Chapter 35 I'll stay tonight
He ran forward, tried to pry Zhou Yao's hands apart, and led her aside, but she continued to struggle.
Chen Yao'an's neck was suddenly released, and she couldn't help but take a deep breath, followed by a violent cough that felt like she was going to cough up her lungs, accompanied by a burning pain inside and outside her neck.
"Auntie! Auntie!"
Zhou Yao couldn't calm down at all.
Hearing the commotion, Yan Shumei came in from outside. Seeing her granddaughter lying on the ground and her daughter-in-law still having a fit, she immediately slapped her thigh and collapsed, "Oh dear, what happened?"
Zhou Yao kicked and bit him, so Xu Jialan had no choice but to take her into the bedroom.
"Grandma, can you find me some strips of cloth?"
"Okay, okay." Yan Shumei looked around, then went to the cabinet and found an unused bed sheet, which she then cut into strips with scissors.
Chen Yao'an finally calmed down a bit, and her cough subsided a lot, but her neck was still burning with pain.
She slowly looked down at the bed in the bedroom, and tears welled up in her eyes again.
Having no other choice, Xu Jialan tied Zhou Yao to the bed with strips of cloth.
After settling Zhou Yao in, he rushed over to check on Chen Yao'an's condition.
He helped her up from the ground. "How are you?"
"It's...nothing." Chen Yao'an felt like she had swallowed a knife; it hurt to speak.
Xu Jialan looked at her neck, where there was a ring of red marks, a shocking sight.
He suddenly felt a chill of fear; if he had arrived even a moment later, would she...?
He swallowed hard, suppressing his shock, and reached out to touch her neck.
Does it hurt?
His hand was a little unsteady, and he touched it a little too hard.
Chen Yaoan nodded.
"I'll take you to the hospital."
Chen Yaoan looked towards Zhou Yao's bedroom with unease.
"There's no other way but to tie your mom to the bed and have your grandma watch over her at home. She shouldn't be able to break free, and she'll get tired after struggling for a while."
Seeing that she was badly injured, Yan Shumei agreed, "You go ahead, I'll watch over your mother."
Chen Yaoan nodded slightly.
Xu Jialan pulled her onto her back and carried her out the door.
He walked quite quickly, and Chen Yao'an bounced a little on his back.
Her thoughts were racing, flashing through her mind the image of Zhou Yao's face and the hand that was gripping her neck.
Did she really want to strangle her?
She knew Zhou Yao was just not fully conscious, but she still felt a tightness in her chest and a chill creeping over her body—a belated fear.
This feeling compelled her to move closer to the heat source in front of her and tighten her arms around Xu Jialan's shoulders.
Noticing her movement, he suddenly stopped and asked, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Chen Yao'an shook her head, but tears involuntarily streamed down her face.
She remembered he couldn't see, "No..."
Xu Jialan continued walking forward, put her in the car, and drove all the way to the hospital.
The hospital waited in line for a while. After the examination, the doctor said it was all external injuries and told her to go home, apply ice, and put on some medicine.
They didn't stay at the hospital long and rushed back, worried that Yan Shumei wouldn't be able to handle things on her own.
Fortunately, Zhou Yao got tired after fussing around for a while after they left and soon fell asleep.
The doctor told Chen Yao'an to rest more, and Xu Jialan didn't ask her to cook. He went out and bought some food, and he specially bought porridge for Chen Yao'an.
The atmosphere at the Chen family's house was somewhat oppressive today; no one spoke during the meal.
After finishing her meal, Yan Shumei quietly returned to her room.
Chen Yaoan went into the room to check on Zhou Yao, who was still asleep.
When she came out of the room, Xu Jialan was waiting for her in the living room.
"It's... all right."
"Hmm, do you have any ice packs at home?"
Chen Yaoan pointed to the kitchen.
Xu Jialan went to the kitchen refrigerator to get an ice pack, then wrapped it in a towel and applied it to Chen Yaoan's skin.
Chen Yaoan reached out to take it, but he brushed her hand away with his other hand, so she didn't move anymore and let him apply ice to her and then apply medicine.
After applying the medicine, Xu Jialan asked her, "Do you want to go take a nap?"
"No need...it's alright." She was worried about Zhou Yao.
Xu Jialan knew she was worried, so she pulled her up from the sofa and gave her a push, saying, "Don't worry, I'm here."
"Can……"
He was getting impatient and waved her away, "Go now!"
Chen Yao'an had no choice but to return to her room and lie down on the bed. Her mind was unusually clear, and she stared at the ceiling with her eyes wide open. A nerve in her mind was constantly on edge.
But she was indeed exhausted, and she didn't know how long she stood there in a daze before she drifted off to sleep.
She was awakened by a nightmare in which Zhou Yao was choking her, just like the afternoon before. But this time she wasn't so lucky; Xu Jialan didn't save her. Her consciousness grew increasingly blurred until she lost consciousness completely.
Chen Yao'an gasped for breath and opened her eyes. Her neck stung from the pulling, and tears streamed down her face.
She let her tears flow freely down her face for several minutes, and the pillow beneath her was already half-soaked.
Until, a noise came from outside.
Chen Yao'an hurriedly wiped away her tears, took a few deep breaths, and composed herself before lifting the covers, getting out of bed, and putting on her shoes.
Stepping out of the room, she found the living room empty, and Zhou Yao's bedroom door open, but no one was inside. She looked out into the yard.
Xu Jialan and Zhou Yao were both in the courtyard.
Xu Jialan sat in a chair looking at her phone, while Zhou Yao squatted by the flower bed playing with the soil inside.
Hearing footsteps, Xu Jialan put away her phone and turned around. "You're awake."
Chen Yaoan nodded, her gaze fixed on Zhou Yao.
"Your mother woke up a while ago, and after she woke up, she seemed no different from usual."
Xu Jialan hadn't spent much time with Zhou Yao, so she was a little unsure.
Chen Yao'an looked at it for a while longer, and indeed, as he said, he couldn't see anything unusual.
Is this the first time your mother has done this?
“No.” Chen Yao’an’s voice was hoarse, sounding like a rooster’s. “There was one other time.”
Have you asked a doctor?
"I asked last time, and the doctor said to observe it for a while longer."
The two remained silent for a moment.
After a long while, Xu Jialan stood up from her chair. "Alright, let's observe for a while longer. I'm going out to buy some food. Don't cook dinner tonight."
"Are you alright? Am I... too much trouble for you?"
"What's the trouble? I have nothing else to do anyway." He said nonchalantly, picked up his car keys, and walked out. "Let's go."
An hour later, Xu Jialan returned from outside, carrying a lot of things, which Chen Yaoan took from her.
He packed up a lot of ready-made meals and bought a lot of other food.
The two of them set the food on the table together, and then called Zhou Yao and Yan Shumei to eat.
Zhou Yao ate absentmindedly, and only after Chen Yaoan pleaded with her did she eat a little more, which gave Chen Yaoan a bad feeling.
Just as they finished eating and were clearing the table, Zhou Yao suddenly ran over anxiously and asked her, "Did you go to rescue Xiao Qin?"
Chen Yao'an tensed up instantly; she remembered what had happened that morning.
Zhou Yao grabbed her, and seeing that she didn't speak, he became even more nervous, asking repeatedly, "Is there anything wrong? Is there anything wrong?"
"Yes, they can be saved." That was the only answer Chen Yao'an could give.
Zhou Yao seemed relieved and smiled again before going off to do something else.
Her reaction suggested she remembered, but not completely, because she didn't ask anything else.
Xu Jialan noticed her expression was off and asked, "What's wrong?"
“In the morning, my mom suddenly started acting strangely while watching TV.”
What did she see?
“A child fell into the river, and she wanted me to save him, and then she lost control,” Chen Yao’an answered, avoiding the main point, while cleaning up the leftover food on her plate.
Xu Jialan was very perceptive and quickly extracted the key information from her words, "Could it be your brother...?"
"Um."
He didn't ask any further, and she didn't bring it up again.
After dinner, Xu Jialan suggested, "Auntie's condition is still unstable, why don't I stay tonight?"
"Hmm?" Chen Yaoan looked at him.
“I didn’t mean anything by it. I’m just worried that something unexpected might happen tonight and you won’t be able to handle it by yourself, especially since you’re injured.”
Chen Yao'an subconsciously touched her neck, feeling a bit scared, but...
Before she could answer, Xu Jialan made a decision on her own, "It's settled then."
"Why……"
Xu Jialan had already turned and left.
Before going to sleep, Chen Yaoan found him a quilt, but where he should sleep became a problem.
She put the blanket on the sofa and turned to look for him, only to see him making a phone call in the yard. His back looked somewhat solemn, and she didn't know what the person on the other end of the line was saying to him.
A few minutes later, Xu Jialan walked into the room without saying a word.
Chen Yaoan stood up from the sofa and said, "Why don't you stay in my brother's room tonight? It's just that it hasn't been cleaned in a while."
Xu Jialan wasn't in a good mood. She pointed to the sofa and said, "No need, I'll sleep here."
"It's uncomfortable to sleep here at night."
He sat down on the sofa, seemingly unconcerned, and said, "This will do."
"Okay then, you should go to sleep early."
"Um."
Chen Yaoan turned and went back to her room. She lay on the bed but couldn't fall asleep at all. She didn't know if it was because she had taken a nap in the afternoon or because she had something on her mind.
She finally drifted off to sleep in the middle of the night.
In the living room, Xu Jialan was curled up on the sofa, which was a little too small for him. His brows were furrowed, and he was not sleeping soundly.
He dreamed of Lan Wangshu, who was lying on her sickbed, her face pale. He went to see her after school.
He leaned over the bed and asked her, "Mom, how are you feeling today?"
Lan Wangshu was barely breathing and could barely speak, but she still managed to answer him: "I'm fine."
Perhaps sensing that she was about to die, she said to him, "Jialan, you must take good care of yourself from now on."
Although Xu Jialan was still young at the time, she understood what her mother meant immediately and couldn't help but cry. She held her mother's hand tightly, as if that would keep her there. "Mom, you will get better, won't you?"
Lan Wangshu shed tears without saying a word.
The next day, he refused to go to school and insisted on going to the hospital to be with Lan Wangshu. Xu Qingbang found out about this, beat him up, and had him sent to school.
That day, he escaped from the school by climbing over the wall and ran to the hospital, but he didn't even get to see Lan Wangshu one last time!
He cried his heart out and threw himself at Lan Wangshu, but was stopped by others.
"mom!"
Xu Jialan struggled for a moment on the sofa, and her leg slipped off the sofa and kicked the coffee table next to her with a loud bang.
Xu Jialan sat up and wiped her eyes.
Chen Yao'an was startled awake by the noise in the bedroom. Thinking that Zhou Yao had gotten into trouble again, she quickly got out of bed and ran out of the bedroom.
She saw Xu Jialan sitting on the sofa, one hand supporting her forehead.
"What's wrong?"
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