Lin Xinyan froze briefly, but she quickly understood his words. I didn’t expect him to know of it so soon. I’m Zong Jinghao wouldn’t tell him since Wen Qing is his dad.
“It’s not your fault, so you don’t have to feel guilty about it.” Lin Xinyan didn’t want to force him to take sides. He could remain neutral and choose not to get involved.
I have no complaints, even if he sides with Wen Qing. After all, the man is his dad.
Li Zhan stood up and walked to the window. Even Xinyan is considerate enough to think that I’m feeling guilty, but my dad never cares about my feelings.
My dad…
Snapping out of his reverie, Li Zhan refused to think about his dad now. The only thing his dad ever gave him was feelings of disappointment.
“Tell Jinghao to let me know whenever he needs my help. I’ll surely be there for him.” With that, Lin Xinyan started walking away. Suddenly, he stopped in his track, turned around, and looked at Lin Xinyan. “How are you feeling now?”
Lin Xinyan answered with a smile, “I’m much better now, so don’t worry.”
“That’s great. Otherwise, I won’t be able to face Jinghao and Xichen.” My dad was the one who brought such sufferings upon her. Despite being on bad terms, I’m still his son.
Lin Xinyan sighed helplessly. Why must the younger generation get involved in the past grudges between the older generation?
She was at a loss for words. The only thing she could do was to help him loosen up. “Maybe you should stay overseas for a while to unwind yourself.”
Then he’ll be able to avoid this issue, which is putting him in much distress.
Li Zhan smiled warmly at her. “No, I’m not going anywhere.”
This is not the right time for me to leave.
After that, he darted a glance at Bai Yinning, who had been staring at Lin Xinyan without saying a word since he came in. He asked, “Is he your friend?”
Lin Xinyan nodded.
Li Zhan felt relieved – he didn’t want to bring a stranger in to interrupt her rest.
“I’ll get going now.” Is there any other way to solve this? I don’t want to see my dad and Zong Jinghao become enemies.
“Okay,” Lin Xinyan responded lightly.
After Li Zhan left, Bai Yinning rolled his wheelchair closer to her.
Worry washed over him at the sight of her pale face. “Why didn’t you tell me when such a severe thing happened to you?”
However, Lin Xinyan refused to talk about it with Bai Yinning, so she changed the subject. “Why are you still here?”
“Wen Qing set you up, didn’t he?”
He pressed on and asked, “Lin Xinyan, is this a trivial matter to you?”
“This matter has nothing to do with you, regardless of its severity. Hence, don’t get involved and return to Baicheng. It’ll be hard for you to escape once you’re dragged into this mess,” Lin Xinyan persuaded him earnestly.
Wen Qing wants Jinghao to marry Chen Shihan, and the Chen family must have agreed to the plan with a hidden agenda. This isn’t Baicheng or Bai Yinning’s territory, so he’s at their mercy. Why should he take the risk then?
“Are you worried about me?” Staring at her, Bai Yinning’s gaze darkened.
Looking squarely into his eyes, Lin Xinyan said openly, “I care about you because you’ve saved me before. You’re not responsible for those things that happened in Baicheng, and you can’t help me solve my issue as well.”
A smile spread across Bai Yinning’s face. “How do you know I can’t help you?” Pausing briefly, his smile grew wider. “Don’t you think this is a golden opportunity for me to join forces with Zong Jinghao to defeat Wen Qing?”
Lin Xinyan narrowed her eyes at him. “You still refuse to let go?”
“Yes, I’ll never get over it. The ultimate purpose of my life is to avenge my adoptive father.” He slowly enunciated every word in a determined tone.
Previously, he had decided to leave because of Lin Xinyan’s advice, but the recent incident had changed his mind.
Now that Zong Jinghao is against Wen Qing, he and I are on the same side. I can’t get rid of Wen Qing on my own, but I’ll stand a chance if Zong Jinghao joins forces with me.
Realizing that it was impossible to convince him, Lin Xinyan said, “I’m tired.”
She was too exhausted to keep the discussion going.
Just when Bai Yinning reached out to hold her hand, the door opened. His hand froze in the air for two seconds before he withdrew it.
A nurse came over and removed the IV drip needle from Lin Xinyan’s arm. “Please press the cotton ball against your arm for a while.”
After taking away the IV infusion bottle, the nurse passed a recipe from the doctor to Aunt Yu. “Please prepare food according to this recipe. It helps to reduce her morning sickness.”
“Sure, thank you.” Aunt Yu nodded and walked the nurse out.
“You’re welcome. It’s our responsibility to do so.” The hospital management had arranged the most experienced medical experts to look after Lin Xinyan because Zong Jinghao had personally gone looking for the hospital’s Dean.
The nurse’s words felt like a deafening thunder in Bai Yinning’s head. What? Morning sickness?
Is Lin Xinyan pregnant?
Bai Yinning tried to say something, but his jaw felt too tense.
His voice got stuck in his throat as a wave of grief overwhelmed his senses.
Having borne two children for Zong Jinghao, she is no doubt close to him. But it still shocks me to find out she’s pregnant again. It’s a bitter pill to swallow.
In a croaky voice, Bai Yinning asked, “How long has it been?”
She answered honestly, “More than a month.”
“Congratulations.” He plastered a smile on his face.
“Thank you.”
At the same time, Aunt Yu began studying the recipe. “I see. Broccoli is good for pregnancy.”
In fact, the greener the broccoli was, the higher its nutritional value.
The recipe included three main meals of the day and tea time. Most dishes had dark green, leafy vegetables that contained a higher level of folic acid. It was more easily assimilable and healthier compared to supplemental folic acid. Other than that, there was also protein-rich food like meat and shrimps in every meal.
“I can’t go back, so I’ll call and ask someone to prepare and send the food over.” Aunt Yu’s entire focus was on Lin Xinyan alone, constantly worrying about her appetite and morning sickness.
Hence, Lin Xinyan had gotten used to Aunt Yu’s care and attentiveness.
Just then, tension built up in Bai Yinning’s chest. “I’ll take my leave. Please rest well.”
“Sure. I’m sorry I can’t walk you out,” Lin Xinyan answered.
Bai Yinning chuckled. “You should take good care of yourself. Even if you don’t walk me out, I can still leave on my own.”
Afterward, he came out of the hospital in a daze, finding it hard to accept the reality.
Immediately, Gao Yuan followed after him. “Are you not going back?”
In need of some time to calm himself down, he waved his hand. After that, Gao Yuan pushed his wheelchair and ambled along the street outside the hospital, where there were restaurants, grocery stores, and florists.
Staring into the florist through the glass windows, Bai Yinning saw fresh and delicate flowers in their full bloom, giving off a lovely scent. Immediately, he asked Gao Yuan to stop. “Please buy a bouquet of roses for me…”
