Chapter 188: Fainting

He paused, his voice lowered: "Wife, I know you've been under a lot of pressure lately. The press conference, the new product, company management… but don't shoulder it alone; I'm here."

Those words hit Su Ruan's concerns.

She had indeed been anxious lately.

The press conference was too big, she feared messing it up; the new product design might not be accepted by the market; with more staff, management became complicated.

"I just… fear letting everyone down," she whispered, "Douzi Yaya, Wang Shifu, Sun Shifu, and so many new employees… everyone is counting on the company."

"That's why we have to send Douzi Yaya to school," Jiang Ran gently patted her back, "so they can grow up and help share the load."

"On Wang Shifu and Sun Shifu's side, I'm currently scouting young Handcraft Persons to take them as apprentices and pass the Handcraft down."

He had thought of it long ago.

Su Ruan felt her nose go sour: "How could you… have thought of everything."

"Because I'm your man," Jiang Ran laughed, "If I don't think for you, who will?"

He turned over, propping himself above her, looking at her in the darkness: "Su Ruan, remember, if the sky falls, I'll be the first to hold it up. Just focus on the designs you love; leave the rest to me."

He had said that many times, and each time it made Su Ruan feel immensely at ease.

She reached out, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him proactively.

The kiss was gentle and lingering, filled with gratitude, dependence, and deep love.

When the kiss ended, their foreheads pressed together.

"Jiang Ran."

"Hmm?"

"Meeting you is the luckiest thing in my life."

Jiang Ran's Adam's apple rolled, pulling her tightly into his arms: "Silly words, I'm the lucky one."

The last weekend before the press conference, Jiang Ran and Su Ruan unusually didn't go to the office, planning to rest at home for a whole day.

At eight in the morning, Su Ruan was cooking porridge in the kitchen when the doorbell rang.

"Who is it so early?" Jiang Ran rubbed his eyes as he came out of the bedroom, shuffling in slippers to answer the door.

When the door opened, Jiang Jiaojiao and Yan Shen stood outside, each cradling a child in their arms.

Jinjin and An'an were both wrapped like tiny rice dumplings.

"Sister? Brother‑in‑law? What brings you?" Jiang Ran asked in surprise, "Come in quickly, it's cold outside."

"We missed the kids," Jiang Jiaojiao said, holding An'an as she changed shoes, "Mom and dad and grandma went to the countryside to visit relatives, said you two have been busy lately, so we brought Jinjin and An'an over to stay for two days."

Yan Shen brought Jinjin inside, smiling gently: "Sorry to disturb your rest."

"Disturb?" Su Ruan poked her head out of the kitchen, saw the two children, and her eyes lit up instantly, "Jinjin! An'an!"

"Mom!" An'an wriggled in Jiang Jiaojiao's arms, opening her hands to hug.

Jinjin didn't shout, but her grape‑sized dark eyes stared at Su Ruan without blinking, her little face full of expectation.

Su Ruan quickly wiped her hands, came over to first hug An'an, kissing the little girl's face repeatedly, then reached to pat Jinjin's head: "Jinjin, did you miss Mom?"

Jinjin nodded seriously, extending a tiny hand to grasp Su Ruan's finger: "Missed."

Jiang Ran also took the son from Yan Shen's arms, rubbing his stubble against the boy's cheek: "You little stinker, you're getting heavy! Have the kids at school bullied you?"

Jinjin, pricked, darted away, her brows furrowing, yet she didn't push dad away, just whispered, "No… good."

"He," Jiang Jiaojiao laughed, "is already popular in kindergarten. The teacher says he's like a little leader; the other kids all listen to him."

Su Ruan held An'an on the sofa, carefully observing her daughter: "An'an seems to have grown taller. Was she well‑behaved at grandma's?"

"Good!" An'an answered brightly, arms around Mom's neck, "Miss Mom, miss Dad."

Jiang Jiaojiao and Yan Shen also sat down.

Jiang Jiaojiao rubbed her temples, her complexion a bit pale.

"Sister, you don't feel well?" Su Ruan noticed her abnormality.

"It's nothing…" Jiang Jiaojiao waved her hand, "maybe I got up too early this morning, feeling a bit car‑sick."

Yan Shen looked at his wife concernedly: "You refused to rest at home. How about lying down for a while?"

"No, no." Jiang Jiaojiao forced herself to stay upbeat, "Just seeing Jinjin and An'an is enough. You two too, you're so busy you can't even look after the kids; Mom and Dad say these two little things nag you every day."

Those words made Su Ruan's heart ache. She pressed her face against An'an's soft crown: "It's Mom's fault, I've been too busy lately."

"Work is important, but a child's growth only spans these few years; miss it and it's gone," Jiang Jiaojiao said, then suddenly furrowed her brow and covered her mouth.

"Sister?" Jiang Ran also noticed, "You look really pale. Are you ill?"

"Really nothing…" Jiang Jiaojiao's words trailed off, she suddenly stood up, "Where's the bathroom?"

Su Ruan quickly pointed the direction. Jiang Jiaojiao hurried over, closed the door.

Yan Shen stood up to follow, but Jiang Ran held him back: "Brother‑in‑law, sit. I'll go check."

A dry retching sound came from the bathroom. Jiang Ran knocked on the door: "Sis? Are you okay?"

After a while, Jiang Jiaojiao opened the door, her face even paler, fine beads of sweat on her forehead.

"What happened?" Jiang Ran supported her.

"Maybe… I ate something bad," Jiang Jiaojiao said weakly, "Last night Yan Shen and I ate some seafood outside, probably not fresh."

Yan Shen had already come over, his face full of worry: "I told you that restaurant looked unclean. Let's go to the hospital?"

"No." Jiang Jiaojiao waved her hand, "Just vomit it out, and bring me a glass of water."

Su Ruan hurried to fetch warm water, Jiang Ran helped Jiang Jiaojiao back to the living room and sat down.

Jinjin and An'an seemed to sense the odd atmosphere and fell quiet.

Jinjin leaned against dad's lap, her little hand clutching Jiang Ran's clothing tightly.

An'an perched on Mom's shoulder, her big eyes worriedly watching Auntie.

"It's really nothing." Jiang Jiaojiao took a sip of water, forced a laugh, "Don't scare the kids. Jinjin, An'an, come to Auntie."

The two children didn't move. Jinjin whispered, "Aunt… is sick."

"Aunt isn't sick." Jiang Jiaojiao reached out to pick up An'an, but suddenly her vision went black and her body swayed.

"Jiaojiao!" Gu Yanshen lunged forward in a single stride and steadied her.

Jiang Jiaojiao shut her eyes tightly, already fainting.

"Sister!" Jiang Ran also hurried, "Quick, take her to the hospital!"

The scene erupted into chaos.

Gu Yanshen lifted Jiang Jiaojiao and headed out, while Jiang Ran grabbed the car keys and followed.

Su Ruan held An'an, pulling Jinjin along: "Jinjin, be good, stay with Mom; we'll take Aunt to the hospital together."

Fortunately, the hospital wasn't far.

Ten minutes later, Jiang Ran's car barreled into the emergency room entrance.

"Doctor! My sister fainted!" Jiang Ran leapt out of the car and shouted.

A few nurses pushed a gurney over, taking Jiang Jiaojiao onto it.

Gu Yanshen followed closely, his face ashen.

The emergency room was a flurry of activity—checking blood pressure, measuring heart rate, taking medical history.

"What's the patient's condition?" a middle‑aged female doctor asked.

"She felt nauseous when she got up this morning and just now fainted at home," Gu Yanshen said rapidly, "We ate seafood out last night; she says it was food poisoning."

"Is there blood in the vomit?"

"No, just dry retching."

"Has her period been normal lately?"

The question made Gu Yanshen pause: "Her period sometimes comes a few days late; the past two months were normal, this month hasn't arrived yet, but it's still within a reasonable delay."

The doctor glanced at him, said nothing more, turned to the nurse and said, "First draw blood for analysis, then do a urinalysis."