"You…you…" The princ.i.p.al chest actually began to hurt. She felt some shortness of breath and bent over slightly. "What are you talking about? Lin Chu should help you because she has the ability to do so? Lin Chu never teased or provoked you, but you vilified her and got her into trouble time again and time again. At that time, why didn"t you think about the friends.h.i.+p you and Lin Chu had shared since young? Why did you think that you could cause her so much trouble just because you"re a reporter? Besides, those news pieces were obviously fake and fabricated, yet you still tried to publish them to cause her trouble. Your fake news has done a lot of damage Now that you"re faced with a problem, you think about Lin Chu again. Why don"t you use your brain to think about why Lin Chu would want to help you after what you"ve done? What did you do to deserve her help!"
"This is simply what Lin Chu owes me! She was the one who stole my life. You were the one who was so inclined to help her, only to leave me to struggle with hards.h.i.+p. What"s wrong with the news I wrote about her? Don"t tell me that writing a few sentences about her still is equivalent to all the hardsh.i.p.s I suffered in the past? Even so, what part of what I wrote was incorrect? She genuinely didn"t want to recognize her birth mother, and sought out wealth and fame instead! Why is Xu Jiaojiao working at her family"s small restaurant? Isn"t it because Lin Chu isn"t willing to introduce her to better jobs? If Lin Chu was willing to help her land some jobs, would she need to go so far as to sulk at the small restaurant? Even then, she would at least be able to hire apprentices and waiters by now if Lin Chu is willing to give her some money. Just the tiniest drop of wealth from Lin Chu would mean the Xu family wouldn"t have to struggle so much! Lin Chu is rich and she has the ability to help, so why doesn"t she lend a hand? It"s clearly because she lacks kindness. No wonder she isn"t willing to help me either when she already treats her birth mother and sister like this. With great power comes great responsibility. She has the power, but she isn"t willing to be responsible and help us!"
The princ.i.p.al was so angry that she laughed out loud, only stopping to clutch at the pain in her chest whilst letting her mouth hand wide open due to her struggling to breathe. A short while later, she said, "Her wealth and ability is her concern. Why must she help you? She doesn"t owe you anything! What sort of debt does she have that needs to be settled? She"s never owed you anything since young. This was all your own wishful thinking and self-righteousness! Dai Huimin and Xu Jiaojiao have never claimed that this is Lin Chu"s fault, so why are you trying to speak on their behalf and criticize Lin Chu? Why does Lin Chu have to help you? Are you the voice of reason just because you"re poor?"
"Ha ha ha ha! Didn"t she decide to help you once she had the ability to do so? Put away your façade of false kindness! I know Yan Beicheng has given a lot of money to the orphanage. Even others from the Yan family have done so, and the orphanage has gained a lot from their aid. This all stemmed from the relations.h.i.+p they share with Lin Chu, which is why you help Lin Chu whenever possible. You"re afraid that if I offend Lin Chu, you won"t be able to benefit from her in the future, right?" Zhu Hexuan sneered grimly.
The princ.i.p.al was so furious that she began to tremble from head to toe. "You…you…"
She always believed that every child was good. Even if Zhu Hexuan had grown up and changed, she felt that Zhe Hexuan had lost sight of things after she got lost in the workings of the world. She had lost her conscience after she became a reporter.
However, she suffered through a lot of hardsh.i.p.s afterward. Following the ordeal, she should be able to understand things from their point of view.
Who would have known that she would stick to her ways and refuse to believe that she was in the wrong? She even said such ridiculous things, thinking that everyone let her down and that they all owed her something.
The princ.i.p.al"s mouth was unable to express how disappointed she was. She kept shaking her head whilst feeling extremely horrible.
This was the child that she had raised by herself since young, but she now stood here with a ferocious look on her face and whilst pointing at her claiming that all she desired was wealth and fame.
The princ.i.p.al became so exasperated that tears flowed down her face. She covered her chest with her hand whilst being completely speechless.
"What, you"re not talking anymore? You can"t say anything?" Zhu Hexuan sneered with an aloof expression. "You"re like this so the kid that you raised is also the same! Mo Jinxi already knows how to fawn over Lin Chu at such a young age. He"d help her with anything and side with her!"
"Be my guest, talk however you want. I"m already this old, so what sort of profanity have I not already heard? Despite all that, you"re not allowed to talk about the kids! Kids are young, who they like and dislike is due to the purest intentions. They know who"s good and who"s bad! They all like good people; so, while a.d.u.l.ts dislike you, the kids dislike you as well. Do you think it"s a matter of money? Why don"t you look for the reason within yourself?" The princ.i.p.al said as she placed her hand over her chest. Her appearance was becoming increasingly poor.
Zhu Hexuan seemed like she did not notice the princ.i.p.al"s discomfort. "I don"t care. You must make Lin Chu help me! I never asked you to help me with anything my whole life. Everything I have now is all obtained through my hard work! You"ve never helped me with anything before, but I"m begging you now this one time. Even so, you"re not willing to help me? Just once, this one time! I"m only begging you this one time!"
Seeing her gnas.h.i.+ng her teeth, the princ.i.p.al shook her head and shed her tears in silence. "I can"t help you… I can"t help you with this. If someone frames you or if you"re really facing some trouble, then I"d be willing to step in, but you brought this on yourself. You"ve made a mistake, and I need to make sure you learn from them!"
"You must help me!" Zhu Hexuan seemed to be going crazy. Her expression became calm as she moved forward and grabbed the princ.i.p.al"s arm.
The princ.i.p.al furrowed her eyebrows with discomfort. "You… let go of me. I"m feeling uncomfortable…"
She was obviously telling the truth as the princ.i.p.al looked pale.
However, Zhu Hexuan did not let go of her. "I won"t let go. Promise me that you"ll help me, then I"ll find the medicine for you."
"I… don"t need you to find it for me!" Zhu Hexuan was pulling one of the princ.i.p.als" hands, while the other one that was previously holding onto the sewing machine let go. She reached into her pocket and dug around whilst trembling.
Quite a while later, the princ.i.p.al"s quivering hand emerged with a small bottle.
The princ.i.p.al had learned her lesson from the last time she had angered Zhu Hexuan without her medicine. She would not make the same mistake twice. Who knew when and what sort of accident would occur?
Life could not be predicted.
Zhu Hexuan saw this. As she squinted her eyes, she suddenly extended her arm and s.n.a.t.c.hed the medicine bottle from the princ.i.p.al"s hand.
The princ.i.p.al did not expect Zhu Hexuan to seize the medicine bottle.
"What are you doing?" the princ.i.p.al asked in shock, "You…you give me the medicine."
Zhu Hexuan let go of the princ.i.p.al"s arm and took two steps backward. "I won"t give it to you unless you promise to help me. Make Lin Chu help me, and then I"ll give you the medicine."
A sorrowful smile appeared on the princ.i.p.al"s face. The child that she raised herself since young was now threatening her life for a job.
Teacher Yuan realized something was wrong, so she quickly came over. Something happened at Teacher w.a.n.g"s house today, so she had gone home early and was not at the orphanage. Teacher Yuan was the only one who could help now.
Teacher Yuan stepped forward to try to s.n.a.t.c.h the medicine, but Zhu Hexuan twisted off the lid and threatened, "If you come closer, I"ll spill all of these on the ground!"
Teacher Yuan stared nervously at Zhu Hexuan"s hand and did not dare to act rashly, but she could not help saying loudly, "Zhu Hexuan, where is your humanity? That"s the princ.i.p.al"s life-saving medicine! What more is there to say? Do you want to threaten somebody"s life? Quickly return the medicine to me!"
"I"m threatening you? I said everything very clearly. Just promise me, then I"ll give the medicine back to you!" Zhu Hexuan held the medicine high up and replied.
Teacher Yuan was extremely anxious. She was afraid that the medicine would scatter once Zhu Hexuan"s hand trembled.
The princ.i.p.al"s medicine consisted of tiny copper-colored pills which each had a diameter of two to three millimeters. She had to consume 10 pills at a time, and because of its minuscule size and round shape, it would roll to G.o.d-knows-where if it dropped onto the floor. It would be a dangerous situation.
"This is such a small matter. What"s the worst that could happen if you make a phone call to Lin Chu? Is my request really so difficult for you? Why don"t you want to help me?" Zhu Hexuan said in anger.
Suddenly, a small shadow rushed toward them out of the blue before hugging Zhu Hexuan"s legs tightly. Two little fists were raised before it began to pound away with all its might. Some weak blows landed on her stomach while others. .h.i.t her thigh.
"Jinxi!" Teacher Yuan cried out quickly, "Jinxi, you come over here now. Don"t make her scatter the princ.i.p.al"s medicine."
Only then did Mo Jinxi retreat. The princ.i.p.al had asked him to go look for s.h.i.+ Tou and Tian Tian just now, but he did not do so. Rather, he had been behind them all along, watching on in secret. He thought that he could make a phone call just in case something happened, but he did not expect Zhu Hexuan to be so evil.
"You"re a bad person! A bad person!" Mo Jinxi was so angry that his eyes reddened. He straightened his neck and bellowed.
Teacher Yuan felt sorry as she quickly pushed Mo Jinxi behind her. "Ms. Zhu, I"m begging you. Quickly give the medicine to me!"
"No!" Zhu Hexuan pointed at the princ.i.p.al and lifted the medicine upwards, acting as though she was about to throw it. "Tell me, will you help me or not?"
The princ.i.p.al felt so unwell that she was already experiencing some shortness of breath and could not even speak. Her hands also hung loosely by her side as they shook incessantly. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish, wanting to say something but unable to do so.
The view before her eyes abruptly darkened before she collapsed to the floor with a "bang".
"Princ.i.p.al!" Both Teacher Yuan and Mo Jinxi cried out in shock at the same time.
Teacher Yuan hastily propped the princ.i.p.al up. Upon seeing that the princ.i.p.al"s eyes were shut tight, Teacher Yuan quickly reached out to test for the princ.i.p.al"s breathing.
Thankfully, she was still breathing.
Teacher Yuan exhaled a sigh of relief.
However, the princ.i.p.al was quite old; she could not bear such torment. Damaging the body of an elderly person could knock several years off their life expectancy.
Zhu Hexuan"s face immediately became pale. She promptly threw the medicine to the side, causing the pills inside to spill out. There was not enough time to see where the tiny pills rolled off to.
She crouched and tugged at the princ.i.p.al"s arms. "Wake up! Wake up! You haven"t promised that you"ll help me yet!"
"Pow!" Teacher Yuan gave her a tight slap. "Are you still human? Animal! You get out of the way!"
Teacher Yuan angrily shoved Zhu Hexuan away, causing her to fall onto the floor.
How could Teacher Yuan attend to Zhu Hexuan at this moment? She felt around to look for her cell phone to call 120, then remembered that the cell phone was still with Mo Jinxi. He forgot to return it when he left just now.
"Jinxi, hurry up and give me the phone. I"m going to call the ambulance." Teacher Yuan said while extending her hand.
Mo Jinxi suddenly became responsive and began to cry while handing the phone to Teacher Yuan. "The princ.i.p.al…the princ.i.p.al will be okay, right?"
"She will, she will!" Teacher Yuan said whilst trying to make her voice sound as calm as possible. Despite this, tears would not stop streaming down her face.
Teacher Yuan quickly called the number of the emergency room and informed them of the address.
Only now did Zhu Hexuan become aware of her actions. Looking at how the princ.i.p.al was unresponsive while she laid in Teacher Yuan"s embrace, she became scared. Her face was so pale, like… like she was already dead.
Zhu Hexuan shuddered as she shook her head. She crawled up, then staggered to her feet and ran away.
Teacher Yuan did not bother chasing after her. Zhu Hexuan could not escape if anything happened.
Once the ambulance arrived, the paramedics carried the princ.i.p.al onto the stretcher and inquired about the medical history of the princ.i.p.al. Teacher Yuan listed out the princ.i.p.al"s conditions one by one, "The princ.i.p.al"s heart has always been bad. She has high blood pressure."
While talking, she noticed Mo Jinxi had been following them since G.o.d-knows-when. It was so chaotic just now that she had not taken him into consideration.
"Jinxi, you stay at the orphanage," said Teacher Yuan.
Mo Jinxi lifted up his hand and wiped his tears. "I"m worried about the princ.i.p.al."
"Good boy, I"m going to accompany the princ.i.p.al to go to the hospital. They"re all just little children in the orphanage now; so, you"ll be the oldest. You have to help me stay behind and look after them, or it"ll be disastrous if anything happens." Teacher Yuan advised him patiently, "Now that Teacher w.a.n.g isn"t here, I"m counting on you."
Mo Jinxi was a child who possessed a strong sense of responsibility. Once he heard Teacher Yuan"s words, he cried while puffing his small chest out. "I"ll definitely take good care of younger brothers and sisters!"
Teacher Yuan stroked Mo Jinxi"s head. "Stay at home and look after the house. I"ll call Teacher w.a.n.g and have her come over. She has the key so she can open the door and come in by herself. So, when you guys are at home, don"t open the door for anyone. Understand?"
Mo Jinxi nodded and watched as Teacher Yuan left and got into the ambulance.
Whilst in the car, Teacher Yuan made a phone call to Teacher w.a.n.g and told her about the situation. Teacher w.a.n.g hung up the phone, then took the key and rushed toward the orphanage.
In the Family Mansion, Lin Chu and Yan Beicheng did not feel comfortable staying in the living room because the two elders slept early. Since the two elders" room was on the first floor, they were afraid that even a slight noise would disturb them if they watched television or whatever in the living room, so they retired to their bedroom early.
Soon, Lin Chu received Teacher Yuan"s phone call. Yan Beicheng saw Lin Chu"s face suddenly pale as her fingertips trembled so much that she almost dropped her phone. She merely responded with a brief, "I understand."
Then, she hung up the phone in a daze.
"What"s wrong?" Yan Beicheng covered Lin Chu"s hand, then pinched her fingertip, only to feel that her fingers were cold. Even her palms were covered in a cold sweat.
He wiped her palm and the sweat covered his fingertips.
"The phone call just now was from Teacher Yuan. She said that Zhu Hexuan went to the orphanage and stirred up trouble, causing the princ.i.p.al to relapse after stealing her medicine. The princ.i.p.al is now being treated at the hospital. The outcome is still unknown." Lin Chu was so frightened that her face was as white as a sheet. She was on the verge of crying.
She grabbed Yan Beicheng"s hand tightly. "I"m really worried."
"We"re going right now. Did she mention which hospital they"re at?" Yan Beicheng asked.
Lin Chu nodded and gave the name of the hospital. It was the one that was the closest to the orphanage.
Yan Beicheng got up to take the jacket and give it to Lin Chu. Both of them had not changed into their pajamas yet, so they could just put on the jacket and leave.
To Lin Chu, the princ.i.p.al was her grandmother. Now that the princ.i.p.al had suffered a mishap whereby the outcome was unknown, Lin Chu was shuddering violently from head to toe. She was worried that she might never see the princ.i.p.al again.
Teacher Yuan was similar. Although the princ.i.p.al was still breathing, her breathing was weak whilst in the ambulance. It was clamorous as the paramedics tried their best to rescue her.
As she watched their hasty movements, Teacher Yuan became uncertain as she feared the worst. She knew that Lin Chu was pregnant she should not have been provoked but there was no helping it. If something really happened to the princ.i.p.al, Lin Chu would want to see her for the last time no matter what. Otherwise, Lin Chu would blame her for not informing her.
Lin Chu was in such a daze that she put on the jacket and dashed out without waiting for Yan Beicheng.
As Yan Beicheng narrowed his eyes, his face became solemn; this was a rare occasion. He grabbed her wrist and dragged her back.
Lin Chu staggered and fell into Yan Beicheng"s embrace.
Yan Beicheng set her straight. "You have to calm down and try to stabilize. Don"t forget that you"re pregnant now. If you hurt yourself, then there will be dire consequences. If that might happen then I"ll have you stay here and won"t let you go anywhere."
Lin Chu took a few deep breaths, then she covered her face, letting the tears flow through the gaps of her fingers and drop onto his chest. As each tear landed on his chest, they burned Yan Beicheng.
He felt hurt as he hugged Lin Chu. He lowered his head and looked at her covering up and burying her face in his chest whilst crying. He sighed in agony and helplessness as he said softly, "There, there, I"m not reprimanding you. Don"t cry, I"m worried that you"ll feel so upset that you"ll hurt your body. Teacher Yuan didn"t explain everything clearly during the phone call. You still don"t know what the actual situation is. Calm down slightly first, then we can go see and talk about it afterward, but you have to make sure that you"re careful. Incidents happen easily if your mind is preoccupied like this. Do you want me to be worried sick? I know you"re worried about the princ.i.p.al but don"t forget that you still have me. Old Master and Old Lady are worried about you as well."
Lin Chu cried while nodding. "I know. Don"t you worry, I"ll be calm."
"Good." Yan Beicheng said. He believed her and slowly let her go.
Sure enough, Lin Chu"s actions were no longer that intense. She gazed at Yan Beicheng as he put on his jacket and took the car keys. As he was leaving the bedroom, he suddenly said, "Old Master and Old Lady are fast asleep so we don"t have to wake them up. We"ll let Aunt Chen know in a moment."
Lin Chu nodded, deciding to go along with Yan Beicheng"s plan.
She had told herself that she needed to calm down. She could not panic since they did not even know the condition of the princ.i.p.al. However, her brain was not really working at the moment and she felt slightly numb so she simply did not think about anything and followed Yan Beicheng.
Yan Beicheng did not feel rea.s.sured about her as he constantly held her hand whilst going to Aunt Chen"s room and knocking on the door. As expected, Aunt Chen had not yet fallen asleep and opened the door. Then, Yan Beicheng told her a rough idea of the situation.
"We still don"t know about the specifics. We merely received a call moments ago and it seemed to be very serious. I"ll go have a look with Lin Chu. If things are alright, we"ll return tonight but if Old Master and Old Lady ask about it, then tell them what happened. Don"t make them worry." Yan Beicheng said.
Aunt Chen nodded, then pondered for a while before saying, "Why don"t I go together with you two? I can even help with anything."
Yan Beicheng gave her suggestion some thought but refused, "It"s not necessary right now. If we need your help, I"ll ask Shao Huai to pick you guys up. There will be plenty of time in any case. Besides, it"ll be boring for you to go there early and sit around waiting."
Aunt Chen nodded without persisting any longer.
Yan Beicheng brought Lin Chu to the hospital and Lin Chu called Teacher Yuan once again. Teacher Yuan appeared to be in a better mood and sounded relieved during the phone call.
She heard Teacher Yuan saying, "The princ.i.p.al has already been treated and stabilized. She"s staying in the ward. The doctor said that she can wake up an hour or two later."
Lin Chu exhaled a sigh of relief. She found the ward that Teacher Yuan had mentioned, went in, and saw that the princ.i.p.al was still asleep. A breathing tube had been inserted into her nose.
Seeing that Lin Chu and Yan Beicheng had arrived, Teacher Yuan hurriedly welcomed them inside and said in embarra.s.sment, "In your current condition, I was originally hesitant about contacting you. But I feared the worst so⸺"
Lin Chu patted Teacher Yuan"s hand. "I understand. Thank you for telling me tonight, if not I would"ve also regretted it. How is the princ.i.p.al now?"
"She"s not in any more danger, but she was badly provoked tonight. Her body is probably weaker than before. The doctor said that she should be okay as long as she takes care of her body properly, but the princ.i.p.al is very old after all. Since this is her base level of health, it"s impossible for her to be fit and agile as if she"s completely free of illness, regardless of how well she takes care of her body. The doctor mentioned that she cannot be provoked again in the future or else it"ll be hard to say what will happen."
Lin Chu"s heart sank following what she said. "What exactly happened tonight?"
Teacher Yuan then told them about Zhu Hexuan looking for the princ.i.p.al in detail. She had merely given her a rough idea of what had transpired in the previous phone call.
"She still has the nerve to look for me for help?" Lin Chu said angrily, "She doesn"t even care about the princ.i.p.al"s life. She…"
As Yan Beicheng propped her shoulder up, Lin Chu realized that she was too agitated. She could only take deep breaths to stabilize her emotions. Then she was pulled aside by Yan Beicheng so that they could sit down.
"How long did the doctor say that the princ.i.p.al has to stay in the hospital?" Yan Beicheng asked.
Teacher Yuan replied, "I presume that she has to stay for a week. Since she"s old, it"s not really good for her to keep moving around. Not only does she have to be taken care of and watched. Aside from this, she also needs some IV injections."