The next morning, Qin Ya arrived at the hospital with a fruit basket. It was common courtesy to prepare a gift when visiting an elder at the hospital.
Grandma Su had barely slept a wink last night. How could she have accepted their relationship so easily?
It was because she felt guilty that she had allowed them to be together. Besides, she reckoned that her inability to have children was treatable.
If she could look that flawless after plastic surgery, then it wouldn’t a problem to get her ‘infertility’ n treated.
She told Qin Ya to visit her because she wanted her to get a checkup at the hospital.
Given the advancement of medical standards, she was confident that Qin Ya would be able to conceive if she met the right doctor.
If all else fails, she could accept in vitro fertilization, as long as it was Su Zhan’s child.
Qin Ya knocked on the door and it was Su Zhan who answered it. He quickly took over the fruit basket from her and asked softly, “Have you eaten?”
“I did before stopping by,” Qin Ya said.
“Come on in,” Su Zhan said, directing her inside.
“Come here, Ya. Sit next to me.” Grandma Su beckoned her.
Qin Ya walked up to her. She was surprised that the latter had accepted her and was a little grateful inside. After all, she knew how much Grandma Su wanted a great-grandchild.
“Grandma.”
“Hey.” Grandma Su grabbed her hand and lamented, “Look how thin you’ve gotten. Things must’ve been hard on you, huh?”
Qin Ya’s eyelids drooped. “It’s all in the past now.”
Grandma Su patted her hands and said, “Don’t be scared. I’m here now.”
Just then, there was a knock on the door. Su Zhan went to open the door, thinking that it was the doctors doing their morning rounds.
Yet standing at the door was a doctor unfamiliar to him.
“You are?” Su Zhan asked.
“I’m Dr. Chen.”
“Dr. Chen, please come in,” Grandma Su called out from the inside.
Su Zhan looked back at his grandmother. “What’s going on?”
I didn’t ask for a change of doctor. The doctor who’s examining Grandma is at the top of his class. There’s no need for another doctor to check on Grandma.
“This is Dr. Chen. He specializes in infertility treatment. I’ve invited him over to take a look at Ya. We’re more than capable of finding the best doctor to treat Ya,” Grandma Su said, thinking that she was doing Su Zhan and Qin Ya a favor.
Qin Ya felt as though someone had shoved a fist down her throat.
“We’re not interested. Thank you, doctor. You may leave now.” It was Su Zhan who spoke. His voice sounded so cold that one could almost feel the chill in the air.
“How could you say that you’re not interested? Ya couldn’t have children, could she? Dr. Chen studied abroad and has excellent medical knowledge and skills. Maybe he might be able to treat Ya’s infertility.” Grandma Su explained hastily, “I’m doing this for your own good. You don’t want to be childless for the rest of your life, do you?”
“I have told you, I don’t want any—”
“Just hear me out. I can help you if you’d allow me. In vitro technology is very advanced now—”
“Can I perform an in vitro if I don’t have a uterus?” Qin Ya suddenly shot to her feet, looking expressionlessly at the young doctor.
“T-That’s impossible. In vitro only nurtures the embryo. It still needs to grow in the mother’s uterus. It’s impossible to give birth without a uterus unless you look for a surrogate mother and have the child grow in someone else’s womb.”
“So you can’t treat me then?” Qin Ya struggled to find her equilibrium, feeling a stab of pain in the chest.
She turned to look at Grandma Su. “I have to go now, Grandma. I almost forgot that there’s something I have to take care of.”
As Qin Ya strode out of the ward, Su Zhan caught up to her and took her hand. “Ya…”
Qin Ya shook off his hand. She knew she shouldn’t have vented her anger on someone else, but she felt too humiliated when this very flaw of her was exposed in front of everyone.
Recomposing herself as fast as she could, she said, “Su Zhan, I got a call from Uncle Shao. He said there’s something urgent and I need to go back. Take good care of Grandma, will you?”
Having said that, she briskly walked away.
“Ya, I can explain.” Su Zhan chased after her. “I didn’t know Grandma would call the doctor. Please don’t take it to heart…”
“I didn’t. There’s a problem with me in the first place. What’s there for me to be angry about?”
She looked pointedly at Su Zhan. “It hurts to have my flaws exposed in front of others. Do you know how I feel?”
“I know,” Su Zhan said. “That’s why I never told Grandma that you’re Qin Ya because I was afraid she would bring that up in front of you and stress you out. I’m sorry. I didn’t handle it well.”
“Go back inside. I really need to go.” Qin Ya sniffled, holding back her tears. “Whether it can be handled or not, just tell me on the phone and don’t look for me in the meantime. I want to be alone.”
“I’m sorry,” Su Zhan muttered.
Qin Ya pursed her lips and exited the hospital.
Su Zhan ruffled his hair in frustration, feeling as though he had fallen into the abyss from heaven.
He had envisioned many wonderful things for the future yesterday, including a romantic marriage proposal for Qin Ya.
Yet today…
He pivoted on his heels and walked back to the ward when he heard Grandma Su talking to the doctor.
Grandma Su was taken aback by Qin Ya’s reaction. She seemed to have understood what it meant, but she refused to accept the truth, hoping that the doctor could enlighten her. “W-What does it mean to have no uterus?”
