Chapter 15: Her Heart Was Incredibly Conflicted

Xie Zhao was also stunned for a moment.

Obviously, he had not expected to run into Chen Donghai and Zhao Lanzhi at the hospital.

Once he recovered, he smiled faintly and lifted the wooden bucket off the handcart.

“If you two want to buy fish, please come back tomorrow. They’re all sold out today.”

Xie Zhao spoke in a flat tone, as if the two of them were complete strangers.

With that, he picked up the bucket and the vegetable basket, preparing to leave.

This action, however, clearly angered Zhao Lanzhi.

Frowning, she glared at Xie Zhao and snapped, “What kind of game are you playing now? Chasing us all the way to the hospital just to corner us? How did you become like this?”

Chen Donghai knitted his brows, remaining silent.

As a businessman, reading people was his forte.

The youth before him was already half a head taller than he was.

He stood straight and tall, with clean-cut features and a faint smile playing on his lips.

But his eyes were different.

Over the past year, every time they saw Xie Zhao, they had been startled by the intense resentment and grievance in his eyes.

Because of this, they had grown increasingly disgusted and distant.

Yet now.

As he looked at him and his wife, his eyes were clean and clear. His naturally smiling eyes and brows held only a faint, detached coldness.

A thin sheen of sweat coated his forehead, and the friction marks from the handcart’s pulling rope were visible on his black padded jacket.

He clearly, clearly should have looked pathetic and wretched.

Yet at this moment, he stood before them, proud and strong like a lone wolf.

Chen Donghai’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Almost instinctively, he reached out and tugged at Zhao Lanzhi.

“Let’s go!”

He said in a low voice.

Business was not something that could be faked.

He had watched for a moment earlier. Xie Zhao really was selling fish, and his posture and skill were frighteningly experienced and mature.

Zhao Lanzhi, however, was reluctant.

In truth, she knew deep down that this was likely a misunderstanding. But she was angry and physically exhausted, making her expression look even worse.

“Why should we leave?”

She glared at Xie Zhao, her gaze instinctively falling on the two fish he was holding.

“Didn’t you say you’re selling fish? Sell these two to me, then!”

Zhao Lanzhi took a step forward and demanded loudly.

This was just her personality.

Her family was well-off with no worries about food or clothing, and their business was large. Wherever she went, people flattered her.

To say nothing of Xie Zhao, who had been begging her to let him return before.

Seeing him again today, only for him to treat them so coldly, made Zhao Lanzhi feel rather uncomfortable.

However, she did not stop to think about why exactly she felt that way.

Xie Zhao’s lips remained curved in a smile, but his eyes had turned cold.

“Auntie, I’m not selling these two fish. My wife just gave birth, and my mother is looking after her in the hospital. These two fish are for them to nourish their bodies.”

Xie Zhao spoke slowly, emphasizing every word.

Zhao Lanzhi froze.

Nourish his wife and his mother?

His… mother?

Hearing this title from Xie Zhao’s mouth for the first time felt like a tight squeeze on Zhao Lanzhi’s heart, leaving it aching and swollen with emotion.

She clenched her fists instinctively and forced a sneer, staring at Xie Zhao. “What kind of new trick is this? We just saw you the day before yesterday, and today your child is already born?”

“How come I didn’t know about it?”

Before Xie Zhao could respond to Zhao Lanzhi’s words, a somewhat familiar voice came from behind him.

“Oh, there you are! What took you so long? Your wife and mother made lunch and are waiting for you! The two babies have already been wheeled into the ward. Why aren’t you going in to see them?”

Xie Zhao turned around.

It was the mother of the woman in the neighboring bed.

He paused, all other thoughts instantly vanishing from his mind.

“Have the babies been wheeled out?”

Xie Zhao asked blankly.

“Yes! I saw them! Their hair is jet-black, though they’re a bit thin. They’re absolutely beautiful!”

She gave Xie Zhao a big thumbs-up.

Xie Zhao finally snapped out of it.

Grinning widely, he quickly grabbed his basket and bucket and ran toward the ward, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Behind him, Zhao Lanzhi and Chen Donghai were also stunned.

It was actually true?

“Did his wife really give birth?”

Zhao Lanzhi could not help but ask.

The middle-aged woman, holding a clay stove, saw the couple’s clothing and realized they were not ordinary folks. Assuming they were Xie Zhao’s relatives, she began to sing his praises.

“Oh, absolutely! His wife is so lucky! She gave birth to twin girls, and he doesn’t mind at all. His mother is also very easy to get along with, and she takes such good care of her!”

The middle-aged woman’s praise was genuine, and so was her envy.

“That young man is the most capable and caring person I’ve ever seen. His wife eats several meals a day, with plenty of eggs and fish. And he treats his mother exceptionally well, too!”

“Just yesterday, his mother wanted him to have the egg noodles because she couldn’t bear to eat them herself, but he absolutely refused! He insisted on pouring half of it into his mother’s bowl, telling her to nourish her body! Not to mention here at the hospital, where he does all the heavy lifting and running around, not letting his mother or wife lift a finger. And even with all that, he still catches fish every day to make money!”

“Tell me, where else could you find such a good lad? His mother is truly blessed! He’s so filial!”

She spoke with great enthusiasm, completely failing to notice how dark Zhao Lanzhi and Chen Donghai’s faces had become.

Both of them could not help but think of their own three children.

Over the past three days, they had only visited once a day.

When they did come, they would just lie straight on the bed, eat fruit, chat, and ask for allowance.

Let alone helping out with any chores!

Even pouring water was something Chen Donghai had to do himself!

Enjoying the blessings of their children?

He was lucky enough if they didn’t cause him worry!

Zhao Lanzhi’s temples throbbed. At this moment, she felt as if a piece of her heart had been hollowed out.

It felt empty, and a wave of bitterness washed over her.

In her daze, she suddenly remembered the year Xie Zhao was ten.

He had always been a very filial child.

It happened on a stormy night in March that year.

Back then, Chen Donghai hadn’t started his own business yet. He was a salesman at a garment factory, but he was stubborn and refused to go along with the crowd.

That night, Chen Donghai got drunk, had a falling out with the factory director, and stumbled his way home in a daze.

The rain poured down in sheets.

Zhao Lanzhi was lying at home with a fever.

The night was as black as ink, so dark that one couldn’t see their own hand in front of their face. It was ten-year-old Xie Zhao who had carried a hurricane lantern, held up a heavy, oversized oil-paper umbrella, and stepped out of the house to search for the drunken Chen Donghai.

His small, fragile frame couldn’t drag the unconscious Chen Donghai, so he simply gritted his teeth, held up the umbrella, and stood in the rain, doing his best to shield him from the storm all night long.

The memories flooded back.

Zhao Lanzhi suddenly felt a bit dazed.

When, exactly, had she started to detest Xie Zhao so much, believing that everything he did was driven by ulterior motives?

…

The ward.

When Xie Zhao walked in carrying a wooden bucket and a food basket, the first thing he saw was Lin Muyu holding the baby and breastfeeding.