Chapter 108
Xu Yirou and Xu Qingyan had their most serious disagreement and argument ever.
With tears in her eyes, Xu Yirou accused her son of being even more chilling than Elsa's ice magic, but Xu Qingyan remained unmoved, letting her cry and fuss, and held her tightly in his arms.
"You naughty Da Bao!"
"Let me go, waaaaah!"
"You don't listen to Mommy, and you even tied my hands up... Waaah, if you don't let go of me, I'm going to sever our mother-son relationship!"
The little bundle of joy in my arms was crying and hiccuping, making a childish, threatening sound.
Xu Qingyan remained silent, his face as cold as frost.
There were few people at the hospital at night, and Xu Yirou was making a lot of noise, so the older women sitting a few seats away from them couldn't help but turn their attention to her.
The older woman observed for a while and saw that Xu Qingyan remained motionless the whole time, like an emotionless robot.
He frowned and advised, "Young man, babies need to be coaxed. You can't just ignore them. If they cry themselves hoarse, it'll be too late to regret it."
The older women generally have loud voices; when they open their mouths, it's like they're speaking through a megaphone. All the family members of the patients waiting in the same corridor turned to look.
Children are sensitive to their surroundings, and the crying seemed to be paused immediately.
Xu Qingyan lowered his eyelids slightly, his tightly pursed thin lips relaxed, and the indifference in his dark eyes faded: "Mom, are you thirsty? Would you like some yogurt or water?"
The older woman looked shocked. Could she have heard correctly? That young man called the little baby "Mom"?
She shook her head in disgust. Parents these days are so unreliable, giving their kids such strange and unusual names. They have no class at all.
Xu Yirou cried at the top of her lungs for a long time, feeling hot and tired. She licked her lips and looked up hesitantly.
She took the opportunity her son offered: "I want to drink both, first, I'll drink water and then yogurt."
She wasn't giving in; she was just thirsty. She would continue after she drank some water to replenish her fluids.
Her originally clear and bright baby voice had become slightly grainy, clearly hoarse from crying.
Xu Qingyan picked her up and walked with his long legs toward the self-service beverage machine in the corridor. As he passed the older woman, his eyes flickered slightly: "Thank you for reminding me."
The middle-aged woman waved her hand with a forced smile: "Oh, it's nothing, just a small matter. By the way, why are you taking care of the child alone? Where's your wife?"
"at home."
"Oh dear, you're not divorced, are you? No wonder you're taking care of the child alone so late. Being a single dad isn't easy. Have you thought about finding someone else?"
The middle-aged woman was very outgoing and chatted with everyone, but her ramblings became increasingly outrageous. Xu Qingyan didn't have time to listen to her nonsense, so she thanked her and strode away.
It was past six o'clock when they got home. Usually, they would have already finished dinner and were resting by this time.
Hearing the door open, He Nianzhu and Xu Niancheng came out to greet them. As soon as the little dumpling's mother saw them, she immediately opened her little arms for a hug, looking aggrieved.
Choking back tears, she accused, "When Erbao and Xiaobao aren't here, Dabao bullies me!"
The brother and sister were skeptical. They heard from Lao Fang, who had returned early, that their mother had gone to play with her friends. Shouldn't she be having a happy time? Why did she complain about their older brother as soon as she got back?
Xu Niancheng picked up the cub's mother, supporting her little bottom and patting her back.
"Mom, how did my older brother bully you?"
Xu Yirou sobbed as she pulled up her sleeve, revealing her chubby white arms: "Look, these are all from Da Bao's beatings, they're all red and sore."
He Nianzhu peeked out and saw a faint red mark around her tofu-white, tender arm.
Xu Niancheng and He Nianzhu looked at their eldest brother in disbelief.
He Nianzhu: "Big brother, what happened? Did you really hit Mom?"
Xu Niancheng instinctively kicked him. Although there was witness testimony and physical evidence, she believed there must be a misunderstanding. Her older brother always respected their mother and would never hit someone.
“I didn’t hit Mom.” Xu Qingyan’s face was dark. He looked over his mother’s arm and said with some self-reproach, “But I did make the marks.”
Xu Yirou tried to run away, but he wouldn't let her. The cub's skin was delicate, and he hadn't controlled his strength properly, causing this injury.
No, the more she thought about it, the angrier she got. Xu Yirou clenched her small hands into a ball, her eyes red as she glared angrily at Xu Qingyan.
"He wouldn't let me save Guoguo's mother, he's bad."
Xu Qingyan had tried to explain this to her mother several times with both reason and emotion, but her four-year-old mother remained unmoved.
For the first time, as the pillar of the family, he felt so helpless that he wanted to dump the mess on his younger siblings.
Xu Niancheng's heart skipped a beat, but she forced a smile and asked, "Mom, what do you mean by that? You want to save Guoguo's mom?"
"Mmm! Guoguo's mom is dying, my blood can save her, but Dabao won't let me, and he even yelled at me." The little dumpling wrinkled its bright red nose.
After the cub's mother finished speaking, Xu Niancheng and He Nianzhu both understood what was going on.
The three siblings looked at each other silently.
Xu Niancheng wiped away the tears from Xu Yirou's eyelashes, symbolically reprimanded Xu Qingyan a couple of times, then turned and said gently:
“Mom, I know you want to show your love, but saving Guoguo’s mother isn’t something that can be done just by donating blood. It’s something that requires long-term commitment, and there’s no guarantee of success.”
Xu Yirou's delicate eyebrows furrowed for a moment, then, as if struck by a sudden thought, a resolute determination, like a warrior cutting off his own arm, burst forth from her small chest:
"Success is not guaranteed, but success is possible. I want to do it."
Xu Niancheng advised again: "You are still young. There is plenty of time in the future. We can take it slowly."
"But...but Guoguo's mother doesn't have time..."
Xu Yirou understands the meaning of life better than children her age and knows that life is hard-won.
She could empathize with Guoguo's mother because she herself had almost left behind her three children and experienced how painful it is to be tormented by illness.
Because I had been caught in the rain, I wanted to hold an umbrella for others.
The three siblings understood their mother and were more direct in their refusal.
He Nianzhu: "Mom, we can't possibly agree to this, please don't even think about it."
“Mom, even if we agree to your blood donation for medical research, Guoguo’s mother’s condition is critical, and scientific research is not something that can be done overnight. It may take three to five years at the shortest, or indefinitely at the longest. Judging from the current situation, Guoguo’s mother will not be able to hold on until then.”
Cancer remains a difficult problem for humankind to overcome.
Many researchers plunge into the laboratory with enthusiasm, working day after day, year after year. Faced with numerous difficulties and slow progress, only a handful can persevere after their initial passion fades.
They just want their mother to grow up healthy, live a good life, and be a carefree child, without having to bear such a great sense of mission.
“If we can’t save Guoguo’s mom, we can save other kids’ moms.” Xu Yirou said stubbornly, raising her little face. “Mom doesn’t want to leave baby, and baby doesn’t want to leave mom. How can we succeed if we don’t try?”
Her innocent yet clear words struck a chord with Xu Niancheng, immediately triggering a strange sense of guilt.
She hurriedly lowered her eyes, avoiding eye contact with her mother.
No matter how moved they were, the three siblings remained united and disagreed with Xu Yirou's impulsive decision.
The confrontation between the mother and her four children has officially begun.
On the first day, Xu Yirou gave them the silent treatment. When they tried to talk to her, she turned her back to them with her little bottom facing away, as if the words "Do Not Disturb" were written all over the back of her head.
However, the three siblings didn't mind being rejected at all; after all, it was their mother's cold shoulder, so what was wrong with offering their affection?
The Cold War was not going well, so the next day Xu Yirou pulled out all the stops and went on a hunger strike.
The cub's mother refused to eat or drink, and the three siblings became anxious. People need to eat, and if you miss a meal, you'll get hungry, let alone a four-year-old cub. It would ruin its health if it starved.
"Mom, you're so unethical, you're cheating!" He Nianzhu gritted her teeth inwardly.
Xu Yirou: "So what?"
Okay, okay, okay.
He Nianzhu sighed and raised the white flag: "What else can I do? I give up."
Those who are favored are always fearless. Xu Yirou made a move that was sure to win, leaving the three siblings with no choice but to surrender.
On that day, Xu Yirou arrived at the laboratory as she wished. Standing in front of Professor Yunlan, after Xu Qingyan explained her purpose, Professor Yunlan was overjoyed.
Professor Yunlan had given up hope, but unexpectedly, a big surprise came his way.
As time goes by, the amount of anti-cancer substances in Xu Yirou's blood will gradually decrease, and every day that is delayed is a huge loss.
Professor Yunlan did not rush to draw blood, but instead, as usual, conducted a thorough physical examination on Xu Yirou first.
While waiting for the test results, she solemnly told her three siblings: "I will produce a preliminary research plan in the next two days. I will share each stage of the research with you as we complete it. Don't worry, our entire lab will keep this a secret and will never disclose it to anyone."
"Aunt Yun, how much blood is needed for one research study?"
The mother cubs are willing to become glorious little blood cows for the cause of science, and can even overcome their fear of injections. As her logistics team, they naturally have to provide her with the corresponding nutrition.
"1-5ml, once a month," Professor Yunlan reassured you. "It won't exceed this safe range, so you can rest assured."
The three siblings could barely accept this answer.
What could they do if they didn't accept it? The mother even resorted to a hunger strike. All three of them wore bitter smiles at the same time.
Emerging from the lab, Xu Yirou, who had just received an injection, was no longer as devastated as before. Instead, she was overjoyed, happily fiddling with her smartwatch.
"Bubble, Grandma did something really important today!"
"I went to get my blood drawn, but I didn't cry! Aunt Yun praised me as the bravest child she's ever seen!"
Bubble replied urgently after receiving the voice message: "Meatball, are you sick? Why do you need to have blood drawn?"
Xu Yirou chuckled sheepishly, "I'm not sick~"
He said proudly, "Guoguo's mom is sick, and my blood can save her, so I went to donate blood!"
The next second, a dialog box popped up asking Bubble to request a video.
After the call connected, a head of fluffy, pretty short curly hair squeezed into the frame first, followed by Bubble's crisp voice: "Grandma, I want to donate blood too. Can you take me with you next time? I'm very strong and have lots of blood!"
She could take on three chubby little princes by herself; her blood would definitely be more useful than her grandmother's.
The background noise is the chuckling laughter of Grandpa and Grandma Jiang.
"Bubble, you can't do it." The camera was a little shaky, but Xu Yirou's cute little voice, with its ups and downs, came through very clearly, "Only my veins can use it, want to know why?"
"Because my second child said I'm a unique and eye-catching bag, I'm a chosen child~"
That sounds incredibly impressive.
Bubble was both envious and worried upon hearing this: "As expected of my little grandma, she's amazing. Hmm... but drawing blood must hurt as much as getting a shot, right?"
She kept saying she wanted to donate blood, mainly because she wanted to keep her great-aunt company. Last time her great-aunt was sick and needed an injection, she wasn't brave enough to accompany her.
Now she dares to do it.
In the past six months, not only has Xu Yirou grown, but Bubble has also become a smarter, more confident, and brave little one.
"It doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt at all." Xu Yirou selectively forgot, as if the child who was grimacing and crying in the laboratory was not her.
In an instant, Xu Yirou's image in Bubble's mind rose rapidly, her small figure shining brightly and majestically.
At the same time, the little goodwill she had accumulated towards Xu Cheye was crumbling.
How dare that little figurine covet her little grandma? If he dares to call himself little grandpa again, she'll beat him up.
Give them a good beating.
Xu family, Xu Cheye: Achoo—
Rubbing her nose, Rou Rou must be missing him.
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