Chapter 17: Preventing Trouble Before It Happens

Song Xilan was in her room, focused on studying a recipe, when suddenly a stream of praise for her parents popped into her mind. She found it a bit confusing but also amusing.

Her parents, of course, were the best parents in the world. She had never doubted that.

The next morning, Song Xilan woke up feeling a bit off. Her throat was really sore and hurt a lot.

Groggily, she called out, “Mom!”

Tan Aizhi immediately ran in, “What happened?” She hurriedly felt her forehead. “Old Song, bring the thermometer.”

After placing the thermometer under her arm, Tan Aizhi adjusted the blanket, “Don’t move, just lie down and rest.”

Song Xilan obediently closed her eyes and enjoyed her mother’s care.

Tan Aizhi decisively changed the breakfast plans, putting aside the soy milk and fried dough sticks she had prepared, rolling up her sleeves to cook some congee for Song Xilan.

While cooking, she kept an eye on the time and instructed Song Baili to check the thermometer.

Song Xilan pulled the thermometer from under the covers and handed it to her father. Song Baili held it up to his eyes, turning it around and squinting for a while before finally reading it aloud: “37 degrees.”

Tan Aizhi was taken aback, “Oh no, Xilan has a fever!” She had said it—after all, her daughter had gone through such a tough time recently, how could she be fine?

She was supposed to stay home and rest, but her dad had insisted she go on that blind date, which had upset her. This fever might have even been caused by the stress from that idiot.

This old man couldn’t do anything right.

Anyway, when things go wrong and there’s no clear reason, it’s his fault, right?

Song Baili was confused, “Isn’t 37 degrees a normal body temperature?”

“You call that normal? 36 degrees is normal! Xilan has a fever, she can’t go to work today. Go ahead and ask for a sick leave for her.”

Song Xilan had already gotten up, “Mom, it’s fine, I just have a sore throat. I might have eaten something fried and greasy, got a little bit of heat in my body. I’ll be fine after some herbal tea.”

“I’ll make you some herbal tea tonight. But first, I’ll take you to the hospital to see your aunt and get some medicine.”

Song Xilan rolled her eyes, “Mom, Aunt is an OB-GYN.”

“So what? OB-GYNs can treat illnesses too.”

In a familiar society like theirs, people always prefer to go to someone they know, no matter if they’re an OB-GYN or not. Who cares whether she can treat a cold or fever?

Song Xilan continued to try reasoning with her, “Really, it’s not necessary. I think it’s just tonsillitis. I’ll go to the clinic at work later and get some antibiotics.”

But she couldn’t out-argue a middle-aged woman’s stubbornness, so in the end, Song Xilan only succeeded in getting the right to go to the hospital alone, without them accompanying her.

Before leaving for work, Tan Aizhi kept looking back, reminding her, “Go early, get your medicine, and then rest well when you get home.”

Song Xilan and Jiang Jingru didn’t expect to run into each other at the entrance of the OB-GYN department.

Song Xilan didn’t want to come to the OB-GYN, as she could have just gone to the outpatient clinic, but Tan Aizhi had already called her aunt and arranged it. If she didn’t go, she would be lectured again.

So, she had no choice but to steel herself and go.

And that’s when she ran into Jiang Jingru, who was looking pale and coming out of the office.

Song Xilan hesitated whether to say hi, but before she could decide, Jiang Jingru shot her a fierce glare and walked away quickly.

Jiang Jingru had planned to come for an abortion. That day, she had indeed intended to go to Jiang Chengxiao’s hotel room, hoping to seduce him into having sex with her and pinning the pregnancy on him.

She thought that since he was a soldier, he wouldn’t abandon her and would marry her, after which she would find a way to get an abortion and everything would be fine.

But Jiang Chengxiao was impervious to her advances, so her plan didn’t work. The longer she kept the baby, the more complicated things became, so she had no choice but to go through with the abortion.

However, after the examination, the doctor told her that her uterine lining was very thin, and if she went through with the abortion, she might never be able to have children again.

The doctor told her to think it over carefully, and if she decided to go ahead with it, she couldn’t come alone—she would need a family member to sign the consent form.

Jiang Jingru was still very traditional in her thinking, believing that a woman’s greatest value was to bear children. A woman who couldn’t have children wasn’t truly a woman.

So, the possibility of not being able to have children was a huge blow to her.

She was having a hard time accepting it.

Flustered, she hurried out of the doctor’s office and unexpectedly ran into Song Xilan. All her old grudges flared up, and she blamed Song Xilan for everything.

If it weren’t for her, she might have been able to marry Jiang Chengxiao, and then she wouldn’t have had to go through an abortion. She could have been a mother.

At that moment, she forgot that in her original plan, even if she married Jiang Chengxiao, she would have found a way to have an abortion, just in case the baby looked nothing like either of them.

Some people, when facing a problem, never blame themselves, always shifting the blame onto others. Jiang Jingru made Song Xilan her imagined enemy, and that made her feel a little better.

Song Xilan was equally surprised to see Jiang Jingru.

She pushed the door open and asked her aunt, “Aunt, what was that person here for?”

Song Anhui answered, “She came here for a check-up, of course.”

“She was here for a throat check-up. My throat hurts too, so my mom asked me to come see you.”

Song Anhui tapped her pen on Song Xilan’s head: “You’re always so talkative. That young girl, she’s still so young and already not learning the right things. She hasn’t even gotten married, and yet she’s had an improper relationship with a man. Now that the man regrets it and refuses to marry her, she has no choice but to have an abortion. And to make things worse, her body isn’t in good condition, so if she has the abortion, she might not be able to have children in the future. I advised her to go back and discuss it properly with her family. She can’t regret it for the rest of her life!”

Song Xilan was so surprised that her mouth hung open. “Oh my God, how could this happen? What should she do now?”

Song Anhui looked at her seriously: “That’s why, as young women, we must learn to love and respect ourselves.”

Poor Song Xilan, still waiting for her medicine for her sore throat, was now being given a lecture by her aunt on how girls should respect themselves, protect themselves, and maintain their dignity.

The OB-GYN, with her vast knowledge of women’s health issues, casually brought up examples of various gynecological problems, miscarriages, difficult births, and even cases of “two lives lost” to educate her. Song Xilan was left dumbfounded, almost on the verge of tears.

“Aunt, please stop! I haven’t done anything wrong!”

“Prevent problems before they arise!” Song Anhui said with a deep, serious tone.