Before she could finish speaking, a series of hurried footsteps sounded outside the door, followed by a nurse's voice: "Miss, please be quiet! These are all pregnant women who need to rest..."
The footsteps stopped abruptly, and the door was suddenly pushed open, revealing Li Yining standing in the doorway, her face covered in sweat. Her long hair was disheveled, and she was still wearing a long dress from home, which was also in disarray from running.
Without bothering to tidy up, Li Yining walked to the bedside and stared straight at Fei Hua on the bed.
Fei Hua said softly, "You..."
"I'm here." Li Yining, still panting, reached out and grasped Fei Hua's hand with trembling hands.
She thought she would eventually forget her.
But none of them realized that she was already an exception.
They exchanged a glance, Mu Xing took Bai Shuwan's hand, and the two left the room together, gently closing the door behind them.
Fei Hua was hospitalized for a week due to minor injuries and premature birth. After being discharged, she stayed in a hotel for a month because the newborn baby could not travel by plane.
During this month, Li Yining, under the pretext of visiting Mu Xing's house, stayed by Fei Hua's side constantly and personally directed people to take care of her.
"The chicken soup should be simmered until it's quite thick; more red dates aren't necessarily better; and the goji berries should be from Yunnan..."
"This pillow is too hard. Please replace it with a filling made of Hebei cotton. If you don't have any, go and buy some... Never mind, I'll have my family send it over, that might be faster."
Fei Hua was already used to her pickiness and was not surprised. However, now that their circumstances were different and two years had passed, she felt a little awkward.
Taking advantage of a free moment while the child was asleep, Li Yining chatted with Fei Hua, sharing their experiences over the past two years. When they were silent for a while, Li Yining casually asked, "Have you decided what name to give Xiao Bao? We can't keep calling him Xiao Bao."
Fei Hua glanced at her and said, "What name do you think would be good?"
Li Yining said, "I do have a few ideas." Just as she was about to speak, Fei Hua said slowly, "I am her mother, so she takes my surname. If you were to name her, what would your position be?"
These words were very direct. Li Yining paused, realizing what Fei Hua meant by probing. She blushed with almost shame and anger, and frowned.
Fei Hua thought that she would try to save face by saying something mean, just like she did back then. She was secretly regretting her words and wanted to change her mind, but Li Yining blushed and slowly said, "You give me a surname, and I will give you a given name. Whatever your status, I will naturally assume the same status."
Fei Hua was stunned for a moment, staring blankly at her.
Li Yining immediately blushed and glared back: "Do you have a problem with this?"
With a gentle smile, Fei Hua continued to look at her. Li Yining stared at her for a while, then, as if feeling guilty, quietly looked away.
Over the past month, Mu Xing and Bai Shuwan have frequently visited the two of them and shared some gossip: Principal Zhang, who had just returned home from a business trip, suddenly divorced his wife on the grounds that she was a gambler, and his eloquent concubine was no longer seen at the dinner party; she looked much more haggard.
Not long after, Madam Zhang, who had returned to her parents' home in Wenjiang, suddenly learned that her brother, the general manager, had been dismissed from the bank where he worked. He took his wife and children to visit his boss, Chairman Li, but was turned away. The whole family was shrouded in gloom. Madam Zhang also heard that she had finally cured her gambling addiction.
One day, when Mu Xing had some free time, she chatted with Li Yining for an afternoon and finally figured out how the two of them got involved. It turned out that while she was caught in the "lighting big candle crisis," Fei Hua wiped Li Yining's tears with a two-and-a-half-yuan handkerchief, and from then on, another name was added to her list of patrons.
After getting the gossip over, Mu Xing got down to business: "Are you really going to take Fei Hua with you to America?"
Li Yining looked down at the coffee in front of her and said, "She risked her life to save her child, so naturally I must save her too."
Mu Xing frowned: "You know perfectly well that's not what I meant. If it's about protecting Fei Hua, Shu Wan will never stand idly by."
“I know what you mean.” Li Yining was reluctant to talk to Mu Xing about Fei Hua, but knowing that she was worried, he could only say, “I took her with me to America. At home, it’s just like having a friend for company. There won’t be any problems for the next two or three years. But if you ask me about the future, I don’t want to think about such things, nor do I have the ability to think about them.”
All I have is the present moment.
Everyone understands the logic, and seeing her say this, Mu Xing didn't try to persuade her any further, only saying, "If anything happens in the future, remember to tell me."
Li Yining glanced at her, then turned her head away: "I know that your feelings for me will always be the same."
She paused for a moment, then continued, "There is something else now. Fei Hua said that her contract was burned by Madam Zhang. In theory, she and Principal Zhang are now 'dead and cannot testify against each other.' If Principal Zhang comes to Miss Bai, you should just pretend you don't know anything about it."
Mu Xing nodded: "I know. When Fei Hua was hospitalized before, I didn't register her under her real name."
Li Yining said, "That's good. I'll take her back to Wenjiang in a few days to get her paperwork done before we go to the United States together."
And so, the matter finally came to an end. A month later, Mu Xing and Bai Shuwan returned to Wenjiang and saw off Li Yining and Fei Hua, along with their child, Chu Cheng, at the airport.
After seeing the two off, Mu Xing and Bai Shuwan walked along the long-unseen Wenjiang Street, intending to take a good stroll, when Bai Shuwan suddenly spotted a familiar figure in the distance: "Look, isn't that... Fei Lian?"
"Hmm?" Mu Xing had naturally heard about what happened to Second Master Li, and couldn't help but be surprised: "Where? She angered Second Brother Li, and still dares to go out... Second Sister-in-law?!"
Mu Xing and Bai Shuwan stared in disbelief at Fei Lian and the "former" second wife of the Li family, who were strolling arm in arm and laughing together not far away.
Mu Xing murmured, "This seems to be another story."
(The End)