The Down and Out CEO’s Pursuit of Her Wife [GL] - Chapter 15

“Mommy, are you tired?” Little Ye Xiang, wearing a deep blue sun hat, looked up and blinked as he asked An Ruoning.

An Ruoning knelt down, smoothing out a turned-up corner of his hat brim. She gently stroked his round, tender cheek with her thumb. “Is Ye Xiang tired? We haven’t even entered the park yet, and you’re already tired?”

Ye Xiang stood on his tiptoes, peeking his head out from the right side of the queue to point at the crowd, counting them one by one. Halfway through, he lost track of the numbers. He thought for a moment but couldn’t remember if the last one was 23 or 24, so he started over and counted seriously again. After finishing with the people standing ahead of him and An Ruoning, he whispered “63, 63” to himself. “Mommy, there are still 63 people in front of us.”

An Ruoning said, “63 isn’t a problem. Once the uncles and aunties open the gates, 63 people will be inside in the blink of an eye. It’ll be very fast. If Ye Xiang is tired, shall we go get something delicious as soon as we get in?”

Ye Xiang shook his head from side to side and took An Ruoning’s hand, deciding to wait patiently. “Mommy, I’m not tired.”

An Ruoning’s lips curled into a slight smile as she tenderly patted his plump little head. While it was heartening that the child was so sensible and obedient, life is difficult, and she felt it was better for him to be a bit more carefree and willful during his precious childhood.

She was always afraid that Ye Xiang’s lack of demands would make her overlook his needs. Whenever he mentioned even a small wish, she would do everything in her power to make it happen for him.

Just like now, having promised to take him to the theme park, she absolutely could not break her word, even though she had been huddled in a corner in pain earlier this morning, unable to face a single ray of sunlight.

When she had tried to sneak out of the hotel in the early hours, An Ruoning had tiptoed toward the door, crouching low. To be safe, she glanced back at the sofa before turning the handle. That look made her realize her caution was unnecessary. Mu Shan looked nothing like her usual self, curled up on the sofa and long since passed out from drink.

An Ruoning remembered seeing some blankets in the bedroom wardrobe when she was getting her bathrobe. she ran back to fetch one, but just as she spread it out in front of the sofa, Mu Shan suddenly shuddered. “Ruoning… where are you… where are you… don’t… don’t leave me… don’t leave me…” she murmured.

Mu Shan’s voice grew softer and softer, finally returning to silence. However, tears were still leaking from the corners of her eyes, and her hand was tightly gripping the tassels of the sofa cushion, looking exactly like a child who had been wronged, sleeping in a mother’s arms while clutching her hem.

In the end, the blanket was never placed over Mu Shan. An Ruoning abruptly turned and ran back to the bedroom, spreading the blanket on the bed and folding it neatly back to its original state along the creases. Back in the wardrobe, aside from a few extra teardrops, the blanket showed no sign of having been moved.

As she turned the front door handle again, An Ruoning raised the air conditioner temperature by two degrees. This way, Mu Shan wouldn’t notice. Since she had made up her mind to make a clean break, she couldn’t leave behind any lingering hope.

It was the same for Jian Qing, and the same for everyone else. In her current state, she shouldn’t drag anyone down. One person’s loneliness was far better than two people’s pain.

“Mommy, I want to ride the roller coaster.” Ye Xiang saw the tracks circling the distant mountain, and his feet refused to move any further.

“Ah?” An Ruoning had been preoccupied with thoughts of the hotel, completely unaware that she had already led Ye Xiang into the park. “Oh! The roller coaster, right. Okay, let’s go ride the roller coaster.”

Ye Xiang asked, “Mommy, do you have something on your mind?”

An Ruoning replied, “Hmm? Why would you say that, Ye Xiang?”

“There was a huge SpongeBob hanging outside the shop we just passed. Doesn’t Mommy love SpongeBob the most? I pointed at it for a long time, but Mommy didn’t see it at all,” Ye Xiang said.

An Ruoning said, “Oh, maybe… I just didn’t notice… I’m sorry, Ye Xiang.”

Ye Xiang shook his head. “It’s okay, Mommy. Mommy, who was that lady who talked to you at Beibei’s place last time? I asked Daddy, but he wouldn’t tell me, and he told me not to ask you.”

An Ruoning hesitated. “Just  someone I used to know. Why are you asking about her?”

“Because ever since that lady came to see you, you’ve rarely come to see me,” Ye Xiang said, knitting his small brows. He put his index finger in his mouth to suck on it, but seeing An Ruoning about to stop him, he quickly pulled it out. “Mommy, is it because of that lady that you won’t marry Daddy and live with us?”

“No! Of course not!” An Ruoning was incredibly shocked and flustered that a four-year-old could make such a connection.

“Then when will Mommy move in with us? Daddy’s cooking isn’t good, and Auntie Ding never cooks at all,” Ye Xiang said, looking up at her with pure, unadulterated expectation.

Before Ye Xiang was even born, Ye Zhefeng’s ex-wife, Ding Siyu, had made a scene demanding a divorce. After he was born, she had hardly looked after the child for a single day. Their only one or two meetings a year consisted of nothing more than a meal at a restaurant that lasted less than an hour.

An Ruoning understood Ye Xiang’s longing for a family and parents very well. However, she feared she could never convince herself to become his mother, if becoming his mother meant becoming Ye Zhefeng’s wife.

“The sun is too bright, don’t keep looking up, it’s bad for your eyes.” An Ruoning found an excuse to stop him from staring at her. She couldn’t face such a bright, innocent gaze.

“Oh, okay!” Ye Xiang hurriedly lowered his head. To him, An Ruoning’s words were commands that had to be obeyed in his small world.

An Ruoning asked, “Does Ye Xiang really want me to live with you?”

“Mhm!” The little guy nodded with extreme determination.

An Ruoning said, “Actually, I really want to live with Ye Xiang too, so I could watch you grow up bit by bit every single moment. But, two adults can only live together if they get married, and your Daddy and I are just good friends. We can’t get married. Can you understand that?”

“Daddy says that too… you both say that every time,” the little guy’s voice was much lower than before.

An Ruoning knelt down, wrapped her arms around his legs, and lifted him up. Being suddenly hoisted high made Ye Xiang happy again, and he laughed uncontrollably while wrapping his arms around her neck.

An Ruoning said, “Even though we can’t live together, it doesn’t change my love for you. I love you the very, very most, and Daddy loves you the very, very most too. How about I save all my time after work for you from now on? We’ll go wherever you want to play, and I’ll cook whatever you want to eat, okay?”

Ye Xiang leaned in and gave her a big kiss on the cheek. “Okay! Mommy is the best! Ye Xiang loves Mommy the most too, Mommy is better than Daddy!”

An Ruoning asked, “Why say Daddy isn’t good? Has he been too busy with work to spend time with you lately?”

“Mhm!” Ye Xiang snuggled into her shoulder for a while. Then he pursed his lips in thought and gave her another kiss. “Mommy, I want to get down and walk by myself. I’m a big boy now, I can’t always let Mommy carry me.”

Seeing they were only a few steps away from the roller coaster ticket gate, An Ruoning put him back down, rubbing his head and praising him for being so sensible.

A train happened to reach the highest point of the track, and a wave of screams echoed from the sky. Ye Xiang was quite startled, his mouth hanging open and his eyes wide.

Just as An Ruoning was about to comfort him, he patted his own chest and turned to her. “Mommy, will you be scared riding this? If you are, just hold my hand tight, I’ll protect you.”

“You’ll protect me?” Ye Xiang was so small standing at her feet. Even if he was a bit more mature and taller than other children his age, he still looked like a child no matter how you sliced it. While it could be seen as a child’s primal instinct to protect a loved one, hearing such words from a little boy was truly endearing.

Ye Xiang touched the small polka-dot bowtie around his neck and explained seriously, “Daddy said that boys have to protect girls. I’m a boy and Mommy is a girl, so I have to protect Mommy.”

“Ye Xiang is amazing. Then we have to hold hands the whole time, okay?” An Ruoning gripped his hand and led him onto the roller coaster.

After the ride, Ye Xiang didn’t cry or scream, though his palms were very sweaty.

An Ruoning said, “Ye Xiang is so brave. Shall we go get something delicious now?”

Ye Xiang seemed a bit sluggish. Hearing about food, he only managed a forced smile and a nod. After a few steps, he suddenly stopped. “Mommy, can we wait a bit to eat? My tummy feels a little weird.”

“Uncomfortable? How does it feel?” An Ruoning quickly knelt to check. By now, several trails of sweat were running down his face.

Ye Xiang clutched his stomach, trying to speak but gritting his teeth in pain.

“Does your stomach hurt? Oh, we shouldn’t have had ice cream when we left this morning, it might have chilled your stomach. Do you need the bathroom?” An Ruoning looked around hurriedly, and luckily, there was a restroom just ahead.

Ye Xiang nodded frantically, and An Ruoning scooped him up, running toward the restroom. At the entrance, she asked a male staff member to keep an eye on him while she waited right outside.

After more than ten minutes, the staff member helped Ye Xiang out. He wasn’t any better, still clutching his stomach and finding it difficult to even walk. An Ruoning rushed forward and picked him up.

The staff member said, “He’s in quite a bit of pain. There’s a first aid station at the south gate, you should take him there to get checked out.”

An Ruoning didn’t even have time to finish saying “thank you” before she bolted toward the south gate. Likely from the pain and lack of strength, Ye Xiang couldn’t even keep his arms around her neck and kept slipping. An Ruoning held him tight, running carefully.

The first aid station was actually just an ambulance stocked with some medicine, with only one doctor on board. Without any diagnostic equipment, the doctor could only press on the lower right side of his abdomen based on experience. Ye Xiang let out a loud cry immediately. When the doctor lifted his hand, the boy burst into tears from the pain.

The doctor said, “Get him to the hospital quickly, it’s likely acute appendicitis.”

An Ruoning felt her mind go blank. “Oh… okay… thank you, doctor! Thank you!”

Ye Xiang only cried for a few moments before trying his best to hold it in, but seeing him endure such agony made An Ruoning feel even worse.

She held him tight once more, pushing through crowd after crowd, and ran out of the park to hail a taxi. Inside the cab, An Ruoning mechanically wiped the sweat from his brow, her hearing and vision blurring from extreme anxiety.

Suddenly, Ye Xiang’s head slumped down onto her arm. An Ruoning blinked hard several times until her vision cleared, only to see that he had fainted.

“Driver! Please, go faster!!” An Ruoning pleaded with a trembling voice.

“It’s traffic, there’s nothing I can do!” the driver grumbled.

“I know, I know, just as fast as you can, thank you!” While holding Ye Xiang even tighter, An Ruoning desperately tried to call Ye Zhefeng, but the call went unanswered.

Even as Ye Xiang was being wheeled into the operating room, she still couldn’t reach Ye Zhefeng. An Ruoning sat on a plastic chair in the waiting area, retracing every single thing she had done that day, wondering which mistake had led to such a severe emergency.

“Young lady, your foot is bleeding.” An elderly man sitting nearby tapped her and pointed to her right foot.

An Ruoning looked down. A patch of skin had been rubbed raw where her ankle met the shoe. Dried blood had stuck her skin to the material, and fresh blood was slowly crawling down the side of the shoe toward the floor.

“Thank you, sir.” An Ruoning nodded to him, taking some tissues to wipe the blood off her shoe to avoid staining the floor.

As she straightened up, the pain in her ankle finally began to register. I guess I shouldn’t always listen to Duo Yi’s advice, she thought to herself with a bitter irony, these shoes are pretty, but they’re useless for running.

Her phone finally rang. Thinking it was Ye Zhefeng, she grabbed it, but it was Jian Qing calling. Right, it was time for her medicine. Jian Qing never missed this daily call.

An Ruoning answered, “Hello.”

“Time for your medicine,” Jian Qing said.

Jian Qing’s voice was so comforting that she finally felt a sense of calm.

“I took it, don’t worry,” An Ruoning repeated her usual answer.

Jian Qing said, “Good girl.”

An Ruoning hesitated. “Um…”

“What is it?”

“Can you get in touch with Dr. Ye? Ye Xiang is in the hospital, and I haven’t been able to reach him…”

“Leave contacting him to me. You’re at the hospital? What happened to Ye Xiang? Which hospital?” Jian Qing asked.

An Ruoning explained, “Appendicitis, it seems quite serious. I don’t know if something went wrong when I took him out today.”

Jian Qing said, “That’s not a condition that forms in a day or two, don’t overthink it. Send me your location, I’ll come find you.”

“No, no, that’s too much trouble for you, you work so hard…” An Ruoning started.

Jian Qing interrupted, “No matter how hard I work, I should come and see. Zhefeng and I were classmates for six years in middle and high school, it’s the least I can do. Don’t worry, I’m not coming specifically to see you, although… I really do want to see you.”

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