When the kids arrived home, Zong Yanxi lay on Zong Qifeng’s bed and began folding paper cranes with colored paper. She told her grandfather, “Our art teacher taught us this.”
“Is that so?” Zong Qifeng chuckled as he patted his granddaughter’s head gently. Have you managed to learn how to do it properly?”
“I haven’t gotten much practice yet, so it doesn’t look as good as my teacher’s,” Zong Yanxi replied as she continued folding her cranes.
“I believe Ruixi will be able to make beautiful cranes.”
Zong Yanxi looked at her grandfather and said, “Grandpa, I want to fold many paper cranes.”
“Why?” Zong Qifeng queried.
Zong Qifeng was leaning against the bed; he had a frail disposition.
“There’s an ancient rumor that if you fold a thousand paper cranes sincerely, you’ll be able to bring good luck and blessings to someone you love. I want to fold you a thousand paper cranes so that you can get better soon,” Zong Yanxi explained earnestly.
Zong Qifeng felt touched by this gesture. This lass is getting more and more understanding by the day. “Where did you hear this from? You should be studying hard instead of learning all of this useless nonsense!”
“My art teacher taught us this. Is my teacher teaching nonsense then? If so, I won’t listen to my teachers or do my homework anymore,” Zong Yanxi retorted sharply. Zong Qifeng replied tenderly, “Sorry, that’s not what I meant at all. I was wrong. It’s very useful knowledge.”
Zong Yanxi stared at Zong Qifeng with a solemn expression in her clear eyes. “Grandpa, I’ll pray for your recovery earnestly.”
Zong Qifeng did not have any regrets left in this world. The only thing he lamented was not being able to watch the three kids grow up. Cheng Yuxiu wanted to watch her grandchildren grow up and go to school, but she had been unable to do so.
“I’ll hang them up,” Zong Yanxi quipped as she hung her folded paper cranes on the windowsill with a bit of string.
Lin Xinyan entered the room with the baby in her arms. She hurriedly supported her daughter, who was attempting to reach the window on a stool. “Slow down. Be careful.”
“It’s fine; I’ve grown up now,” Zong Yanxi assured her as she got off the stool. “Mommy, did you bring little brother here to see grandpa?”
Lin Xinyan nodded. “That’s right. Your little brother misses grandpa.”
“Hehe,” Zong Yanxi smiled as she pinched her brother’s cheeks. “His cheeks are so soft!”
Lin Xinyan slapped her hand aside and chided, “Don’t pinch his cheeks. He’ll drool.”
Zong Yanxi pouted and left the room.
Just as she was about to close the door, she met Zong Jinghao outside and called out, “Daddy!”
Zong Jinghao returned the greeting and instructed, “Go play with Yanchen in the living room for a while.”
“I don’t want to play with him; he’s so boring!” Zong Yanxi headed back to her own room while complaining.
Zong Yanchen, her brother, was wise beyond his years. Everyone other than Zong Yanxi and the baby knew about Zong Qifeng’s current situation. Zong Yanxi was heartbroken, and the boy of few words became even quieter.
Zong Yanxi remarked that her brother was just trying to act cool and ignored them.
Zong Jinghao closed the door and headed over to the bedside. He pulled a chair over and sat next to Lin Xinyan.
Ever since Zong Qifeng was ill, the man did not get to carry the baby much. Although the illness was not contagious, he was worried that it would affect the baby anyway.
The child was still young, and his immune system was weak.
“Why did you bring him in? Keep him away from me!” Zong Qifeng hurriedly waved them away.
Lin Xinyan began, “Jinghao and I have something to tell you.”
“What’s the matter?” Zong Qifeng asked Zong Jinghao.
“Jinghao and I have talked this through, and we want to let Su Zhan and Qin Ya adopt the baby,” Lin Xinyan replied.
Zong Qifeng’s gaze turned to baby and said, “He’s your child. If you’ve already thought this through, then I have no reason to object.”
He clasped the baby’s small hands, and the baby burst into laughter.
“This works, I guess.”
Zong Qifeng was ill, but his mind was still sharp. He could easily tell what the couple was thinking.
“Your parents only had one child, so you should let this baby take after your father’s surname. The child will then be able to take over your family business. Everything has worked out well. They won’t be able to see it for themselves, but I’ll be sure to pass on the message when I meet them on the other side.”
Zong Qifeng’s voice trailed off towards the end. His physical condition was clearly weakening.
The atmosphere turned grim, especially after what Zong Qifeng said about passing on the message. After a short chat, Zong Qifeng grew tired. Lin Xinyan and Zong Jinghao left the room so that he could get some rest.
Late at night, Lin Xinyan tossed and turned in bed, only to find out that there was no one beside her. She opened her eyes groggily and saw a dark figure on the balcony. She put on her slippers and brought a coat over, pinning it on Zong Jinghao’s back. “Why aren’t you sleeping?”
Under the dim moonlight, Lin Xinyan could see a pained and conflicted expression on his refined features.
Zong Jinghao took off the coat and placed it over her shoulders. He took her hand and said, “I can’t fall asleep. Keep me company for a while.”
Lin Xinyan agreed, and the two of them stood under the moonlight silently.
“Can you bear to give the baby away? If you want, I can bear you another child,” Lin Xinyan offered.
Zong Jinghao took her hand and replied, “Your body can’t take it. It’s already enough for me to have Xichen and Ruixi. They’re our first children, and I have no regrets.”
He was content to have a son and a daughter.
“I know that you did all of this for my sake. You let the baby take the Zhuang surname and inherit JK in order to let my family name and business continue to thrive. That way, his legacy will live on in our child.” She placed her hand on the back of his hand gently and continued, “Allowing Qin Ya and Su Zhan to adopt our baby will only mean that there are two more people in the world who love him as deeply as we do. This isn’t a bad thing.”
Both of them understood the logic behind this, but they just could not bear giving their child away.
“Let’s go to bed.” Zong Jinghao headed back into the room while holding Lin Xinyan’s hand.
The two of them simply could not fall asleep. Thoughts of both Zong Qifeng and the baby weighed heavily on their hearts.
They were not the only ones who did not rest well that night.
Sang Yu had often felt nauseous of late. Although she had not eaten much for dinner that night, she still felt like vomiting, but nothing would come out. Nausea kept tormenting her and robbing her of rest.
The following morning, the woman headed to a clinic. There was a long queue at the hospital, and she was working as an intern, so she could not be late. She would be penalized for being late and leave a bad impression.
The clinic was a lot less crowded than usual.
Sang Yu described her symptoms to the doctor, “I’ve been feeling nauseous lately, but I can’t seem to vomit anything out. My appetite has gotten a lot worse as well.”
The doctor probed, “Has anything like this happened in the past?”
Sang Yu shook her head. “My body has always been doing okay.”
“Have you been staying up late recently?” the doctor continued.
“No.”
“It might be gastric,” the doctor concluded, “I’ll prescribe you some medicine.”
“Okay.”
The doctor prescribed her some medicine which she took on the way to the office.
Sang Yu managed to reach the office on time.
Since Sang Yu was a new intern, she handled simple tasks such as photocopying documents or pinning messages on the noticeboard. However, her symptoms had not eased even after taking the medicine.
Maybe it hasn’t taken effect yet. I’ll take it again in the afternoon.
However, her situation had not improved even after she knocked off in the evening. Wang Tingxue asked her out for dinner.
She was quite tired after work and wanted to refuse, but Wang Tingxue threatened her, “If you don’t show up, then the two of us are through!”
Sang Yu sighed. Knowing Wang Tingxue’s temper, she would have to go, or Wang Tingxue would give her the cold shoulder for a long time.
“The noodles here are really good!” Wang Tingxue exclaimed as she dragged Sang Yu to a restaurant that was selling beef noodles.
“I haven’t eaten here in forever,” Wang Tingxue remarked as she dragged her inside. She quickly ordered, “Two bowls of noodles and a side order of pancakes!”
“Sure, please wait a moment.”
Shortly after, the waiter brought two bowls of noodles over. The thin noodles, finely sliced beef, shredded tofu skin, and onions, drenched in soup, made a fine combination.
Wang Tingxue was already drooling from the fragrant aroma. “It smells so good!”
In the past, Sang Yu had loved it as well. The beef noodles and pancakes were a perfect combination, but she currently had no appetite at all.
Wang Tingxue took a bite of the food and was immediately filled with bliss.
“Sang Yu, why aren’t you eating?” Wang Tingxue asked as she took a bite of the pancake.
“I haven’t been feeling well lately. I don’t have much of an appetite.”
Wang Tingxue queried, “What are your symptoms?”
“I feel nauseous all the time, and the medication prescribed isn’t helping.” She suddenly clutched her chest as she felt nauseous again.
Wang Tingxue’s eyes widened. “Sang Yu, you’re feeling nauseous? Are you pregnant?”
