“Can you let me go now?”
Chi Yingyu heard Jiang Lai’s phone ringing and pressed her lips together, ultimately deciding to release Jiang Lai from her embrace.
Jiang Lai could feel that ever since the phone rang, more eyes had turned toward her.
Even the girl sitting by the surgery room door now was staring at her.
For some reason, that girl looked familiar—like she had seen her somewhere on the road before…
In front of a girl about the same age as her daughter, being held tightly by someone else, Jiang Lai felt inexplicably embarrassed.
This time, even the tips of her ears burned.
She touched her earlobe and subtly avoided their gazes.
Jiang Lai glanced at her phone.
If it had been anyone else calling, she might have just hung up—after all, no one was more important than her own daughter.
But this call was from Xu Ruobing, who had rushed her here.
Thinking about how Xu Ruobing was probably still waiting for her in the car, Jiang Lai felt she had to quickly explain the situation to ease the worry of someone who cared about her.
To avoid disturbing those around her, she stepped into the Safety Passage before answering the call.
“Jiang Jiang, is everything okay?”
“No big deal, but I still have a long wait here. Maybe you should go back and rest first…”
Jiang Lai didn’t know how long her daughter’s surgery would take.
But no matter how long it was, as her daughter’s father, she would hate herself if she wasn’t by her side.
After Jiang Lai’s words, there was a long silence on the other end before an obvious question was asked.
“Will you come back tonight?”
“I probably won’t have much time these next couple of days. Someone here needs me to take care of them.”
“Alright, just don’t overwork yourself.”
On the other end, Xu Ruobing nodded crisply, making Jiang Lai clutch her phone tighter.
Everything was going according to her expectations, yet why did her heart still feel so heavy?
Jiang Lai didn’t notice the brief flicker of strange feelings passing through her mind.
At this moment, her entire focus was on her daughter, who was still in surgery.
She simply had no energy left for anyone else.
The call was clean and efficient, lasting just a few minutes.
Jiang Lai then put her phone back in her pocket and returned to the Corridor to continue waiting.
Meanwhile, Xu Ruobing, who was supposed to be heading home, quietly appeared a short distance away in the Corridor, her gaze fixed tightly on Jiang Lai and the others.
From the start, Xu Ruobing had closely followed behind Jiang Lai and Chi Yingyu, witnessing everything that had just happened.
She had expected Jiang Lai’s surroundings to be exactly as she imagined, but it turned out to be even more complicated…
Seeing the eyelids droop to mask the emotions hidden underneath, Xu Ruobing felt deep down that she wasn’t suited for this kind of scene.
Yet before leaving, her gaze fell on the slippers Jiang Lai was wearing.
“Wonder if they should be taken care of…”
Appendicitis is often called a minor surgery; the operation itself can be as quick as half an hour or take up to an hour or two.
Though it’s usually a quick procedure, when people wait outside, every minute feels agonizing.
The silence outside the surgery room is eerily quiet, all thoughts focused on Jiang Leyi inside.
Jiang Lai stared fixedly at the light above the surgery room.
She didn’t know how long this uneasy stillness lasted until the light changed, signaling movement.
A medical staff member emerged from the surgery room and explained the situation to them: the surgery had gone smoothly.
Upon hearing this, the three people waiting at the door finally breathed a sigh of relief.
A huge weight lifted from their hearts.
Now, it was just a matter of a few days’ hospitalization before Discharge.
After the doctor finished speaking, Jiang Leyi was pushed out.
The three of them, especially Jiang Lai, rushed to her bedside in the blink of an eye.
Looking at her pale face and lips completely drained of color, Jiang Lai desperately wanted to hold her daughter’s hand tightly.
Appendicitis may be considered a minor surgery, but Jiang Lai couldn’t bear to see her daughter in any pain.
As Jiang Lai’s eyes filled with pity staring at her daughter lying on the hospital bed, Jiang Leyi groggily opened her heavy eyelids.
She had been awakened by the doctors inside before being pushed out, but the numb, dizzy feeling was very unpleasant.
However, her mood suddenly brightened upon seeing the beautiful young woman beside her, and she unconsciously smiled.
“Sister, you’re so pretty…”
At first, it was just a compliment, but what she said next shocked Jiang Lai into silence.
“Big sister, do you want to be my mom? My dad is really handsome…”
This simple sentence from Jiang Leyi stunned all three people gathered around the bed.
Among them, Shen Ruxue had the most thoughts swirling in her mind.
She had been focused solely on her own daughter during the surgery, not paying attention to who was at the door.
Even if she had noticed, she wouldn’t have thought much—it was all secondary until her daughter was safe.
But now, after everything was over, seeing this mysterious woman in front of her made Shen Ruxue feel uneasy.
Wasn’t this the woman who had been involved with her younger sister, Niangniang Jiang?
She hadn’t given it much thought before, but hearing her own daughter call this woman “mom” made even the calmest Shen Ruxue unhappy.
Moreover, Jiang Lai’s anxiousness from beginning to end struck Shen Ruxue as strange—a kind of desperate urgency, as if her daughter were her own.
Compared to Shen Ruxue’s nearly paranoid vigilance, Jiang Lai was much purer, her heart filled entirely with worry for her daughter, oblivious to everyone else around her.
During surgery, the time passes fastest for the patient—it’s like closing one’s eyes and opening them again.
But after surgery, especially when the anesthesia wears off, is the most painful and difficult stage.
Jiang Leyi’s obvious grogginess showed the anesthesia hadn’t fully worn off.
Jiang Lai didn’t pay much attention to the rambling nonsense.
On the way to the ward, Jiang Lai barely left her daughter’s side.
After a round of silly smiles, for some reason, Jiang Leyi unexpectedly started crying…
Right now, Jiang Leyi felt confused, many thoughts unable to connect in her foggy mind.
The only thought was of her father.
She really, really missed her dad.
The more she thought about him, the more wronged she felt—why wasn’t her father by her side during the surgery? Why had he been on a business trip for so long? Why hadn’t he come back yet?
She had finally gotten a winter break, but her father’s business trip had taken away half of it.
“I hate dad…”
Tears as big as beans streamed from Jiang Leyi’s eyes uncontrollably, and her lips trembled with grief.
“Why hasn’t he come back yet? I want to eat the food he cooks… He’s been gone so long, not even a video call… Even a phone call would do…”
Jiang Leyi’s emotions broke down more and more, her words growing muddled.
At first, Jiang Lai could still understand her, but soon she could only clearly feel her daughter’s yearning and frustration at her father’s absence and lack of contact.
Jiang Lai also wanted to call him, wanted to hold her daughter close.
But how could she do that now?
Everything about her life was completely different from before.
With one hand tightly holding her daughter’s, Jiang Lai fought back the sobs in her throat, while the other hand gently wiped away the small tears at Jiang Leyi’s eyes.
At this moment, Jiang Lai couldn’t hold back her emotions any longer, tears streaming down her face.
She desperately wanted to tell her daughter that she was right here, holding her hand tightly, staying by her side.
Jiang Lai’s concern was obvious and unfocused.
Seeing her daughter cry and express her longing, her own thoughts overflowed with homesickness.
Suppressing the quiver in her voice, she said, “Leyi, I’m always here!”
Jiang Lai wanted to say more, even wanted to reveal her true identity to her daughter, but Chi Yingyu grabbed her wrist, making her swallow all her words.
Jiang Lai turned to look at her sister-in-law, who was shaking her head gently while holding her hand tightly.
Chi Yingyu had just calmed down after Jiang Leyi’s emotional breakdown.
Even if Jiang Lai wanted to reveal her true identity, it would have to be somewhere private.
There were simply too many eyes around right now.
But hearing her daughter’s words of longing pierced her to the bone.
She wanted to so badly, yet this overwhelming yearning had to be deeply buried in her heart—at least for now, it was absolutely impossible.
After Jiang Leyi was pushed into the ward and handed over to the nurses, family members were more of a hindrance than a help.
Taking advantage of the free time, a nurse asked Jiang Lai and Chi Yingyu to handle some Medical Fees first.
Chi Yingyu was officially Jiang Leyi’s only family member, so the nurse led her away, while Jiang Lai stayed behind listening carefully to the nurse’s postoperative instructions.
“Don’t sleep for the next two or three hours, keep turning over…” Jiang Lai carefully noted every single instruction in her phone.
Standing beside them was the often overlooked Shen Ruxue.
She looked young, so doctors and nurses naturally addressed the important information to the adults present, never considering Shen Ruxue.
From start to finish, Shen Ruxue said nothing.
She knew that if she intervened now, it would only cause unnecessary delays.
As long as her daughter was well cared for, she, as a mother, could endure a little.
But that didn’t mean Shen Ruxue was doing nothing.
While the nurse patiently explained the postoperative precautions to Jiang Lai, Shen Ruxue listened intently and recorded the details on her own phone.
She couldn’t trust anyone else—no one could care for Jiang Leyi better than she could.
Yet Jiang Lai had thoroughly impressed her in this regard.
The first few hours after surgery are the most troublesome, with the most instructions.
Jiang Lai definitely wouldn’t want to trouble anyone.
Since earlier, she had also noticed the young girl who had been following her closely.
Jiang Lai was curious about this girl’s identity and how she was connected to her daughter to still be here so late.
“I’m Leyi’s sister-in-law’s friend… You’ve worked hard today. Leyi is safe and sound now. You must not have eaten yet. Let Yingyu take you to eat later, okay?”
Jiang Lai could tell the girl was barely an adult.
Her parents must be worried to see her here alone, so she planned to have Chi Yingyu accompany the girl once she returned.
It would also give her sister-in-law a chance to eat and rest a bit.
As for her daughter, Jiang Lai entrusted everything to her.
Before the surgery, it had been her sister-in-law who had been busy with all the arrangements.
As for herself…
Jiang Lai had no appetite at all, her mind entirely on her daughter.
She thought that was a good enough plan, but to her surprise, Shen Ruxue completely ignored her, passing right by and sitting down beside Jiang Leyi’s hospital bed, with no intention of leaving.