Lin Qingping and Gu Juncheng

Chapter 530 I Don't Want to See

Lin Qingping stood there, feeling dizzy and unsteady.

Gu Juncheng tried to support her, but she shook off his hand. Something was still rising in her stomach, and she covered her mouth, feeling like she was going to vomit.

She looked really bad; it was like the prelude to her fainting spell.

Ignoring her refusal, Gu Juncheng quickly helped her up. As a result, she couldn't hold it in, especially with that strand of hair on his shoulder so close to her eyes. His breath and the hot air he exhaled made her feel even more nauseous. So, she vomited everything in her stomach, covering him all over.

Zhiyuan followed him in and was shocked to see what was happening. "Mom! Mom!"

He quickly supported Lin Qingping's other arm. She hadn't vomited since being discharged from the hospital. What was wrong? He glanced at Gu Juncheng, and in that look, there was no longer any admiration, only blame.

The second sister heard the commotion and came over, with Zhangzhu following behind.

The second sister was furious with Gu Juncheng. Seeing his filthy appearance, she showed no sympathy and only coldly said, "Please move aside."

Gu Juncheng was stunned for a moment. Looking at the things on his body, he realized that he did need to clean himself up before taking care of Lin Qingping. So, he let go of Lin Qingping and said, "I'll wash up first. I'll come back if I can't find my clothes."

No one paid any attention to him.

The second sister and Zhiyuan each supported Lin Qingping on one side as they went upstairs. Zhangzhu followed behind, sobbing with tears in her eyes, "Mommy, Mommy, no...no...Zhuzhu..."

Lin Qingping was feeling groggy, but she still had a sliver of clarity. What did Zhangzhu mean by that? Was she frightened by her last hospitalization? Her parents had been gone for so long, and she was home alone with her aunt and uncle. Did she think her parents didn't want her anymore?

“Zhangzhu…” She turned around and looked at Zhangzhu’s small body, climbing the stairs by herself while holding onto the handrail. Her heart ached, but she was powerless to help. “Zhangzhu, Mommy didn’t abandon you. Mommy just went to take a bath. Mommy was dirty.”

"Okay...okay..." Tears still clung to Zhangzhu's eyes. "Zhuzhu, Mommy, stay with me!"

Zhuzhu is with her mother.

The little guy doesn't quite understand the subject-verb-object relationship when he speaks, and it's often all jumbled up.

"Zhiyuan, you stay with your sister, I'll go with your mother to clean up," the second sister said.

Zhiyuan nodded, slowly let go of her hand, and only felt relieved when he saw his mother steadily supported by his second aunt. He then turned around and went downstairs to pick up his younger sister.

“Brother…” Zhangzhu hugged Zhiyuan’s neck, tears streaming down her face onto his shoulder, looking scared and aggrieved. She pointed at Lin Qingping and her second sister in front of them, “Mom…”

Zhiyuan felt sorry for her and whispered to comfort her, "Mom is fine. Mom just... wasn't feeling well. She threw up, but she'll be fine after washing up. We'll wait for Mom to come out of the room."

"A cold?" Zhangzhu frowned inquiringly. In her limited life experience, the only illness she knew was the cold, which made her feel unwell and vomit.

"Yeah, a cold," Zhiyuan said, going along with her words.

The girl in the palm of her hand still looked worried. "Take the medicine, don't die..."

Zhiyuan's heart skipped a beat, shocked. "Who told you the word 'death'?"

He glanced at the bathroom in alarm, but thankfully the door was closed, so Lin Qingping probably hadn't heard Zhangzhu's words.

No one had ever mentioned that word at home, let alone in front of Lin Qingping...

Perhaps he had overreacted and frightened Zhangzhu, because the tears that had finally stopped crying started welling up in her eyes again. "Brother, you're fierce..."

Zhiyuan felt remorseful and quickly coaxed her gently, "Zhangzhu, brother wasn't being mean. Brother was just surprised. Please don't say that word again, okay?"

Her eyes were full of confusion and doubt. "I told you, Mom, no, Zhuzhu?"

Zhiyuan's mind was in turmoil, and Zhangzhu's words only made things worse. What was all this nonsense?! Zhangzhu was basically at home every day, and no one had ever taught her any of this!

Zhiyuan hugged Zhangzhu tightly and said to her in a firm tone, "No! Zhangzhu, Mommy loves you the most, and will never abandon you."

"Mommy, love Zhuzhu, Zhuzhu loves Mommy." Zhangzhu seemed to understand, and nodded at Zhiyuan, "Love brother..." Then she pointed downstairs, "Love daddy."

Looking at Zhangzhu's chubby little hands and innocent face, Zhiyuan really wanted to tell her not to love her father anymore, that he didn't deserve it. But he couldn't bear to see Zhangzhu sad...

He was very worried. His little darling couldn't even take a harsh word. What would he do in the future?

“Zhuzhu…” He understood in an instant. No matter what happens in the future, no one should say anything harsh to Zhangzhu, otherwise… A cold feeling flashed through his heart. He would deal with the future later. Right now, he still needed to remind Zhangzhu.

"Huh?" Zhangzhu blinked her big, black crystal-like eyes, waiting for him to speak.

“Mommy will never abandon Zhuzhu, but Mommy will be sad when she hears the word ‘death,’ so let’s not say it anymore, okay?” he whispered.

"Sad?" Zhangzhu's understanding of abstract words was still a bit vague. "Crying?"

"Yes, Mom will cry if she hears this, so let's not talk about it, okay?"

Zhangzhu nodded, "Okay, Zhuzhu, I won't say anything."

"Yeah, hook."

The brother and sister were playing pinky promise in their room when they heard the bathroom door open outside.

Zhiyuan quickly picked up Zhangzhu and put her on a chair. He then took out a tangram puzzle and played with her. As soon as Lin Qingping came in, Zhangzhu rushed over and hugged Lin Qingping's leg, saying, "Mommy, Zhuzhu, love, Mommy."

A surge of warmth welled up in Lin Qingping's heart, so much so that it made her chest ache. "Baby, Mommy loves Zhuzhu too."

She was extremely weak, but she still slowly squatted down and smiled gently at Zhangzhu, because she really didn't have the strength to lift Zhangzhu up.

"Mom..." Zhangzhu hugged Lin Qingping and called out softly.

"Zhangzhu, shall we help Mom to bed for a bit?" the second sister asked gently.

"Okay!" Zhangzhu was overjoyed to be asked to help her mother, and quickly nodded, saying, "Mom, I have a cold, I need to sleep, okay?"

"Yes, Mom has a cold, she'll be fine after a nap," her second sister explained.

After lying down, Lin Qingping felt much more comfortable.

It's just that I can't make pumpkin pancakes now.

She looked at Zhiyuan and said, "Zhiyuan, Mom will make pumpkin pancakes for you next time when I feel better."

Zhiyuan felt even more distressed upon hearing this, but he still forced a smile and said, "Okay, Mom, you'll still have to teach me then."

"Mmm." Lin Qingping slowly closed her eyes. "Mom, go to sleep for a while."

Zhiyuan, being sensible, took Zhangzhu's hand and left the room to play downstairs, while her second sister stayed in the room with her.

The second sister actually wanted to accompany her to the hospital, but Lin Qingping refused to go just now in the bathroom.

Lin Qingping knew where the problem lay; she simply didn't want to see a certain person.

"I'm really fine, you should go and rest too," Lin Qingping said softly.

How could the second sister be at ease? Just now, when she saw her close her eyes, her heart clenched, and her eyes were constantly fixed on her chest to see if it was still rising and falling.

At that moment, another figure appeared at the door; Gu Juncheng had arrived.