I Became the Mother of His Child

"Xiuxiu, I know you're angry with me because of Si Ya's affair, but I beg you, for Doudou's sake, please help your older sister, can you? Doudou is your own nephew, and he's still so young, do you have the heart to let him be sold off? I implore you, please help us! Doudou is my lifeblood, without him, I can't go on living!" At this moment, she genuinely hated herself for being useless, yet she also resented Xu Xiuxiu's cold-heartedness. She had already humbled herself so much to plead, and yet Xu Xiuxiu remained unmoved? Damn it! Xu Fangfang thought, grinding her teeth in frustration.

Xu Xiuxiu calmly watched Xu Fangfang's theatrics and after a long while, she finally spoke slowly, "So what? Xu Fangfang, do you really think that by saying these things, I'll feel compelled to help you out of pity?"

Xu Xiuxiu snorted disdainfully. She had always loathed this kind of moral blackmail that exploited familial relationships, "Have you ever considered, when you pushed Si Ya into the fire pit for just over 100 yuan, did you think about what would become of Si Ya in the future? Why didn't you show a shred of family concern then! And now, here you are talking to me about family bonds. Given our relationship, why on earth should I lend you 3,000 yuan? Just because of your sobbing, do you think I've gone mad?" Xu Xiuxiu said, her words ending in a cold laugh.

Xu Fangfang had too naive a view of her, Xu Xiuxiu. Regardless of whether her words were true or false—even if they were true—did Xu Xiuxiu have any obligation to go out of her way to help? Of course not.

"Xu Fangfang, to be honest, I won't lend you the money, but I'm not heartless and cruel either," Xu Xiuxiu said as she took out US$ 30 from her shirt pocket. "Take this! Consider this US$ 30 a token from your aunt to her nephew; you don't need to pay it back. I can't afford to give or lend anything more than that. You know, I have three children to take care of myself; I don't have spare money to deal with your problems." After speaking, Xu Xiuxiu turned to go back to the hospital room, feeling that every extra second she looked at Xu Fangfang soured her mood even more.

"Xu Xiuxiu." Holding the US$ 30 in her hand, Xu Fangfang yelled at Xu Xiuxiu with indignation, "Xu Xiuxiu, you can't leave." As she yelled, she rushed forward and grabbed Xu Xiuxiu's sleeve frantically.

Xu Xiuxiu's clothes were grabbed, and she reluctantly stopped moving away from Xu Fangfang, "Xu Fangfang, I've told you, I don't have money to lend you, why can't you just give up!" Xu Xiuxiu said, trying to shake off Xu Fangfang's hand.

But Xu Fangfang glared at Xu Xiuxiu angrily, "Xu Xiuxiu, do you think I believe you? How could you possibly have no money? You simply don't want to help me. But, Xu Xiuxiu, can you really be that ruthless? Doudou is your own nephew, and you're just going to leave him to die? You're obviously wealthy, you wouldn't miss a few thousand yuan. Just a couple of years ago, you even paid Song Guomin's medical bills, and it was over 1,000 yuan at a time—everyone in the village knows about it. You're willing to help a man's brother so generously, so how can you be so heartless as to ignore Doudou, an innocent child! And that's not all, you refuse to help your older sister, and on top of that, you offer money to mock and insult me. Are you that cold-hearted? How can you be so cruel, ah!" Xu Fangfang began to wail and cry loudly, also bringing up the past incident with Song Yuantao.

So when crying and begging failed, she immediately switched tactics?

Xu Fangfang's tactic was indeed quite effective. The hospital, always relatively quiet, especially the inpatient department, was even more so during the festive season. However, there were still a fair number of patients staying in the hospital.

It wasn't uncommon to witness scenes of crying and arguing over money in the hospital. Xu Fangfang's loud wails and sobs had already drawn the attention of many inpatients, with quite a few gathering around to mutter and point fingers. Xiuxiu knew that Xu Fangfang wanted to escalate the situation, to embarrass her into lending her the money.

It was a well-calculated move, but, unfortunately for Xu Fangfang, Xiuxiu was least afraid of gossip. Xiuxiu wouldn't dance to Xu Fangfang's tune.

"Heartless? Made of iron and stone? Xu Fangfang, it's only fair that debts are repaid. If you dared to borrow such a large sum in the first place, then you should have been prepared to pay it back. If Doudou is sold off, it's because you, his parents, harmed him. You couldn't protect your own son, but that has nothing to do with me, Xiuxiu. As for you calling me cold-blooded, I can't help it. After all, it's not ten yuan or two hundred yuan you're asking for, but three thousand yuan. Where am I supposed to find so much spare money for you? It's not like I owe it to you," Xiuxiu looked at Xu Fangfang's angry expression for a long time.

"Moreover, let me tell you the truth. I did make some money from my restaurant, but I bought an apartment in Z city before the New Year, and I even took out a loan because I didn't have enough for the purchase. The debt I owe isn't much less than yours. It only seems like I'm living in glory, but in reality, I'm just an empty shell. So even if I wanted to lend you the money, I simply can't. Xu Fangfang, can you give up now? It's not that I don't want to lend you the money; it's that I simply don't have any," Xiuxiu finished with a helpless shrug.

"How is that possible?" Xu Fangfang disbelieved, "Xiuxiu, I know I spoke hastily just now, don't take it to heart. I'm begging you, please help me!" Seeing that Xiuxiu had laid her cards on the table, Xu Fangfang immediately tempered her anger and resorted to pleading again, eventually ready to kneel and kowtow, "Younger sister, I'll kneel and kowtow to you, alright? Please, for the sake of us being family, bone might break but the sinews remain connected. Help us out!" After saying this, she knelt and also tried to pull Song Guomin down with her, "What are you standing there for? Kneel and kowtow to your younger sister-in-law, beg her to lend money to save your son."

Song Guomin, simple and honest by nature, had his dignity as any man would. Now approaching his thirties or forties, the idea of kneeling to his sister-in-law, a woman in her early twenties, and before such a large crowd, was shameful. If he kneeled, how could Song Guomin ever show his face again? He clearly struggled internally, unwilling to lower himself.

"Song Guomin, you damned fool, do you even want your son anymore? Are you willing to watch your son sold off to some remote mountain gully before you're satisfied?" Seeing Song Guomin's reluctance, Xu Fangfang grabbed his sleeve fiercely and ended with a piercing scream.

At this point, she thought this idiotic man still cared about his face. Which was more important, face or son? If the son is gone, she wondered how he could even bear to show his face and go on living.