Chapter 43: Qin Jingru is Pregnant, Qin Huairu's

"Ugh, ugh." In the Back Yard, Qin Jingru started dry heaving early in the morning.

After vomiting for quite a while, she felt a little better, but she lay on the bed feeling sickly and listless.

She didn't know what was wrong lately; she was always inexplicably dry heaving, feeling nauseous, weak all over, and sleepy.

Qin Jingru drifted off to sleep again in a daze.

"Aunt, Aunt." By noon, Xiao Dang and Huai Hua ran in, with Bang Geng following silently behind them like a walking corpse; he didn't speak or lift his head, looking as if his bones had been pulled out, his whole body limp.

"Huh? You're here, what time is it?" Qin Jingru forced herself to open her eyes, yawned, and sat up.

"It's already noon, Aunt, Huai Hua is hungry." Huai Hua took off her shoes, burrowed into the quilt, and hugged Qin Jingru's arm as she spoke.

Looking at the cute Huai Hua, Qin Jingru couldn't help but stroke her little head. Sigh, she was so envious; she didn't know when she would be able to become a mother herself.

But then she thought of that half-a-pinky of Xu Damao's...

With a sigh, Qin Jingru pulled Xiao Dang up as well, covered them with the quilt, and said, "You two stay warm. Bang Geng, find a place to sit yourself, and check the stove while you're at it. I'm going to make you something to eat."

Bang Geng, with his bald, shiny head, turned his head silently and began poking at the stove.

The stove fire soon blazed up, and Bang Geng added a bit more coal. A puff of blue coal smoke emerged. Qin Jingru, who was chopping vegetables nearby, smelled this odor and immediately fell to the ground, dizzy and dry heaving, which gave Bang Geng a start.

Xiao Dang and Huai Hua also jumped off the bed, pushing at Qin Jingru's arms while sobbing.

Bang Geng checked Qin Jingru's breath and found it to be extremely faint, so he ran out in a panic.

"Shazhu, Shazhu, Mom, it's bad, Aunt has fainted."

Hearing the door being pounded by Bang Geng, He Yuzhu sighed, nodded at Qin Huairu to signify he accepted her request, and then the two of them walked out.

Arriving at the Back Yard and seeing Qin Jingru collapsed on the ground, the two of them hurriedly helped her up and pressed on her philtrum a few times, finally waking her up.

Qin Jingru opened her eyes, smiled at Qin Huairu, and then looked at He Yuzhu; the remorse in her heart turned into tears that flowed out like a surging river.

During this time, no one knew just how much pressure she had been under.

After all, witnessing Xu Damao's miserable plight with her own eyes was truly terrifying.

Furthermore, the way Xu Damao had pushed her out to save himself had also broken her heart.

"Are you alright, sister? Why did you faint?" Qin Huairu stroked Qin Jingru's hair, her face full of pity.

"I'm fine, maybe I just caught a cold, don't worry, sister." Qin Jingru sniffled, and while crying, she forced a smile.

"Go to the Hospital and get it checked out, don't let a small illness drag on into a big one," He Yuzhu said.

"Right, I'll go call a pedicab." Qin Huairu nodded and walked out.

Suddenly, the atmosphere in the air became awkward.

The two of them looked elsewhere, eyes darting around, and for a moment, they just fell into silence.

After a while, Bang Geng ran in, panting, and said, "The pedicab is here, it's at the entrance."

Both of them let out a sigh of relief at the same time. He Yuzhu stepped forward and carried Qin Jingru horizontally. Qin Jingru struggled for a moment, then obediently rested her head on He Yuzhu's chest.

There was no talk along the way. Qin Jingru and Qin Huairu got on the pedicab. He Yuzhu stood where he was without moving, watching them leave, his mind still thinking about Qin Huairu's words.

"Zhuzi, sister can't go on, sister begs you." As soon as they entered the room, Qin Huairu knelt down, tears streaming down her face, kowtowing heavily.

"Get up quickly, get up, the floor is cold, what on earth is the matter?" He Yuzhu hurriedly stepped forward, but he couldn't pull Qin Huairu up at all, so he could only squat down and ask anxiously.

"Sister might have rabies. Sister checked the newspaper; this disease is incurable. I can feel it myself, my body is getting worse by the day, I can't hold on much longer. I beg you, if I die, please help sister take care of these three children, can you? Zhuzi, sister is kowtowing to you. This is sister's last worry, my final wish." As she spoke, Qin Huairu began kowtowing again, and soon, her forehead was bleeding.

To tell the truth, at first He Yuzhu also suspected that Qin Huairu had rabies, but after rabies sets in, a person usually doesn't last more than a week. How long had Qin Huairu been having symptoms?

But he wasn't a doctor, after all, and for a moment, he was somewhat hesitant.

"You get up first, hey, alright, I promise you, okay? You get up first and tell me slowly." He Yuzhu couldn't pull her up no matter what, so he could only promise her first and coax her up.

"Sister, did you give me the house deed just so I would take care of Bang Geng and the others?" He Yuzhu handed Qin Huairu a clean towel and then poured her a glass of water to ask.

"Sister doesn't have much time left, you are the only one I can entrust them to. Please, Zhuzi, in the next life, sister will be a beast of burden to repay you." Qin Huairu wiped her tears and even took out all the money in her pockets.

"Sigh, why not send them to the Welfare Institute? You know, I also need to get married and have children, taking on three kids..."

"That would only be after I'm dead! Anyway, you've already promised sister. Sister doesn't ask you to raise them as your own, just don't let them be bullied, and don't let them go hungry, especially Bang Geng..."

"Bang Geng... he doesn't respect me either, sigh." He Yuzhu hammered the table with a headache.

"Sister knows it's difficult for you, but sister really has no one else to entrust them to. Just look at the fact that sister is about to go, okay, Zhuzi?"

"Hmm... fine! But I feel it's still better to send them to the Welfare Institute. Also, I'll keep the house deed for Bang Geng and give it to him when he grows up. As for day-to-day, I'll find a way to take care of the three children, will that do?"

"No! The house deed is yours if I give it to you. As for the children... then you must guarantee that the children at the Welfare Institute won't bully them, can you?"

Looking at the hopeful Qin Huairu, He Yuzhu nodded after all.

He didn't want to be a saint, but... he couldn't bring himself to refuse. After all, having lived two lives, he had always been lonely and helpless.

In his past life, he ate food from a hundred families, wore rags, and suffered all kinds of cold looks just because he had no parents!

In this life, the original He Yuzhu was the same; his mother died early, his father ran off with a widow, leaving him and He Yushui to grow up in the Siheyuan.

He understood the bitterness of having no family, so he couldn't refuse. But regarding the character of these people in the Siheyuan, he didn't want to help either, so he could only think of a compromise: send them to the Welfare Institute. After all, although Xiao Dang and Huai Hua were a bit like White-eyed Wolves when they grew up, they were still slightly better than Bang Geng.

Bang Geng was the true White-eyed Wolf.

"Shazhu, Shazhu, Mom, it's bad, Aunt has fainted." Just then, Bang Geng's voice came, interrupting their conversation.

Withdrawing his thoughts, He Yuzhu shook his head and returned to the room.

Along the way, Qin Jingru leaned in Qin Huairu's arms, silently shedding tears, the bitterness and melancholy in her heart unable to be spoken.

Arriving at the Hospital, Qin Huairu quickly accompanied Qin Jingru through several examinations, then went to Xu Damao's ward to wait for the results.

Xu Damao was still lying there on his stomach, sticking his butt up, covering his head. The Second Aunt exchanged a few pleasantries and explained to the two of them about the Second Uncle turning into a tree.

After a few words, the ward became quiet.

"You really don't want to see me that much?" Qin Jingru looked at Xu Damao and asked, her anger flaring up.

Xu Damao hummed twice, muttering something that didn't sound like anything good.

"Qin Jingru, Qin Jingru, are you here?" The doctor walked in holding a form, and immediately everyone in the room focused their attention on the paper in her hand.

"Congratulations, you're pregnant." The doctor took off her mask and smiled.

"Huh? What... what kind of happy news?" Qin Jingru asked, stunned and stammering.

Xu Damao suddenly flung off the cloth on his head, jumped off the bed, and flashed to the doctor's side, giving everyone a fright.

"Oh my, you scared me to death! Phew, 'happy news' means she's pregnant, she has a baby, she's going to be a mother," the doctor patted her chest, glared at Xu Damao with annoyance, and then smiled as she explained to Qin Jingru.

"Ah?!"

"Ah! That's great, I'm going to be a father! Wahahaha, woo-hahaha, woooo..." Xu Damao shouted and yelled in the hospital room, and as he shouted, he began to cry, pulling Qin Jingru into his arms.

Qin Jingru's face turned pale; she had originally been thinking about divorcing Xu Damao, but this...

And besides, was this child really Xu Damao's?

For a moment, Qin Jingru's feelings were a jumble.

Qin Huairu watched silently, then quietly walked out of the Hospital, returned home, boiled water, and scrubbed and dressed herself up fiercely.

Putting on her newly bought silk stockings and cheongsam, spraying perfume, pinning up her hair, and applying lipstick and cosmetics, Qin Huairu looked at herself in the mirror and smiled, her blood-red lips looking ready to devour someone.

Arriving at the Family Courtyard, Qin Huairu spent a dime to find a child to call Deputy Director Li out.

Looking at the glowing eyes of Deputy Director Li, Qin Huairu chuckled and said, "Deputy Director Li, bring those friends of yours from the previous few times tonight; I'll put on a show for you all, see you at the old place."

After speaking, without waiting for the grinning Deputy Director Li to reply, Qin Huairu twisted her body and walked away.

Deputy Director Li rubbed his chin, standing in place for a long time...

Qin Huairu bought two large locks, several bottles of red wine, and some cooked deli dishes, arriving early at the place that gave her endless nightmares.

Gently stroking the furniture in this private house rented by Deputy Director Li, Qin Huairu smiled.

Crushing the sleeping pills she had prepared in advance into powder and mixing them into the red wine, Qin Huairu leaned against the head of the bed and lit a cigarette.

She didn't know how to smoke, but this feeling was nice, her head dizzy, like walking on cotton and flying in the clouds...

Everything was ready, and slowly, the sky turned dark; Deputy Director Li arrived with four pot-bellied middle-aged men, grinning, and was welcomed inside by Qin Huairu.

Qin Huairu looked at the big dog in the yard, smiled and bared her teeth, and casually tossed a paper packet in front of the dog, which contained meat buns she had prepared beforehand.

Then, Qin Huairu quietly used the newly bought locks to bolt the main gate and the room door from the outside...

"It's over, everything is over!"