Chapter 50: Slapped him

Xia Xi and Su Jinru rushed to the hospital, where they ran into a haggard-looking Chen Songbai. The man's eyes were bloodshot, his hair messy, his complexion poor, looking as if he hadn't rested all night, standing outside the emergency hall holding his phone and talking to someone.

Getting closer, one could guess who was on the other end of the phone.

"You don't need to bring food; she can't eat yet. Bring some daily necessities—they'll be useful when she's moved to a regular ward. I'm not eating, don't worry about me, I have no appetite..."

Chen Songbai said this, seeing the two approaching, hurriedly told the person on the phone "I'm hanging up," then put his phone away in his pocket.

"Mom, Sis, you're here."

Chen Songbai walked down the steps, wanting to help Xia Xi carry things, but she avoided him.

Xia Xi stepped aside and linked arms with Su Jinru as they went in.

After about half an hour, Miao Cuixia also arrived; unable to see her son in such a dejected state, she forcibly dragged him out to eat: "Look at you, half-dead—can you even function? Not eating or drinking, are you trying to become an immortal? They're looking after her here, plus there are plenty of doctors and nurses; nothing will go wrong. I said last night, staying here is useless! You just won't listen to me."

Not long after the mother and son left, a nurse came to inform Xia Xi that ICU visiting time was about to start, and family members could go prepare first.

Following instructions, Su Jinru and Xia Xi step by step completed the disinfection, put on protective gear, wore masks, caps, and gloves, and entered together with other patients' families.

Curtains were drawn around Xia Xuan's bed; Su Jinru pulled aside a corner and saw her lifeless daughter lying on the bed. Tears suddenly rolled down, and her lips behind the mask trembled uncontrollably.

Before entering, she had told herself countless times not to cry in front of her daughter, lest it affect her mood and hinder recovery, but she… really couldn't hold back.

Xia Xi took a deep breath, turned her head away, wiped the corner of her eye, her eye sockets reddened badly.

Because Xia Xuan suffered from heart disease, she was already frailer than most girls; after undergoing major open-chest surgery, she now looked like a paper-thin sheet, with a dynamic ECG monitor on her back tracking her heartbeat 24/7. The injured foot lay outside the blanket, wrapped in layers of gauze, hiding the wound.

She lay still, as if she would shatter at the slightest touch.

Perhaps sensing something, Xia Xuan slowly opened her eyes and saw Xia Xi foolishly grinning: "Sis..."

Xia Xi stepped forward, her gloved hand gently gripping her sister's hand: "How do you feel?"

"Much better, not painful at all."

"Silly girl, that's the pain pump; once the medication wears off, you'll know what pain feels like." Xia Xi felt heartbroken, wanted to scold her for ending up like this, but seeing her weakness she couldn't bring herself to speak harshly: "Tell sis, how did this happen?"

Xia Xuan looked at her, sniffled sadly, unable to speak for a long time, her eyes filled with gloom.

"Is it Chen Songbai's mother bullying you?" Although Xia Xi asked, her tone was quite certain.

Xia Xuan rolled her eyes, holding back tears: "And Songbai?"

"His mother dragged him out to eat." Su Jinru squeezed in, eyes both sorrowful and resentful: "Tell Mom, is it really as your sister said—that old woman at home has been tormenting you, causing your heart condition to relapse?"

Xia Xuan knew she couldn't hide it from them and hadn't intended to; she pressed her lips, her voice hoarse: "His mother arrived yesterday afternoon to bring local specialties. I planned to wait for Songbai to get off work and take her out to eat, but she said outside food isn't clean and wanted to eat at home, so I went to the kitchen..."

She was preparing vegetables in the kitchen when Miao Cuixia shuffled in, eating fruit, alternating between saying she wanted shrimp and then fish. Since she could only cook a few dishes and her mother-in-law had come all this way, not wanting to disappoint her, she suggested ordering takeout. She assured Miao Cuixia she would pick a clean restaurant, have them deliver the food, then she would cook a few dishes herself. Miao Cuixia began to nitpick, accusing her of taking shortcuts, lacking filial piety, pretending to respect her while actually ignoring her words, saying she didn't want to eat outside food anymore, yet she made this decision clearly just to spite her on purpose.

Xia Xuan felt utterly wronged, explaining she hadn't meant that; she truly couldn't cook shrimp or fish well, fearing it would turn out bad, wasting food and upsetting her further.

Miao Cuixia grew even more heated, pointing at her nose and scolding her for being unvirtuous, unfit to be a wife, unable to do even the most basic cooking—did she and her husband previously rely on her son to do all the cooking?

Xia Xuan said calmly, they took turns cooking, occasionally eating out.

Miao Cuixia didn't believe her, the conversation drifted further, accusing her of being unable to bear children—worse than a hen—and having heart disease, not knowing when she'd die, her words laced with foul language.

Unable to argue back, Xia Xuan felt agitated, her heart uncomfortable, she leaned on the sink and refused to quarrel.

Miao Cuixia thought she was pretending; seeing her unable to speak for a long time, she felt she had the upper hand and heaped on the insults: "I had people inquire about your hometown—aside from your talented second sister, the rest of your family are trash! Your father fled after causing an accident, was caught and imprisoned, then died suddenly inside; your eldest sister is a murderer, still locked up without release—your family carries a killer gene! Oh wait, your wealthy second sister isn't any good either—pregnant out of wedlock, she looks bright and proper in public but privately is likely a loose-legged slut anyone can play with; otherwise how did she get knocked up before finishing college? Tsk tsk, look at that sultry face..."

"Shut up!"

Xia Xuan shouted with reddening eyes, her heart hurting more and more.

"Tch, if you won't speak then don't, go chop your vegetables—Songbai will be off work soon and you haven't even stir-fried a single dish." Miao Cuixia pointed at the cutting board, picking bones out of the eggs: "I told you to slice the cucumber and carrot into diamond shapes, but what you've cut is all a messy jumble."

As she said that, she lunged to grab the knife from Xia Xuan's hand to demonstrate, but in her haste she didn't hold it steady; when the knife fell, its sharp edge landed squarely on the top of Xia Xuan's foot.

Xia Xuan instantly lost consciousness from the pain; after a few seconds she squatted, using her skirt to press on the wound to slow the bleeding. At the same time her heart ached unbearably, cold sweat broke out over her body, and she gasped weakly: "Call 120..."

Miao Cuixia stood with hands on hips, looking down on her disdainfully: "What's with calling 120? You're being overdramatic—just wrap it in a cloth, that's how we've always dealt with such injuries."

Just then Chen Songbai arrived home, saw the kitchen scene and was shocked speechless; without a word he pulled out his phone and dialed emergency services, then went to check on Xia Xuan, who had already passed out.

Inside the ICU, the broadcast announced visiting time was up, asking family members not to linger and to leave promptly.

Upon learning what had happened, Xia Xi grew furious, bent down and whispered comfort to Xia Xuan: "Don't think about anything; first get your body well. I've got your back—we have nothing to fear."

Xia Xuan felt a sourness in her nose and gave a muffled "uh."

Su Jinru and Xia Xi left the ICU and ran into Chen Songbai returning from a meal. He hurried over, anxious, and said: "I heard Xuanxuan woke up; you can go in to visit."

Xia Xi peeled off her disposable rubber glove, tossed it casually into the nearby blue trash bin, and without another word slapped Chen Songbai across the face.

A "slap" echoed in the hallway, and the families who had just exited the ICU all turned to look.

Right behind Chen Songbai, Miao Cuixia blinked for a second, then lunged at Xia Xi like an enraged lioness: "You've been snide since yesterday, and today you actually laid hands on me—you dare hit my son, I'll beat you to death, you little wretch!"

Have a nice weekend! Well, this plot isn't very pleasant……_(: з」∠)_See you tomorrow~(End of chapter)