SWMSO – Chapter 20

Jiang Yi spent the last day of her weekend in the hospital.

During the day, Ning Wenying brought meals for her and Jiang Qionghua. In the evenings, Jiang Qionghua stayed overnight. However, Jiang Qionghua’s work kept her busy, and she frequently took calls to handle business.

With one hand immobilized, Jiang Yi couldn’t play any competitive games. Most of the time, she was stuck in bed watching TV or reading novels.

After struggling through the first day, Monday finally arrived, and the doctor put a cast on Jiang Yi’s fractured left wrist. This made things even more difficult for Jiang Yi. After the cast was on, she found everything tasted bland.

It was a workday, so Jiang Qionghua had to go to work, leaving Ning Wenying to care for her during the day. That evening, Ning Wenying brought Jiang Yi dinner. Seeing her struggling to eat with the cast, she decided to feed her.

Jiang Yi felt embarrassed and quickly refused. “No, no, Auntie Ning, I can eat by myself!”

Ning Wenying held the bowl, looked at the rice grains scattered across Jiang Yi’s small table, scooped a spoonful, and held it to her lips. “Come on, I used to feed Xianxian when she was little. Don’t be shy.”

“Open your mouth, ah.”

Seeing her insistence, Jiang Yi opened her mouth. “Ah…”

As she fed Jiang Yi, Ning Wenying smiled. “You’re much easier to feed than Xianxian. When she was little, if I didn’t coax her to eat or take her medicine when she was sick, she wouldn’t. And she was a crybaby. If she fell and hurt herself, she’d cry for ages.”

Hmm, sounds kind of cute.

Jiang Yi casually replied, “Most kids are crybabies.”

Ning Wenying smiled and asked, “Were you like that when you were little, Xiao Yi?”

Jiang Yi shook her head. “No, I didn’t cry.” When she was little, she’d already had the soul of an eighteen-year-old. She wouldn’t cry easily.

Ning Wenying laughed. “So Xiao Yi is a strong child.” She sighed. “And very brave and kind. If it weren’t for you the other day, Xianxian might have been hit by that horse. Just thinking about it scares me.”

Ning Wenying paused, then looked at Jiang Yi seriously. “Auntie is truly grateful to you for saving Xianxian in that moment of crisis.”

Jiang Yi felt embarrassed by her praise. “Auntie Ning, you don’t have to thank me. It was a reflex… a reflex… a reflex…” Besides, wouldn’t most people react the same way?

Ning Wenying sighed. “Even so, it’s because Xiao Yi is inherently brave and kind.”

Jiang Yi smiled shyly. “Auntie Ning, you’re making me blush.”

Ning Wenying teased her. “Your face is so thin! Just a few truthful words and you’re blushing?”

Jiang Yi felt her ears burning. She lowered her head, embarrassed. “Well… anyone would react this way if a beautiful woman praised them like that. And you’re feeding me! It’s so embarrassing.”

Jiang Yi paused, then said sincerely, “Auntie Ning, you’re truly a beautiful and kind fairy.” Honestly, if it weren’t for Ning Wenying’s persistent visits and conversations with her at the hospital those few months, Jiang Yi wouldn’t have wanted to acknowledge Jiang Qionghua.

After all, Jiang Yi felt Jiang Qionghua probably didn’t want to acknowledge her either. The best solution would have been for Jiang Qionghua to give her a sum of money to sever their blood tie, allowing Jiang Yi to live independently, completely free from the Jiang family.

However, Ning Wenying felt that since she hadn’t differentiated yet, it wasn’t safe for a child to be out on her own. She and Jiang Yi’s mother had persistently persuaded her, and Jiang Yi finally agreed to stay with the Jiang family until she turned twenty, just to put their minds at ease.

If she hadn’t come to the Jiang family, if she’d stayed in that village, if she hadn’t met Jiang Sixian, she wouldn’t have encountered her destined death.

Thinking of this, Jiang Yi felt a pang of sadness.

She took a bite of rice from the spoon Ning Wenying offered, hesitated for a moment, and then carefully asked, “Although I think my mom… well, she’s impulsive, has a strange way of thinking, and is a typical overbearing CEO, she’s actually a good person.”

“She’s… quite responsible, in her own way. She’s also pretty good-looking and treats you very well… so, Auntie Ning, have you ever thought about marrying her?”

Jiang Yi hadn’t forgotten the dynamic between her and Jiang Sixian. To save her own life, she decided to try another indirect approach.

Ning Wenying paused, looking at Jiang Yi with gentle eyes. “Xiao Yi, why would you think that?” So, she was being urged to get married now?

Jiang Yi paused, unable to think of a way to deflect Ning Wenying’s question. Actually, she didn’t want to deflect it. She thought seriously for a moment, then slowly said, “I just think she should take responsibility for being with you. Aren’t you raising Jiang Sixian alone? She could help you share the burden.”

Ning Wenying sighed and spoke to Jiang Yi seriously. “Xiao Yi… I was once in an unhappy marriage, so I don’t see marriage as a necessity. Besides, I’m happy with your mother as things are, and I don’t want to change the status quo for now.”

“As for Xianxian… raising Xianxian isn’t a burden at all. On the contrary, because of Xianxian, I feel my life has become much better.”

Jiang Yi thought of her own mother and said, her voice slightly subdued, “My mom said something similar.” When she was little, seeing how hard her mother worked raising her alone, she’d suggested her mother not worry about her and just get together with the Sanda instructor next door who liked her.

Her mother was an orphan, and Jiang Yi was her only family in the world. Jiang Yi understood how much her mother valued her, but she wanted her to be happy.

However, her mother didn’t see it that way. She never felt Jiang Yi was a burden. On the contrary, she felt Jiang Yi was a gift from heaven.

Jiang Yi also felt her mother was her happiness, so she would strive to live well.

However, people’s thoughts were unpredictable. The biggest variable was the human heart. She knew she probably couldn’t persuade Ning Wenying and Jiang Qionghua to get married.

Oh well, there are always more solutions than problems. If all else fails, dying at twenty isn’t so bad. At least she knows when she’ll die, so she can live freely for the next four years, just like the main character in Big Fish!

Jiang Yi quickly cheered up. “Alright! As long as Auntie Ning is happy!”

Ning Wenying smiled. “Of course, I’m very happy every day. But Xiao Yi, if you miss your mother, you can always come to Auntie Ning for a hug. I may not be your mother, but I can offer you some comfort.”

Jiang Yi nodded sincerely. “Okay.”

Just then, the ward door opened, and Jiang Sixian walked in, holding her school bag.

Jiang Yi looked at her, her heart starting to race. Speak of the devil…

Ning Wenying turned and smiled gently at Jiang Sixian. “Xianxian, you’re here too? Are you worried about Xiao Yi?”

Jiang Sixian glanced at the scene in the hospital bed, seeing her mother feeding Jiang Yi, and felt a twinge of discomfort. She paused, holding her bag, and said, “Yes. I went to Class B to ask about the homework and brought it for Jiang Yi. She just transferred, so it’s not good for her to fall behind.”

Jiang Yi, sitting in the hospital bed, stared wide-eyed at Jiang Sixian’s bag, a thought surfacing: Does Jiang Sixian hate me?

Jiang Sixian doesn’t like me, she hates me, right? Right?

Otherwise, why would a normal person bring homework to someone with a fractured wrist?!

Author’s Note:

Jiang Yi: She hates me, she hates me, she hates me…

FUCK!