Leaning in a little closer, Terence pressed his hand against Sally's forehead. It was clear that she was having a fever.
"How are you taking care of the kid? You're well aware that she's running a high fever, right? Yet you're still letting her stay outside in the cold breeze?"
Terence suddenly whispered under his breath, chastising Carla.
Hearing his remarks made Carla's blood instantly boil. She walked over and grabbed the little girl from him and shot back, "Who do you think you're scolding? She's my daughter. She's mine and mine alone. This has nothing to do with you whatsoever, even if she's feeling under the weather!"
"Oh, is that so? If she's your daughter only, then why did you go through all the trouble of taking her to meet me?"
Terence straightened himself up, giving her a contemptuous stare.
"I... I came here to see Rainer, not you!" Carla promptly shifted her gaze and exclaimed.
"Is that really the case? Rainer is my man. What do you need to see him for? Or are you perhaps telling me that he is actually the child's father?" Terence shot Rainer a quick glance as though he didn't care much at all.
The second he heard those words, Rainer waved his hands and shook his head frantically, "No! No! No! That's not true at all! Mr. Terence, please don't mess around! You shouldn't say that, even as a joke!"
"Miss Carla..."
Rainer proceeded to give Carla a pleading look.
"I was just dropping by to ask Rainer to lend me a hand!" Carla replied, feeling quite irritated, as she held Sally in her arms. The little girl's gaze was completely fixed on Terence.
"Rainer, I was just wondering, do you know anyone who works here in the hospital? My daughter has caught a mild pneumonia, and she might need to stay here for a few days so she could be monitored. However, I don't have any of the documents that they might need.
My daughter doesn't have her household register, nor does she have a birth certificate. Without these files, there isn't any hospital that would admit her in JA City."
"Ms. Carla..."
Just as Rainer was about to say something, Terence suddenly interrupted him and walked over toward Carla, asking her with a blank look on his face, "I can't believe my ears. How is she feeling now? How severe is her pneumonia?"
Standing quietly by her mother, Sally saw her daddy come closer. So, she broke free from her mommy's clutch, running excitedly toward Terence. With her arms stretched out, she wrapped them around his leg and looked up at him, sniffing nonstop. Right now, she was in such a miserable state.
Terence knelt down a bit and hoisted the little girl up in his arms. Caressing her adorable face, Terence gently told her, "Sweetheart, please don't cry. How about letting your uncle take you to the hospital?"
"... No! Why are you saying that? You're not my uncle! You're my daddy! You're my daddy! Oh, no... Mommy, Daddy is being so me
have to take care of, I'll certainly come and visit you."
Then, after putting the little girl on the hospital bed, Terence grabbed Carla's hand and pulled her straight outside the ward.
"Miss Ji, could you please treat my daughter nicely? You don't have to be so hard on her!"
They were in the VIP wards, so it wasn't as crowded and noisy as the ordinary wards tended to be. To be precise, it was in fact quite peaceful in this area.
"What? What did you just call me?"
Carla gave him a baffled look with her eyebrows raised. Truth be told, she didn't hear—and actually couldn't really care less—what he said next after hearing those first two words.
"Ms. Ji..."
"Would you mind calling me that again? !"
Terence simply uttered those two words and then heard her blurt that out all of a sudden. For that reason, he couldn't help but have a sullen look on his face. Now it was obvious whom the little girl in the ward inherited that bad temper from.
Like mother, like daughter, it seemed.
Glaring intensely at him with bloodshot eyes, she exclaimed, "Terence An, if you dare call me that one more time, it's not just your coat that I'm going to tear up. You don't believe it? Just go ahead, try me!"
Terence suddenly broke into laughter when she grabbed his collar without his even realizing it. "I just couldn't help but wonder how someone like me could fall in love with such a crude woman like you!
However, there's just one thing that I have to tell you right here and now.
If it turns out that Sally is really my daughter, I would like to let her grow up around me. You have to realize that I've already gotten married. With that out in the open, there should be nothing going on between you and me."
Upon hearing such depressing remarks, Carla couldn't stop the tears from welling up in her bloodshot eyes. In just a few moments, they began to drip down her face. "Terence An, what are you trying to say?"