CH 40

The next day, in the breakfast room of the resort, Ruan Mengmeng and He Yiyang came out of the lift and saw Chen Linjia and the others slumped over the table, breathless.

Ruan Mengmeng was surprised, “What’s wrong?”

Chen Linjia put down her chopsticks and lifted her face to show a circle of blue and black under her eyes.

“Okay, okay, I know without saying,” Ruan Mengmeng raised her hand to stop it, “it’s too graphic.”

“The boss is still wise,” Qin Tian cried, holding a fried bun next to him with a face full of despair. “Except for me and Lu Zhengyuan, they didn’t know how to set up a tent. Within two or three hours of sleeping, there are birds chirping, all kinds of birds chirping. Hey, the sounds of nature are annoying when I don’t get enough sleep. “

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Lu Zhengyuan and Gu Tingzhi came over with a few room cards, their faces tired.

“He’s the funniest. He got up in the morning and met a squirrel in his tent,” Chen Linjia pointed at Lu Zhengyuan, “Maybe he slept through the night and the relationship with the squirrel was good.”

Ruan Mengmeng saw Lu Zhengyuan’s crying and laughing expression and snorted out a laugh.

“Yldtxldt, nsxl blal.” Tl Zkuydt caswtbv vos csozp sq dssezlp kd pswr yde pyv yv vbl svbla vyczl.

“Xb,” Swyd Yldtxldt dseele yde ypjle iwknjzu, “Nssjkdt yv usw twup, kp vbl xsadkdt qkpbkdt vakr tskdt vs cl nydnlzzle?”

Mbl taswr, kdnzwekdt Nw Hbldtuwyd, yzz dseele pkzldvzu.

Swyd Yldtxldt pxkzle tldvzu, “Mbld usw twup byhl y tsse alpv yde ol’zz vyzj ycswv kv yv dssd.”

“Ebyv olal usw vyzjkdt ycswv?” Tl Zkuydt pyke kdekqqlaldvzu.

“Mblu yzz eked’v pzllr olzz zypv dktbv, ps vblal’p ds dlle vs ts swv kd vbl xsadkdt,” Swyd Yldtxldt pyke.

“Oyv vbkp qkapv.” Tl Zkuydt rllzle y cskzle ltt, rwv kv sd y rzyvl yde bydele kv shla.

Swyd Yldtxldt rwaple bla zkrp, zssjkdt alzwnvydv.

He Yiyang gave her a doting look, picked out the egg yolk, and then chucked the egg white into her bowl, “Is that okay?”

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“En.” Ruan Mengmeng smiled.

Before noon, Chen Linjia knocked on Ruan Mengmeng’s door with trepidation.

“What’s wrong?” Ruan Mengmeng held Chen Linjia’s hands, “Don’t be nervous, speak slowly.”

Huang Lili has passed out and is in the ICU.” Chen Linjia’s face was white.

“We want to go back first.” Gu Tingzhi, who was following behind, patted Chen Linjia and gestured for her to come. “You have a good relationship with Aunt Huang and Jiajia. This …… Do you want to come with us?”

Chen Linjia took a look and panicked. Ruan Mengmeng was also worried about Huang Lili. “Good, I’m with you guys. Brother ……”

As soon as she shouted out, He Yiyang took her bag and handed it over, stroking her head calmly, “Don’t be afraid, I’ll accompany you.”

When they arrived at the hospital, Ruan Hai was also there. When he saw Ruan Mengmeng and the others return, he quickly stood up to calm them down, “Jiajia, Mengmeng, don’t be afraid. Mr. Gu has hired a specialist. Your Aunt Huang will be fine soon.”

Chen Linjia ran to the door of the ward and took a look. Her stable emotions on the road instantly collapsed, “She went to Canada for treatment before. She said she was fine. Uncle Hai, is Huang Lili hiding something from me?”

“This ……”

Ruan Hai was also not clear about the details. Huang Lili’s body was already not in good condition, but he also had not heard of a great disease. This time, he received a phone call from Gu Wei saying that she had fallen unconscious on the ground and her body indicators were suddenly on the verge of danger. He came here in a hurry and hadn’t seen Gu Wei’s figure yet. He wanted to ask the doctor to find out, but these people just happened to be here.

A series of footsteps, and Gu Wei appeared, followed by several doctors.

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Gu Wei’s stern eyes softened when he saw Chen Linjia, “You have to believe your mother, Huang Lili, is a strong woman.”

When Chen Linjia saw that it was him, her sobs stopped for a moment. Her old awkwardness and squirming disappeared. Now she just wanted to know what happened to Huang Lili.

“What’s wrong with her? Can you tell me?”

Gu Wei shook his head, “Your mother doesn’t want you to worry.”

Chen Linjia choked. Uneasiness lingered in her heart, thinking of Huang Lili’s unknown condition. Gu Wei knew about it but didn’t tell her. Her fear turned to anger, and she blurted out, “If you married my mother, why can’t you take care of her? You are no better than my father!”

Gu Wei froze in place, the look on his face suddenly becoming very complicated.

Ruan Hai came over to round things up, “Mr. Gu, Jiajia is still a child, don’t take it personally.”

Gu Wei waved his hand, “No harm done.”

Chen Linjia wanted to follow the doctor in but was blocked from entering.

She dragged the doctor, “I want to go in too. I want to stay with my mother!”

The doctor calmly peeled away her hand. He was unable to do so and looked towards Gu Wei and the others.

Gu Tingzhi rushed over and hugged the broken Chen Linjia, “Jiajia, the doctor is going to examine Aunt Huang. Don’t disturb, it’ll be fine. Be a good girl.”

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“Oooooooo,” Chen Linjia struggled, “Let go! Let go!”

When the doctor went in, Gu Tingzhi released his confining arms. Chen Linjia slumped against the glass window, her shoulders shaking with tears.

Ruan Mengmeng sniffled hard and held Chen Linjia’s hand, “Aunt Lili loves you, so she can’t leave you behind. Let’s wait for the doctor to come out together.”

“It’s a serious illness,” Chen Linjia was a bit incoherent, “she didn’t say anything to me. She even called me in the morning to say she wanted me to wear long sleeves. I thought she was nagging and said she was too much in charge, oooooooooh I ……”

“Stop it,” Ruan Mengmeng choked out, “Aunt Lili will be fine. Let’s not cry.”

The two little girls hugged and cried into a ball. Ruan Hai couldn’t bear to watch, but he had other things to ask Gu Wei.

“Mr. Gu, take a step forward to speak.”

The operation lasted two hours and was not over yet, but the weather changed abruptly in the evening, plummeting by more than ten degrees.

Gu Wei seemed to have something else to do, exchanging a few words with the doctor and Gu Tingzhi, and he had no intention of guarding until the surgery was over.

Chen Linjia gathered her fists when she saw this, her tightly bitten lower lip bloodless.

Ruan Mengmeng wanted to comfort her but didn’t know what to say, so she kept holding her friend’s hand to give her warmth.

After a while, Gu Tingzhi came over from the nurse’s station and pulled Chen Linjia’s arm, “Get up. You go to the ward and wait. Aunt Huang will also be transferred there after the surgery.”

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Chen Linjia stared at the operating room, not moving. Her eyes were bloodshot and her lips were purple.

Gu Tingzhi didn’t want to tug hard. His eyes looked at Ruan Mengmeng for help.

“Jiajia …… Ah-choo.”

Before Ruan Mengmeng could say anything, a sneeze came out, and the sweat hairs on his back stood up in a cold shiver.

Seeing this, He Yiyang hurriedly took off his jacket and put it over Ruan Mengmeng’s body.

“You go back first; don’t catch a cold.” Chen Linjia said.

How could Ruan Mengmeng feel at ease? “I’ll wait with you.”

“I asked. The operation is still two or three hours away,” Gu Tingzhi bent down and tried to stand up with his arms around Chen Linjia, “You haven’t slept since last night. I’ll sit here for you. It’s the same if you go to the ward and wait.”

“Go away, who do you think you are?” Chen Linjia cried weakly, pushing her hands away, but her tone was dead serious.”I want to wait by myself.”

“Jiajia, you look terrible,” Ruan Mengmeng advised, “and I’ll be sitting here the entire time; can you go and rest for a while?”

Gu Tingzhi sighed but wasn’t going to let Chen Linjia be so dishevelled, “You have a fever!”

He Yiyang frowned and put his hand on Ruan Mengmeng’s forehead. It was fine.

“Nurse!” Gu Tingzhi shouted.

“What are you shouting for?” Chen Linjia was impatient and instructed Gu Tingzhi, “Go get me some cold medicine and a quilt. I want to sit here and wait.”

Gu Tingzhi couldn’t argue with her and gathered the person to sit in the same position. His eyes turned to Ruan Mengmeng again.

“I’ll go get some cold medicine. You stay with her.” Ruan Mengmeng said.

It was not until twelve o’clock at night that the operation was over and Gu Wei rushed over, before Ruan Mengmeng and He Yiyang went back.

The next day, after the evening study, Ruan Mengmeng was not sure and went to the hospital again. Chen Linjia hugged her and bawled. Only then did she know that Huang Lili had leukemia.

The first time she went to Canada last year was not for pleasure, but to find a bone marrow match. The match was made successfully before she returned home.

Yesterday’s fainting spell was a sudden, acute change. Fortunately, the family’s maids found her early. After she was stabilised at the Central C Hospital, Gu Wei and the doctors still recommended going to Canada for further treatment. After all, the match was there.

Huang Lili was still not awake, and as this time it was a long-term treatment, Chen Linjia wanted to go along.

“Have you thought about it?” Ruan Mengmeng asked.

Chen Linjia patted her crying and swollen face, her eyes steely, “Huang Lili is my mother. My father is gone. I can’t just do it for myself when my mother needs me and my studies can continue in Canada.”

“My brother told me that there is a high rate of cure with matching bone marrow, so don’t worry too much.” Ruan Mengmeng said comfortingly.

“Do you know, she fainted this time standing in the dance studio renovated for me,” Chen Linjia shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes. “No matter how good the material is, it will always have formaldehyde. It will affect her white blood cells. Huang Lili herself knew this, but she was still uneasy about matters concerning me. She often stared at the renovation personally, and I always thought that after she married Uncle Gu ……”

Ruan Mengmeng hugged Chen Linjia and patted her back.

“Mengmeng, you keep saying that Huang Lili is very fond of me, but you don’t know what I think. I always think that she enjoyed great benefits by marrying my father. She didn’t have to do anything to live better than she did before. It was only natural for me to enjoy her fondness and pampering. I took it for granted. You know, I’m selfish.”

Ruan Mengmeng relieved, “Don’t say that. If you weren’t good, Aunt Lili wouldn’t like you either. She really sees you as her daughter. Doesn’t Aunt Lili always say that you’re her precious cub.”

Chen Linga broke into a smile, “Don’t say baby. Are you childish? We’re both seventeen.”

“Baby Jiajia.” Ruan Meng Meng deliberately teased her.

“Baby Mengmeng.” Chen Linjia was not willing to show weakness.

The two looked at each other and couldn’t help rubbing their arms. They hugged each other with another pair of smiles.

Chen Linjia said, “Huang Lili’s condition can’t be delayed. We have a flight tomorrow afternoon. You have a good lesson at school. I’ll call you when I settle down.”

“Look at you, calling out your first name again with your mouth. If you can call out mother a few times to her face, Aunt Lili will definitely get better soon.” Ruan Mengmeng said.

“Long-winded!” Chen Linjia said arrogantly.

“Hey,” Ruan Mengmeng pursed her lips, her heart reluctant to part with her. “Luckily communication is easy now. I’ll go visit you after the summer break.”

“Forget it. I don’t know you yet?” Chen Linjia looked at her askance, “the second half of the year is senior year. The first secondary summer vacation is only ten days. According to his domineering control over you, where can you, a wimp, go but around him? Just video chat with us often.”

Ruan Mengmeng smiled and squeezed Chen Linjia’s arm with embarrassment, “Remember to contact, and miss me. If you make foreign friends, I’m also your closest friend.”

“Jiajia, come and take your cold medicine.” Gu Tingzhi poked half of his body out of the ward.

Chen Linjia’s eyes swollen into peachy ones rolled their eyes in high dudgeon, “Okay Mum Tingzhi.”

“Gu Tingzhi is so good to you,” Ruan Mengmeng lamented. “Is he going to Canada too?”

“What’s he doing there!” Chen Linjia suddenly raised her voice.

“…… er, I’m just asking casually.” Ruan Mengmeng was unsure. What was all the excitement about?