CHAPTER 57: 056: GETTING BEATEN (FIFTH UPDATE TODAY, ASKING FOR ANOTHER MONTHLY TICKET)

Wang Changjiang from the village was still waiting for news, while Ye Ling and her father, after riding a carriage for over an hour, finally arrived at the town hospital. Despite it being late at night, fortunately, there was a doctor on duty. After a check-up, the doctor left the ward, removed his mask, and shook his head with a grim face towards Ye He Ping.

"This is a case of fainting due to acute distress. She hasn’t woken up yet; I think she might regain consciousness tomorrow. But the elderly can’t handle such incidents well, and even if she wakes, she likely won’t be as spirited as before."

"Doctor, what should be done?" Ye He Ping asked, and ever since his mother fainted, he hadn’t been able to relax even a bit.

Upon hearing these words from the doctor, he suddenly grabbed the doctor’s shoulders tightly, unaware of his actions.

The doctor was hurt by his grip, but seeing he was an educated man, he didn’t struggle overtly, "Comrade, please don’t be tense. People of this age often experience these things. As a cultivated person, you should be progressive in your thinking and understand these matters."

"Understand what? Doctor, do you mean that my grandma has become incurable and we’re just waiting for her demise?" Ye Ling’s eyes were red, holding onto the door of the ward but unable to stop her body from trembling.

Ye He Ping didn’t know when his eldest daughter came out and how much she had overheard. He waved his hand, "This is an adult’s matter; you go inside."

"What adult’s matter? Don’t you know why grandma ended up like this? She was just fine, and now look at her condition. It’s all my fault, I shouldn’t have left; then none of this would have happened." Ye Ling murmured, retreating in a dazed panic, like someone lost at heart.

Ye He Ping furrowed his brows and realized only then that he was gripping the doctor’s shoulders, "Doctor, if she’s going to wake up tomorrow, do go attend to your tasks. We will call you if there’s any issue here."

Seeing the family was also suffering, the doctor nodded understandingly, "I’ll be in the duty room; if there’s anything, you can find me there."

Ye He Ping thanked him and watched the doctor leave before turning inside the room, "Ye Ling, Dad knows you’re upset, but your grandma is old now, this day was bound to come, you have to learn to accept it."

Ye Ling was sitting beside the bed, her face buried in Old Mrs. Ye’s hand. She suddenly lifted her head at her father’s words, her eyes filled with hate so intense it could devour, "Learn to accept? Dad, lying here is my grandma, the one who gave birth to and nurtured you. How can you be so indifferent? I don’t care what happened that brought grandma to this state, but I know it certainly isn’t her fault. For all these years, regardless of what you and mom have done, grandma never complained, not even when she was left to raise me in the hometown alone, without a penny sent back for all these years. Grandma never uttered a word of complaint. I truly don’t know what you did that could anger grandma to faint."

"I might not confront you because you are my father, an elder, but I must directly express my disapproval of your coldness."

"Shut up." Ye He Ping’s face alternated between green and white at his daughter’s accusations, feeling guilty but instinctively refusing to accept blame, "Why did grandma end up like this? Isn’t it because of you? If you hadn’t insisted on going to school, would grandma have had to take care of you in the countryside alone? Would her health have been ruined?"

"Because of me? Why not say it’s your fault? You only favored Ye Qian who grew up by your side, forbidding me from attending school for her sake, based on what? From childhood to adulthood, schooling never cost you, I never ate at your expense, and now you directly ask me to quit school to save money? Where have I spent your money in the countryside? Or were you planning to let me drop out to earn money for you, to support the family?" Ye Ling, thinking of her past life, spoke everything on her mind in anguish, seeing her grandmother in front of her, her face twisted, "Now you blame me? If you weren’t my father, I shouldn’t have dealt with the people from the village for you earlier, nor should I have said nothing in front of the doctor. But do you deserve your professorship title? Do you?"

A loud ’smack’ finally brought silence to the ward.

"You’re too agitated, calm down." Ye He Ping’s hand tingled as he met his daughter’s calm gaze after the slap, unable to stay a moment longer, he rushed out of the ward without another word.

Ye Ling, holding her face, sat back down on the adjacent empty bed, covering the swollen side of her face, her tears flowing silently.

Yes, she truly was foolish.

Why so agitated? Why so furious?

Didn’t this show she still cared deeply? She thought upon living another life, she could face her parents’ favoritism with indifference. Yet when truly confronted, she realized it wasn’t that simple at all. She longed to be cared for like Ye Qian, to be a daughter loved by her parents, but this was merely a dream, an extravagance.

None of it was possible.

No matter what she does, she’s always in the wrong.

Just like with this matter, it was clearly her father who caused grandma to faint, but the blame was pushed onto her. It turns out her parents really dislike her.

As Ye Ling buried her head in sorrow, a hand full of calluses gently touched her face. Ye Ling lifted her head to see grandma had woken up, gazing at her lovingly, and she rushed over.

"Grandma, don’t leave me." Seeing grandma faint was the moment Ye Ling felt her world collapsing.

Old Mrs. Ye moved her lips, and after a long while, a weak voice came out, "Child, don’t cry, grandma is fine, isn’t she?"

Seeing her granddaughter’s swollen face, Old Mrs. Ye’s eyes were filled with heartache. How could she not know what happened? She had already woken up when her granddaughter was saying those words, yet had no chance to speak before her son acted. Watching her granddaughter cry made Old Mrs. Ye unsure of what to say.

Who to blame, who to resent? She could only blame herself for raising such a son, pitying her granddaughter for her hard fate.

"Lingzi, in the lining of the jacket grandma is wearing, there’s a pocket, take out what’s inside." Old Mrs. Ye glanced at the doorway as she spoke.

Clearly, she didn’t want anyone else to know about this.

Ye Linglian didn’t ask much, at her grandma’s urging, reached inside the jacket, felt something hard, and directly pulled it out, revealing a jade pendant.

"This was passed down to me from your great-grandmother, now grandma hands this to you. I heard it’s been handed down for generations, it’s quite old. Grandma doesn’t know how long she’ll live, but if grandma passes and your parents don’t support your schooling, find a place to see if anyone will buy this pendant, sell it for money to continue your education." Old Mrs. Ye, having said her piece, panted heavily from exhaustion, "Keep it, don’t refuse, and don’t tell anyone about this." (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)

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