"Oh right, why didn't Auntie come?" Shu Yi asked again as it was nearing noon.
"My mom said she has something to attend to. I'll ask what it is later. Watch Zhengzheng for me, I'll go make lunch," said Shen Yin as she got up.
Having opened up about her troubles, Shu Yi knew the answer and felt much better. "Zhengzheng, I'll play with the building blocks with you."
"Okay," the two lay down on the carpet.
"This triangle piece should go here," Shu Yi picked up a block, about to place it on the rectangle.
"Ugly, put it here," Zhengzheng pointed to a curved block.
"Hmm, so you know what's ugly now. But I want to put it here," Shu Yi acted a bit childish, teasing Zhengzheng.
Xu Yunzheng looked at Shu Yi, blinked his eyes, lowered his head to continue stacking his blocks, but said: "A real man yields."
"Ah hahahahaha, sweetie, who taught you that? You're cracking me up!" Shu Yi, not looking like a celebrity at all, burst into laughter.
Shen Yin heard it from the kitchen and smiled too. Not far from the living room, she said, "Xu Xiuhe taught him, always telling him weird things."
"How nice, our Zhengzheng is such a gentleman. If I were ten years younger, Auntie would definitely wait for you," Shu Yi joked.
Shen Yin was shocked to hear such racy words. Shu Yi was around the same age as her, 24, so ten years younger would only be 14 - how could she wait for him? "Ahem, don't corrupt the child now."
"Just kidding," Shu Yi and Zhengzheng picked up the blocks again.
The phone on the desk rang. Shen Yin was cooking, so she turned and said, "Shu Yi, can you get that for me?"
Shu Yi got up, saw "Mom" on the caller ID and said, "Yin, it's Auntie calling."
Shen Yin turned off the stove, wiped her hands, took the phone from Shu Yi and answered, "Hello, Mom, what's up?"
"Yin, I can't make it over this afternoon either," Fang Yue's voice sounded solemn.
Shen Yin detected something off in Fang Yue's tone and asked, "Mom, did something happen?"
"Nothing major, just that your dad's not feeling well and needs to stay in the hospital for a few days," Fang Yue said.
Shen Yin froze for a moment. "Is it serious?"
Regarding Shen Tianzheng, she wasn't sure how she felt. He was stubborn and conservative, patriarchal and traditional. But she couldn't change the fact that he was the original host's father, though the memories of the original self seemed to have faded in this dream.
"Not serious. He had surgery last night and should be able to go home in a few days. I need to look after your dad these few days, so I won't be able to come over. Don't overwork yourself," Fang Yue advised.
Shen Yin felt an inexplicable pang of sadness. "Mom, which hospital is he at? Have you eaten? I can bring you some food."
"No no, your brother bought food already. You have Zhengzheng with you, it's inconvenient. No need to come over," Fang Yue said.
"Okay. Mom, don't overwork yourself either," Shen Yin reminded her. Truth be told, she wasn't close with Shen Tianzheng at all, having only met him a few times. The last time was seeing him, a man in his 50s, smiling as he pushed a swing in the sunset. After some thought, Shen Yin decided to visit the hospital that afternoon.
"What's wrong?" Shu Yi asked.
"Nothing," Shen Yin replied.
At lunchtime, Shen Yin didn't have much appetite despite the delicious food. She didn't have feelings for Shen Tianzheng after all.
"Shu Yi, if your father treated you really badly, completely controlled you, but later you realized he did it all for your own good, would you still hate him?" Shen Yin asked.
"I would, but love and hate aren't mutually exclusive. I'd still hate him, but he's my father who did it for me, so I'd also love him. It's quite a contradictory feeling," Shu Yi said.
After lunch, Shu Yi left to go shopping for tomorrow's costume. Shen Yin wished her luck with a smile.
In the afternoon, after handling orders for her studio, Shen Yin called Fang Yue again to ask which hospital and room number Shen Tianzheng was in.
Knowing hospital environments could be unpleasant and the food not very appetizing, Shen Yin prepared some light dishes suitable for patients. She didn't know what illness Shen Tianzheng had, but if he couldn't eat it, Fang Yue could.
Around 4pm, Shen Yin finished cooking and called Xu Xiuhe to let him know she was going to the hospital and might be back late, so he shouldn't wait for her.
Xu Xiuhe thought something had happened to Shen Yin and immediately asked, "What's wrong? Are you not feeling well?"
"No, it's my dad who's hospitalized. I'm going to see him," Shen Yin said.
After hanging up, Xu Xiuhe immediately had his assistant Liu look up which hospital and room Shen Tianzheng was in. In the past, he might have thought it wasn't his business since they were just business partners. But now it was different - that was his father-in-law. Even if Shen Yin wasn't the original Shen Yin anymore, in the eyes of others, these relationships were very real.
"Get some fruit and nutritional supplements and put them in my trunk," Xu Xiuhe instructed.
After getting off work, Xu Xiuhe didn't return to the Qinghe Villa, but went straight to Rongcheng First Hospital. When he arrived at the ward, Shen Yin and Zhengzheng were already there.
It was a two-room ward, with the sickbed inside and a bed for caregivers outside, along with a sofa and cabinet.
Xu Xiuhe put the items he bought in the cabinet and asked, "Is it serious? What did the doctor say?"
"Liver cancer. It wasn't detected too late. He had surgery last night and may need chemotherapy after," Fang Yue's spirits were low and she looked haggard.
"Don't worry too much, he'll recover," Xu Xiuhe comforted her.
In her past life in Da Sheng, Shen Yin had no concept of cancer. But after being here for over two months, she had some understanding of it.
"Mom, don't worry, medical treatments are so advanced nowadays," Shen Yin consoled her too.
Zhengzheng in Shen Yin's arms didn't fully understand, but could sense his grandma's sadness, so he reached out to pat Fang Yue's shoulder.
Xu Xiuhe and Shen Yin stood by the door to the inner sickroom. Shen Tianzheng lay on the bed, eyes closed, looking much thinner. Shen Yin didn't know if it was a psychological effect, but for a fleeting moment, she felt a pang in her heart.
"Where's my brother?" Shen Yin asked.
"He went to the company this afternoon. Probably won't be here until later," Fang Yue replied.
"Mom, have something to eat first," Shen Yin put Zhengzheng down and took the dishes out of the lunchbox.
"I'm not hungry," Fang Yue had zero appetite at the moment.
Xu Xiuhe spoke up, "Mom, you still need to eat something. If you starve yourself, who will look after Dad?"
This was the scene Shen Lv walked in on when he arrived.
