, cutting off Jiang Ran and the rest of the family outside.

The time that followed, for Jiang Ran outside the delivery room, was simply the longest and most agonizing wait of his life.

He paced back and forth in the hallway outside the delivery room, his eyes fixed on the tightly shut door, his ears perked up high, catching any slightest sound from inside.

Each time he heard Su Ruan's suppressed painful cries from within, his complexion grew a shade paler, and his fists clenched tighter.

"Why is there still no news… They've been in there so long…" he couldn't help muttering to himself, his voice hoarse.