I'm A Math Idiot, So What? - Chapter 68

Chapter 68: Guard Against Greed and Anger (2)

Having confirmed Yuan Chongfeng was safe and sound, I prepared to call Ke Lu to reassure him and check on his mental state. Before I could even find his number, Zhang Ziqin called.

“Your boyfriend’s at our hospital,” she said.

“Did he come looking for me?”

“You’re here too? But I saw him arrive with a rather pretty woman. Is that Tong Xiao, the one you all keep talking about?”

“Where is he?”

“The inpatient ward.”

“Which floor?”

“Eighteenth.”

Such an auspicious floor number probably foreshadows their impending descent to the eighteen levels of hell together.

“How do you know all this in such detail?” I asked.

“Because he came to the urology department. My newest internship assignment.”

“Holy shit! He—he—he—”

“It’s not what you think. Come over and see for yourself.”

I raced to the eighteenth floor.

The moment I saw Zhang Ziqin, I found myself momentarily distracted by her new hairstyle.

The chrysanthemum Tony had styled for her had withered over the past few days, now resembling a tangled mass of seaweed plastered to her head.

If that were me, I thought, I’d be hunting down Tony with a scalpel right now.

It just goes to show how differently everyone reacts to things.

I could aim a scalpel at Tony, but Zhang Ziqin dared to target the adulterer.

As for my attitude toward the adulterer, I just wondered if his urinary system was working properly.

Zhang Ziqin led me to a hospital room door and pointed at a bed inside. “They’re here to see him.”

I peered through the window.

An elderly man lay in the bed, speaking loudly in his local dialect to Tong Xiao.

“What’s wrong?”

“He can’t urinate,” Zhang Ziqin said. “He claims your boyfriend beat him.”

“Nani?! I can’t poop either, but I blame the strained Sino-American relations for that!”

Zhang Ziqin tugged my arm. “He’s clearly a deadbeat. He threw a fit in the outpatient clinic, demanding to be admitted, and started scheming for money as soon as he was.”

“What’s his connection to Tong Xiao?”

“The registration records list them as father and daughter.”

My eyes widened in alarm. Zhang Ziqin pressed, “Why aren’t you going in yet? Your boyfriend is already meeting another girl’s parents!”

“Hey, what’s your ulterior motive for trying to drive a wedge between us?”

Zhang Ziqin huffed through her nostrils. “Forgiveness and generosity aren’t virtues in the realm of love. Who knows if a guy might feel compelled to stroke a girl who looks as pitiful as a kitten? Especially since you’ve only just seized your kingdom—your foundation is still shaky. You can’t afford to let your guard down.”

Zhang Ziqin’s words seemed to carry a grain of truth, but wouldn’t this make me look like I didn’t trust him at all?

While I was wrestling with this dilemma, Zhang Ziqin said, “I have to go, no time to analyze this with you,” and shoved me forward. With a startled “Ah!” I stumbled into the room, immediately drawing the attention of everyone inside.

I retreated two steps, stammering, “Wrong room, wrong room! I meant to go to Gynecology—” Fang Congxin shot me a tense glance, but he didn’t try to stop me from leaving, nor did he chase after me like they do in TV dramas, pleading, “Let me explain!”

Maybe it was because I didn’t run away.

I lingered by the door for ages, but Fang Congxin remained rooted beside Tong Xiao’s bed, chatting with her as if I were a wisp of air.

Tong Xiao, however, kept stealing glances at me, her expression caught between wanting to speak and holding back, as if she had something she wanted to say to me.

I bet she wanted to say, Can’t you see we’re together? Get lost already.

Well, I’m not leaving!

I stepped out, spun a full 360 degrees, and barged back in, striding right up to Fang Congxin. I shoved the takeout menu I’d just picked up off the floor at him, demanding loudly, “What do you want to eat?”

A young nurse who’d followed me in called out, “Aiya, the city inspectors shut down a bunch of nearby restaurants recently. Even if they’re out of work, they can’t come into the ward to sell food!”

“Salespeople aren’t allowed in here. You need to leave now.”

I studied the nurse carefully, confirming she wasn’t the one who had bolted out of the operating room earlier. Fang Congxin said coldly, “I don’t want anything. Go away.”

“Look at the menu,” I said. “There’s ‘Steamed Chen Shimei’ and ‘Deep-Fried Xue Rengui.’ Which one would you like? Today’s special: buy one, get one free!”

“Salespeople aren’t allowed here,” he repeated mercilessly. “Just leave.”

The young nurse chimed in, “You should really go. If the Head Nurse sees you, she’ll scold me again.”

I glanced at Fang Congxin, but he didn’t even spare me a sideways glance. Realizing I was only embarrassing myself by staying, I retreated with my tail between my legs.

As I left, the nurse muttered behind me, “Those dishes sound interesting… I might order them myself.”

Back in the waiting area outside the operating room, I stewed over it again and again, feeling utterly wronged.

It wasn’t just that my boyfriend was with another girl when I needed him most—I’d even caught them together on personal business behind my back. At the very least, he could have looked flustered or embarrassed. But no, he just stared blankly at me, pretending he didn’t know me at all!

I’ll never forgive him.

Unless he gets down on his knees right now and apologizes, with 99 roses.

Ten minutes later.

A phone call apologizing would do.

Roses are impractical—they wilt too quickly.

Half an hour later.

A simple “Hey, are you there?” on WeChat would be enough for us both to save face.

But an entire night passed without a single message from him.

The next morning, my Esteemed Mother suddenly ordered me to rush to the airport to pick her up.

My jaw dropped in shock, and I frantically hailed a taxi to get there.

Seeing me arrive alone again, she glared at me, her eyes and nose twisted in displeasure. “Can’t we change this routine? I’m tired of seeing the same scene over and over.”

“Fine,” I retorted. “Next time, take the high-speed rail.”

Her face darkened as she stomped toward the taxi queue. Halfway there, she demanded, “Did you and Fang Congxin have a fight?”

“No, we didn’t.”

“Listen here: if you break up with Fang Congxin, I won’t leave you a penny of my estate.”

“But you promised you’d support me for life!”

“And you promised you’d marry well!”

“Remember, don’t take any promises made at night seriously, including anything your mother tells you.”

My mother paused, then shouted, “You two really had a fight?!”

I hurriedly denied it three times in a row.

My mother squeezed into the taxi. “Anyway, I didn’t come here for you. Take me to Fengfeng right away. Where is he now?”

“The hospital.”

“What?!”

“He almost died!” I exaggerated to change the subject.

“Did that old woman stab him?”

“Mom—”

“Don’t get upset by my harsh words. Think about Uncle Yuan and Aunt Yuan—how high their hopes were for Fengfeng. He’s going to give them a heart attack acting like this! Fengfeng—how is he?”

“He’s fine now. He’s been moved to the inpatient ward.”

“See? He’s already in the hospital, and Old Yuan and his wife still don’t know a thing! You kids really don’t take your parents seriously! I watched Fengfeng grow up; he’s always been so steady and level-headed. How could he turn into this? I bet that woman’s been whispering poison in his ear.”

“You’re acting just like Hong Shixian’s mother right now,” I said.

My mom nearly jumped out of her seat in the taxi. “You! Are you suggesting that woman is Lin Pinru? I can’t believe you’re taking her side too! She must be some kind of old fox. I’ll see which cave this vixen crawled out of!” With that, she turned to the driver and said, “Ma’am, I’ll give you an extra ten yuan if you hurry me along. I need to catch a demon!”

The female driver, who had been practically pressing her ear against the divider between us, immediately floored the gas pedal. “You got it!” If the car’s speed could be visualized, we’d have gone from the airport to the hospital entrance in the blink of an eye, our hair standing on end.

Before I could even try to reason with her, my mom, her purse clutched in one hand and her heels clicking furiously, stormed into the inpatient ward.

The inpatient ward was crowded with people. As soon as we entered, we were swarmed by a crowd that squeezed us into a corner of the elevator. My mom, who’s petite, completely lost her earlier air of authority as a deputy board member. She struggled to hold me with one arm while clutching her weapon—her “LV” handbag—with the other.

Actually, she had yanked me over and shoved me against the bag in her panic, insisting I serve as a protective layer against the crowd. To her, an ex-boyfriend was less valued than a dog, while I ranked even lower than her handbag. My status…

The elevator crept slowly, stopping at every floor. Beside me, an elderly woman holding a lunchbox, bored from the wait, started gossiping: “Did you hear about the deadbeat next door? He’s been clinging to his hospital bed even though there’s nothing wrong with him, refusing to leave until his daughter pays up. Can you believe a father would blackmail his own child like that?”

Another woman chimed in, “Really? Why isn’t the hospital doing anything?”

“Easy to invite a god, hard to send one away. He keeps complaining about this ache and that pain, just stalling. His daughter is quite pretty, I hear she’s a student at Changning University. Such a pity she’s stuck with that scoundrel for a father.”

“How can a college student afford to support her father?”

“She probably has a rich boyfriend. He doesn’t look that old, very dashing, just a bit quiet. He stayed late last night. Thank goodness for him; how else could a young woman handle this?”

“That’s the kind of son-in-law you want—loyal and devoted. You can tell it’s true love.” My mom whispered in my ear.

True love, my ass!