Chapter 393

The calendar flipped past September, welcoming the National Day holiday.

Xia Xi gave Zhangyi a holiday too, planning to be self-reliant during the break.

She gathered the dried clothes, folded what needed folding, and told Xu Yanfeng to hang the rest in the wardrobe.

Suddenly realizing she hadn't contacted Xia Xuan in two days, she unplugged her charging phone and called Xia Xuan.

It was quiet there, likely in the hospital ward; Xia Xi asked, "How is Chen Songbai?"

"Much better," Xia Xuan said, "the doctor came this afternoon; he should be discharged and home to rest soon."

"Have you had dinner?"

"I'll eat when I get home."

Xia Xi worried she couldn't take it, and urged: "The hospital has aides looking after him, but you also need to look after your health, go back early, eat something, and rest well. Don't end up exhausted while he recovers."

"Mm." Xia Xuan replied obediently, "I know."

"I'll go to the hospital tomorrow to check on him," Xia Xi said.

"Will that interfere with your work?"

"Tomorrow is October 1st, a statutory holiday."

Xia Xuan hesitated, then smiled and said, "Things have been so chaotic lately I forgot to check the date."

The sisters chatted a while, then Xia Xi urged her to hurry back and eat, after which she hung up.

Xu Yanfeng finished hanging the clothes and came over, seeing her lying on the bed with both hands holding the phone aloft, not knowing what she was looking at. He lay beside her, propping his head with his hand to watch her.

Xia Xi turned her head to look at him: "I'll go to the hospital tomorrow to check on Chen Songbai."

Mainly I want to see Xia Xuan; Chen Songbai is no longer in serious danger—thanks to timely treatment he saved his life, though his leg fracture is severe. Recently Xia Xuan has spent most of her time at the hospital caring for him; although Su Jinru and Xia Yue also help, many tasks fall to Xia Xuan personally.

As for Chen Songbai's terrible parents, after waking he refused to see them again; although they often came to the hospital, he resisted them. After this incident they dare not provoke him, fearing another tragedy, so they only stand at a distance outside the ward to glance at him.

On the day of the incident, police came to the hospital to investigate; Miao Yijia learned that Chen Songbai would rather die than marry her, and, heartbroken, she confessed everything—

That night nothing happened between her and Chen Songbai, and he wasn't drunk; she slipped a tiny dose of sleeping pills into a dish he liked, he ate it and fell into a deep, unconscious sleep. She removed his clothes, lay beside him, cut her finger, and smeared the blood on the sheets to fake that they had slept together.

The child in her womb was from a ludicrous one‑night stand at a bar; she did not want to give birth, and after deceiving Miao Cuixia she went to the hospital to abort, but having no money she asked Chen Songbai for a loan—before she could speak he humiliated her thoroughly. She therefore bore a grudge, wanting everyone to feel bad, and recalling a scene she had once seen, she decided to imitate it.

She lured Xia Xuan out, feigned an argument and shove with her, and fabricated the false impression that Xia Xuan had pushed her down and caused her miscarriage.

She plotted step by step, scheming meticulously, and in the end forced Chen Songbai to end everything with his death.

While Miao Yijia was talking to the police, her parents stood nearby; after hearing everything, their gaze toward their daughter was full of strangeness, and they felt a chill rise from their backs and spread through their bodies.

If she had not admitted it herself, how could they believe she harbored such scheming?

After Chen Songbai's parents learned the truth, to ease their guilt they blamed all the fault on Miao Yijia, and the two families quarreled in the hospital until they could no longer bear it.

Miao Cuixia, overwhelmed by grief and anger, raged like a lioness; mere verbal abuse was not enough for her—she tore at Miao Yijia's hair and clothes, declaring that if Chen Songbai did not survive, she would demand Miao Yijia's life.

It seemed that only in this way could the blame be shown not to lie with her.

In the midst of the tugging, Miao Yijia's abdomen was struck hard, making her cry out in pain. She had just finished surgery not long before, her body could not withstand such torment, and she immediately began bleeding, whereupon she was rushed back to the operating room for treatment.

The two families thus severed ties.

In order to give Miao Yijia a quiet environment for recuperation, after the second surgery Miao Fu and Miao Mu took her to transfer to another hospital. Out of guilt, before leaving Miao Fu left a sum of money as compensation for Chen Songbai; in the matter of pressuring Chen Songbai he also applied some pressure, and if he had listened to his wife's advice at that time perhaps it would not have come to this.

Xu Yanfeng learned of these matters only through Xia Xi's recounting.

"Then I'll accompany you tomorrow." Xu Yanfeng twirled a strand of her hair around his fingertip, playing with it.

Xia Xi tossed aside her phone, pulled out the lock of hair he had been playing with, turned over and lay on her belly, looking at him seriously: "Do you also have vacation?"

Xu Yanfeng laughed: "I'm not a work machine."

Xia Xi: "Then what other plans do you have during your vacation? I should be free all the time."

Xu Yanfeng thought for a moment, his eyes and brows breaking into a deeper smile: "Actually, there is one."

"What is it?"

"Let's keep it secret for now." Xu Yanfeng gave her nose a little flick.

Xia Xi narrowed her eyes and muttered: "What the heck, so mysterious."

The next morning, the family of three's breakfast was made by Xu Yanfeng: scallion‑ham egg pancakes, accompanied by thick, glutinous century‑egg and lean‑meat porridge, earning Zi Heng's praise: "My dad's cooking is really good now."

Xu Yanfeng was slightly displeased and retorted: "Was my cooking before not good enough?"

Zi Heng took a bite of the fragrant, soft egg pancake, and mumbled: "Compared to my mom, it's off by about ten Zhangyi's worth."

Xu Yanfeng: "……"

Xia Xi was drinking porridge when she puffed out a laugh, successfully choking on it.

Xu Yanfeng tapped his son's head with his chopsticks: "Is it really appropriate to speak of Zhangyi like that behind her back?"

Zi Heng fell silent, ate his meal honestly, then finished and cleared the bowls and chopsticks, taking them to the kitchen.

The couple were going to the hospital; with no one else at home, they naturally brought Zi Heng along, and on the way they bought some fruit, flowers, and nutritional supplements.

The inpatient ward's corridor was long, with many rooms on either side; Chen Songbai occupied a single room. As they stepped out of the elevator, Xia Xi saw Chen Songbai's parents pacing outside the ward.

One sat, the other stood, their faces full of worry; it looked as if they had hit another wall in their dealings with Chen Songbai, yet they could do nothing about it.

If they had known today would come, why bother in the first place?

Xia Xi's gaze swept over them, she did not greet them, and she raised her hand to knock on the ward's door.

Xia Xuan was giving Chen Songbai water to drink when she heard the knock, and she told him: "It might be my sister coming."

She set the water cup on the bedside table, went to open the door, saw the people behind Xia Xi, hesitated, then greeted: "Sister, brother‑in‑law." Then she lowered her head and smiled at the handsome young man: "Zi Heng, how come you're here too?"

"I'm on vacation, I came to see how my uncle‑in‑law is doing—is he better?" Zi Heng tilted his head to look into the ward.

"Much better." Xia Xuan took the flowers from Xia Xi's hand and said, "Come in quickly."

As she closed the door, Xia Xuan saw the expectant, eager gazes of her parents‑in‑law; after all this time she still harbored resentment, so she naturally paid them no heed.

The hospital bed was raised, and Chen Songbai sat leaning against it, wearing a striped patient gown; his body was still weak, but his complexion was fair. Having been transferred from the ICU not long ago, to have recovered this much was already quite good.

Of course, this was inseparable from Xia Xuan's meticulous care.

Xia Xi felt heartache for her sister, but also didn't feel right to say anything in front of Chen Songbai.

As for Chen Songbai, he proactively spoke up about this matter: "Second sister, persuade Xiao Xuan to go home and rest more. Other people's words don't work; she listens to you the most. On my side, there's not much left to do, there are caregivers looking after her, her own health is important."

Xia Xi looked at Xia Xuan: "Did you hear that?"

Xia Xuan said embarrassedly: "I know, I know." She quickly changed the topic: "Sister, are you about to hold your wedding? You go about your business, don't keep worrying about me; I'll take good care of myself."

After leaving the hospital, it was almost lunchtime; the three of them had a meal at a restaurant outside.

Xu Yanfeng drove; Xia Xi looked at the road outside the car window, gradually sensed something odd, and asked him: "This doesn't seem to be the way home, does it?"

"Didn't you ask me last night what plans I had for the holiday?" Xu Yanfeng raised his eyebrows slightly, "I'm just making those arrangements now."