?
Lin Tongze lived right next to Su Banxia. When they booked the rooms, the two were adjacent.
As he led Guoguo back, they happened to run into Ye Hengtian, who was heading out.
A bit unexpected, Ye Hengtian looked at Lin Tongze and naturally flashed his usual smile. "President Lin!"
Lin Tongze wasn't very familiar with this man, but since the other greeted him, he wouldn't say much. He replied with a faint smile, "President Ye!"
The two men exchanged a brief, casual greeting.
As Ye Hengtian passed Lin Tongze, his gaze lingered on Guoguo for a moment. When he met her eyes, he squinted slightly. Those eyes carried a trace of Lin Tongze but were strikingly similar to Pei Shaoze's.
After Ye Hengtian left, Lin Tongze knocked on Su Banxia's door.
Su Banxia had already freshened up. Because she'd run into Ye Hengtian, she put on an extra layer of clothes before opening the door.
She opened it.
Seeing Lin Tongze outside, Su Banxia was momentarily taken aback.
Guoguo, tired from playing, immediately burrowed into Su Banxia's arms as she entered, softly saying, "Mommy!"
Su Banxia picked her up and looked at Lin Tongze. "What did you two go do? Took so long to come back."
"Just walked around outside."
Lin Tongze replied. "Is Su Hao asleep?"
Su Banxia shook her head. "No, he's playing on the bed."
Lin Tongze nodded, then looked at her. "It's getting late. Get some rest early. I'm heading back to my room."
Su Banxia nodded without saying much.
She carried Guoguo into the room, helped her wash up, and then held her as they slept.
The next day!
They'd planned to get up and watch the sunrise, but after playing so hard the night before, both Guoguo and Su Banxia couldn't drag themselves out of bed.
Su Hao and Lin Tongze went for a walk and brought back breakfast for them.
Mother and daughter ate breakfast, dawdled for a while, and finally got up.
Guoguo seemed to have eaten something wrong the day before—she had a mild allergic reaction and a slight fever.
So Lin Tongze took them all back to the city.
In the city, Lin Tongze drove straight to the hospital. After settling Guoguo in, Su Banxia, worried he might have things to do, told him to go handle his work—kids getting sick was normal.
Lin Tongze was uneasy and insisted on staying with Su Banxia to wait.
Su Banxia didn't argue and let him be.
The doctor diagnosed Guoguo with mild pollen allergy, which had triggered the fever. It wasn't serious—just needed some medicine and an IV drip.
Lin Tongze got a call about work at his company, so Su Banxia told him to leave. It wasn't a big deal, and Su Hao was there with her.
Bored, Su Banxia picked up her phone and messaged Fang Shiqing, asking what she was up to.
It took a while for a reply: she was sleeping.
Sleeping at noon?
Su Banxia couldn't help but call her. After two rings, the other end picked up.
"Hey, are you guys back?"
Fang Shiqing asked. She knew Lin Tongze had taken them out yesterday.
Su Banxia hummed in acknowledgment. "Guoguo has a mild pollen allergy. I'm at the hospital with her."
"Nothing serious, right?"
Fang Shiqing said, thinking she'd get up and visit later. "Which hospital are you at?"
Su Banxia knew she wanted to come. "It's fine. Once she's done with the IV, I'll take them home. Did you... have a smooth time yesterday?"
She'd meant to ask if the date went well but changed it, feeling it was inappropriate.
Fang Shiqing laughed helplessly. "I just went to look at a car. What are you thinking, Miss Su? You weren't this nosy before!"
Su Banxia chuckled and cut to the chase. "Are you sure there's really nothing?"
Knowing Fang Shiqing's personality, she wouldn't casually mention a man around her, especially a stranger. The fact that she'd admitted they'd slept together meant she was at least paying attention.
Fang Shiqing felt like laughing but paused and admitted, "He asked me to dinner tonight."
Su Banxia let out a long "oh" and smiled. "Good luck!"
"Mm."
After replying, Fang Shiqing asked, "What about you guys? Was it fun? Is Lin Tongze not at the hospital?"
"He had something to take care of and left."
Su Banxia said, lifting her gaze to the hallway, where she spotted a familiar face.
It looked like Gu Feifei.
Seemed she was there for a checkup. What a small world—Su Banxia had no intention of greeting her.
But she accidentally saw Gu Feifei heading into the obstetrics and gynecology department, which surprised her. Could Gu Feifei be pregnant?
"What's wrong? You went quiet."
Fang Shiqing's voice came through the phone.
Curious, Su Banxia said, "I just saw Gu Feifei. She went into obstetrics. I wonder if she's pregnant."
"Why bother with her? Just pretend you didn't see her."
Fang Shiqing didn't think much of Gu Feifei. "Alright, let's talk later. Keep an eye on your daughter. Don't meddle in other people's business, especially people like Gu Feifei and Ren Yuan. Stay as far away as you can."
Su Banxia knew that well and chuckled. "Mm-hmm."
They hung up. Su Hao stayed with Guoguo in the room while she got her IV. Su Banxia went to the first floor to pick up medicine.
Passing an office, she heard arguing inside.
"Bang!"
Something seemed to have been thrown, for some reason.
Su Banxia paused and glanced over. A woman was arguing with a doctor. The woman's back looked familiar.
She didn't plan to linger and was about to leave.
Then she heard from inside, "Miss Gu, the fetus is four months along. We can perform the surgery here, but the risk is high. If you want to go through with it, someone must sign off, or we can't do it."
"What a ridiculous excuse. Isn't it just an abortion? Why so complicated? If you won't do it, just give me some pills."
Gu Feifei said dismissively.
Su Banxia recognized her voice and froze for a moment, frowning. Pregnant and wanting to abort it? Did Ren Yuan know?
Su Banxia wasn't one to gawk, and this had nothing to do with her, so she turned to leave.
"What are you standing there for? Move aside!"
A voice came from behind.
Su Banxia turned to see a man in a white coat—a doctor. She quickly stepped back to let him pass.
The man walked in and glanced at Su Banxia. "This is the gynecology department. What are you here for?"
Su Banxia smiled, shook her head, and walked away.
The people in the office heard the commotion at the door and looked over. Gu Feifei immediately spotted Su Banxia's back.
She knew Su Banxia all too well.
Recognized her instantly.
She paused, squinting. Had she heard their conversation?
Su Banxia went to the first floor, still puzzled.
Didn't Ren Yuan love Gu Feifei deeply? And wasn't Gu Feifei crazy about him too? If they liked each other so much, why wouldn't they keep the baby?
After thinking for a moment, Su Banxia let it go. Other people's problems were theirs to handle.