Jiang Xiuyun suddenly felt a dull pain in her abdomen, and her face turned slightly pale.
Yesterday, she had been busy in the fields the entire time. Even though her father and younger brother helped, she had still worried too much and exhausted herself.
“Manager, I’d like to take a day off. My stomach feels a bit uncomfortable, and I want to go to the hospital to get it checked.”
Manager Wang was startled when he heard this. “Then go quickly, go quickly! Oh dear, look at this… you solved such a big problem for our Supply and Marketing Cooperative, and now you’ve worn yourself out. Go get examined, don’t worry.”
Supporting her belly, Jiang Xiuyun hurried toward the workers’ hospital.
Just as she was about to arrive, she suddenly paused and touched her stomach. Her husband had always said she was carrying twins. The doctor had said the same. Yet as a mother, something about it had always felt off.
Then she remembered the story Jiang Lin had told her.
No… even if it was just for peace of mind, she had to check again.
With that thought, she turned and headed toward the farther county people’s hospital.
There were two hospitals in the county. One was the county people’s hospital, and the other was the workers’ hospital of the nearby machinery factory.
Normally, they went to the workers’ hospital because it was closer and expenses could be reimbursed through the factory.
After registering, she lay on a gynecology bed, watching as the doctor performed an ultrasound on her abdomen.
“The child is very healthy. Are you feeling unwell anywhere?” The doctor smiled gently while examining her carefully, trying to ease her nerves.
“Doctor, my stomach hurt a bit today. I’m worried something might be wrong with the babies.”
Taking a breath, Jiang Xiuyun asked, “Doctor, my two children… they’re fine, right?”
As she asked this, she almost held her breath.
She didn’t want to hear that answer from the doctor.
“What two children? There’s only one child in your womb.”
The doctor looked puzzled and focused even more intently on the monitor, as if doubting her own eyes.
“One child? That’s impossible. I’ve been doing prenatal checkups at the workers’ hospital, and they’ve always told me it’s twins.”
Jiang Xiuyun struggled to sit up, her expression filled with shock.
How could this be? How was it possible?
Hearing her insistence, the doctor became more serious. After all, prenatal examinations couldn’t be wrong without reason.
She checked again and again, then said with uncertainty, “Comrade, could there have been a mistake? I’ve looked carefully, and it really is just one child. There’s only one baby in your womb.”
Jiang Xiuyun walked out of the hospital in a daze, holding the examination report.
Standing at the entrance, she suddenly didn’t know where to go.
No wonder she had always felt uneasy. No wonder the movements in her belly had seemed off.
No matter how she sensed it, it had always felt like just one child.
If there was only one… then why had the doctor at the workers’ hospital insisted it was twins?
Suddenly, something struck her.
When her husband had taken her for prenatal checkups, he had told her that the obstetrics doctor there was his classmate.
At that moment, Jiang Lin’s story flashed through her mind again.
What exactly was Xiao Chenghe trying to do?
Could it be, just like in that story, that he planned to pass off another child as her twin and make her raise it?
Did Xiao Chenghe really have another woman outside?
Lost in thought, Jiang Xiuyun walked aimlessly… until she realized she had reached the entrance of her younger brother’s school.
For some reason, she suddenly felt she needed someone to help her.
The moment the dismissal bell rang, Jiang Lin packed his bag and prepared to leave. However, someone suddenly stepped in front of him, blocking his way.
He looked up and saw Tang Yue. His expression darkened immediately. “Move. Even a good dog doesn’t block the road.”
Tears welled up in Tang Yue’s eyes as she stared at him in disbelief. “Jiang Lin, how can you speak to me like that?”
“How should I speak to you?” Jiang Lin let out a cold laugh, slung his bag over his shoulder, and brushed past her, heading toward the classroom door.
Tang Yue quickly blocked him again. “Is this really necessary? You’re not a child. Why are you being so immature? I only said those things. If you’re angry about what I said before, I can apologize. But we’re friends. There’s no need for you to act like this.”
Deep down, she had realized that without Jiang Lin, many troubles would arise in her life. At the very least, Wu Youfu’s attitude toward her today had been extremely poor.
Gu Xingzhi was not even in her class but in the one next door. Although he was from the same village, he stayed at his aunt’s home in the county most of the time.
When it came to daily problems, Gu Xingzhi couldn’t help her much. She also couldn’t bear to have him pick her up and drop her off every day.
“Who wants to be friends with you? I don’t.” Jiang Lin’s voice was cold. “Tang Yue, a person should at least have some self-awareness.”
Tang Yue’s expression hardened. “Jiang Lin, that’s too much. Just because I didn’t agree to date you, you’re acting like this? Are you even a man? Shouldn’t a man persist no matter what when pursuing someone he likes? I only gave you a small test, and this is how you treat me? I’m very disappointed.”
She continued, “We’re still students, and the college entrance exam is coming. I just want to focus on my studies. If I get into university, I’ll consider dating. And when I do, you’ll be the first person I consider.”
“But your current behavior disappoints me greatly. How could I trust my future to you?”
Jiang Lin sneered. Tang Yue really was something. In his previous life, he had been completely manipulated by her tactics.
“You’re right, we’re students. We should focus on studying. I’m aiming for university. What’s dating worth? Who cares about that?”
“You don’t need to test me. If you’re disappointed, then be disappointed. You walk your broad road, and I’ll cross my single-log bridge.”
“From now on, Tang Yue, don’t bother me.”
“And don’t make me look down on you.”
With that, Jiang Lin strode away quickly.
Chen Jiangshan ran after him with a grin, throwing Tang Yue a smug glance. “Some people really think they’re something. You’re only valuable when others treat you like something. When they treat you like trash… well, then you’re trash.”
Tang Yue stomped her foot in anger, but at the same time, panic rose in her heart.
If Jiang Lin really stopped paying attention to her, what would she do in the future?
Jiang Lin’s father was the village head. Her family’s poverty subsidy still needed approval from the village.
If Jiang Lin ignored her, how would she manage her daily food and expenses?
For the past three days, she hadn’t even had money to eat. She had only managed by borrowing meal tickets from Wang Guilan and Liu Xiumin.
Without those tickets, she wouldn’t be able to keep going.
But why had Jiang Lin suddenly become so cold and heartless toward her?