novellhall Chapter 346 Who is the guest?
Chapter 346 Who is the guest?
Zhuang Qingxiang quickly took Xiao Donghua home. Inside, Xiao Luyue was obediently tending the fire and cooking porridge.
Seeing them return, Xiao Luyue's face was full of worry: "Is Brother Changlin still not well?"
"Mmm." Zhuang Qingxiang patted the little girl's head. "Don't worry, you'll be fine soon."
Xiao Luyue nodded vigorously.
Seeing that the little girl had already started cooking the porridge, Zhuang Qingxiang felt even more sorry for her.
Little Lu Yue is more sensible than she was when she was a child.
After putting Xiao Donghua on the kang (a heated brick bed) and having Xiao Luyue put her younger brother to sleep, Zhuang Qingxiang quickly took over the task of making breakfast.
When the porridge was cooked, the steamed egg custard was also ready, and Zhuang Qingxiang quickly made a few egg pancakes.
After preparing breakfast for her two children and instructing Xiao Luyue to watch over her younger brother while eating, Zhuang Qingxiang took breakfast for Lu Congyue and Xiao Chenglin to the hospital.
Seeing her return, Lu Congyue frowned: "Didn't I tell you to rest at home?"
"Yueyue is very sensible. I went back to check on her, and since there was nothing I was worried about, I came back," Zhuang Qingxiang replied. "I was worried about her and couldn't stay at home."
Cheng Lin was her own flesh and blood. She thought she could entrust him to Lu Congyue with peace of mind. But as it turns out, even though Lu Congyue was her biological father and he had always taken good care of the child, he still missed her terribly when he couldn't see her for a moment.
Knowing he couldn't persuade her, Lu Congyue asked her if she had eaten, but Zhuang Qingxiang shook her head.
Lu Congyue sighed, "Then let's eat first. Cheng Lin can't eat yet. The doctor said to wait a little longer. I'll ask for leave from work after we finish eating."
"No need to ask for leave, I can manage on my own," Zhuang Qingxiang said hurriedly.
Lu Congyue had taken too many days off recently, and even though she wasn't going to work, she knew it wasn't good.
"You really don't need to take leave. The doctor said it's not a big problem, and you can be discharged after a little more observation," she explained. "I can handle this little thing by myself."
"A child being sick is no small matter, and you're not alone," Lu Congyue said earnestly. "Qingxiang, I'm here. You can rely on me without worry."
"I know, but Cheng Lin isn't really in any serious trouble," Zhuang Qingxiang couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, if you really want to take leave, I won't stop you. Go back and check on Yueyue and Donghua after you take leave."
Lu Congyue had no choice but to agree.
While eating, he suddenly sighed, "I was thinking of taking you and the child to have a meal with Sister Shang..."
Zhuang Qingxiang's eyelashes trembled, but she didn't respond. She still remembered her daughter's words.
It would be best if we could avoid meeting each other.
But her wish was soon shattered.
Around noon, Lu Congyue arrived with Shang Hua.
"Sister Shang heard that Cheng Lin was sick and was worried, so she came to check on him."
After introducing the two people, Lu Congyue explained.
Shang Hua smiled distantly and nodded slightly to Zhuang Qingxiang as a greeting before giving a more sincere smile to Xiao Chenglin on the hospital bed.
"Does our little Chenglin still recognize his aunt?"
Zhuang Qingxiang's lips moved slightly, then she pressed them tightly together.
She wanted to say that Cheng Lin should call her aunt, and Shang Hua should know that.
"Congyue, I've got nothing better to do anyway, so leave Chenglin to me to take care of," Shanghua said suddenly after soothing the child for a while.
Zhuang Qingxiang was taken aback, then quickly said, "No need, I can take care of everything. Sister Shang, you must have something to do since you've come all this way, so I won't keep you from doing your work."
Shang Hua glanced at her with a half-smile, then continued to Lu Congyue, "Don't you still have two children at home? Those of you who should go back to work should go back to work, and those of you who should go back to take care of the children should go back to take care of the children."
"Sister Shang, really, you don't need to, I..."
Shang Hua's expression suddenly darkened: "What? You don't trust me?"
Zhuang Qingxiang was naturally worried.
Shang Hua had only met her son once since she arrived. To Lu Congyue, she was her older sister, but to the mother and son, she was a complete stranger. How could she possibly entrust her child to a stranger?
"Sister Shang, it's not that I'm worried about you, it's just that Chenglin is a bit shy around strangers," Zhuang Qingxiang explained softly. "Plus, he's been sick, so he's been quite demanding. I'm afraid you won't be able to handle it."
Out of respect for Lu Congyue, she lowered her stance and spoke softly, wanting only to explain things clearly.
Even though Shang Hua never gave her a second glance and only spoke to Lu Congyue when there was something to discuss.
Even after she explained it this way, Shang Hua still didn't look at her directly and only spoke to Lu Congyue.
Lu Congyue could tell that Sister Shang really wanted to get along well with Xiao Chenglin.
He was actually quite happy.
He hoped that Sister Shang would extend her affection to Zhuang Qingxiang after liking Xiao Chenglin.
"Qingxiang, since Sister Shang has said so, why don't you let her stay at the hospital with Chenglin?" He said softly to Zhuang Qingxiang. "Sister Shang likes Chenglin very much, it's alright."
Zhuang Qingxiang bit her lip: "How can you ask a guest to help take care of your child in the hospital? That's so impolite."
"A guest?" Shang Hua raised his voice slightly. "This is the first time I've heard of someone from Vietnam being considered a guest..."
She glanced at Zhuang Qingxiang with disdain and said coldly, "I don't blame you for not understanding my relationship with Cong Yue. You have many children, and I help you take care of them. Instead of being grateful, you are always on guard against me, which I understand. However, I hope you can understand that I have known Cong Yue since he was eighteen. We have known each other for more than ten years. We are family. If we are talking about who is the guest, then in my opinion, you are the guest."
Zhuang Qingxiang could tell that Shang Hua came from a very well-off family and had a very arrogant personality; she was the kind of person who was born to be admired.
It's normal for someone like her to say such things. Although Zhuang Qingxiang felt uncomfortable, she could understand.
She only hoped that Lu Congyue would stand by her side and politely decline Shang Hua's offer.
"Sister Shang is definitely not a guest."
Lu Congyue smiled and patted Cheng Lin's head. "Cheng Lin, call her Auntie."
Xiao Chenglin's fever had subsided, but he was still quite listless. He obediently called out, "Auntie."
"Just call me Auntie," Shang Hua said with a smile, then stepped forward and picked up Cheng Lin. "When Cheng Lin gets better, Auntie will buy you delicious food, okay?"
Perhaps because of his illness, Xiao Chenglin didn't cry incessantly. Even when Shang Hua held him in his arms, he only struggled a couple of times before calming down.
Shang Hua looked at Lu Congyue and smiled: "See, the little guy likes me quite a bit."
Zhuang Qingxiang didn't notice anything amiss; she only noticed that her son was uncomfortable.
Just as she was about to ask Shang Hua to put the child down, Lu Congyue stepped forward and took the child from her.
"Sister Shang, let me do it. Don't trouble yourself. Even though this child isn't very chubby, it's still quite tiring to carry him."
As soon as Xiao Chenglin was in his father's arms, smelling the familiar scent, he became even more obedient, snuggling in Lu Congyue's arms, and was about to fall asleep again after being rocked a couple of times.
Seeing how listless he was, Lu Congyue became increasingly worried.
The two younger ones have always been healthy and rarely get sick; this is the first time I've seen my son so listless.
Lu Congyue was even more worried and insisted on staying at the hospital to take care of the child.
"Qingxiang, I just took leave and ran into Sister Shang, so I didn't go home to see the children. Leave things here to me, you should go home quickly," he advised again.