Yang Jianjun was taken aback, a fleeting emotion crossing his face that even he might not have been aware of. Yet Zhao Ran, who had been watching him closely, saw it clearly. Pretending as if nothing had happened, she asked again:
“If the items from his family weren’t delivered during that time, would someone have died? Yang Jianjun, do you remember borrowing the car to take me to the hospital? Even if I weren’t your wife, even if I were just an ordinary person, as a former regiment commander and now the director of such a large factory, don’t you have any sense of priority?
Or is it because I married you that I must be inferior to everyone else?”
Hearing this, Yang Jianjun hurriedly defended himself: “Xiao Ran, what are you talking about? It’s just a minor appendicitis surgery—how could it be a matter of life and death? Aren’t you lying here perfectly fine now? Besides, Li Liang said it was urgent, so I had no choice…”
Zhao Ran was not the original host. Even though the man before her was handsome and his gaze seemed affectionate even toward a dog, she remained unmoved and interrupted him: “Did you tell him I was sick? I think anyone who knew the car was being used to take someone to the hospital wouldn’t have stopped it halfway.”
At this point, Zhao Ran no longer wanted to hear more from Yang Jianjun. Yes, anyone would know that taking a sick person to the hospital was important. So why did Yang Jianjun choose to hide her condition and deliver goods for someone else?
Thinking about how easily Yang Jianjun had handed over the bankbook to her, Zhao Ran’s eyes grew even colder:
“Yang Jianjun, you’d better truly not know that acute appendicitis can kill.” Otherwise, how could Yang Jianjun’s actions not be considered murder?
Yang Jianjun’s face changed abruptly, and he quickly said, “I… I’m not a doctor. How would I know such things?”
Zhao Ran closed her eyes. “I hope that’s the case. I’m tired.”
With her eyes closed, Zhao Ran hid her emotions, but under the covers, she couldn’t help trembling. It was clear that Yang Jianjun truly harbored murderous intent toward the original host.
At first, Yang Jianjun had insisted it was just a minor illness, not life-threatening. But when she said he’d better not know acute appendicitis could kill, his instinct was to refute rather than question.
Clearly, in Yang Jianjun’s eyes, the original host had reached a point where she needed to be eliminated.
Originally, Zhao Ran had thought that if Yang Jianjun were truly just an honest man who didn’t understand boundaries with others, it wouldn’t be a bad thing. At worst, she could be more assertive. After all, he was a factory director, and with his salary, their future life wouldn’t be impossible.
But now it seemed that Yang Jianjun was merely taking advantage of the original host’s admiration for him, knowing she would support whatever he did. He deliberately exploited her while building a good image for himself externally.
Because Yang Jianjun wanted to help the neighbors and loved his work, the original host had to shoulder everything at home alone. Even after marrying Yang Jianjun for so many years, he only brought home ten yuan each month, and eight of it was spent on socializing with the neighbors—after all, there were always weddings and banquets to attend, and gifts to give.
In other words, this household was now entirely supported by the original host alone. She not only had to provide for herself and the children but also for Yang Jianjun’s adoptive mother.
Yang Jianjun wasn’t blind to the original host’s hardships, but he always played the victim, forcing her to not only manage the entire household but also spare extra energy to look after him.
No one outside the family had a bad word to say about Yang Jianjun, but how could outsiders truly know what went on behind closed doors?
At this thought, Zhao Ran quickly cut off her train of thought, fearing she might actually die of anger.
But deep down, Zhao Ran had already made up her mind to divorce.
Whether out of sincerity or pretense, Yang Jianjun did take care of Zhao Ran in the hospital for a day before she could get out of bed and walk. However, once she was able to move around on the second day, he used the excuse of being too busy at the factory to leave.
Zhao Ran couldn’t be bothered to watch his hypocritical act and let him go.
Yang Jianjun never showed up again until Zhao Ran was ready to be discharged.
Zhao Ran wasn’t surprised by this, nor did she believe Yang Jianjun would truly change in any way.
What she hadn’t expected, however, was that Yang Jianjun hadn’t even paid her medical bills.
Just as Zhao Ran finished packing and was about to leave, a nurse approached with a cold expression and said, “Bed three, you’re thinking of leaving without settling your fees?”
Over the past few days, the nurses had figured it out: although this woman was Director Yang’s wife, it was clear he didn’t care for her. Otherwise, why would he have only visited once on the second day and never returned?
Moreover, judging by the woman’s attire, she looked nothing like a factory director’s wife—more like a country bumpkin. No wonder Director Yang didn’t like her.
Zhao Ran paid no mind to the nurse’s attitude. In her previous life, she had frequent dealings with hospitals, and she knew that even decades into the future, nurses weren’t exactly known for their smiling service.
It was understandable, though. Nurses earned low wages, had heavy workloads, and were exhausted day in and day out. Simply getting through their tasks was an achievement in itself.
They hardly had the energy for something like “smiling service.”
Zhao Ran could empathize with that. So, over the past few days, as long as the nurses were merely indifferent rather than openly mocking, she chose to ignore it.
Besides, compared to the nurses’ coldness, Zhao Ran was more concerned about the fact that her medical fees hadn’t been settled.
“Before leaving, I naturally planned to verify the fees. You just beat me to it. Besides, there’s no way I’d leave without paying the medical bills.”
The nurse couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “Who knows?” she retorted before turning and walking away.
In truth, Zhao Ran had indeed intended to pack up first and then inquire about the fees. She knew Yang Jianjun cared about his reputation and assumed that, regardless of his true feelings, he would at least go through the motions. So, she had actually expected Yang Jianjun to have already paid the hospital fees, perhaps even with some leftover.
She never imagined he hadn’t paid a single cent.
At this realization, Zhao Ran sneered, guessing that this was Yang Jianjun’s way of manipulating her, trying to embarrass her at the hospital. A woman—a rural woman who only knew a few characters—would surely panic if she were detained in front of everyone for failing to pay her medical bills in such a vast hospital.
Worse still, under the scrutiny and pointing fingers of others, she would feel utterly humiliated. Yang Jianjun wanted to use this opportunity to shame her.
Only when the matter reached his ears would he come to the hospital. When everyone asked, Yang Jianjun only needed to say that all the family’s money was in her hands. Then, everyone would simply think she was a wasteful country woman who had squandered all of Yang Jianjun’s money, to the point where she couldn’t even afford the medical bills now.
And at that time, if one or two “insiders” mentioned that Yang Jianjun hadn’t been coming to the hospital lately, everyone would find it understandable.