After Falling in Love with the Scum Alpha’s Beautiful Original Wife at First Sight - Chapter 21

When Xu Qingzhi pushed open the hospital room door and met her grandmother’s surprised eyes, her wildly pounding heart finally barely settled back into place.

She rushed to the bedside and, for a moment, could not say a single word.

Her grandmother could not help sitting up a little and touching the back of Xu Qingzhi’s head.

“What’s wrong?”

She turned to look at Shen Baiyi, who had followed Xu Qingzhi in, feeling utterly puzzled.

“I only caught a cold. Why did you two come so quickly?”

Shen Baiyi glanced across the room at her aunt standing on the other side of the bed, knowing in her heart that this was most likely a misunderstanding.

She stepped forward with a smile. “Then we have to blame Aunt for that. She didn’t explain clearly on the phone just now, so we thought something terrible had happened.”

Xu Qingzhi’s grandmother only had an ordinary cold, but because she was old, the doctor did not dare take it lightly and required her to stay in the hospital for observation for a few days. It would be best for her to receive an IV for several days as well.

The serious illness Xu Qingzhi’s grandmother had suffered a year ago had left an indelible psychological shadow on Xu Qingzhi.

So much so that when she had just heard Shen Baiyi’s aunt mention the word “hospital” on the phone, she instantly lost all reason.

Shen Baiyi’s aunt let out an “aiyo.” “This… don’t tell me you rushed over as soon as you answered the phone? I only wanted to notify you. I didn’t expect it to make you misunderstand.”

Xu Qingzhi raised her head. Her eyes were faintly red, though not very noticeably. She lowered her voice and called, “Grandma,” then pulled over the small chair beside her and sat by the hospital bed.

She only called out “Grandma,” her lips pressed tightly together. She did not speak again, nor did she look at Shen Baiyi’s aunt.

Shen Baiyi’s aunt’s expression faintly turned ugly.

She gave Shen Baiyi a look. Shen Baiyi understood and continued, “Aunt, when did you bring Grandma to the hospital? Have you eaten dinner yet?”

“We only just got here not long ago. It took some time to have the doctor examine her and pay the fees, so we haven’t had time to eat dinner yet.”

Shen Baiyi’s aunt seemed to be complaining, but there was meaning hidden in her words. “Hospitals these days really change every day. I still thought they were like a few years ago. In the end, I circled the lobby three or four times and still couldn’t find where to pay. Later, after asking a young nurse, I found out that you can pay with that machine beside the consultation department. Aiya, how embarrassing.”

Since she had already said it to this point, how could Xu Qingzhi not understand what she meant?

She took a deep breath and took out her phone.

“Thank you, Aunt, for bringing my grandmother to the hospital. How much did you spend on her treatment? I’ll transfer it to you now.”

Shen Baiyi’s aunt immediately said, “It didn’t cost much.”

Yet her hands did not hesitate as she instantly took out her phone and checked the bill.

After Xu Qingzhi transferred the money to her, Shen Baiyi’s aunt’s thoughts became active again.

“Qingzhi, you know the old house is about to be demolished, right?”

“I know.”

“Look, your grandmother lives alone in the countryside. At least she has us old neighbors taking care of her. If she gets a headache or fever and can’t contact you in time, we can help send her to the hospital. But in the future, once the countryside is demolished and us old neighbors all move away, tell me, besides you, who else can your grandmother rely on?”

Xu Qingzhi did not speak. She only held her grandmother’s hand.

Her grandmother faintly sensed something. She carefully glanced at Xu Qingzhi’s expression and was just about to say something.

Shen Baiyi’s aunt was still chattering endlessly. “In my opinion, you might as well take the demolition compensation and later change to a bigger house, then bring your grandmother over too. That way, if anything happens to your grandmother, it’ll be convenient to take care of her.”

A slightly troubled expression had just appeared on Shen Baiyi’s face. She was about to open her mouth and advise her aunt to say a little less when she heard Xu Qingzhi say in a flat, calm tone,

“Aunt sure is very concerned about other people’s family affairs.”

Shen Baiyi’s aunt’s expression froze on her face. “…Qingzhi, what are you saying? I’m also worrying on your grandmother’s behalf.”

She was somewhat displeased and hurriedly swept a few glances at Xu Qingzhi’s grandmother from the corner of her eye, only to see Xu Qingzhi’s grandmother frowning, her expression solemn, yet saying nothing.

Xu Qingzhi laughed softly again. She raised her eyes and looked at Shen Baiyi’s aunt. “Aunt is right. I really do need to consider more for Grandma’s sake.”

“Our high school’s new campus will be completed soon. I think buying a house in the new district would be quite nice. But housing prices in the new district are a little high, and in a few years, Baiyi and I will have to consider having children too. No matter what, we’ll have to buy a four-bedroom, two-living-room apartment.”

Xu Qingzhi’s tone was soft. “Aunt, if Baiyi and I can’t afford it, I’m afraid we’ll have to trouble you to support us a little.”

Shen Baiyi’s aunt subconsciously said, “What do you mean by that?”

“What else could I mean? Aunt is so considerate of us, so if we borrow some money from you, you definitely wouldn’t refuse, right?”

Shen Baiyi’s aunt looked at Xu Qingzhi’s face, her chest rising and falling unevenly, almost unable to maintain her expression.

This damned little girl actually…

As early as when Xu Qingzhi opened her mouth to say the first sentence, Shen Baiyi had already sensed that something was not quite right. But she could not find a chance to interrupt. Now, seeing her aunt’s face alternate between green and white, she timely stepped in and cut them off.

“Ah, Aunt, didn’t you just say you haven’t had time to eat yet? There’s a restaurant beside the hospital. Why don’t I take you to eat something first?”

With Shen Baiyi giving her a way out, Shen Baiyi’s aunt hurriedly took it. She quickly nodded and practically pushed Shen Baiyi as they hurried out of the hospital room.

Once the two of them left, the hospital room fell quiet again.

Xu Qingzhi could no longer maintain the smile on her face. She lowered her head, buried her face between her arms, and her entire body trembled uncontrollably.

Having witnessed Xu Qingzhi and Shen Baiyi’s aunt going tit for tat just now, her grandmother had also noticed something was wrong.

She sighed lightly and raised one hand to rest on Xu Qingzhi’s shoulder.

“Qingzhi, tell Grandma. What exactly happened?”

“Is it because of the demolition that you and Xiao Shen argued?”

Xu Qingzhi said in a muffled voice, “We didn’t argue.”

She and Shen Baiyi had not argued. They were just about to divorce, that was all.

Naturally, her grandmother did not believe Xu Qingzhi’s explanation. “If you didn’t argue, then why did you talk back to Xiao Shen’s aunt just now? What she said wasn’t very pleasant to hear, but you still shouldn’t be so rude to an elder.”

Xu Qingzhi did not speak. Her grandmother frowned, looking helpless.

“All right. You don’t need to take it to heart. If you don’t like hearing it, just pretend you didn’t hear it. When the time comes, won’t that money still go into my own pocket? It’s impossible for her to boss me around over it.”

Xu Qingzhi raised her head in confusion. “Grandma?”

But she saw her grandmother looking at her with a smile. “I haven’t told you yet. I’ve already made plans. I’ll leave the demolition compensation to you, but I won’t live with you two. I want to live in a nursing home.”

“Grandma?!”