It must have been very difficult for her to raise her child and earn money all these years. Even her child can easily say things like, "Without you, my mother had to go out to work alone at night during those years..."

He Yan picked up Kang An and kissed her little face: "I'm sorry, baby, it's all Daddy's fault."

"It's okay, you don't need to apologize to me. Whether you're okay or not doesn't matter at all. What matters is that my mom is okay." She said these heart-wrenching words in her childish voice.

In other words, I don't care about you at all; you're not important to me.

Little did anyone know that Kang An didn't care about him at all. She took out her storybook and stuffed it into He Yan's hands, asking him to tell her a story, while saying things that hurt He Yan's feelings.

At that moment, He Yan felt as if a thousand arrows were piercing his heart.

Xiaohua was relatively unfamiliar with Tongguan City. She had only briefly visited a while ago to take the college entrance examination this summer. She had to stay there for three days because of the exam. She was from Tongguan City and had registered there, so she had to come back to take the exam. After the exam, she didn't have time to go back to her hometown to see her parents because she needed to tutor a child. She took the overnight train back to Haishi City that very night.

Looking back, I feel very regretful. There are always times when you can make money. After finishing the college entrance examination, I rushed back to Shanghai without even thinking about going back to my hometown to see my parents. My parents are getting old. How many more years can I take care of them? The saying goes, "The child wishes to care for his parents, but they are no longer there." In the end, all that will be left is regret.

Finding a public phone booth, Xiaohua called Zhou Musheng's home. Zhou Musheng's son, Zhou Xun, answered the phone.

Xiaohua asked, "Is your dad home?"

Zhou Xun said that his father was making dinner for him. The Zhou family has a housekeeper, who usually takes care of Zhou Xun's three meals a day. But sometimes Zhou Musheng would cook a meal for his son himself when he was at home.

"Teacher Ye, you haven't taught me in a long time," Zhou Xun complained on the phone. His father always said that Teacher Ye was too busy lately and asked another teacher to teach him temporarily.

But he just liked being taught by Teacher Ye.

"I'm sorry, Zhou Xun. Teacher Ye has some family matters to attend to recently. I'll come back to teach you once I'm done with those matters."

"Alright, since you apologized so sincerely, I'll forgive you. After all, I'm the kindest boy in the world."

Xiao Hua couldn't help but laugh at his narcissistic and arrogant words, saying, "Ah, yes, yes, our Zhou Xun is the kindest and most wonderful boy in the world."

This is what Xiaohua often says to Zhou Xun, and Zhou Xun now likes to say it to himself.

Zhou Xun handed the phone to his father.

Zhou Musheng took the phone and said, "Hey, Xiaohua, I heard from your aunt that your father is sick and you took Kang'an back to your hometown. How is your father's health?"

"Mr. Zhou, did you come to my house looking for me?"

That's a pointless question. People already said they heard from your aunt that your father is sick...

"He must have gone to her house!" Xiaohua realized she had said something obvious after she finished speaking.

“There’s a problem. The city hospital back home says it’s cancer.” Xiaohua couldn’t help but feel sad when she mentioned her father’s illness.

Zhou Musheng paused for a moment and then said, "Bring some seafood to your father. I know a doctor who has returned from studying abroad and can take a look at your father."

"Thank you, Mr. Zhou, but no need. My father has bile duct cancer, which is a rather difficult cancer to treat. As far as I know, the military hospital in Beicheng is quite authoritative in this field nationwide. I'm on my way to Beicheng to seek treatment."

"Military hospital? Is that through Kang An's father's connections?"

It's very difficult for ordinary people to access the expert doctors at military hospitals unless they have connections. In this day and age, there are no online appointments or scalpers. Military hospitals are for the general public, but ordinary people don't have the means to seek medical treatment there.

Xiaohua hesitated for a moment before replying, "Yes."

"That's good. It will be much more convenient to see a doctor if you know someone who can help you. You should focus on your father's medical treatment. My work here is not urgent. If your father needs any help with his illness, please let me know. Don't be shy."

Xiao Hua was deeply moved by Zhou Musheng's words. To have such a good friend was a great blessing in life. She just didn't know if she was considered a friend by Zhou Musheng, even though their status, experience, and knowledge were very different.

But in Xiaohua's heart, she considered Zhou Musheng a friend.

The two exchanged a few more words and then hung up the phone.

As soon as Xiao Hua stepped out of the phone booth, she saw He Yan holding a child and watching her from a distance.

Xiao Hua was speechless. This person really didn't understand his place. What was this? Surveillance? Tailing?

"Um... Kang An wanted to eat roasted sweet potatoes, so I carried her out to buy some." He Yan felt a little guilty and didn't dare to look Xiao Hua in the eye.

"Kang An, would you like some roasted sweet potato?"

Xiao Hua asked Kang An directly, and compared to He Yan's answer, she trusted her child's answer more.

“I didn’t want to eat it, but my dad thought I did, so he brought me out.”

His daughter's honesty came too quickly, so quickly that He Yan wished he could disappear into a crack in the ground, feeling like he had nowhere to hide and being slapped in the face.

"Haha, didn't this child just say he wanted to eat? Now he doesn't want to eat anymore. Kids change their minds so quickly."

He Yan smiled awkwardly.

Xiao Hua ignored her and headed towards the hotel, with He Yan quickly following behind, carrying the child.

Xiao Hua retorted sarcastically, "Weren't you going to take the kids to buy roasted sweet potatoes? You haven't even brought back any roasted sweet potatoes, what are you going back for?"

He Yan knew she was deliberately being sarcastic, but he still pretended to be confused and said, "Didn't the child not want to eat anymore? Then let's not buy it and go home!"

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