Yan Zhiqing held her phone tightly as her thumb rubbed on the phone screen. "What… What do we do with the recording?"
It was of no use now. Yan Zhiqing suddenly felt an emptiness in her, as if she did not manage to contribute at all to help the Yan family.
Did she fall down those flights of stairs for nothing?
"This matter involves your mother, after all," Yan Beicheng pointed at the phone in Yan Zhiqing"s hands.
Yan Zhiqing sighed in her heart, there was a feeling of unexpressed sadness in her. Yan Beicheng had referred to Jiang Changdai as her mother. He has made his decision not to acknowledge her as his mother at all.
"If this gets exposed, it would affect her greatly. We"ll leave the decision up to you. I"m fine with whatever you choose to do, so don"t feel any pressure over your decision. Lu Zhenghang"s situation is more or less diffused. It would not affect us much even if you decide not to make this recording public. If you would like to protect Miss Jiang, then you may delete the recording," Yan Beicheng said calmly. Of course, if this recording was able to be made public, it would create further damage to Lu Zhenghang.
Yan Zhiqing continued rubbing the phone screen. She pressed her lips, and asked, "Did Lu Zhenghang reveal what mum did all those years back during the press conference?"
Yan Beicheng was not present during Lu Zhenghang"s press conference. He had just got off the plane then. Yan Beicheng was unable to answer Yan Zhiqing"s question.
So, Yu Zi answered, "He revealed everything and pushed all responsibility to Jiang Changdai. After this, her reputation will be completely soiled. No one would ever dare stay close to her again."
Even though Jiang Changzai had restricted Jiang Changdai"s finance, but she was still able to maintain a certain amount of dignified front. Jiang Changdai continued to socialize with her group of friends from the upper social circle. After this, her circle of friends would no longer have a place for Jiang Changdai.
Who would dare to remain friendly with her? If anyone got too close to Jiang Changdai, others might think that person would be of the same character as her.
Yan Zhiqing smiled with relief as she threw her phone to the side. She said, "If her reputation is ruined, then it doesn"t matter if the recording is revealed to the public. Lu Zhenting and his son have revealed the truth in the press conference. The contents are similar to what I have recorded, all it would do is make people listen to the same truth over again. It would give people a deeper understanding of who she is. This is the road she has chosen and she has to walk it, no matter what. When I begged her not to harm the Yan family, she never even gave a second thought about letting you off. We won"t show her mercy today either. As for Lu Zhenting and his son"s reputation, we"ll just leave it as it is with her as well. It would be well worth their "true love" for each other."
Yan Zhiqing stood firm on the decision. Yan Beicheng took Yan Zhiqing"s phone and sent the recording to himself.
Yan Zhiqing had been momentarily hesitant about her decision. However, after knowing what Jiang Changdai had done to Yan Beicheng and her plot to harm him without hesitation had given Yan Zhiqing the push to make her final decision.
"Okay, let"s not think about this anymore. I"m getting Xiao Chen to go home and take a rest and for Xiao Zhuang to make some soup to bring over later tonight. Remember to ask the doctor when you can be discharged. Take good care of yourself. As for those who care less about you, we won"t be bothering too much about them. You"ve got your whole family to be concerned about you. Just look at your big brother, didn"t he manage to get through all these years the same way?" Old Lady Yan said.
Yan Beicheng, "…"
Lin Chu, "…"
Grandma, was this a suitable comparison?
"Huaian is now at Yan Hui, in case the shareholders take the opportunity to create trouble, so he isn"t able to make it here," Old Lady Yan explained, in case Yan Zhiqing misread his absence.
The Yan family may berate Yan Zhiqing at times but to them, it was an effort taken to educate a naughty child in the family. During crucial times, the Yan family were still very protective over one of their own.
Even though Yan Huaian was cold towards Yan Zhiqing, he still showed concern when it matters most.
Yan Zhiqing smiled. "I haven"t read too much into it."
Old Lady Yan felt happy over Yan Zhiqing finally growing up and was more magnanimous about life, but Yan Zhiqing suddenly huffed, "Hmph! I"ve never been close with him anyway, makes no difference even if he was here!"
Old Lady Yan, "…"
This child!
Yu Zi had more or less gotten the gist of Yan Zhiqing"s characteristics. Her words did not make Yu Zi angry at all. Instead, Yu Zi smiled as she tousled Yan Ningbai"s hair, turning his nicely blow-dried hair this morning into a messy bird"s nest look.
Yu Zi was worried Yan Ningbai might misunderstand Yan Zhiqing"s words and get into an argument with her.
Unexpectedly, it did not bother Yan Ningbai at all. He also understood that his big niece was acting just like Mo Jinxi. They may look nonchalant on the surface as if they could not care less, but as soon as they got into a playful mood, they would forget their aloofness completely. After they"ve had their fun and tried to remain nonchalant again, it would be too late to retrieve their cool image.
All Yan Ningbai cared about right now was his cool hairstyle. His little fat hands reached up to his hair protectively and protested, "Mum, you shouldn"t be destroying my image even if there are no outsiders around!"
Yu Zi clucked at him and decided to ignore him. Yan Ningbai lifted his little b.u.t.t to climb down the bed. He went looking for the shoes he had kicked off his feet and slipped into them as if they were a pair of slippers. He tiptoed his way carefully into the washroom. He wet his fat little hands with water and tried to tidy his hair.
Old Master Yan suddenly asked, "Where"s Jiang Changdai?! She had no qualms hurting her daughter and now that Zhiqing is awake, she isn"t even bothered to be here?"
Everyone had cluttered into the room together and there were so many matters to attend to that Yu Zi did not have the opportunity to tell them about what happened to Jiang Changdai.
She now remembered about Jiang Changdai and quickly explained, "She"s in surgery now."
Old Master Yan wanted to immediately cite that it was retribution but suddenly remembered that Yan Zhiqing still treated Jiang Changdai as her mother. His beard trembled as he swallowed the words.
Yan Zhiqing looked at Yan Beicheng. She could no longer hold it in as she opened her mouth to request, "I"d like to go take a look."
Yan Beicheng frowned in disagreement, "You shouldn"t be moving much right now."
It was rare to see Yan Beicheng being so concerned over her. Yan Zhiqing"s lips curved upwards slightly, but she did not want anyone to see her smiling, so she immediately tried to stop it. Her efforts ended up making her look weird as her mouth seemed to cramp up.
"It"s not a problem for me. I"ll just maintain this position and not move around too much," Yan Zhiqing took extra effort to look up at Yan Beicheng with just her eyeb.a.l.l.s.
Lin Chu quietly tugged Yan Beicheng. Yan Zhiqing was worried, they should be soothing her.
Yan Beicheng exhaled deeply before nodding, grim-faced.
"I"ll get you a wheelchair," Yan Beicheng said as he turned around.
Not long after, he came back with a wheelchair.
While carrying Yan Zhiqing, his arm pushed against her back. Yan Zhiqing frowned in pain but she tried her best to push through.
Yan Zhiqing was worried Yan Beicheng could retract his words when she saw his face go grim at her pain, so she quickly said, "I can take the pain. I"ll feel better once I sit down."
Yan Beicheng said nothing and placed her into the wheelchair in one move. He pushed Yan Zhiqing out of her ward, followed by Lin Chu and the others.
Old Master Yan was initially reluctant to go along, but then he thought about Jiang Changdai falling down the stairs. Yan Zhiqing had gotten so badly hurt by falling off the stairs, it would be no better for Jiang Changdai.
So, he came along happily in big strides. Old Lady Yan noticed his jovial walk. She was not aware of his thoughts and asked in curiosity, "You"re coming too? Don"t you hate her? Why are you so concerned about her wellbeing?"
Old Master Yan huffed on his beard and said happily, "I want to see just how much pain she is in! The more hurt she is, the happier I am. Only then can I vent my anger! Look at you, how could you not know me better?"
With that, he gave a fling of his hands and walked away.
Old Lady Yan, "…"
Everyone arrived outside the operation room. Jiang Changdai"s surgery was not done yet.
Yan Ningbai thought it was a good thing that Jiang Changdai got hurt. He was not even bothered to pretend he was sad about it as it was quite difficult for him to put up that act for Jiang Changdai. He did not even think about Yan Zhiqing"s conflicted feelings about the matter and opened the Pikachu bag Lin Chu bought for him. It sounded tiring for him as he made a lot of noise over the effort.
Everyone turned to look at him over all the noise he was making. His bag was filled to the brim with snacks.
At a glance, one could see jelly, potato ch.i.p.s, prawn crackers, glutinous rice dumplings, and even crunchy noodles.
Yu Zi, "…"
When did this little glutton pack so much stuff?!
Yan Ningbai took out a huge bag of jellies and walked in front of them, "Let"s snack while we"re waiting. With so many good things happening today, we should eat more while we"re in a good mood!"
Yan Zhiqing, "…"
Yan Zhiqing did not know how she should feel about the whole situation. Jiang Changdai was still her mother, after all. She should be worried about what was happening to Jiang Changdai, but everyone else was acting like this was a good thing, except for Yan Zhiqing. This little boy, Yan Ningbai was acting so happily, even the two elders had a joyful look on their faces, yet, Yan Zhiqing could not be angry over it. She was feeling despondent over this.
The worse thing was, even Yan Beicheng, who never liked sweets, ate the jelly too. Yan Ningbai was right about one thing, one would eat more when they were in a good mood!
"Don"t give any to Lin Chu. She can"t have this sort of snacks now and should be cutting down on sweets," Yan Beicheng reminded Yan Ningbai when he walked towards Lin Chu.
Lin Chu"s palette was less picky now and had returned to normal. She no longer tormented Yan Beicheng in the middle of the night with her cravings.
That was why Yan Beicheng was now complying fully by the "Pregnancy Guide" provided by Chu Tian Hospital concerning Lin Chu"s dietary matters. He controlled her food intake. Even fruits were limited, and she could not eat more than she should daily.
The doctor had given a reminder in her previous check-up that it was very easy to contract diabetes during pregnancy. Lin Chu should be careful with her fruit intake. She should not give in to her cravings just because pregnant women liked to eat a lot.
Yan Beicheng suddenly thought of something and said, "Since we"re here today, let"s head to the gynecologist and conduct an ultrasound for the baby to find out if it"s a boy or girl."
Old Master Yan immediately nodded in agreement before Lin Chu could reply, "Yes, yes, yes."
"What"s it got to do with you? Stop poking your nose into everything," Old Lady Yan glared at him.
"This is my future great-grandchild; how does it not have anything to do with me?" Old Master Yan retorted unhappily and turned to return the glare.
Old Lady Yan pouted and ignored him. She pushed Old Master Yan away without pity and went to Lin Chu"s side. She held her hand.
"Lin Chu, don"t be pressured about this. We"ll love it no matter if it"s a boy or girl. We don"t favor boys over girls in our family nor do we need any so-called heir that we would force you to give us a grandson for the sake of the family"s future and security. That would be nonsense. As long as it"s a soft, pink baby, we"ll all be happy! Of course, it would be better if it was a girl! There"s too much testosterone in our family with so many men! When Zhiqing wasn"t around, all those with the surname Yan were men. Now that Zhiqing is back, there"s still not enough girls to balance things off. We need your help with this," Old Lady Yan smiled and gestured around excitedly.
Lin Chu, "…"
This was pressure too.
Other families gave pressure for the women to have great-grandsons, but when it came to Old Lady Yan, it was the pressure to have a great-granddaughter.
Old Lady Yan patted Lin Chu"s hand, "Don"t worry. If it"s not a girl this time, there"s always the next time."
Lin Chu, "…"
Yan Zhiqing, "…"
They were not worried about Jiang Changdai at all.
Yan Zhiqing was now wounded all over and had just regained consciousness, so she had not eaten anything. It was not good for her to have this sort of snack.
Besides Lin Chu and Yan Zhiqing, everyone else, including the two elders, had jelly in their hands.
"Come on everyone, let"s replace these jellies with alcohol and cheers!" Yan Ningbai held his jelly up high as he cheered happily.
All the good people were doing well while the bad person was being tortured in surgery!
Everyone in the corridor was happily awaiting the results of Jiang Changdai"s surgery while the patients, doctors, and nurses pa.s.sing by watched this strange scene going on.
Families and friends waiting outside the hospital"s operation rooms would look sad and worried.
Why was it that this group of people here today looked so happy, as if they could not wait for the person in surgery to die?
Something was wrong with this scene!
Not long after, the light at the top of the operation room turned off. The door opened. Jiang Changdai had not yet woken from her anesthesia. One of her arms and both legs were covered in a cast. One of her legs was not that serious while the other was covered in a cast from her feet, all the way up past her knees.
Her neck was in the same condition as Yan Zhiqing, which was covered in a cast as well. It was lucky that Yan Zhiqing did not hurt her face. She had managed to protect her head at the crucial moment.
However, Jiang Changdai was so occupied with holding on to the purse that she was not prepared to protect herself in any case of danger. She did not manage to protect her head with her other arm and her face had smashed against the corner of the stairs.
It did not help that Yan Zhiqing"s bag had gold metal locks. It bounced on the cross-patterned, hard leather purse while rolling down the stairs with Jiang Changdai, hitting her on the corner of her eyes and nose, as well as anywhere it could reach during the accident.
This was the reason why Jiang Changdai"s situation was worse than Yan Zhiqing. Yan Zhiqing may feel pain in her back, but her spine was not hurt. She was still able to sit up if she could bear the pain, but Jiang Changdai was not as lucky.
The nurse came out later with a tray. At a closer look, there were two b.l.o.o.d.y front teeth on it.
"These are the front teeth that were knocked off from the patient. How would you like to take care of it? If you want to keep it as a memento, we can clean it and place it in a gla.s.s bottle for you to take away. If you don"t want it, we"ll just throw it away," explained the nurse.
Everyone was shocked. They did not expect Jiang Changdai to lose two of her front teeth. Yu Zi had not noticed that Jiang Changdai"s mouth was swollen in the confusion, much less check her teeth. Who would think to be so concerned over Jiang Changdai?
Lin Chu could not help imagining Jiang Changdai without her front teeth. There would be two gaping holes when she opened her mouth. Air would be leaking from the gap when she spoke. The thought of it made Lin Chu"s lips twitch a little.
Even if Jiang Changdai could have dentures, it would still be fake teeth.
Yan Ningbai thought of his front tooth, which was loose. It had been in a shaky condition for the last few days. He would play with it using his tongue and move it around, or sometimes give it a few shakes with his hands, but it would not fall off.
His little fat hands covered his mouth as his bright eyes blinked repeatedly. His tongue once again moved towards his shaky tooth and gave it a push upwards. The little fatso suddenly went stiff.
"Let"s go." Jiang Changdai was being pushed into her ward. Regardless, they would need to follow suit and hear what the doctor had to say about her condition. Yu Zi saw Yan Ningbai standing still covering his mouth, so she reminded him to make a move.
Yan Ningbai"s big eyes started to water as his eyes moved around, he called out unclearly, "Mum."
Yu Zi next saw some blood between his index and middle finger.
Yu Zi got a shock and asked, "What happened?"
Yan Ningbai looked pitiful as he spat out his tooth into the middle of his fair, white palm. His tongue licked at where his tooth once was. It was empty and only felt of soft gum. His mouth tasted only of blood.
He swallowed the blood and said, "My… My teeth fell out."
He opened his mouth to reveal a dark gap at the front. It was a funny sight.
Yu Zi could not help it as her lips twitched a little.
Yan Ningbai, "…"
"Mum!" Yan Ningbai called out in protest. His upper lips did its best to protect the upper row of his teeth, trying to cover up the gap, but it only made him look like a fat gorilla.
Yu Zi could no longer hold it in, Yan Ningbai looked so hilarious. "You… You should speak properly!"
Yu Zi tried to hold in her laughter as she was afraid of hurting Yan Ningbai"s feelings. Her effort was making her go red in the face.
Yan Ningbai covered his mouth, exclaiming, "Stop laughing!"
"Okay okay, I"ll stop laughing. I won"t laugh anymore," Yu Zi said as she rubbed her face and tried her best to relax the expression on her face.
"Take your hand down! You"re covering your face so you can laugh secretly!" Yan Ningbai was anxious.
Yu Zi rubbed her face a few times more before putting her hands down. She looked at Yan Ningbai"s plump little fair face. He was pressing his lips, closing them tightly, but it only made her thought of the look of him without his tooth as his cheeks trembled.
Yu Zi could feel the muscles on her face starting to cramp.
Yu Zi tried to hide it by quickly rubbing Yan Ningbai on the head, a.s.suring him, "Everything"s going to be fine. When we get into the ward, go and gargle your mouth, otherwise, the blood will keep flowing. Stop licking your wound as well, it would affect your growing teeth."
Yan Ningbai could only try to tolerate the pain, but the blood continued flowing. It was not long before his saliva and blood once again filled up his mouth.
Yan Ningbai quickly rushed into the washroom to gargle when they got into Jiang Changdai"s ward.
"What"s wrong with him?" Lin Chu asked in surprise.
"He just lost a front tooth too. He"s gargling his mouth," Yu Zi explained.
When the nurse at the side heard what happened, she got Yan Ningbai some cotton buds when he got out of the washroom. It was for Yan Ningbai to press it against his gum, which helped stop the bleeding after a while.
She later gave him a little gla.s.s bottle to place his front tooth in after cleaning it. He could bring it home as a keepsake or bury it per the old tradition.
Yan Ningbai accepted the bottle happily. Mo Jinxi had also lost a tooth not too long ago, which had yet to grow. However, there was already some whitish growth where his old front tooth used to be. His new tooth was about to break through his gum soon.
He was just making fun of Mo Jinxi yesterday while calling him a toothless boy. Mo Jinxi had told him that after he lost his tooth, the old princ.i.p.al buried it in the orphanage"s yard. She told him that it will help his new tooth grow faster.
That why Yan Ningbai held on tight to his treasured front tooth, which was now in the gla.s.s bottle. He blinked a few times, deciding to secretly bury it when they got home. He had to be careful of Chu Xi. Chu Xi loved burying bones and had buried some in its own home, and later gone to Yan Ningbai"s home to do the same. To prevent Chu Xi from digging out his tooth while burying bones, Yan Ningbai had to pick a good spot.
The doctor had just finished explaining Jiang Changdai"s condition to Yan Beicheng.
Jiang Changdai was in a slightly more serious condition than Yan Zhiqing. Her forehead had been split open and the bridge of her nose was broken. The surgery had involved trying to repair her face, but it would not be the same. Her nose now has a significant bent, making it looked hook.