Morning sickness

Qiao Hua reached the elevator and suddenly heard a familiar voice behind her.

She turned around and saw Weng Fenghua hurrying toward her.

Qiao Hua froze for a moment.

What was Gu Wenze's mother doing here?

Before Qiao Hua could figure out what was happening, Weng Fenghua was already standing in front of her, looking slightly awkward. "It really is you. What brings you to the hospital?"

Qiao Hua could hardly say she had come for an induced abortion. While she hesitated, Weng Fenghua said, "I know. You must have heard something happened to me, so you came to see me."

Weng Fenghua was touched.

She had treated Qiao Hua so badly before, yet Qiao Hua was still willing to visit her in the hospital.

She really had been blind to favor that vicious woman, Jiang Nan.

Jiang Nan had known there were problems with the clinic, yet she hadn't said a word. She hadn't even come to see her when she was on the verge of death.

Weng Fenghua clasped Qiao Hua's hand. "I haven't treated you right, dear. Only now do I realize you're the kindest girl of all. Those other women aren't fit to kiss your feet."

Qiao Hua was bewildered. "Huh?"

Was something wrong with her brain?

Didn't she used to hate me? She made me serve tea to her friends and ordered me around like a dog.

And wasn't Jiang Nan the one she liked? How did it suddenly become me?

Hearing Qiao Hua's thoughts, Weng Fenghua felt even more ashamed.

She had been so focused on family background and education that she had completely overlooked character.

She had nearly lost such a wonderful daughter-in-law.

Weng Fenghua said, "I won't stand in the way of you and Wenze anymore. From today on, I'll treat you like my own daughter."

With that, Weng Fenghua took Qiao Hua's hand and pulled her away. Qiao Hua let out a startled "Hey!" and kept looking back at the elevator behind them.

She hadn't had her abortion yet!

Even after being bundled into the car, Qiao Hua still couldn't quite process what had happened. "Didn't you go to the clinic?"

She should have had an accident. How was she showing up at the hospital perfectly fine?

Weng Fenghua gave a light cough. "Mrs. Fang switched appointment times with me. She was the one who had the accident."

Weng Fenghua often played mahjong and went shopping with Mrs. Fang, so they were fairly friendly. Qiao Hua asked curiously, "Then don't you need to stay with her?"

Thinking of how Mrs. Fang had slandered her everywhere after the accident, Weng Fenghua's tone cooled. "No. I'm not a doctor. The hospital will take good care of her."

Qiao Hua didn't know why Weng Fenghua had suddenly become so cold toward Mrs. Fang, but she didn't care. She was more concerned about her abortion. With Weng Fenghua disrupting her plans like this, she certainly wouldn't be able to terminate the pregnancy this time either.

Why was she so unlucky? Last time, she had run into Jiang Nan, and this time, Weng Fenghua. It was as though even the heavens wouldn't let her have an abortion.

It was already evening when Gu Wenze returned. He walked into the living room and saw a familiar figure sitting on the sofa.

Gu Wenze frowned. "Mom, what are you doing here?"

Weng Fenghua said calmly, "I came to see you."

Gu Wenze scanned the room but didn't see the familiar figure he was looking for. "Where's Qiao Hua?"

"She went upstairs to change."

Once Gu Wenze sat down, Weng Fenghua glanced upstairs. "Qiao Hua is a good girl. From now on, make a good life together, understand?"

Her unexpected words made Gu Wenze pause. He looked up at Weng Fenghua. "Didn't you used to hate her and tell me to break up with her?"

Weng Fenghua gave him a reproachful look. "That was then. Now I've realized she's a decent person, much better than those dubious women out there."

Gu Wenze didn't know what Qiao Hua had done to change his mother's mind. Seemingly unwilling to discuss it, he said dismissively, "This is between her and me. Stay out of it."

"Does that mean you're still hung up on Jiang Nan?"

Whenever Weng Fenghua thought of Qiao Hua saying that Jiang Nan had known about the clinic's problems but hadn't told him, she couldn't shake her resentment.

At the mention of Jiang Nan, a barely perceptible trace of conflicted emotion flashed across Gu Wenze's face. "We're just friends."

Weng Fenghua exposed him without mercy. "Don't think I don't know how you feel about Jiang Nan. If you hadn't been pining for her all these years, would you have rushed to pick her up the moment she returned to the country? Would you have given her a house worth tens of millions to live in?"

An inexplicable irritation welled up inside Gu Wenze. "Mom, this is between Jiang Nan and me. Stay out of it."

Hearing the resistance in Gu Wenze's voice, Weng Fenghua relented. "Fine, I'll stay out of it. But let me remind you, Qiao Hua is your girlfriend now. Don't cross the line."

Watching Gu Wenze's brows draw tighter, Weng Fenghua said, "All right. I still need to visit Mrs. Fang at the hospital. I'll be going."

Gu Wenze asked, "What happened to Mrs. Fang?"

"Something went wrong during her surgery today, and she's in the hospital now," Weng Fenghua said. "Come to think of it, I have Qiao Hua to thank. Otherwise, I'd be the one lying in the hospital."

Leaving him with that cryptic remark, Weng Fenghua picked up her handbag and left.

Not long afterward, footsteps sounded on the stairs in front of him. Gu Wenze looked up and saw Qiao Hua coming down.

By the time Qiao Hua came downstairs, Weng Fenghua was no longer in the living room.

"Your mother left?"

Gu Wenze fixed his deep gaze on Qiao Hua. "Just now."

Qiao Hua breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

Thankfully, she was gone. Qiao Hua didn't want to keep dealing with Weng Fenghua.

Seeing her obvious relief, Gu Wenze asked in a low voice, "Did you say something to my mother?"

Qiao Hua didn't understand. "What do you mean?"

Gu Wenze stared into her eyes. "My mother suddenly told me to make a good life with you. Wasn't that because you said something?"

Qiao Hua must have ingratiated herself with his mother while he was away. Otherwise, his mother would never have said such a thing.

This woman really knew how to get her way. She had even managed to win over his mother, who had always hated her, and get her to speak on her behalf.

What could I possibly say to your mother? Don't you know how much she hates me?

She came to tell me to break up with you earlier today, then suddenly started treating me so nicely this evening. I was waiting for her to throw money in my face and tell me to leave. Looks like that's not happening now.

Who knows? Maybe she's possessed.

It wasn't Qiao Hua's doing?

Then why had his mother suddenly changed her attitude toward Qiao Hua?

Gu Wenze's abyss-dark eyes stayed fixed on Qiao Hua, but he couldn't detect a trace of deceit.

Had he really misjudged Qiao Hua?

Just then, the doorbell rang, interrupting Gu Wenze's thoughts.

When the door opened, a middle-aged woman stood outside and introduced herself. "Hello, Mr. Gu. I'm the new Nanny."

His assistant had already told him on the way home that they had hired a Nanny. Gu Wenze acknowledged her with a brief hum. "Go make dinner."

The Nanny agreed, changed into clean slippers, and entered the villa.

Looking at the stranger who had appeared in the house, Qiao Hua asked in confusion, "Who is she?"

Remembering Qiao Hua's declaration that she would never cook for him again, Gu Wenze's tone unconsciously cooled. "The new Nanny."

Did Qiao Hua really think he couldn't get by without her?

Anything she could do, a Nanny could do too.

Only the clink of bowls and chopsticks broke the silence at the dining table. Neither of them spoke, and a hush hung over them.

Then the Nanny brought the last dish, sweet-and-sour pork, to the table.

The pungent smell of vinegar suddenly hit Qiao Hua's nose. Her stomach churned violently, and she nearly threw up.