7. The two ends of life

Hao Shengnan lay sprawled on the top-of-the-line waterbed, bowing down before Qiuqiu. Suddenly, a thought struck her, and she jerked her head up, leaping over to Qiuqiu's side. "Hey, young lady, I heard that a woman's firmness changes after giving birth. Is that true?" "You're not even married yet, why do you care?" Lingling slapped Shengnan's arm in shame and indignation. "What do you, an old virgin, know?" Shengnan pushed Lingling aside and whispered to Qiuqiu, both of them chuckling. Xinhua and Lingling shook their heads helplessly. Seeing the baby crying in the inner room, being soothed by three month-old nannies, they went in to check. The little one had just urinated, and Rong Xinhua, whose five-year-old daughter was already experienced in childcare, couldn't help but suspect that the child wasn't doing well. The three nannies exchanged glances, each with their own concerns, but none of them wanted to be the first to take the blame. "Qiuqiu, why is your baby's poop white? How long has this been going on?" Xinrong called out to Qiuqiu outside. Qiuqiu ran in nervously, saying, "It was just a little curd before, but it wasn't white poop at all!" But when the four of them saw the small speck of white poop and the crying child's purple face, their hearts suddenly panicked. Qiuqiu held the child's face and touched his hands, completely terrified and at a loss for what to do. She frantically questioned the three month nannies, but they were afraid of getting into trouble and just kept passing the buck, unable to offer any useful information. "Hurry, get the child to the hospital!" Lingling acted decisively. "We have to tell Ping'er's father first!" Xinhua warned. Shengnan yelled at the three month nannies, telling them to call Mr. Gong. Gong Difei and Yu Chuanbei, who had already gone to the wine cellar for a private meeting, rushed over. Before they even entered the room, they heard Qiu Qiu's heartbreaking cries. The baby was already in convulsions, and Qiu Qiu clung to him, overcome with grief. The battle-hardened Gong Difei stood there completely stunned, his face pale and his knuckles trembling slightly. Seeing this, Yu Chuanbei decisively addressed the Gong residence's housekeeper, "This villa is too far from the hospital. It's probably too late to call an ambulance now. I'll take Mr. and Mrs. Gong to the hospital immediately. Please calm the guests and keep quiet. Everyone present is Mr. Gong's close friend, so please keep this matter confidential. Let's have dinner at the appointed time, and have the Gong family preside. When the banquet is almost over, find an excuse to send the guests away." He arranged everything methodically. The housekeeper nodded. Cheng Siben saw that Gong Difei was still preoccupied and panicked...

Hao Shengnan lay on the top-of-the-line waterbed, bowing down to Qiuqiu. Suddenly, she remembered something, raised her head, and rushed to Qiuqiu's side and said, "Hey, little lady, I heard that women's firmness changes after giving birth. Is that true?"

"You haven't even gotten married yet, why do you care about this?" Ling Ling slapped Sheng Nan's arm in shame and anger.

"What do you, an old virgin, know!" Sheng Nan pushed Ling Ling away and whispered to Qiuqiu. The two of them were laughing so hard that they were shaking with laughter.

Xinhua and Lingling shook their heads helplessly. Seeing that the baby in the inner room was still crying and being coaxed by three month-old nannies, they went in to take a look.

The little one had just urinated and defecated. Rong Xinhua, whose five-year-old daughter was already quite experienced in childcare, could not help but sense that the child was not in good condition. The three nannies looked at each other, their minds aching, but none of them wanted to be the first to take the blame.

"Qiuqiu, why is your baby's poop white? How long has this situation lasted?" Xinrong shouted to Qiuqiu outside.

Qiuqiu ran in a bit nervously and said, "It was just a little bit of curd before, it was not really white poop at all!"

But when the four people saw the small lump of white feces and urine, and saw the crying child with a purple face, they immediately became panicked.

Qiuqiu held the baby's face and touched its hands, completely frightened and at a loss. She frantically questioned the three nannies, but they were afraid of getting into trouble and just kept passing the buck, unable to offer any useful information.

"Send the child to the hospital quickly!" Ling Ling made a prompt decision.

"We have to tell Ping'er's father first!" Xinhua reminded.

Shengnan yelled at the three nannies, asking them to call Mr. Gong over quickly.

Gong Difei and Yu Chuanbei, who had already gone to the wine cellar for a secret talk, rushed over after hearing the news. Before they even entered the house, they heard Qiu Qiu's heart-wrenching cries.

The baby was in convulsions, and Qiu Qiu hugged the child tightly, feeling extremely distressed.

The battle-hardened Gong Difei was completely stunned at this moment, his face was pale and his finger joints were trembling slightly.

Upon seeing this, Yu Chuanbei decisively said to the housekeeper of the Gong Mansion, "This villa is too far from the hospital. It may be too late to call an ambulance now. I will take Mr. and Mrs. Gong to the hospital immediately. Please calm the guests first and don't make it public. Everyone present here is Mr. Gong's close friend, so please be sure to keep this matter confidential. When the time comes, let's start the dinner and let the Gong family preside over it. When the banquet is almost over, find an excuse to send all the guests away." He arranged everything in an orderly manner.

The butler nodded.

Seeing Gong Difei still preoccupied and in a state of panic, Cheng Siben had no choice but to approach Qiu Qiu and the child. Just as he was about to reach out to support Madam Gong, he ran into Ling Ling, who raised her face.

This time there was no stubbornness on her face, only deep and unbreakable sadness.

When they saw each other, they were both stunned for a moment, but tacitly did not speak to each other.

Yu Chuanbei led them to the garage. Ling Ling kicked off her high heels and ran barefoot. She put her arm around Qiuqiu's shoulders and got into Yu Chuanbei's car with her and the child.

The group hurried away, wrapping a newborn baby in their arms, and rushed to the other end of life.

Lying in an incubator, her body riddled with tubes, Ping'er still managed to breathe faintly. Biliary atresia had progressed to biliary cirrhosis, a rare condition cured by liver transplantation. However, Ping'er's condition was so severe this time that her chances of survival were slim. The chief physician's statement was akin to a death sentence for a newborn.

From bewilderment, to wailing, to a deathly silence. In just a few hours, life had already experienced the shock of birth and death. In the blink of an eye, all hope was lost. No one could understand the pain of losing another, and any words would be frivolous. Ling Ling could only hold Qiuqiu's hand tightly, conveying warmth to her. Beyond that, she was powerless.

Qiu Qiu knelt beside Ping'er's incubator like a stone sculpture, unable to pull her away or move her. Tears can flow freely, sadness can overflow, I could even trade my life for you, my child, but—can I get you back?

When every baby begins to have its first fetal movement in the mother's body, the expectant mother must have imagined the child's entire future, what kind of personality he will have, what kind of school he will go to, what kind of friends he will make, whether he likes paintbrushes or musical instruments... In her heart, mom has accompanied you through the first half of your life countless times, and I am afraid that you will be lonely in the days without me; but now, you are going to disappear in the first half of my life, and I realize that loneliness is the lightest in the level of human suffering.

My darling, you were so small, so soft, I was afraid you'd get hurt by a heavy hug, and now I have to let you endure so many blows from cold instruments... As fierce as I am, I don't have the energy to resist or complain at this moment. I'm so desperate that I hate asking for help.

Now, I just want the whole world to go away. I don’t need warmth, I don’t need light. I just want you to come back to my arms. The storm can come as wildly as it wants, and I will hold you in the deepest part of my arms. I just want to hold you like this, forever and ever... I dare not say a lifetime again, because I’m afraid that the lifetime I can give you is too short.

*~*~*~*~*~*~

After helping the Gong family deal with some emergency matters, Yu Chuanbei kept looking out the window at Ling Ling, the only one who had always stayed by Madam Gong's side. Ling Ling knelt with her and let her rest her head on his shoulder.

He paid particular attention to Ling Ling's bare feet, which were already bruised and bloody. On the cold concrete floor of the hospital, the bruised feet were particularly glaring.

It was almost midnight, and Gong Difei thanked his wife's friends and told them to go home. Gong Difei carried Qiu Qiu, who was already numb and unconscious, and told Ling Ling to leave as well.

Lingling, Xinhua and Shengnan walked out of the hospital together.

Xinhua sighed and said, "Alas, it seems that illness and death are the same for everyone, regardless of whether you are rich or poor. We really need to cherish our simple lives!"

Hao Shengnan was a sentimental person and couldn't stand hearing her talk like that: "Rong Xinhua, why do I feel so uncomfortable listening to you? Is Ping'er's life in exchange for your enlightenment?"

The two of them already had a grudge against each other in the past, and Rong Xinhua was not willing to be outdone: "Hao Shengnan, what do you mean by that? I just feel sorry for Qiuqiu!"

"Regret? It's a life, and you actually use the word 'regret'! Don't think I can't see that you see Qiuqiu is better than you in every way now, and you are jealous to the point of going crazy, wishing that something bad would happen to their perfect happy family to suit your taste. You are greedy and vain all day long, forcing Ren Qingshi endlessly, making the whole place a mess. Be careful that one day he finds someone else, and then you will lose everything!" Hao Shengnan, who had been holding it in for so many years, completely broke off relations with her.

"I don't think you are cursing me, but you are just thinking about my things. But don't worry, even if Ren Qingshi is looking for a prostitute, he won't look for you!" Rong Xinhua no longer pretended to be friendly on the surface.

Sheng Nan was speechless immediately and raised his hand to hit Rong Xinhua, but was stopped by Ling Ling.

"That's enough!" Ling Ling grabbed Sheng Nan's raised arm and said indignantly, "Ping'er is still lying in the incubator. He's a living person, a life, a child who will cause his entire family heartbroken pain! How dare you still make a fuss here for your own personal feelings? Even if it wasn't Qiuqiu, but a passerby who had such a tragic experience, you shouldn't be so cruel!"

Ling Ling burst into tears instantly, and the other two people fell silent at the same time out of shame.

"Qingshi is here to pick me up. I'll leave first." Rong Xinhua wrapped his coat and turned to leave.

Hao Shengnan tensed his shoulders and walked in the opposite direction without saying a word.

Ling Ling was left standing alone on the blind path. She felt as if her chest had been ripped away by the clamor of the world. The thin air felt oppressive and cold. There was no warmth to comfort her, no shoulder to lean on. The hands offered were not for support, but for slapping. Even more hopeless was the realization that, beyond this world, another, even greater tragedy lay shrouded in impenetrable darkness.

She collapsed and squatted on the ground, crying bitterly. The stones under her feet dug into her skin but could not hit her pain points. She also wanted to use numbness to fight against her cold-bloodedness, but the huge sorrow tortured her heart - she was heartbroken!

From crying to choking, she didn't know how long it took for the tears to carry away part of the pain from her body. She gasped sadly and weakly, and found that there was a hesitant footstep slowly approaching her, and a voice that was lowered to the lowest level but still afraid of scaring her was speaking hesitantly.

"Ling... Lingling... The ground is too cold, put this on."

She raised her tear-red eyes and saw his body bent over her, his face filled with pity. He placed a pair of thick, somewhat exaggerated, brown cotton slippers at her feet, then helped her up, gently holding her cold ankle, and helped her put the slippers on.

"I'm sorry, this little shop next to the hospital only sells this kind of warm-looking shoes. They're too ugly, aren't they?" Out of politeness, he tried to keep his tone steady, but she could still hear his slightly trembling breathing from running too fast.

She was so frightened that she didn't know what to say.

"Let me take you home. Where do you live?" he had to continue.

"No... no thanks. Thank you." Ling Ling instinctively hugged her arms, "I can just take the bus here. Thank you." She was at a loss as to what to do and turned around and ran away.

Before Yu Chuanbei could call her, she had already boarded the speeding bus and sped away.

Did she recognize me as the person from that day? Did she still remember my name? Was her escape due to fear of the unfamiliar or aversion to contact?

Yu Chuanbei stood there dejectedly, thinking over and over again for a long time, but still could not find a solution, so he had to leave hesitantly.

Author's Note

Liu Qiu

author

04-12

This is my best-selling book ever. Thank you all for your support! Please comment, share, and recommend it! (I can't send kiss emojis, but I want to.)