Zhao Baozhai's breathing became ragged as she stared at the doctor.
"Lies... you must be lying!" she cried.
Zhao Baozhai turned to Wang Cai and shouted, "This hospital must be a quack! Hurry, we'll take Yongrui into another hospital!"
"Madam, this..." Wang Cai looked uneasily at the doctor.
"Madam, please calm down first, alright... You have to take care of your health also," Wang Cai whispered.
"I don't have the time to think about that!" Zhao Baozhai screeched.
"Madam, I don't think bringing this child to another hospital will do him any good," the doctor stepped in.
"Based on his condition and wounds, he won't be able to travel long distances... Our hospital is already the best there is in M City... If you move him carelessly and something happens during the journey..." he trailed off.
Zhao Baozhai calmed down for a while, and her breathing became steadier.
"Right... I don't want anything to happen to him..." she whispered.
"Aunt, rather than worrying like this, I think we should call for some expert doctors and ask them to come over," Yin Longshen, who had been quiet all this time, spoke.
Zhao Baozhai finally realized his presence and wobbled closer to him.
"Longshen... you're here too..." she muttered.
Yin Longshen was seated on a chair; his eyes were red and his face was pale. Zhao Baozhai suddenly reached out one hand and grabbed Yin Longshen by the collar.
"YOU BASTARD!" Zhao Baozhai roared.
"How dare you! How dare you come here after all of that!"
Panting, Zhao Baozhai shook Yin Longshen by the collar.
"You said you would protect him!!! You said that even if he's your half-brother, it doesn't matter!!! You said he's more important than yourself!!! YOU PROMISED ME!!" she cried, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"And then? Where were you? Where were you when he had an accident, huh??" Zhao Baozhai's voice had turned hoarse.
Zhao Baozhai let go of his collar and pointed Yin Longshen with her index finger.
"The chauffeur told me that on the night of the accident, he couldn't contact you. He called you more than a dozen times, but you didn't pick up the phone!"
"Yin Longshen, I'm asking you. What were you doing, hm? What were you so busy with that you had no time for your younger brother?! Why weren't you by his side at that time, hm?"
A tear dropped out of Yin Longshen's eye, and he did not dare look at Zhao Baozhai.
"Oh, I know what you were doing," Zhao Baozhai scoffed.
"Weren't you so busy with your beloved company, that you didn't have time for him? You were busy doing who-knows-what, and when your younger brother was on the verge of death, you were too busy to even pick up the phone!" she cried.
"Aunt, I'm sorry. I really am," Yin Longshen whispered, his voice hoarse.
"I don't want to hear that from you," Zhao Baozhai spat out coldly.
Pointing towards the door, Zhao Baozhai lifted her chin.
"Get out."
Yin Longshen sniffed, but he did not move.
"Don't you have ears? Get out!!"
Yin Longshen lifted his head and looked at Zhao Baozhai's eyes.
"Aunt, I want to stay. I want to stay by his side," he half-whispered, his voice cracking.
Zhao Baozhai shook her head.
"Get out before I hit you," Zhao Baozhai said. Although there was a tremor in her voice, her tone was as cold as ice.
Yin Longshen hung his head and nodded weakly.
"I'll go."
He stood up, defeated, and staggered out of the room. Zhao Baozhai lowered her hands and used the back of her hand to wipe her tears. With shaky steps, she teetered over to the bedside and sat down.
***
Zhao Baozhai was born into a well-off family. Her father was quite prominent in the business sector. Her mother also came from a good background.
Unlike several other families at that time, who were caught up in scandals, Zhao Baozhai's father was very loyal to his wife. Zhao Baozhai's parents were often praised as a loving couple, and Zhao Baozhai herself was, admittedly, rather proud of this.
Zhao Baozhai had an older brother named Zhao Quan. He was soft-spoken, well-mannered, and very sweet. Zhao Baozhai and her older brother were very close to each other.
Whenever she went to school, Zhao Baozhai's friends and classmates would envy her. After all, she had pretty good looks and she came from a good background. Her family was also harmonious and prosperous. She also had an older brother who protected and doted on her.
Who wouldn't envy her?
Until one day, the twelve-year old Zhao Baozhai went to school as usual and her friends pointed at her and laughed at her... She had no idea what was going on.
"What happened?" she had asked.
"Don't you know? The news is all over the internet," her friends had told her.
When Zhao Baozhai searched the web, she checked the hot search. Sure enough, she saw her father's name written in bold font.
He had a mistress! And he had three children with her!
At that moment, Zhao Baozhai felt her blood run cold. During all those times when he hugged her mother... All those times when he played with her and her older brother... Was all of that fake?
Since the news was already all over the web, Zhao Baozhai's father could not deny it anymore. He brought his mistress and his three children home...
When her mother saw what had happened, as well, as the three children, she was so shocked that she fainted. The eldest was a son, three years older than Zhao Baozhai's older brother.
The second child was a girl, about the same age as Zhao Baozhai, whereas the third child was a 2 year old boy.
From that point onward, Zhao Baozhai's picture-perfect life changed drastically. Wherever she went, she felt like the whole world was laughing at her and calling her a fool.
Her home became a place that she detested. After all, now she had three new siblings that she did not like.
Zhao Baozhai's mother fell ill, and the affairs of the household were taken care of by the new "lady of the house". Not long after that, the eldest, illegitimate son fought with Zhao Baozhai's older brother to become the heir of the family.
Zhao Baozhai's older brother was well-tempered to begin with. He had never fought with anyone, and he wasn't used to things like fighting for favor and using dirty tricks to get what he wanted. He was no match for his opponent.
Meanwhile, Zhao Baozhai's new "sister" acted like a white lotus, sweet and kind on the outside, while spreading malicious rumors and bullying Zhao Baozhai when no one was looking.
At first, Zhao Baozhai found it rather amusing. A bumpkin was trying to mess around with her. What harm could she do?
She was gravely mistaken. After one incident, Zhao Baozhai's father was furious at her and grounded her for three months.
During those three months, Zhao Baozhai was locked up in her room, not allowed to meet anyone or go anywhere. Zhao Baozhai was a restless person to begin with. She liked socializing, so how could she stand something like this?
Furthermore, Zhao Baozhai was worried about her older brother and her mother. When the three months were up, what did Zhao Baozhai get?
She received news that her mother had died. Her father had married the mistress, and her older brother was no longer the heir to the Zhao family.
Instead, Zhao Baozhai and her older brother would be sent abroad, given some shares of the family company, and then told to live the rest of their lives peacefully.
Zhao Baozhai was furious. Why? Why did all of this happen?
She could not and did not want to accept all of this. So what did she do? She changed.
The world had been cruel to her first. Her surroundings had already changed into a treacherous minefield.
It was only right that she, too, changed.
Rumors said that she, Zhao Baozhai was a cruel girl who could not stand her illegitimate siblings' existence. Since that was the case, then she would oblige them!
After she made that resolve, Zhao Baozhai had become a complete devil. She used any and all means at her disposal to fight against her stepmother, her half-siblings, and even her father.
It took her several years of scheming, framing, bribing, and even blackmailing, before she finally succeeded.
The eldest son, who had previously won against Zhao Baozhai's older brother, was reduced to an alcoholic, depressed and suicidal.
The white lotus, Zhao Baozhai's half-sister, was now poor and destitute. Her reputation was in shambles after Zhao Baozhai exposed all of her misdeeds, her lies, and her schemes.
As for the youngest son, Zhao Baozhai did not need to do anything to him, because he was an arrogant and despotic fool.
He got into trouble for drunk driving and crashing into someone's car. He was put into prison, and Zhao Baozhai made sure that he had a "good time" there.
As for her stepmother, Zhao Baozhai was relentless in pursuing the woman and making sure she met a sorry end...
Long story short, Zhao Baozhai exacted revenge on her step family as well as her father. Her older brother succeeded in becoming the heir of the Zhao family, and Zhao Baozhai herself had the money, power, influence, and friends to help her.
Many people pointed fingers at her, calling her a cruel woman, but Zhao Baozhai did not care.
Being too kind to your enemies meant harming yourself.
This was what Zhao Baozhai believed.
As she grew older, Zhao Baozhai ignored other people's criticisms and started looking for a marriage partner. After sifting through the possible candidates, she finally met up with Yin Qiushan.
The two of them met several times, and then they got married.
It wasn't love at first sight. It wasn't a romance that grew from a spark into a flame. It wasn't an obsession either.
Zhao Baozhai simply found... a business partner.
When she got married to Yin Qiushan, she promised him that she, along with the Zhao family, would help him become the heir to the Yin family.
In return, Yin Qiushan would make her son the heir of the Yin family, give him all the family rights and assets when he died, and support the Zhao family in times of need.
It was simply an exchange between two mature and like-minded people.
No, mature wasn't the right word. Intelligent was better, or perhaps... cunning.
It didn't matter. In any case, Zhao Baozhai was satisfied.
When her son was born, Zhao Baozhai did not feel anything special. Sure, it was her child, but was she qualified to be a mother?
Zhao Baozhai did not care what the child would think of her. As long as the child grew up healthily and lived a prosperous life, that was all that mattered. She did not want to spend too much time with her child, getting attached to him.
She wanted to have fun with her friends, hang out with her associates, and live an unfettered life.
...That was what she thought.
But then, Yin Longshen showed up.
When Zhao Baozhai first saw Yin Longshen, all she could feel was anger and disgust.
An illegitimate child.
It reminded her of her step-siblings.
She knew, rationally, that Yin Longshen was innocent. It wasn't his fault he was born out of wedlock.
But still, she could not bring herself to like him. It was even worse when she found out that her son liked Yin Longshen.
What was so good about that rascal anyway? Shouldn't her son hate his stepbrother, be wary of his stepbrother, and get him out of the way?
Why did they become... so close?!
Zhao Baozhai felt the years slipping by, watching as her son grew even more closer with Yin Longshen, bonding with him, and sticking to him like glue.
Zhao Baozhai hated it. She knew she had to hate it. She had to break their relationship. She had to push Yin Longshen out of the picture.
But for what?
To protect her son?
To protect her son from what?
What did she want to do, exactly?
Protect her son from unknown, unrealistic fears that she had? Make him fear and loathe a fellow child, who probably didn't want to do anything bad to him? Or, turn him into another version of herself??
Zhao Baozhai became confused. She didn't know what she wanted, and she didn't know what was the best thing to do.
In the end, Zhao Baozhai gave in and let her son do as he pleased. She didn't know why she did this.
She convinced herself that she allowed her son to get closer to Yin Longshen simply because she listened to the Taoist Monk's words. It was for her son's safety, she thought.
The years passed so quickly that Zhao Baozhai felt a little lost. When Yin Longshen was almost fourteen years old, he visited her and talked to her privately.
Zhao Baozhai still remembered what he said -- each and every one of his words was deeply ingrained into her mind.
Ever since that incident, she had no choice but to trust him. She thought he could protect her son. She thought everything would be fine...
Why? Why did this happen?
Zhao Baozhai opened her eyes and looked at her son, lying on the bed with his eyes closed.
Her heart felt drier than an empty well. After all her efforts, all of her hopes... it still ended up like this.
Zhao Baozhai felt tears streaming down her cheeks, and she closed her eyes in resignation.
***