vrcanaries Chapter 472
Chapter 472
......Zhou Zedong usually walked over, as it only took about ten minutes.
But the sun was blazing hot today. As soon as he stepped out of the library, a wave of stifling heat rushed over him, making his already restless mood even more irritable.
He got on the bus, and Xiao Bowen followed him up. Having never taken a bus before, Xiao Bowen stood there looking a bit dazed.
Normally, his grandmother would have someone pick him up and drop him off for school, and even in the past when he lived with his mother, he never had to squeeze onto a public bus.
Zhou Zedong walked over and sat down, only to notice that the other boy was still standing there blankly, not knowing what to do.
He paused, then got up, walked back, and paid the fare for him, saying, In the future, if you want to take the bus, you need to prepare small change or coins first.
Xiao Bowen was just starting to feel touched when he heard him add, You have to pay me back.
Xiao Bowen: ......
When Zhou Zedong returned home, he found the front door wide open, yet the house was completely silent.
Feeling a bit confused, he quickly ran inside.
Da Huang was still sleeping under the shade of the tree, but the courtyard was empty. There was only the lounge chair left at the door that hadn't been moved inside, along with some mud from a snakeskin bag spilled on the ground, and the foam boxes his sister had prepared for planting vegetables.
The entire courtyard was so quiet that only his breathing could be heard.
He ran around inside and out but didn't see anyone. Just then, a passerby saw him and asked in surprise, Oh my, Little Dong, you're still at home? I heard your younger brother and sister say your mother is about to give birth. Didn't you go with them?
Zhou Zedong froze for a moment, and his expression drastically changed. My mom is giving birth?
Yes, only your younger brother and sister were home at the time. Later, your dad seemed to have come back and took them over. I thought you had gone there long ago.
The person sighed repeatedly.
Zhou Zedong didn't have time to say more and hurriedly rushed in the direction of the hospital. After running just a few steps, he thought of something, turned around, and ran back into the house to grab the baby supplies his dad had bought in advance, just in case.
As expected, his parents must have left in a great hurry, leaving behind all the formula and clothes.
Zhou Zedong packed everything into bags and hurried toward the hospital carrying two large bags of supplies.
Xiao Bowen followed behind with a bewildered look on his face. What, Teacher Si was about to have a baby?
The last time he saw Teacher Si was on his birthday, and he hadn't noticed at all.
It hadn't been that long, and she was already giving birth?
Didn't that mean they were going to have another younger brother or sister?
He was both surprised and envious as he watched Zhou Zedong run off without looking back, and he hurried to follow and see for himself.
However, Xiao Bowen had barely taken two steps when someone grabbed him.
He jumped in fright and was instinctively about to scream when he heard a familiar voice ring out, Bowen, it's Mom. It's Mom!
Xiao Bowen froze for a second, then abruptly looked up at the person.
Seeing Fang Hui standing behind him, looking even thinner than before and somewhat disheveled, dressed very poorly, his eyes instantly widened. Mom?
Fang Hui didn't have time to catch up with her son. In truth, she had been back for a while, but due to threats from the Xiao family, she hadn't dared to look for him.
But he was her own flesh and blood after all. Having been separated for so long, how could Fang Hui not miss him?
So during this time, she had been secretly following her son. But she never expected to see him reading together with Zhou Zedong today.
The two seemed to be on very good terms.
Fang Hui's face had darkened with anger at the time, because in her view, if it weren't for Si Nian being so petty and vindictive, she wouldn't have been pushed out by her company as a scapegoat over that reporting incident and sent to prison.
Now that she had finally managed to come back, she held onto a sliver of hope in her heart.
After all, her son had already been acknowledged and taken back by the Xiao family.
Although the Xiao family was powerful and influential, their lineage was thin. There were originally only two brothers; the eldest died young, and the second was unmarried. The only heir left was her son.
Therefore, Fang Hui felt that it didn't matter if the Xiao family disliked her now. As long as she waited for her son to grow up and gain authority, she would eventually be able to enter their doors.
But she hadn't expected to run into her son being so friendly with the son of the woman she hated the most.
It left a bitter taste in her mouth. Her former desire to control her son instantly surged up, and she wished she could step forward and teach him a good lesson, forbidding him from playing with Zhou Zedong.
However, before she could go over and make trouble, the boy suddenly had to leave in a hurry.
Fang Hui accidentally picked up a photo that had fallen out of her son's book, catching sight of a familiar man's face.
However, her attention was quickly drawn to the man beside him.
It was truly because that person's face looked far too much like Zhou Zedong's.
They were practically carved from the same mold.
Making it hard for her to ignore even if she wanted to.
Recalling how that man had inexplicably sent her to the Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan region and even rented a house for her right next door to the Zhou family, she couldn't help but overthink things.
So she hurriedly followed them.
Looking at her son's pleasantly surprised expression, she gripped his shoulders and asked, Bowen, tell Mom, does Zhou Zedong have some sort of relationship with the Xiao family?
Fang Hui's mind was in turmoil. Although she had interacted with that man, she had only heard that he had a brother who died young. Hearing that the brother had never married, she had always felt secretly pleased with herself.
That way, as long as she married into the family, her son would be the sole heir to the Xiao family.
But she had forgotten that even though his brother hadn't married, it was entirely possible that he had a child.
If the Xiao family had another child, her son's future status would definitely be affected.
Not to mention, the other party would be his eldest brother's child.
Even if her son was acknowledged first, according to seniority, he would still have to step back in line.
She was so worried that she didn't even notice the smile disappearing from her son's face. Seeing him stay silent, she anxiously urged, Why aren't you speaking? Quickly tell Mom, do you know something?
Xiao Bowen's face looked awful. Looking at Fang Hui's frantic expression, he couldn't help but recall the times when he lived with her, when she wouldn't let him do anything except study.
Just thinking about his past life made him feel a wave of suffocation.
He didn't quite understand why his mother was asking this, but he knew very well that he absolutely could not tell her.
He had a feeling that if he told her, he and Zhou Zedong would never be able to be friends again.
His mother didn't like Zhou Zedong and his family, and she might forbid him from playing with them in the future.
He pursed his lips and said, I don't know.
Fang Hui's expression turned even uglier.
If it had just been a suspicion at first, now she was almost certain.
Because her son had actually lied to her!
......
Zhou Zedong was in such a panic at this moment that he almost got hit by a car, completely failing to notice that Xiao Bowen hadn't followed him.
He rushed to the hospital in a hurry, standing on his tiptoes at the front desk to ask which room Si Nian was in.
Seeing a child in such a panicked state, the receptionist thought something terrible had happened to his family. Telling him not to panic, she checked for him and then said, Si Nian, right? She's in Room 301.
As soon as her voice fell, Zhou Zedong had already turned around and sprinted off without looking back.
Meanwhile, on the third floor.
The loud wailing of a baby was so noisy that Si Nian couldn't sleep at all.
It wasn't her baby crying, but the other woman's baby.
It seemed to be hungry, but the woman looked malnourished. After nursing for a bit, her milk ran out.
The hungry baby wailed loudly.
She cried her heart out. At first, the woman tried to comfort her, but then grew annoyed and simply ignored her altogether.
The crying woke up the son lying nearby.
He didn't cry either, just blinked his eyes and looked at Si Nian.
His little mouth smacked. Even though he wasn't crying, Si Nian could just feel that he was hungry.
She felt a bit awkward. Looking at the people sitting around her, she still couldn't bring herself to pull open her clothes and feed the baby like the other woman had just done.
So she tugged at the older man beside her.
Zhou Yueshen was also frowning at the noise of the crying baby.
Tugged by Si Nian, he turned to look at her and asked gently, Niannian, what's wrong? Are you hungry?
Si Nian shook her head. I'm not hungry, but your son is.
She pointed at the little bean staring at her eagerly. Surprisingly, this child didn't cry when he was hungry. She recalled that when he was just born, he only cried out twice, then slept all the way until being woken up just now.
Zhou Yueshen stayed silent for a second, then looked at his wife again.
Si Nian shot him a look.
Zhou Yueshen finally snapped out of it. He stood up and said, Xiao Chen, take Yaoyao, Little Han, and the others to get something to eat. Thanks for your hard work.
Chen Haoran was still sitting there looking bewildered. He still hadn't fully processed the reality of the situation.
The reality that a child had actually been born.
Just three hours ago, he was miserably doing horse stance squats in the Zhou family courtyard.
Three hours later, there was a newborn baby beside them.
And he was the one who had rushed them here.
Now that he came to his senses, he realized it was already noon.
He quickly patted his head, stood up, and took the two children to buy food.
Once they left, Zhou Yueshen closed the door and stepped forward to help her.
Si Nian had never breastfed before, but the baby seemed to know how to do it naturally. As soon as she opened her clothes, he nuzzled his head in and began nursing with smacking sounds.
Si Nian felt a bit strange. Seeing Zhou Yueshen staring at her blankly, she blushed and turned her body away.
You go outside too.
Zhou Yueshen rubbed his nose and walked out.
The other baby smelled the milk and cried even louder.
Si Nian had a headache from the noise and said to the woman beside her, Why don't you get her some formula?
The woman said dryly, Formula? How could we afford such a precious thing.
They had rushed over today, and by the time they arrived, there were no normal wards left.
She had delivered her first two children at home. Because her mother-in-law thought this one was a son, she had specially brought her to the hospital. Even though it was a double ward, she hadn't complained about the cost.
Who knew it would turn out to be a girl.
At this point, let alone formula, it was questionable whether they would even keep the child.
If she had known it was a girl, she wouldn't have planned to keep her.
The woman's face was ashen.
She would rather this child had never been born, let alone buy formula for her.
Her existence would only make it harder for her to hold her head up in her in-laws' family.
Her future days would only be harder.
Si Nian was momentarily speechless.
At this moment, someone knocked on the ward door, and Zhou Zedong walked in, sweating profusely and carrying things.
Mom, are you okay?
He had run over. Because it was hard to catch a cab at noon, and carrying so many things, his hands were red.
He headed straight for the ward. Seeing Si Nian lying on the bed, he immediately ran over with a tense little face.
Little Dong? Why are you here too?
Si Nian was a bit surprised to see him. The eldest boy usually went to the library and wouldn't come home until six in the evening.
Why did he come back so early today?
I went home and heard the grandma next door say you were going into labor, so I hurried over.
Zhou Zedong's gaze fell on the little milk dumpling in Si Nian's arms. The little guy was round and chubby. Having eaten his fill, he closed his eyes and fell asleep again, looking incredibly cute and pretty.
He stared blankly for a moment.
Is this... a little sister?
Si Nian burst out laughing. Not a sister, a little brother.
Zhou Zedong: ......
Si Nian looked at the things he was carrying. They were all items Zhou Yueshen had bought in advance—clothes, blankets, shoes, some small toys, formula, and baby bottles. They had everything.
But they were all pink.
Because she had come so hurriedly, she hadn't brought them, and Zhou Yueshen probably forgot too.
She didn't expect the eldest boy to remember to bring these things over at a time like this.
He was even more reliable than his father.
Seeing his red, chafed hands, Si Nian felt a pang of heartache and quickly told him to set them aside.
The woman saw them carrying so many things, which obviously weren't cheap, and her eyes grew red with envy.
The formula seemed as if it were free, carried in several large cans.
Seeing that Si Nian's husband wasn't around, she looked at her crying daughter and couldn't help but say, Comrade, could you lend me a little bit of that formula?