Just in Time Chapter 81
Translated by Sylver (ko-fi)
Chapter 81
Cold
Song Lili looked at the man in front of her, dressed in a suit and tie, polite and courteous. “Who are you?”
“My surname is Zhou, name is Zhou Ang.” Zhou Ang smiled at her, “I am here on behalf of Yi Chenliang’s biological parents.”
Song Lili’s face turned pale instantly, and she hurriedly tried to disassociate herself, “We have nothing to do with him anymore! The lawsuit is over! What else do you want?”
“I think you misunderstood.” Zhou Ang politely said, “Yi Chenliang’s biological parents are very grateful to you and Mr. Yi Mingzhi for raising him for nine years. They also know that your biological son with Mr. Yi Mingzhi has congenital heart disease. So, to repay your kindness, Mr. Su and Ms. Chu hope to bear all the treatment costs for Yi Chenze.”
Song Lili was stunned by this sudden news, “Ah? This, this——”
“We have understood some of your family situation, and I hope you won’t feel offended by what I’m going to say next.” Zhou Ang spoke in a way that no one could find fault with, “Your main source of income is farming. Mr. Yi Mingzhi used to work, but he has been resting at home for several months due to a leg injury. The treatment cost for your biological son is a huge expense for you. No matter what the reason, it would be most beneficial for you to accept this proposal.”
Song Lili came back to her senses, “You mean, Yi Chenliang’s biological father - that Mr. Su, they, they are willing to give us money for Chenze’s treatment?”
“Yes.” Zhou Ang nodded with a smile.
Song Lili grabbed his arm, “How much can they give!? We scrimped and saved to raise Yi Chenliang, even supported his education, and he even got into Wu City No.1 High School! We, as a couple, have worried so much for him! He even wanted to sever ties with us through a lawsuit…How much do his biological parents plan to give?”
A hint of disdain flashed in Zhou Ang’s eyes, but he still smiled and said, “As I told you before, Mr. Su and Ms. Chu will bear all the treatment costs for Yi Chenze.”
Song Lili was so excited that she was about to cry, “Oh, this is really great! Really great! Mr. Su and Ms. Chu are really good people! Great people!”
“But we have a condition, and we hope you and Mr. Yi will consider it.” Zhou Ang said.
Song Lili’s face changed, and she looked at him warily, “What condition? We have nothing left because we raised Yi Chenliang!”
“Previously, without our knowledge, you and Mr. Yi Mingzhi had a lawsuit with Yi Chenliang. Yi Chenliang is now sixteen years old, but he doesn’t have a legal guardian.” Zhou Ang said, “We hope that you and Mr. Yi Mingzhi will appeal for a second trial.”
“What do you mean?” Song Lili was confused, “Another lawsuit? We’ve been laughed at by the villagers because of this, we can’t even hold our heads up!”
“Yes, because the situation is special, we will help you and Mr. Yi Mingzhi regain the guardianship of Yi Chenliang.” Zhou Ang continued, “Then you will go through the process of giving up custody.”
Song Lili didn’t understand, “What’s the difference?”
“In this way, Mr. Su can become Yi Chenliang’s legal guardian through adoption procedures.” Zhou Ang patiently explained to her.
“Why, why do they have to adopt their own biological son?” Song Lili roughly understood after hearing this, “Can’t they just move him directly to the household registration book if he’s their biological child?”
“This is a personal matter for Mr. Su, I’m not in a position to answer, please understand.” Zhou Ang said, “But Mr. Su and Ms. Chu really hope to take Yi Chenliang back, please be sure to help with this. During the lawsuit, all costs and lawyers will be provided by us, and we will also compensate you for lost wages and other expenses.”
Song Lili asked tentatively, “Is Yi Chenliang’s biological father very rich?”
Zhou Ang smiled, “He just has some assets, Mr. Su loves his son and doesn’t want to worry about the cost, after all, affection cannot be measured by money.”
Song Lili gave a shy smile, “Right, right, you cultured people are really eloquent.”
“But as you can see, our family situation is really difficult right now. In order to send Yi Chenliang to school, we’ve sold everything we have. Although he’s not our biological child, his father and I have raised him as our own. His younger brother is still so sick…” Song Lili’s eyes reddened as she spoke, and she wiped her tears with her sleeve.
Zhou Ang understood what she meant, “Don’t worry about this, the grace of raising a child is greater than the grace of giving birth to a child, you don’t need to worry about money.”
“You guys are really good people, great people who know how to repay kindness!” Song Lili nodded repeatedly, her tone was as sincere as it could be, “In the future, we will feel at ease with Liang following his biological parents.”
Zhou Ang smoothed the wrinkles on his sleeve cuff and smiled, “Thank you both for your understanding.”
****
Chu Xia lay pale on the hospital bed, with Su Qingbai standing by her side.
Chu Dong stormed in from outside the door, a hint of anger still hidden in her eyes.
“Auntie.” Su Qingbai greeted her.
No matter how angry Chu Dong was, she wouldn’t vent it on a child. She nodded at him, “How’s your mom?”
“The doctor said she was too emotional.” Su Qingbai looked down at the person on the bed.
“Didn’t they say she had stabilized after taking the medication for a while?” Chu Dong frowned, “She even called me the other day to say she was much better.”
“My mom wanted to see Yi Chenliang.” Su Qingbai pursed his lips, “He wasn’t home, she didn’t see him, and she broke down.”
Chu Dong blamed herself, “It’s my fault, I shouldn’t have said too much on the phone that day.”
“It’s not your fault, auntie. Once we found Yi Chenliang, my mom would have insisted on seeing him sooner or later.” Su Qingbai said, “It was my lack of consideration that I took her there.”
“You child…” Chu Dong always loved and worried about her sensible and considerate nephew, “Where’s your dad?”
“My dad is in Beijing, he couldn’t make it back.” Su Qingbai said, “I will take good care of my mom.”
Chu Dong suppressed the anger in her eyes, after all, it wasn’t good to say anything to the younger generation. She just said, “Ziqi happens to be free these days, I’ll let him come and accompany you.”
“No need, auntie.” Su Qingbai politely declined, “You and uncle have finally returned to the country, spend more time with Ziqi.”
Chu Dong looked at him, feeling both heartache and helplessness.
Just then, Chu Xia, who had been lying on the bed, woke up.
Chu Dong said to Su Qingbai, “Qingbai, go downstairs and help me bring the bag from the car.”
Su Qingbai glanced at Chu Xia, took the car keys from Chu Dong, and went out the door.
Chu Xia sat up from the bed, “Sister, you’re back in the country?”
Chu Dong’s eyes reddened, “Look at what you’ve done to yourself.”
“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Chu Xia held her hand, “Sister, I just can’t control my emotions sometimes, I’m really not sick. I almost saw Xiao Liang.”
“Xiao Liang will return to the Su family sooner or later.” Chu Dong frowned, “Xiaxia, you can’t put all your energy on this matter, you still have Qingbai. Even if you don’t think for yourself, you should think for Qingbai.”
Chu Xia stared at her blankly.
“People dare not tell you, but I will.” Chu Dong looked at her seriously, “Qingbai is also your biological son. You can’t rely on Qingbai being sensible and really neglect him. He left his good school in Beijing without a word to accompany you to Wu City, running around taking care of you alone….How old is Qingbai?”
“But Xiao Liang has suffered so much.” Chu Xia looked at Chu Dong with teary eyes.
“You can’t calculate it like that!” Chu Dong raised her voice slightly, “With such a bastard father like Su Shengwen, if you don’t get better, what’s the difference between Qingbai and an orphan?”
Chu Xia was stunned by her harsh words.
“Back then, it was that bastard Su Shengwen who wasn’t human. I don’t believe that with so many relatives in our family, we can’t raise a child!” With Su Qingbai not around, Chu Dong finally stopped holding back, “I advised you to divorce back then, but you didn’t. You said you still had Qingbai, but look at what you’ve done to the child now?”
“He was such a lively and cheerful child when he was young, but now he doesn’t even like to talk. Back then, he didn’t know anything, and now you’re just tormenting yourself and Qingbai. Don’t you feel heartbroken? I’m heartbroken for my nephew!” Chu Dong’s voice was filled with anger, “Now that the child has been found, I won’t talk about who was right or wrong back then. Don’t listen to everything Su Shengwen says. Which one of his big family in Beijing is good to deal with?”
“Either properly and legitimately take the child back, or don’t disturb the child’s normal life now.” Seeing her still crying, Chu Dong sighed, “Crying now won’t solve any problems.”
Chu Xia hugged her while crying, “I don’t want to be like this either. Sometimes I really hate myself. How can I be so useless? I can’t protect Xiao Liang, and I haven’t taken good care of Qingbai. But I really can’t leave Shengwen. We were so in love back then…”
Chu Dong gently patted her back, “You said it yourself, that was back then, Xiaxia, people change.”
“Sister, help me, help me.” Chu Xia cried so hard that she couldn’t speak, “I really have no way out…”
Outside the ward, Su Qingbai clenched the key in his hand.
****
“Sugar, when will you and Xiao Yi get home?” Tang Yi spoke into the phone, “Your dad is off today, let him go to the station to pick you up.”
“We’ll be there in twenty minutes.” Yun Fang spoke softly.
“Why is your voice so small over there?” Tang Yi raised her voice, “Or is my phone broken?”
“Xiao Yi is sleeping.” Yun Fang glanced at Yi Chenliang leaning on his shoulder, “He caught a cold from the wind.”
“Oh my, it’s so hot in summer. I told you to wear more when you go to the seaside. You must not have listened.” Tang Yi chided, “You suffer for not listening to the elderly.”
Yun Fang said, “It wasn’t the sea breeze, the air conditioning was too low last night.”
“Didn’t you know to cover him?” Tang Yi also lowered her voice, “Alright, I’ll let your dad go pick you up now.”
“Do we still have cold medicine at home?” Yun Fang asked.
“We do have it, but you can’t just take medicine. Let your dad take Xiao Yi to the hospital to have a look.” Tang Yi said, “By the way, you should also have your arm checked again. Did it hurt from the cold these past few days?”
“No.” Yun Fang said, “I’m fine, I’ll hang up first.”
“Remember to call your dad when you get there. There are so many people at the station, don’t get squeezed.” Tang Yi reminded him worriedly.
“Okay.” Yun Fang responded, hung up the phone, and turned off the phone screen.
The reflective phone screen reflected his face. Yun Fang’s gaze fell on it, and he was stunned.
It turned out that just now, he was smiling as he talked to Tang Yi on the phone.