CH 62

Upon hearing her response, Mother Hua was a little choked up, “Miaomiao. Mom will definitely return in two days. I’ll explain to Teacher Li that you won’t be going to school today. You should stay home and sleep, okay?”

Miaomiao hummed between her sobs.

Mom has to work overtime and can’t come home…

Miaomiao laid on her bed. She closed her eyes but her eyelashes still trembled. Grandmother could tell from a glance that she wasn’t asleep.

A hurricane of distress overtook Grandmother. She walked out of the room and called Mother Hua, “Let me take Miaomiao to the hospital. She closed her eyes, but she couldn’t sleep. The worry is gnawing at her.”

An image of a restless Miaomiao who waited for her return began to float within her mind. Her turns began to tear up and become red. She replied, “She’s very scared of the hospital.”

Mother Hua didn’t know if Miaomiao’s traumatic experiences still affected her at this age. But she feared letting Miamiao come into contact with anything related to her gruesome experiences.

Grandmother then sighed, “Then, are you going to ban her from ever going to a hospital forever? What will you do if she gets a cold or a fever? Anyways, I think that Miaomiao is stronger than you think. At the beginning, you told me that she lacked the courage to even talk to strangers. Anyone who spoke with a loud voice, would frighten her. But now, she has broken out of her shell. She says ‘thank you’ to people; she follows us to the supermarket to buy food; she goes square dancing; she introduces herself to the old people performing their square dances, and lastly she raises her hand to answer questions at school.”

Mother Hua remained silent for a brief moment before saying, “Well, tell her about my situation but do it in a pleasant way. And don’t make it sound like my predicament is something serious or life-threatening.”

Grandmother heaved a sigh of relief, “Well, I’ll talk to her.”

Grandmother hung up the phone and traversed into Miaomiao’s room, “Miaomiao, get up. Let’s go see your mother.”

Miaomiao immediately sat up, “Can we really go see mom? Then, what about great-grandma?”

“She’ll stay home, watch TV, and wait for our return.”

Recently, Great-grandmother has been watching a show called “Stepmother’s Spring.” There were still a lot of episodes that she hadn’t watched yet.

Miaomiao quickly wiped her tears, and then she went to fetch her clothes, “Grandma, please turn around. I’m going to change.”

Grandmother smiled and asked, “Do you want me to help you change?”

“Mom told me that I shouldn’t let anyone else change my clothes except for her,” Miaomiao replied as she shook her head in refusal.

Grandmother: “…” It’s because I wasn’t living here at that time.

Miaomiao changed her vestments on her own; then, she quickly grabbed her Grandmother’s hand and said to her Grand-mother, who was sitting in the living room, “I’ll be right back.”

“Grand-grandma. I’m going with Grandma to visit my mother at work. You can wait for us here; we’ll return soon.”

Great-grandma wasn’t cognizant of Mother Hua’s accident, and grandma would ensure that she remained incognizant of it due to her old age and poor bodily disposition; otherwise, knowledge of this incident would greatly perturb and disquiet her.

Grandmother added, “Alright. Let’s go. We’ll come back early.”

Miaomiao nodded in assent and followed her grandmother outside.

Grandmother carried Miaomiao into the elevator, “Miaomiao. I just want you to know one thing, but don’t be too agitated.”

‘Maybe mom’s teacher* has some requirements…I have to be obedient,’ Miaomiao thought to herself.

Just like at school, teachers had some requirements for the parents, and parents had to sign something when entering the school.

Since Miaomiao now knew how to write, she could sign these documents as well.

Grandmother continued, “Great-grandmother is too old, and she’s in poor health, so this matter would greatly alarm her, but Miaomiao is strong and brave. I’m telling you this, but you can’t tell your great-grandma, okay?”

Although Miaomiao had no idea what was happening, she nodded in obedience.

Grandmother expounded, “When your mother departed for work, a car had accidentally hit her. Although she wasn’t seriously injured, she has to stay in the hospital for a few days.”

Miaomiao was stunned, and then feelings of perturbation and dismay slowly began to seize her. Originally, she assumed that Grandmother would tell her something else such as how she had to sign a document in order to see her or that they wouldn’t take great-grandmother along if they wanted to go square-dancing…

However, she never expected that her mother was recuperating in the hospital…

Miaomiao couldn’t say anything. Pain filled her little heart.

They eventually reached the hospital. A familiar scent wafted into Miaomiao’s nose, and she recognized the familiar atmosphere. The only difference was that her mother was recovering in one of the beds. This sight caused Miaomiao to fall into a stupor of disbelief.

“Miaomiao came. Come to mom.” Mother Hua said to her.

Miaomiao snapped out of her stupor and immediately ran over to her. As soon as she climbed into her bed, she embraced her mother.

Mother Hua had injured her leg and bruised the palm of her left hand, but everything else was fine.

Mother Hua’s heart was filled with sweetness as she was held very dearly by her daughter, “I’m fine. It’s just a minor injury. Soon, I’ll completely recover my health. Don’t be afraid, Miaomiao.”

Miaomiao hugged her mother tightly and didn’t let go. While choking, she said, “Mom, don’t be afraid…”

Mom will definitely feel pain when she’s injured, and she will definitely be afraid. Just like I was.

Mother Hua replied, “I’m not afraid. After all, Miaomiao is here with me, so I’m not afraid at all.”

Just before the doctor entered, Mother Hua was trying to lull Miaomiao to sleep. The doctor came in and explicated that she would be fully recovered in two days.

After hearing this, Miaomiao heaved a sigh of relief, and her disquietude slowly faded away.

She was just a child who didn’t sleep at all last night, and then she was shocked again today. Since she spent so much time in the hospital and experienced so many emotional ups and downs, she was exhausted and laid down next to her mother and eventually drifted off to sleep.

Mother Hua stroked the little girl’s cheek, and her face became squishy.

Grandmother whispered, “I told you. She only remembers you now in her heart.”

Miaomiao only thought about the gravity of her mother’s injury. She feared that she would be alone in the hospital. She couldn’t remember a single thing about her treatment in a different hospital.

Mother Hua peered down at Miaomiao who was sleeping peacefully. She couldn’t resist kissing her little cheek.

Mother Hua’s phone began to vibrate, so she grabbed it. It turned out to be a message from Teacher Li.

Just now, she had said that she would ask for a leave, but after speaking with Miaomiao and Grandmother on the phone, she forgot about it.

Mother Hua slowly typed on her phone and replied to Teacher Li.

After reading her message, Teacher Li breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhou Yuan stared at the empty seat next to him.

Why is she late?

Zhou Yuan thought about calling Miaomiao, but unfortunately, his mother confiscated his mobile phone because she discovered the deal between him and his father, and so he had no means of communicating with Miaomiao.

Zhou Yuan frowned.

Why didn’t she come to class?

He recalled Miaomiao’s words from yesterday. 

“Zhou Yuan. Can you help me collect money when I grow vegetables in the future?“

“I don’t want to go to school anymore. Mom has to earn money to pay for my tuition…“

Zhou Yuan looked at the empty seat next to him, and his gaze began to waver.

It could be said that small children tended to act in fickle ways that would confuse even grown-ups.

Miaomiao wouldn’t actually skip school and run off to tend to her vegetables, would she?

Then, Zhou Yuan recalled the incident where the three youngsters secretly escaped from school. He couldn’t entirely dismiss this idea.

Zhou Yuan decided to ask the head teacher anyway. Usually, the head teacher knew why a student was absent from school.

If Miaomiao actually did run away in order to grow her vegetables….then, should I consider becoming a greengrocer or something?

*(T/N: The word ‘teacher’ used by Miaomiao refers to her mother’s superior.)