CHAPTER 107: CHAPTER 107: SLAPPING THE FAKE RICH GIRL 8

The hospital ward was permeated with the smell of disinfectant. Early in the morning, Song Ruyi opened the windows of the ward to ventilate.

She sat by the ward, peeling apples with a knife.

Anning leaned back on the hospital bed, a smile on her face, slowly swallowing the buns that the bodyguard had brought back.

Neither mother nor daughter spoke, yet the atmosphere in the ward was especially good, particularly warm.

However, the arrival of one person broke this cozy atmosphere.

Early in the morning, Mrs. Liu was busy making breakfast. She cooked meat porridge, made some side dishes, and also fried some bun slices.

After cooking, Mrs. Liu carried the lunch box to the hospital.

When she arrived at the ward, Anning had just swallowed the last bite of her bun.

Seeing Mrs. Liu appear in the ward, Anning was so frightened that her face turned pale, big beads of sweat rolled down from her forehead, and the bun in her mouth, which she hadn’t had time to swallow, got stuck in her throat, causing her to flail her arms.

Song Ruyi was terrified and quickly pressed the bell to call the doctor.

The duty doctor rushed over and helped Anning catch her breath properly so she could breathe normally.

Song Ruyi, seeing that Anning almost suffocated in just a moment, held Anning and cried in fear.

"Ningning, eat slower from now on. Whatever you want to eat, mom will buy it for you, there’s no rush."

Anning hugged Song Ruyi’s waist, constantly trying to shrink behind her.

Mrs. Liu was also terrified at first, but after regaining her senses, she went over carrying the lunch box: "Ningning, are you alright? That was really scary just now. You have to be careful when eating."

She faced Anning with what she believed was the most kindly expression.

But Anning looked at her as if she were a demon, frightened and with a terribly ugly expression.

Song Ruyi also realized by now that it wasn’t because Anning swallowed too quickly that she choked, but because she was scared upon seeing Mrs. Liu.

Understanding this, Song Ruyi’s face darkened.

"Mrs. Liu, we appreciate your good intentions, but since our Ningning is scared of seeing you, for the sake of the child, it’s best if you don’t come over."

Mrs. Liu did not expect such a response from Song Ruyi and was extremely embarrassed.

"I..."

She wanted to say that Anning was pretending earlier, but the words just wouldn’t come out.

Why would Anning pretend? She has no conflict of interest with her, why fake fear to frame her? This was hard to articulate.

"Please leave, Mrs. Liu."

Song Ruyi, worried Anning might be frightened again, asked the bodyguards to escort Mrs. Liu out.

Mrs. Liu was driven out of the ward in less than half an hour.

After she left, Song Ruyi instructed the bodyguards: "Don’t let her in anymore."

Mrs. Liu left the hospital, cursing furiously: "Pah, what nonsense, just because they have some stinking money, acting all high and mighty, absolutely appalling."

Of course, what upset her the most was Anning.

She believed that Anning, having found her biological mother, was no longer afraid of her, and started to falsely accuse her.

Thinking about how pitiful Anning looked just now made Mrs. Liu even angrier.

However, with several tall and burly bodyguards standing outside Anning’s ward, she couldn’t reenter even if she wanted to.

Mrs. Liu thought about waiting a bit longer, planning to come back tomorrow when Song Ruyi wasn’t around to talk things over with Anning properly, in hope of getting Anning to speak well of them, and somehow extract some money from the Zhao Family.

But after Mrs. Liu left, Anning started crying again.

She held Song Ruyi’s hand, crying pitifully: "Mom, I don’t want to stay in the hospital anymore, I want to go home, let’s go home quickly, I want to get far away from here..."

Song Ruyi gently wiped Anning’s tears while comforting her, "Okay, okay, let’s go home, don’t be afraid, my dear. Mommy is here, our Ningning won’t be afraid."

After asking the doctor, Song Ruyi picked up some medicine at the hospital, and by that afternoon she completed the discharge procedures and left with Anning.

When Mrs. Liu returned to the hospital the next day, they had already left, which frustrated her into cursing vehemently, but there was nothing she could do.

On the way back, Song Ruyi called Zhao Han and told him the approximate time of their return so he could prepare at home.

Zhao Han instructed the nanny, Mrs. Zhang, to tidy up the room prepared for Anning again, asked her to cook some nice dishes, and called Zhao Ming Rui and Zhao Mingzhu to come home early that evening.

When Anning arrived at the Zhao Family’s home with Song Ruyi, she immediately saw Zhao Han with Zhao Ming Rui and Zhao Mingzhu waiting inside the house.

Anning nervously tugged at her tattered clothes, her face flushing red as she shyly hid behind Song Ruyi.

Over the phone, Song Ruyi had already informed Zhao Han of the tough times Anning faced at the Liu Family, often being abused and left hungry, which painted a particularly pitiful picture of the child.

He braced himself for a frail child.

However, when he saw Anning, his heart was deeply struck, and he couldn’t help but feel a surge of heartache.

Anning looked terribly miserable.

She appeared tiny and undernourished, not tall but exceptionally thin, her bones nearly protruding, making her eyes look disproportionately large.

Her clothes were old and torn, worse than the garments of a street beggar.

Moreover, the thick bandages wrapped around her wrists spoke clearly of her being driven to attempt suicide.

Seeing Anning standing before him made Zhao Han’s eyes warm and his nose sting, nearly bringing him to tears.

His daughter, Zhao Han, should have been brought up in luxury, without worries about food or safety, but during the past fifteen years, he could only imagine the extent of suffering and hardship she had endured.

Facing his feeble and pitiful daughter, his heart ached for her.

"Ningning is back."

Usually stern, Zhao Han tried to wear a kind smile as he greeted Anning.

Shyly, Anning smiled and softly called out, "Daddy."

"Ah," Zhao Han responded, pulling Zhao Ming Rui closer, "This is your brother."

Anning smiled and called, "Brother."

Zhao Ming Rui raised an eyebrow and responded indifferently, "Heard you."

Finally, Zhao Han pointed to Zhao Mingzhu, "This is Mingzhu, she... you call..."

Stepping forward with a smile, Zhao Mingzhu greeted, "You must be Sister Anning, I am..."

She extended her hand to shake Anning’s but upon seeing her, Anning’s face drastically changed. She immediately crouched down, screaming, "Don’t hit me, please don’t hit me, I’ll do the work..."

Both Zhao Han and Song Ruyi were stunned by this sudden outburst.

Zhao Ming Rui’s face turned sour.

The smile on Zhao Mingzhu’s face couldn’t be maintained any longer.

Realizing something as she watched Anning shrink into herself, Song Ruyi took a closer look at Zhao Mingzhu and noticed she bore a striking resemblance to Mrs. Liu, especially around the eyes.

Though Mrs. Liu’s gaze was more fierce due to her age, Zhao Mingzhu’s eyes, while not as harsh, resembled hers with a sort of menacing look when observed closely.

"Ningning, don’t be afraid, we’re home, no one here will hurt you."

After observing Zhao Mingzhu, Song Ruyi quickly comforted Anning.

It took a while for Anning to stop screaming. She timidly stood up, but instead of walking inside, she moved towards the door, "Mom, do we have another house? Can you take me there? I, I want to live somewhere else."

Zhao Han and Zhao Ming Rui were puzzled by Anning’s request.

But Song Ruyi understood why.

Because Zhao Mingzhu looked like Mrs. Liu, Anning was scared at the sight of her. Anning, indeed having been abused and berated, was psychologically affected and could not bear to be in the same room as Zhao Mingzhu.