Chapter 35.3

In the days that followed, Jiang Rou stayed at home, focusing on preparing for her upcoming exams while taking care of An An.

An An was improving steadily. At six months old, she could already sit up, and her range of facial expressions had expanded. Sometimes, when Jiang Rou spoke to her, she would respond with sounds like “wa wa” and “ha ha,” almost as if they were having a conversation.

She had also become much naughtier. Once, when Jiang Rou wasn’t paying attention, she found that An An had secretly torn up a book.

At the same time, An An had become more clingy. She would fuss whenever Jiang Rou was away for even a short period.

Nevertheless, she remained well-behaved. Jiang Rou only needed to stay within her sight. When Jiang Rou and Li Xin sat on the edge of the bed reading, An An would play with a wooden toy inside the bed. When she got tired, she would lean towards her mother, who would then coax her to sleep.

Sometimes, even when she wasn’t sleepy, An An liked to nestle in Jiang Rou’s arms, wriggling or reaching out to touch her mother’s face, laughing to herself.

When Jiang Rou got tired of reading, she would place An An on her lap and gently bounce her, or get up and carry her around the house, which made An An very happy.

She was particularly easy to please.

By May, Jiang Rou had finished reviewing all the textbooks from three years of high school. The exam was scheduled for July 7, leaving her with two months. Two months is enough for her to review everything, identify any gaps, and focus on intensive training.

Jiang Rou’s studies had been in the sciences, so the foundational knowledge was the same. During her review, she often revisited what she had learned before, especially since her English was strong, allowing her to spend less time on that subject.

However, an unexpected phone call at the beginning of May disrupted all her plans.

Aunt Wang from next door hurried over to Jiang Rou—her face filled with urgency. She told Jiang Rou that someone had just called, saying that something had happened to Li Xiao.

Jiang Rou was stunned, so much so that she didn’t even notice the pen slipping from her hand. Without thinking, she immediately got up and went to Aunt Wang’s house next door to call back.

Soon, a voice answered on the other end—familiar yet unfamiliar. It was familiar because she had often heard it when talking to Li Xiao, but unfamiliar because Jiang Rou didn’t know the person on the other end.

The man’s voice was a little hoarse. “Hello? ”

Jiang Rou composed herself and asked, “I’m Li Xiao’s family. How is he now? ”

The man’s voice softened. “The doctors are treating him. He’s okay; he just injured his leg. Sister, this is all my fault, really. If I hadn’t been so impulsive, those people wouldn’t have come at me. I never expected them to actually do something. Don’t worry, I’ll pay whatever it costs to get him treated.

When Jiang Rou heard that Li Xiao’s leg was injured, her heart skipped a beat.

Suddenly, she remembered something crucial. In the previous life, Li Xiao had a limp on his left foot, and his little toe was broken. According to the information, he had established a connection with a man named Chang Yong while heading south, and later there was an accident at the construction site where Li Xiao saved Chang Yong.

This incident had both advantages and disadvantages. In her previous life, saving Chang Yong had allowed Li Xiao to get to know the big boss behind him. Although the big boss faced issues later, he had given Li Xiao many opportunities. If not for the incident involving “Li Xiao”’s daughter a few years later, no one could be certain how far he would have developed.

But Jiang Rou was certain that the current Li Xiao was different from the one in his previous life. Recently, during a phone call, he mentioned working as an assistant.

Jiang Rou had assumed that an assistant’s job was mostly sitting in an office and running errands, so she had never imagined he would encounter something like this.

Now worried about Li Xiao’s well-being, she directly asked for the address.

The man hesitated before saying, “Sister, you don’t have to make the trip. I heard from Li Xiao that you’re preparing for the college entrance examination.”

Li Xiao hadn’t shared much about his family, but he had occasionally mentioned a few things. When the man heard Li Xiao say that his wife was preparing for the college entrance exam, he thought it was quite a challenge. College students were in high demand now, and he wondered if, after passing the exam, Jiang Rou might look down on Li Xiao.

But from what he saw, Li Xiao cared deeply about his wife, always speaking of her with nothing but praise.

So at this moment, the man wasn’t sure whether to let Jiang Rou come or not.

Jiang Rou didn’t say much. She simply asked him to take good care of Li Xiao and then hung up.

Aunt Wang was waiting at the door, and when she saw Jiang Rou come out, she couldn’t help asking, “How is he? ”

Jiang Rou frowned. “I heard that he injured his leg while saving someone and is still receiving treatment. It shouldn’t be too serious, but I want to go south to check on him.”

In fact, when Jiang Rou asked for the address, she had already made up her mind. She turned to Aunt Wang and said, “Aunt, please help me take care of Xinxin for the next few days. I’ll take An An there alone. You know the hospital can’t accommodate one more person.”

Aunt Wang agreed without hesitation, but Li Xin, who had come with her, looked at Jiang Rou with some concern.

Jiang Rou didn’t say anything else. She brought Li Xin back home and, once inside the yard, said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m not going for long. It’s just a few days.”

Li Xin hesitated before asking, “But sister, can you manage on your own? And with An An too?”

Jiang Rou said reassuringly, “Don’t worry, I’m not moving away, just a few days.”

Seeing Li Xin’s hesitation, Jiang Rou added: “Please help me buy a ticket at the station. Make sure it’s for tomorrow morning.”

Li Xin glanced at her, then went to the room to get her ID card and some money before heading out.

Jiang Rou went to her room to pack. 

She took out the schoolbag she had asked someone to make some time ago. Back then, she had thought it would be useful for her and Li Xin when they started school, so she had made them with denim fabric and a pattern she had drawn.

She packed two sets of summer clothes and towels, along with the little one’s clothes, diapers, milk powder, and a water cup. After packing, the schoolbag was still not full, so Jiang Rou left it aside and went to the kitchen to prepare some food.

-o-o-o-o-

The next morning, Jiang Rou pushed the child in a stroller to the station.

The stroller had been made by Li Xiao the previous year. Now that An An could sit up, Li Xiao had modified the stroller so that the seat inside could be laid flat and used as a bed.

The little one sat in the stroller, turning her head curiously, finding everything around her quite novel.

Li Xin followed behind with the schoolbag on her back, seeing them off to the station.

Jiang Rou first took a bus to the city and then bought a train ticket there. Since the journey was long, she had to transfer once midway.

Fortunately, Jiang Rou had experience traveling in her previous life, so she wasn’t afraid of such things. She even pushed An An around the waiting hall during the transfer, letting the child explore.

She had been to this train station in her previous life. Back in college, they had training, and once the school arranged for them to go south for military training. However, back then, it was a high-speed railway station—large and luxurious—where one could easily get lost if not careful.

Jiang Rou couldn’t help but marvel at how quickly the country had developed.

Who could have believed that twenty years ago, this place was so small and dilapidated?

An An, like her mother, was carefree, turning her head curiously to look around.

Seeing that there was still time, Jiang Rou pushed An An to the bathroom. She took out a towel, wet it, and wiped the little one’s face and hands before cleaning herself. Then she changed into a set of clean clothes. 

She rubbed the clothes she had taken off with water directly, planning to dry them once they got on the train. She did the same with An An’s clothes.

-o-o-o-

After two days on the train, Jiang Rou arrived in G Province. Upon getting off, she asked around for the hospital’s address and took another bus.

It was already two o’clock in the afternoon when they arrived at the hospital. 

Jiang Rou wasn’t one to treat herself poorly, so she bought a portion of fried rice at the hospital entrance and a bowl of steamed eggs for An An.

Only after they had eaten and drunk did they head into the hospital.

The development in G Province was rapid, and the hospital was quite modern, similar to those in the future. The inpatient department even had elevators, saving Jiang Rou from carrying An An up the stairs.

Jiang Rou pressed the button for the sixth floor and found room 617.

Just as she was about to knock on the door, it swung open from the inside. A young nurse with red eyes ran out, bumping into Jiang Rou.

The nurse turned around and shouted, “Are you crazy? ”before running away in tears.

Jiang Rou was left stunned.

Inside the room, Li Xiao, with a grim expression, looked up and saw Jiang Rou standing at the door. He was momentarily shocked and asked, “What are you doing here? ”

He hurriedly sat up from the bed.

Jiang Rou frowned and withdrew her gaze from the nurse. 

She wasn’t thinking too much about what had just happened; she just looked at Li Xiao, who was lying on the bed. 

Noticing that his entire left leg was wrapped in bandages and hung up, she said with a hint of displeasure, “I came to see if you were still alive.”

“…”