“Oh, right, Zhiyu Yin just called you and I told him you were at the hospital.” Mom said carelessly as she peeled the apple.
I closed my eyes after an ‘Oh’, but inside I was complicated, was it Vince Yi who sent me back to the ward? Did he know everything, including the fact that the baby was lost?
He must have thought I was a complicated and conflicted woman, for it was me who told him I was pregnant and it was also me who told him I wasn’t, and in the end, I chose an abortion.
He should be happy, I suppose. He finally had no more burdens, and I would probably just be heartbroken for a while, and then I would cheer up again.
“Here, apple.” Mom handed the apple to me after peeling it and shoved it right next to my mouth. The sweet and cold apple touched my dry lips, instantly nourishing them. I slowly opened my eyes, looked at mom and shook my head.
“I don’t want to eat the apple. Please give me some water!” I had some pain in my lower abdomen, so I struggled to sit up. Looked at her, I asked, “Mom, you come over here to take care of me, so who’s going to take care of dad at home?”
“Zhiyu said he would come over and take care of you. I’ll go back as soon as he comes here.” Mom replied easily, but it made it difficult for me.
I had nothing to do with Zhiyu at all. I had a miscarriage and it was someone else’s baby. If he came over to take care of me, he would be laughed at by others.
I didn’t know what he was thinking about. If I were a man, I definitely wouldn’t accept such a woman. With his current status and family background, it would be easy for him to find a good, excellent and matched woman. Why he didn’t leave me?
Mom kept praising him next to me, but I couldn’t listen to a word of it until he stood at the door of the hospital room with a serious expression.
When mom saw him, she warmly greeted him like he was her own son. Then mom told him to sit down and she left, seeming to create an opportunity for us.
I looked at him quietly and whispered, “Actually, you don’t have to come.”
“Does it still hurt?” His voice was a little hoarse, with his eyes fixed on me, and I shook my head as our eyes to eyes.
My hair was disheveled, so I looked a lot more haggard and I definitely didn’t look any better. I pursed my lips and I was a little disturbed, “If you are busy, go ahead. I can take care of myself…”
“I just sat down, and you’re trying to kick me out?” Zhiyu interrupted me and I felt a bit guilty, with my head down. Even if he was a friend, I shouldn’t treat him with such an attitude.
It seemed that I couldn’t find anything to talk to him. We just remained silence.
I leaned back against the bed, pulling the comforter. I turned my back to him and whispered, “I’m sleepy and I want to sleep.”
“OK.” He responded, pulling the comforter a little up for me, in case of getting a cold.
I pretended to close my eyes, with a heave heart. Actually, I was trying to pretend to sleep to avoid unnecessary conversation because I was too embarrassed.
It wasn’t long before he began to chat with the one in the next bed. Probably because the one misunderstood that he was my husband, so he then talked to Zhiyu about how to care for a woman after an abortion.
He didn’t tell him it was a misunderstanding and he was just listening, while echoing.
Suddenly, there was a burning breath near my ear, so I was startled to open my eyes and saw his face leaning against my ear, very close. He asked softly, “It’s almost 11 o’clock. Are you hungry? What do you want to eat? I’ll have it cooked and sent over.”
I shook my head, “I’m not hungry.”
“How can you not be hungry, so, I’ll go home and ask Mrs. Chang to bring you some tonic stew?”
As soon as I heard he was going back, I nodded, “Okay.”
“Wait for me.” He smiled warmly and left.
Once he left, I sat up slowly, and the woman on the next bed looked at me enviously and said, “Your husband is so handsome and sweet. He really treats you well.”
I didn’t respond, with mixed feelings.
The only person I wanted was Vince, whose concern was meaningful to me, and the aborted child was his, who should have been by my side.
Why did so many things go wrong?
I looked at the door of the hospital room with loneliness, but soon I saw two men walking in. To my surprise, it was Zhiyu who took Vince in.
I didn’t have the courage to look at Vince and after our eyes to eyes, I lowered my head like a child who had done something wrong.
“Nance, what a coincidence. I ran into an old friend as soon as I came downstairs and we even got an extra nutritious meal.” After saying that, he directly took a thermos from Vince’ s hands and placed it on the table next to me.
Zhiyu was busy pouring it out for me while I clearly felt the cold gaze. He misunderstood me and I didn’t even know that they would know each other.
“Nance, do you know? I’m a close buddy of Vince since we grew up together, so we have a very strong relationship.” After pouring out the nutritious meal, Zhiyu was going to feed it to me, but I refused and just picked it up myself.
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