I'm Done with the Elite Marriage - Chapter 74

Recently, as spring blossoms, Zhou Youling’s days have been quite leisurely and carefree. As her belly grows day by day, Zhou Youling, who initially thought pregnancy was an easy affair, now feels the fatigue. The greatest exhaustion comes from not sleeping well. Even though Zhou Youling has been trying hard to control her weight, by the eighth month of pregnancy, she finds it uncomfortable no matter how she lies down to sleep. Being uncomfortable is one thing, but the frequency of waking up at night has increased, making it quite difficult for her to fall back asleep once she wakes up.

Despite all this, Zhou Youling can actually grit her teeth and endure it. She enjoys the time when the baby is still in her belly, knowing that no matter how uncomfortable it gets, it’s just less than ten months.

For this, Rong Duanjing laughed and said to Zhou Youling, “Not to scare you, but sleep as much as you can now. Once the little one arrives, that’s when the real torment begins.”

Rong Duanjing has been through it; during the first month after her child was born, she hardly had a good night’s sleep. Because she was breastfeeding, the first three months were the most painful. She had to busy herself with adapting to everything and adjusting her mindset. Fortunately, she had a good husband by her side, occasionally comforting her, otherwise she felt she might not have made it through.

Seeing Zhou Youling’s “lonely” appearance, Rong Duanjing felt a bit of pity and changed her tone to comfort her, “No worries, you can just hire a postpartum caregiver when the time comes, and everything will be fine. After all, you are a wealthy woman.”

Zhou Youling laughed heartily upon hearing this, “Exactly, if one postpartum caregiver isn’t enough, I’ll hire two.”

Rong Duanjing said, “Exactly, exactly, rich and willful!”

Lately, Zhou Youling continues to receive a gift every day. Perhaps the sender knows she’s prepared, as the way of gifting is no longer directly at the door. Sometimes it’s left at the security guard’s post at the main entrance, or handed directly to Zhou Youling by someone. In any case, it’s unexpected. The most frequently sent item is flowers.

For nearly two months, Zhou Youling hardly needs to buy flowers herself. After all, every few days there will be a fresh bouquet for her to replace.

Like a frog in warm water, Zhou Youling has become accustomed to receiving gifts, and is curious about what today’s gift will be.

Around noon, Zhou Youling received a call from the security guard’s office, saying there was something for her to pick up.

By late pregnancy, Zhou Youling’s weight had reached 120 jin, an increase of 30 jin¹ from before she was pregnant. Yet, even so, if viewed from behind, it was still not apparent that she was pregnant.

By late pregnancy, Zhou Youling’s weight had reached 120 jin, an increase of 30 jin from before she was pregnant. Yet, even so, if viewed from behind, it was still not apparent that she was pregnant.

Since she was free anyway, Zhou Youling thought she might as well get some exercise and went downstairs to pick it up herself.

Upon arriving at the security guard’s office, the security guard handed the item directly to Zhou Youling, saying, “I asked for you, it was delivered by a store clerk, and the sender still didn’t leave a name.”

Zhou Youling nodded, took the item, and said, “Thank you, big brother.”

“Ah, it’s nothing, just a small matter. By the way, you’re about to give birth soon, right?” the security guard asked.

Zhou Youling said, “Soon, the due date is next month.”

“Then you should be more careful, rest at home more, and don’t come to pick things up anymore,” the security guard said, adding, “How about this, next time someone sends something over, I’ll deliver it to your home.”

“That would be really appreciated.”

Ever since the Zhou Family moved into this neighborhood, not only did they have a lively relationship with the neighbors, but they also had an extraordinary relationship with several security guards. The key figure in this was Rong Huiying. Rong Huiying was skilled in socializing, easily getting close to people wherever she went, and often “bribing” people with tasty treats.

Today, Zhou Youling received flowers again.

Perhaps the sender knew about her complaints behind the scenes, so they no longer included any cheesy cards. In fact, Zhou Youling wasn’t fond of those cheesy words anyway.

As the due date approached, Zhou Youling’s prenatal check-ups, which initially were once a month, became weekly. Each check-up mainly monitored the baby’s condition.

By late pregnancy, Zhou Youling’s weight had reached 120 jin, an increase of 30 jin from before she was pregnant. Yet, even so, if viewed from behind, it was still not apparent that she was pregnant.

As the due date drew nearer, Zhou Youling became increasingly excited about the baby’s arrival. Several nights, she dreamed of the scene of giving birth, feeling both scared and hopeful.

Every prenatal check-up was accompanied by Rong Huiying, who was naturally very much looking forward to the arrival of her dear grandchild.

At thirty-six weeks pregnant, Zhou Youling felt the little one in her belly becoming more active, as if eager to come out.

Every night, Zhou Youling would talk to the little one in her belly for a while, earnestly comforting the little one, “Just over two weeks and you’ll be born, don’t be too anxious now, stay in the belly a little longer.”

At thirty-seven weeks pregnant, Zhou Youling also had her ninth prenatal check-up. As usual, Rong Huiying accompanied her to the hospital for the check-up.

But unexpectedly, they encountered a medical disturbance.

Around eight in the morning, the hospital lobby was bustling with people, and someone was shouting with a banner, “Incompetent doctors! Return my wife and child’s lives!”

Rong Huiying was deeply afraid of encountering such situations, fearing that the people causing the disturbance might “go crazy” and harm innocent people, so she hurriedly pulled Zhou Youling away from the lobby.

On the way up to the second floor for the prenatal checkup, Rong Huiying said, “Ah, it’s really unlucky to run into something like this.”

Originally, Rong Huiying had always insisted on going to a private hospital for prenatal checkups and delivery. But ever since the last incident with the four-dimensional ultrasound, for some reason, Rong Huiying seemed to trust the doctors at the public hospital even more. So, for the next few checkups, Zhou Youling simply went to the public hospital, and planned to give birth here as well.

Today’s checkup was simple. After it was done, Rong Huiying intended to take Zhou Youling straight home.

Downstairs, the medical dispute was still ongoing, and it seemed to be escalating. Even more dramatic than before, there was now a mourning hall set up in the lobby. Cries and curses echoed endlessly.

Rong Huiying and Zhou Youling stood on the second floor, able to clearly see what was happening below, and heard people nearby discussing:

“It’s really pitiful, the wife had just given birth a few days ago, and now this happened, sigh.”

“Ten months of pregnancy, the wife is gone, the child is gone too, it’s truly unbearable.”

“Who could accept this? No matter how you look at it, the hospital can’t avoid responsibility.”

“I think that man is going crazy. If you’re fine, get out of here early and don’t get into trouble.”

“Yes, yes, be careful not to get dragged into it.”

After finding out more, Zhou Youling learned that it was due to a nurse’s improper operation, leading to the baby’s death, but the exact reason was still unclear. The mother, unable to accept the news of her baby’s death, chose to end her own life.

Stories like this made people feel uneasy, and even Rong Huiying at her side sighed softly.

The situation downstairs looked increasingly tense, and suddenly a group of police officers rushed in from outside.

Fearing things would get even more complicated, Rong Huiying said to Zhou Youling, “Let’s leave quickly.”

Zhou Youling nodded, holding her mom’s hand as they walked down the stairs together.

Since the checkups were on the second floor, Zhou Youling had always chosen to take the stairs with Rong Huiying instead of the elevator, treating it as a bit of exercise. Besides, the elevator entrance was already blocked off, making it very inconvenient to use. But taking the stairs meant inevitably passing by the family members involved in the medical dispute.

Rong Huiying’s mistake was insisting on taking Zhou Youling down at this moment-if she had just waited a little longer upstairs, none of the following would have happened.

Almost as soon as Rong Huiying led Zhou Youling into the first-floor lobby, someone suddenly grabbed Zhou Youling’s wrist.

“Ah-” Zhou Youling screamed in fright, but it was to no avail.

The one who grabbed Zhou Youling was the husband of the deceased wife. His eyes were bloodshot as he pulled Zhou Youling toward the armed police, threatening, “Don’t come any closer! Otherwise, I don’t know what I might do!”

In that instant, Zhou Youling’s legs went weak.

If it had been before her pregnancy, Zhou Youling wouldn’t have been afraid of threats, but now it was different-her movements were limited, and more importantly, she had a baby in her belly. The thought of her baby being in danger made her tremble uncontrollably.

The man had a dagger in his hand.

Rong Huiying shouted anxiously, “Please, don’t hurt her! Take me instead!”

The man causing the trouble wouldn’t listen to a word of it. He shouted, “All I want is for the hospital to give a statement, to give us justice-why is that so hard? Seventy-two hours have passed since it happened, and the hospital hasn’t said a single word…”

As the man was speaking, Zhou Youling caught sight of Fu Xunzhou out of the corner of her eye.

Almost the moment she saw Fu Xunzhou, Zhou Youling’s tears started falling uncontrollably, like pearls on a broken string.

Fu Xunzhou quickly assessed the situation. Seeing that the man held a dagger, he walked over to the police officers and said something, then came over and called out loudly, “Please don’t hurt her. I am her husband-I completely understand how you feel.”

The man looked up at Fu Xunzhou and gave a hopeless laugh. “What do you understand?”

Fu Xunzhou walked forward slowly, stopping at a safe distance, and said sincerely, “Look at her, she’s pregnant too. I’m just like you, my heart is full of the joy and anticipation of becoming a father.”

Hearing this, the man looked down at Zhou Youling, his eyes filling with tears again.

In his panic, he had grabbed someone at random, not even realizing she was pregnant. He never really wanted to hurt anyone-he was just outnumbered and at his wit’s end.

Fu Xunzhou said, “I understand your pain, and I know how hard things are for you. We have no background, no power, and very little chance to fight for our own rights…”

The man seemed to agree with Fu Xunzhou’s words, listening intently. He was short, his face weathered, his palms covered in thick calluses. He truly had no background, no education, and even this act of causing a scene at the hospital was a last resort.

The hospital lobby was completely quiet except for a few sobs. Everyone’s gaze was fixed on Fu Xunzhou-he was calm, clear-headed, and his words were well-organized.

But just as everyone was sighing, the police officers suddenly closed in from both sides, quickly grabbing the man’s hand holding the dagger and subduing him in an instant.

Freed, Zhou Youling staggered, her legs so weak she could barely stand.

Fu Xunzhou stepped forward and pulled her into his arms, comforting her softly, “It’s okay now, it’s okay.”

Zhou Youling clung tightly to Fu Xunzhou’s shirt, unable to hold back her sobs any longer.

Footnote:

1. 1. Jin(斤): A traditional Chinese unit of weight, equivalent to approximately 0.5 kilograms.