After finishing cutting the weeds in the field, Qiao Yuwei dragged her exhausted body back to the compound. Before she even stepped inside, waves of disgust and gossip hit her head-on.
“I heard from my kid that that lazy woman was really vicious she slapped Sister-in-law Zhang across the face and even yelled at those children.”
“I heard Auntie Zhang was crying her heart out. While Sister-in-law Li went to get help, she snatched Huzi away and kept pressing and biting him!”
“I told you she can’t change her nature. Being lazy is one thing, but her heart is so cruel she even dares to meddle in life-and-death situations. What if she messed Huzi up? Auntie Zhang would fight her to the death. And after Auntie even helped her before she’s so ungrateful.”
Every word pierced her ears like needles. Her fingers clenched until they turned pale, and waves of dizziness from low blood sugar washed over her.
She didn’t have the strength to argue. Let them talk.
She pushed the door open and stepped into the empty house, closing it behind her and shutting out the noise.
She collapsed into a chair. Outside, the sun blazed overhead. Her stomach growled gurgle…
Her eyes finally reddened as she buried her head between her knees.
A strange place. Strange people. She had clearly saved someone, yet was misunderstood by everyone. What hurt even more was Song Zhinian’s attitude.
She hadn’t done anything wrong, yet because of the original owner’s past, his prejudice toward her was like a mountain pressing down on her, making it hard to breathe.
Click.
The door suddenly opened.
Song Zhinian had returned, his face still dark.
When he stepped inside and saw that the house once like a garbage dump had been cleaned spotless, he visibly froze. He even stepped back out to check the door, making sure he hadn’t entered the wrong house.
What was going on? He had only been gone for one night how had it changed so much?
Had she really changed?
But then he recalled the rumors outside “slapping Auntie Zhang,” “scaring children” and Huzi’s pale face. The disgust in his expression didn’t fade at all.
“Qiao Yuwei, how long are you going to keep this up? Why wouldn’t you even spare a child? And you even hit Auntie Zhang?”
Qiao Yuwei stood up, her voice slightly agitated:
“I hit her because she was stopping me from saving him! Huzi had already stopped breathing if I was even a few minutes later, his life would’ve been in danger!”
“Saving him?”
Song Zhinian stepped closer. His tall figure carried an overwhelming pressure as he looked down at her.
“You someone who can’t even clean properly know how to save people? Don’t feed me that nonsense. Let me tell you, if anything happens to Huzi, I won’t even need to file for divorce I’ll have you thrown out of the compound immediately.”
Qiao Yuwei looked up at him, her gaze sharp and cold. The way he looked at her now it was as if she were an unforgivable criminal.
She slowly sat down, her voice as light as a sigh:
“Believe whatever you want.”
Seeing her like this, Song Zhinian took it as silent admission of guilt. He turned and went into the bedroom, slamming the door shut and completely cutting off the distance between them.
Knock, knock
A hurried knock came from outside.
When the door opened, Sister-in-law Zhao stood there, her expression complicated, her tone a bit uneasy:
“Qiao… Qiao Yuwei, the hospital sent word. They want you… to come over.”
Qiao Yuwei’s heart skipped a beat, thinking something had happened to Huzi. She rushed out with Zhao:
“What happened to Huzi? Is he not doing well?”
Zhao shook her head, avoiding eye contact, not daring to say more.
Inside the room, Song Zhinian, who had just lain down, suddenly sat up when he heard this and followed after them.
The compound wasn’t far from the military hospital. In just a few minutes, they arrived at Huzi’s ward.
Outside the ward, a crowd had gathered Auntie Zhang, Sister-in-law Li, Huzi’s father Liu, and several others surrounding an elderly man with graying hair and thick glasses, his expression serious.
Qiao Yuwei’s heart rose to her throat. That shouldn’t be the case she had carefully controlled her strength. Could it be that he had been suffocating for too long?
She quickly stepped forward and looked at Auntie Zhang:
“Auntie Zhang, how is Huzi?”
Before Auntie Zhang could answer
Professor Zhou turned around, his gaze falling on Qiao Yuwei. His previously stern face broke into a satisfied, approving smile.
“You must be Comrade Qiao Yuwei, right? It’s all thanks to you!”
As soon as those words came out, everyone froze, staring blankly at Professor Zhou.
“Although Huzi is now out of danger, the situation was extremely critical. If not for Comrade Qiao Yuwei, even a delay of one or two minutes would’ve made him impossible to save.”
Song Zhinian had just arrived in time to hear this. A flicker of complicated emotion appeared in his eyes.
“What?” Sister-in-law Zhao exclaimed, disbelief written all over her face.
“Professor Zhou, you mean… those pressing and ‘biting’ actions she did can actually save someone? It wasn’t just luck or divine protection?”
When they saw Huzi cough earlier, they thought it wasn’t serious. How could pressing a few times and “biting” twice actually save a life?
Professor Zhou sighed, still shaken: “Huzi suffered from drowning and suffocation simply put, he had stopped breathing. If he hadn’t been revived within five minutes, at best he would’ve suffered irreversible brain damage, becoming mentally impaired; at worst, he would’ve died.”
Hearing this, Auntie Zhang’s legs went weak, and she collapsed into Liu Jianguo’s arms.
Professor Zhou was the former director of the military hospital, highly respected no one doubted his words.
“Huzi is a child; his sternum is fragile. Too little force wouldn’t be effective, too much could cause injury. I thought even if he survived, he would have fractured ribs or internal damage. But the results show the force was controlled perfectly even my professional student Lin Sen might not be able to achieve that.”
At this point, Auntie Zhang could no longer hold back. With a thud, she knelt in front of Qiao Yuwei, tears pouring uncontrollably.
“Yuwei, thank you! Huzi is the child my husband and I had in our forties. Without you, I don’t even dare imagine what would’ve happened. I was wrong! I even pushed you earlier it was my fault!”
Startled, Qiao Yuwei quickly helped her up. Most of her grievance melted away:
“Auntie Zhang, please get up. This is what I should do. As long as Huzi is okay, that’s all that matters.”
Sister-in-law Li and Zhao scratched their heads awkwardly and apologized.
“Well… Yuwei, we were wrong too. We shouldn’t have spoken about you like that. To make up for it, I’ll help you clear weeds tomorrow.”
“Yes, yes I’ll help loosen the soil.”
Liu Jianguo nodded gratefully at her:
“Sister, from now on, you’re our family’s lifesaver. If you ever need anything, just say the word.”
Looking at their sincere expressions, all of Qiao Yuwei’s grievances disappeared. She glanced at Song Zhinian and raised an eyebrow slightly in challenge.
“Ahem…”
Song Zhinian coughed awkwardly. Thinking about the way he had just spoken to her, his face flushed red, then pale. A strong sense of guilt surged in his heart.