But if she didn’t keep it, she lacked the courage.
As a doctor herself, she understood the risks and consequences all too clearly.
If the medication succeeded, it would only harm her body.
But if it failed, she couldn’t perform the surgery on herself—she’d have to go to the hospital.
Thinking of her frail body and the medical standards of this era…
She would have it!
It was just having a child, wasn’t it? Nothing to be afraid of!
Once she made up her mind, the oppressive feeling in Ruan Tong’s heart instantly vanished.
Although this child had come unexpectedly, if fate had arranged it this way, she believed there must be a deeper meaning.
Just then, Dabao returned in a panic, rushing back inside.
“Stepmother, come with me quickly!”
With that, Dabao grabbed Ruan Tong’s hand and pulled her outside.
Ruan Tong followed quickly. The village paths weren’t easy to walk, and she had to watch her step while keeping an eye on Dabao. Before long, he had dragged her to the foot of the mountain behind the village.
“Dabao, we can’t go into the mountains. It’s dangerous,” Ruan Tong reminded him with a frown.
“Huh? That’s strange. I just saw my dad and a woman standing right here!” Dabao scratched his head, puzzled.
Ruan Tong’s expression darkened. The woman Dabao mentioned was most likely Qiu Hong. Had they come to the back of the mountain to talk?
“Mom, do you think Dad went into the mountains?” Dabao asked curiously.
“Probably!” Ruan Tong’s face turned cold, her displeasure evident.
Just then, the sound of crying came from the woods nearby.
Dabao’s eyes lit up, and he immediately pulled Ruan Tong closer.
“Shh—” Ruan Tong held Dabao’s hand tightly, afraid he might run off. The two of them slowly approached the source of the sound.
“Gu Bai, you heartless man!” Qiu Hong’s hoarse voice cried out. “You didn’t even discuss it with me before adopting two children on your own. What’s wrong with me throwing a little tantrum? And you—not only did you not comfort me, but you didn’t even tell me you were discharged from the army. You even secretly married another woman. You… I hate you!”
Listening to Qiu Hong’s accusations, Ruan Tong curled her lip.
Didn’t she know what kind of man she liked?
Expecting Gu Bai, that silent and stubbornly straightforward man, to comfort her on his own? Keep waiting!
Ruan Tong rolled her eyes, wanting to pat Qiu Hong’s face and say, “Girl, snap out of it!”
“Xiao Lan told me everything. That Ruan Tong isn’t a good girl. Back in her village, she flirted around and even almost eloped with another man. Gu Bai, are you really willing to marry such a woman just to spite me? Are you stupid?”
Qiu Hong went on and on, but the man remained silent.
After waiting for a long time, Ruan Tong didn’t hear the man offer a single word of explanation. Was he agreeing with Qiu Hong’s claims? Or did he simply not care to explain?
After another long while, Qiu Hong’s words grew more and more outrageous and unfocused, but Gu Bai still didn’t speak. Ruan Tong grew tired of listening and pulled Dabao away.
Once they were farther away, Ruan Tong spoke up. “Dabao, if I weren’t your stepmother anymore and someone else took my place, would you be happier?”
Since it would still be a stepmother, Dabao probably wouldn’t care either way.
At that moment, Ruan Tong felt annoyed. She had suddenly lost patience with this inexplicable marriage.
What Ruan Tong didn’t expect was that Dabao immediately grew anxious upon hearing this. He wrapped his arms around her leg and said stubbornly, “No! I won’t let anyone else be my stepmother. I… I only want you to be my stepmother!”
Dabao’s reaction took Ruan Tong completely by surprise, while also stirring a warm sense of comfort and relief in her heart.
Looks like I didn’t spoil you for nothing!
Ruan Tong hadn’t expected that her casual hypothetical question would be taken so seriously by Dabao.
As soon as they got home, Dabao ran crying into his grandparents’ room, wailing loudly, “Grandma, is my dad going to abandon my current stepmother? Is he going to find me another stepmother? Waaah…”