The door was pushed open by a young woman and Huo Qiang’s mother, with several young soldiers following behind them.
The young woman looked about seventeen or eighteen. She wore a floral coarse cloth blouse with matching trousers, and her hair was tied into a ponytail at the back of her head. Her large eyes sparkled as she looked around, revealing the simple and honest charm unique to this era.
Ruan Yingying’s heart tightened.
She had arrived. This was the true female lead of the original novel, Huang Xue’er.
In the book, the original owner was merely a short lived cannon fodder who brought disaster upon herself at every turn, while the woman standing before her was the ultimate winner.
Huang Xue’er was the daughter of Song Yumei, a servant in the Huo family. Since Song Yumei had served the Huo family for nearly twenty years, and the elderly couple had only one son, Huo Qiang, they had taken Huang Xue’er in as their goddaughter. After graduating from nursing school, Huang Xue’er naturally used the Huo family’s connections to get a nursing position at the health clinic in the cadre compound.
She had a cheerful personality and was hardworking and capable. With the added identity of being the Huo family’s goddaughter, she was extremely popular in the cadre compound and got along well with everyone.
Later, after the original owner foolishly insisted on getting divorced, Huo Qiang became depressed for a time and his leg injury flared up again.
Huang Xue’er was the one who carefully stayed by his side and took care of him, and the two gradually grew closer. Although her family background was vastly different from the Huo family’s, after experiencing a spoiled young lady as troublesome as the original owner, Huo Qiang’s parents actually preferred a simple and sensible daughter in law like her. In the end, with the elders bringing them together, Huang Xue’er successfully took the original owner’s place, and the whole family lived happily together.
The original owner had completely destroyed her own future and ended up hated by everyone, meeting a miserable fate, while Huang Xue’er, the sweet and seemingly lovable beauty who was adored by everyone, replaced her and became the glamorous wife of an influential official.
The contrast was truly brutal.
Before Ruan Yingying could recover from the memories of the plot, she felt someone tugging lightly at the hem of her clothes.
Zhou Xiulan cautiously walked over to the hospital bed, unable to stop her tears from falling.
“Yingying, if you want a divorce, our Huo family will not stop you anymore.
Mom only asks you to keep this child, all right? If you really refuse, then Mom, Mom will kneel down and beg you!”
These past few days, the daughter in law’s insistence on getting a divorce had caused a huge uproar. Her husband, Huo Jianguo, had been so furious that he suffered another attack and was still in the hospital. After all, their son had suffered a serious injury, and the arrival of this child was a gift from heaven. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the child was the Huo family’s only hope.
As soon as those words were spoken, even the young soldiers present looked at Ruan Yingying with condemnation and contempt.
They had heard long ago that the wife of Commander Huo was immoral and vicious, and now that they had finally seen her for themselves, she really was exactly as they had heard.
What kind of status did Zhou Xiulan have? She was the wife of the old Commander Huo and Huo Qiang’s mother, a highly respected elder.
Just as Zhou Xiulan was about to kneel, a figure rushed forward and knelt down first.
Huang Xue’er knelt stiffly in front of the hospital bed, her eyes reddening as she spoke through her tears.
“Sister in law, I’ll kneel in place of my godmother. Please, please keep this child!”
Her words sounded pitiful, but a trace of undisguised satisfaction flashed deep in her eyes.
Huang Xue’er simply did not believe that Big Brother Huo would forgive a woman who had cheated on him and brought shame upon him.
Sure enough, before she had even been kneeling for long, Huo Qiang spoke coldly.
“Xue’er, get up.”
Seeing Big Brother Huo defend her, Huang Xue’er suppressed the delight rising in her heart and cried even more pitifully.
“Big Brother Huo, just let me kneel here. If this can make my Sister in law change her mind, then I would rather kneel for the rest of my life!”
“Sister in law, even a tiger will not eat its own cub, let alone this child who is your flesh and blood with Big Brother Huo.”
Her every word sounded sincere, and the several young soldiers standing nearby could not bear to watch her suffer, so they spoke up to persuade her.
“Miss Xue’er, please get up.”
“This has nothing to do with you, so why put yourself through this?”
“That’s right, Miss Xue’er, you are simply too kind.”
Hearing this, Huang Xue’er felt even more pleased with herself.
She had long expected that with Ruan Yingying’s willful personality, she had never intended to keep this child.
Her kneeling now was merely a way to earn a reputation for being understanding and righteous in front of everyone.
Ruan Yingying watched Huang Xue’er’s performance coldly and found it ridiculous.
This young woman clearly wished for nothing more than for her to hurry up and divorce Huo Qiang, yet she could still pretend as though she had exhausted herself worrying about the Huo family.
There had been a scene just like this in the original novel.
But what had the original owner done?
When everyone had desperately begged her, not only had she refused to soften her heart, she had even said that she would rather die than give birth to a crippled child for that cripple Huo Qiang. After saying that, she had forcefully dragged Huo Qiang to have an abortion, causing Zhou Xiulan to become so furious that she fainted on the spot.
The original owner’s tragic fate had begun precisely after the divorce and abortion.
In this special era, with her background as the daughter of a capitalist family and a pregnancy to boot, no matter how many modern skills and how much knowledge she possessed, once she lost the protection of the Huo family, she would immediately become a target for everyone to attack.
The wisest choice right now was to hold firmly onto Huo Qiang as her protection, safely give birth to the child, and make other plans afterward.
With that thought, Ruan Yingying held her breath for a moment before placing a hand over her slightly rounded abdomen and speaking softly.
“I agree to keep the child.”
The moment those words fell, the noisy hospital room instantly fell into complete silence.
The first person to react was Huo Qiang.
Deep furrows appeared between his brows as he stared fixedly at Ruan Yingying, as though he wanted to see straight through her.
His gaze was filled with obvious scrutiny and suspicion, as if he were guarding himself against a thief.
“That’s enough, Ruan Yingying!” Huo Qiang sneered, every word carrying tightly suppressed anger. “Rest assured, I will not hold that other man responsible. You have no need to use my child as a shield!”
Huo Qiang was not a three year old child. He was not so easy to fool.
Earlier, she had clearly threatened to kill herself unless she was allowed to get rid of the child and divorce him. He had finally agreed to let her go, yet now she had suddenly changed her mind and wanted to keep the baby?
She had always been selfish and full of lies, and she had always regarded the child as an obstacle to her pursuit of so-called true love. Now that she was putting on this false show of affection, she was obviously only trying to protect that pretty boy.
She could actually go this far for another man. How could he not hate her?
Ruan Yingying was left speechless by Huo Qiang’s words. Realizing that he had misunderstood her, she was just about to explain when she noticed that Huo Qiang was using his walking stick to make his way toward the door.
If Huo Qiang really left this time, she would truly have no chance.
“That’s not what I meant. I really, really want to keep the child. Ah!”
Ruan Yingying hurriedly climbed out of bed to chase after him. She stepped barefoot onto the floor and immediately stepped on a fragment from the broken thermos.
Although it did not draw blood, the sharp pain made her cry out. Her petite body swayed, and she nearly fell.
Huo Qiang instinctively turned his head at the sound.
He saw her standing barefoot amid the mess, her pale little face tilted upward, tears glistening in her almond shaped eyes as she looked at him with a deeply aggrieved expression.
She was clearly the one who had been caught eloping with another man, yet now she looked as though he were the one who had bullied her.
Ruan Yingying endured the pain and took the opportunity to soften her voice, speaking with a hint of tears.
“I truly want to keep the child. I was immature before, and I know I was wrong. But the child is innocent.”
She had no idea how to make anyone believe her in this situation, so all she could do was shed a few more tears and act pitiful.
What she did not realize was that those tears completely threw Huo Qiang’s heart into turmoil.
This man, who had been tempered by countless battles and gunfire, had always been decisive and unwavering. After she had committed such a disgraceful act, he had already prepared himself for divorce before coming to the hospital.
But when he heard that she was willing to keep the child, his gaze involuntarily fell upon her slightly rounded abdomen, and the heart that had long been frozen began to ripple once again.
He still remembered the indescribable excitement he had felt when he first learned that she was pregnant. Although her indifference had extinguished that feeling almost immediately, the secret joy of becoming a father for the first time had remained buried deep within his heart.
“You can keep the child.”
He took a step forward with the support of his walking stick and spoke in a deep voice.
“But as soon as the child is born, immediately submit the divorce application.”
He did not want to spend even one more day living a life in which they shared a bed but dreamed different dreams.
Although Huo Qiang remained cold and distant, Ruan Yingying felt a wave of relief in her heart. At least, she had bought herself some precious time.
After a long silence, Huo Qiang took an envelope from his pocket and handed it to Ruan Yingying.
“Take this money for now. When I receive next month’s salary, I’ll send you more.”
Hearing this, even Zhou Xiulan became somewhat tense.