Chapter 36: Zhao Jiaying Goes on a Hunger Strike

Seeing how heartbroken Zhao Jiaying was, Lin Zhenzhu began to worry.

“Zichen, Yingbao is crying so hard… Will she be okay? She hasn’t even eaten dinner!”

“Grandma, she’ll be fine. She’s just throwing a little tantrum. Once she gets hungry, she’ll come out looking for food. There’s no need to worry. Let’s eat.”

Ou Zichen believed that they had spoiled her too much, which was why she had become so willful. This was a good opportunity to teach her a lesson.

Ou Zilong didn’t dare say anything either. When his older brother was being stubborn, not even ten oxen could drag him back. This time, there was nothing he could do to help Zhao Jiaying.

After dinner, Lin Zhenzhu went upstairs to persuade Zhao Jiaying to eat. However, she found the door locked and couldn’t get in, so she knocked on the door.

“Yingbao, it’s Great-grandma. If there’s anything wrong, we can talk it over. Come out and eat first. Great-grandma saved your favorite braised pork for you!”

Very soon, Zhao Jiaying’s stubborn voice came from inside. “I won’t eat! I won’t eat! I won’t eat! If you don’t agree to my request, I won’t eat ever again. I’ll just starve to death…”

Ou Zichen, who was standing nearby, also heard what Zhao Jiaying said. A threat—this was a blatant threat. His anger flared up even more. No one had ever dared to threaten him before. He refused to believe that he couldn’t handle a little kid today.

“Fine, don’t eat if you don’t want to. It’s your own stomach, after all. Grandma, let’s go, ignore her!”

After saying that, he pulled Lin Zhenzhu away.

Hearing Ou Zichen’s words, Zhao Jiaying cried even harder. So, Daddy really didn’t love her anymore. However, she only shed silent tears without making a sound. She threw herself onto the bed, buried her head, and fell asleep.

The next day.

During breakfast, Zhao Jiaying still didn’t come out. Lin Zhenzhu went to knock on the door again, but Zhao Jiaying repeated the same words—if they didn’t agree to her request, she wouldn’t eat and would rather starve to death.

Ou Zichen wasn’t worried at all. Instead, he said: “Good, you’ve got backbone. Let’s see how long you can keep this up.”

After breakfast, he went straight to work. Ou Zilong was also at a loss.

Since Zhao Jiaying refused to come out to eat, she even skipped school that day. Her teacher called home to ask about her, and Lin Zhenzhu lied, saying that she wasn’t feeling well and would take the day off.

At noon, Lin Zhenzhu knocked on the door again, but she received the same response. She was extremely worried. Including lunch, Zhao Jiaying had now missed three meals. Not only that, but she hadn’t even had a single sip of water. Lin Zhenzhu was truly afraid that she would collapse.

Ou Zichen also called to ask about the situation. Although he said he wasn’t worried, deep down, he was getting anxious.

“Grandma, how is it? Did Yingbao come out to eat?”

“No, she keeps saying the same thing. If we don’t agree to her request, she won’t eat. Zichen, maybe we should just—”

Ou Zichen knew what Lin Zhenzhu was about to say and immediately interrupted her.

“No, Grandma, we can’t keep indulging her like this. Let’s wait a little longer. She’ll probably come out by tonight!”

However, when they came home from work that evening, Zhao Jiaying still hadn’t come out. This time, Ou Zilong panicked.

“This won’t do. Yingbao hasn’t eaten or drunk anything for a whole day and night. How can her body handle this? Brother, I think we should coax her to eat first, and then talk things through later!”

Ou Zichen was now anxious as well. He said: “Let’s go upstairs and check on her!”

After going a whole day and night without food or water, Zhao Jiaying was already so weak that she felt dizzy. Tangyuan, her pet, had also gone hungry with her. However, at least Tangyuan had eaten dinner the previous night, so its strength was slightly better than Zhao Jiaying’s.

Zhao Jiaying didn’t want Tangyuan to starve with her, so she decided to open the door and let it go downstairs to eat. But before she could take a few steps, her body gave out from exhaustion, and she collapsed onto the floor.

Seeing Zhao Jiaying fall, Tangyuan immediately ran over and nudged her with its nose, but she didn’t react at all.

Panicked, Tangyuan rushed to the bedroom door and used all its strength to bark frantically at the outside.

“Woof! Woof! Woof! … Woof! Woof! Woof! … Woof! Woof! Woof!”

When Ou Zichen and the others came upstairs, they immediately heard Tangyuan barking frantically.

Lin Zhenzhu’s heart sank. Something must have happened to Zhao Jiaying. She quickly shouted inside: “Yingbao… Yingbao… answer Great-grandma!”

But there was no response from Zhao Jiaying—only Tangyuan continued barking non-stop.

“Zichen, this is bad! Something must have happened to Yingbao! I’ll go get the key to open the door right now.”

“Grandma, there’s no time! I’ll kick the door open!”

He then spoke to Tangyuan at the door, telling it to move aside so it wouldn’t get hurt when the door was forced open.

The intelligent Tangyuan understood Ou Zichen’s words, immediately stopped barking, and walked over to Zhao Jiaying’s side.

With a loud “bang.” Ou Zichen kicked the bedroom door open.

As soon as they entered, they saw Zhao Jiaying lying motionless on the floor. Ou Zichen rushed over, picked her up, and called out anxiously: “Yingbao… Yingbao…”

Zhao Jiaying’s eyes fluttered open for a moment, but she quickly closed them again.

“Zilong, hurry! Call the family doctor right now!”

“Got it, Brother!”

Lin Zhenzhu, seeing Zhao Jiaying unconscious, was so worried that she started crying. Between sobs, she pleaded: “Yingbao, wake up! Don’t scare Great-grandma… Yingbao…”

The family doctor arrived quickly and examined Zhao Jiaying. Fortunately, there were no major issues. He administered a glucose infusion to replenish her energy.

“President Ou, Madam, don’t worry. Young Miss is fine—she just fainted from hunger. She’ll be alright once she regains some energy. However, she has gone without food for too long. It’s best to start her on liquid and easily digestible foods to avoid upsetting her stomach.”

“Alright, alright! Doctor, we understand. Thank you very much!”

Hearing that Zhao Jiaying was out of danger, Lin Zhenzhu finally breathed a sigh of relief and quickly thanked the doctor.

Amitabha, thank the heavens and the bodhisattvas! Luckily, Yingbao was alright. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have the face to meet their ancestors.

Half an hour later.

Zhao Jiaying slowly woke up and found herself lying in bed. Lin Zhenzhu, Ou Zichen, and Ou Zilong were all sitting beside her, watching over her.

Tangyuan, who was also starving, had already been taken downstairs by the servants for food.

Seeing her awake, Ou Zichen picked up a bowl of lean meat and preserved egg porridge, scooped up a spoonful, blew on it gently, and brought it to her lips. He spoke softly: “Yingbao, you must be starving. Come… Daddy will feed you some porridge.”

However, Zhao Jiaying turned her little head to the side, refusing to look at any of them. She remained stubborn as ever and said firmly: “I won’t eat! If you don’t agree to my request, I won’t eat!”

Lin Zhenzhu became anxious. Zhao Jiaying had just woken up, and if she refused to eat again, she might faint once more. She hurriedly tried to coax her.

“Yingbao, let’s eat first. Once you’re full, we can discuss this matter, alright?”

Discuss? That meant they still hadn’t agreed. She had to hold on—after all, she had already endured hunger for so long. A little while longer wouldn’t make a difference.

She firmly declared: “I won’t eat, I won’t eat, I won’t eat…”

Lin Zhenzhu had no choice but to turn to Ou Zichen for help. “Zichen, just say something!”

Ou Zichen was also feeling helpless. Who did she inherit this stubbornness from?

After thinking about it, he realized—this stubbornness was from him. When he was a child, once he made up his mind about something, no one could persuade him otherwise. In the end, everyone had to give in to him.

But this time, he had to give in to Zhao Jiaying. After all, she was his biological daughter, and he couldn’t bear to see her suffer any longer.