Xu Xun furrowed his brows, looking very displeased. He really hated it when others meddled in his family affairs. If it weren’t for the fact that this Ye Zhiqiu was Yue Mingyuan’s wife, he definitely wouldn’t have given her any face.
“Xiao Ye, what do you want to say?”
After the group left the hospital room, Xu Xun looked at Ye Zhiqiu.
Ye Zhiqiu, in turn, looked at Kang Zhixin: “Brother Xu, I think you’ve got it wrong. It’s not that I want to say something, but rather, Kang Zhixin is the one who has something to say.”
“She’s been the one yelling this whole time.”
Xu Xun shifted his gaze to Kang Zhixin, who immediately put on an act of being obedient and well-behaved, completely unlike the fierce, clawing manner she had shown towards Ye Zhiqiu.
“Brother-in-law, I’m doing this for my big sister’s own good. I’m her own biological sister, how could I possibly harm her? But what kind of relationship does she have with her? I’ve never heard my big sister say she’s on good terms with Shen Zhiqiu.”
Ye Zhiqiu shot back at Kang Zhixin: “You haven’t heard of it because she didn’t want to tell you. That proves Sister Kang didn’t want you to know.”
“Shen Zhiqiu, what do you mean by that? Are you trying to drive a wedge between my big sister and me?”
“I’m just being honest.”
Lu Shuangshuang came out of the hospital room: “Sister Zhimiao is awake.”
Kang Zhimiao had only slept for a short while before being jolted awake by a nightmare. In the dream, Kang Zhixin was viciously stabbing her with a knife, over and over again. The pain felt incredibly real.
“Mom.”
Xu Rui ran to Kang Zhimiao’s side, his little hand holding hers: “Dad said you’re sick. You have to listen to the doctor, don’t be afraid of needles, and take your medicine on time. That’s the only way you’ll get better quickly.”
“Rui Rui, don’t worry. Mommy just has a small illness. She’ll get better soon.” Kang Zhimiao raised her hand to touch Xu Rui’s face, comforting him.
“Mom, does it hurt somewhere? Can Rui Rui blow on it for you?”
As he spoke, Xu Rui pulled out a bunch of candies from his pants pocket and placed them in Kang Zhimiao’s hand: “Mom, I brought you lots of candy. Eating candy will make the pain go away, and the medicine won’t taste bitter either.”
“Thank you, Rui Rui.”
“Shuangshuang, could you please take Rui Rui out and buy him some snacks? I need to talk to my husband, Old Xu, and my dad.”
Kang Zhixin guessed what Kang Zhimiao wanted to say. She stepped forward, intending to take Xu Rui from Lu Shuangshuang’s hand: “Sis, how can you feel comfortable leaving Rui Rui with an outsider? I’ll take Rui Rui.”
Lu Shuangshuang blocked Kang Zhixin: “Kang Zhixin, don’t you understand plain speech? Sister Zhimiao asked me to take Rui Rui. Why are you interfering?”
“Lu Shuangshuang, you’re the one who doesn’t understand! I’m Rui Rui’s aunt. Who do you think you are?”
“Rui Rui, be good and listen to Aunt Shuangshuang, okay?”
Kang Zhimiao’s words made it clear whose side she was on. Kang Zhixin was very upset: “Sis, what do you mean by that?”
Only after Lu Shuangshuang had left with Xu Rui did Kang Zhimiao turn back to Kang Zhixin: “You go do whatever you need to do. Don’t worry about taking care of me, and don’t worry about taking care of Rui Rui either.”
“Zhiqiu, for the time being, I’ll have to trouble you to help look after Rui Rui. If you don’t mind, could Rui Rui stay at your place?”
Ye Zhiqiu was very surprised that Kang Zhimiao would say this. She glanced sideways and saw Xu Xun’s expression was very unpleasant. She guessed there might be problems in their marriage.
With so many people around, she couldn’t ask for details, so she simply nodded in agreement: “No problem.”
“Dad, I’m fine. You all should head back. Take Zhixin with you. She’s injured, so she needs to rest quietly.”
Kang Zhengqing opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but after thinking better of it, he didn’t speak. He stepped forward and took Kang Zhixin’s arm: “Zhixin, let’s go.”
“I’m not leaving!”
Kang Zhixin shook off Kang Zhengqing. Her eyes filled with tears as she glared at Kang Zhimiao: “Sis, explain yourself. What do you mean?”
“I’m doing this for your own good.”
Kang Zhimiao used to say this to Kang Zhixin all the time. Every time, Kang Zhixin would just find it annoying, thinking Kang Zhimiao was controlling her too much.
But today, she felt there was an underlying meaning in Kang Zhimiao’s words. Plus, ever since she arrived, the way Kang Zhimiao looked at her was strange.
Could it be that she saw through her thoughts?
Impossible! Absolutely impossible!
“Zhimiao, go back with Dad. When your sister gets better, she’ll come home to see you.”
Kang Zhimiao withdrew her gaze and settled it on Xu Xun: “I need to talk to your brother-in-law.”
Kang Zhixin really didn’t want to leave, but thinking about her own goals, she figured it was best not to offend Kang Zhimiao for now.
“Sis, then you take good care of yourself.”
Kang Zhixin probably didn’t even notice it herself, but her voice unconsciously became particularly sweet when she spoke to Xu Xun: “Brother-in-law, I’ll be going then. If anything comes up, just give me a call.”
“Mm.”
After the Kang family left, Ye Zhiqiu also planned to step out, leaving the space for Kang Zhimiao and Xu Xun: “Sister Kang, I’ll go check on Shuangshuang.”
“Zhiqiu, you stay.”
Ye Zhiqiu was very surprised. She didn’t know what Kang Zhimiao was planning to do.
“Why aren’t you letting Zhixin take care of you?” Xu Xun asked Kang Zhimiao directly.
“She doesn’t know how to take care of people; she’d just get in the way,” Kang Zhimiao said. “I asked Zhiqiu to help me find a caregiver.”
“And why ask Zhiqiu to look after Rui Rui? That’s not appropriate.”
“I’ll come pick Rui Rui up once I’m a bit better and discharged,” Kang Zhimiao sighed. “If it were possible, I wouldn’t want to trouble Zhiqiu either.”
“But you’re busy with work, and I’m hospitalized. Who’s supposed to take care of Rui Rui?”
Xu Xun’s first instinct was to say Xu Wan, but Xu Wan had run off somewhere unknown.
He thought for a moment: “We could let Zhixin take care of him.”
“That’s precisely the reason,” Kang Zhimiao stated clearly. “I don’t want Zhixin taking care of Rui Rui.”
“Why not?” Xu Xun couldn’t understand. “You need to give me a reason I can accept.”
Kang Zhimiao answered quickly: “Zhixin doesn’t know how to take care of people. She wouldn’t look after Rui Rui well.”
Xu Xun could tell that wasn’t the real reason. Whether it was Kang Zhimiao herself or Xu Rui, it wasn’t just about Kang Zhixin being bad at caregiving that made them not want her around.
Kang Zhimiao seemed very wary of Kang Zhixin, and any observant person could see there were issues between the sisters.
Xu Xun was too caught up in the situation to figure it out, but Ye Zhiqiu quickly understood the reason.
An outsider sees things more clearly. She could see that Kang Zhixin had improper feelings for Xu Xun.
Her behavior was just like Shen Liya’s towards Chen Can back then.
“Brother Xu, the urgent thing right now isn’t to get to the bottom of everything, but to focus on Sister Kang’s injury.”
“The most important thing is for Sister Kang to get better as soon as possible. Everything else can wait.”
Ye Zhiqiu helped persuade Xu Xun on Kang Zhimiao’s behalf. Xu Xun looked at Kang Zhimiao, saw that there wasn’t a trace of color in her face, and she clearly looked like she was forcing herself to stay strong. Finally, a hint of pity and tenderness appeared in his eyes.
“Do you have any other requests?”
Xu Xun was prepared for Kang Zhimiao to demand an explanation from him, or to make the unreasonable request that he never concern himself with Xu Wan again.
But who knew, Kang Zhimiao just gently shook her head: “No.”
Kang Zhimiao fell asleep again. Xu Xun waited for Lu Shuangshuang to return with Xu Rui, then he left.
Xu Xun truly was very busy. Chen Can’s affair had implicated the Xu family, and he also had to find Xu Wan.
