"Talk to me, Xiao Fei. What's wrong?" Zhao Moyao was seated in front of his granddaughter. She stared into the distance with a ditzy look in her eyes. She reacted as if she didn't know he was in the same room as her. She was unresponsive, her lips were parched, and she behaved like she was watching the most interesting thing ever. What was she looking at?
He turned his head and saw it was just an empty, light blue wall with specks of clouds. What could be so interesting in a wall? This entire morning, he tried to speak to her, but she was unresponsive. He had rushed here first thing in the morning after hearing the news that she was hospitalized at midnight. He would've come here earlier, but no one had informed him of her arrival to the hospital until Li Xuan burst into the main mansion, out of breath and frantic.
Zhao Moyao was here for the past three hours and she still hadn't looked his way or even acknowledged his presence. She acted like he was a gust of wind beside her ears. He didn't like her reaction. He didn't like it one bit. It reminded him of her past self. Desolate and empty inside, with a stupified look on her face because of the surgery.
He raised his head and stared at her with a displeased look on his face. She looked so distant...as if she wasn't a part of this world anymore. The light had fled from her eyes, leaving it a barren desert of nothingness. She looked like she had stayed up the entire night in the same position. And maybe she did, for when he walked in this morning, she was seated as she was now.
"Xiao Fei, I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong. What has gotten into you?" He grabbed her shoulders and tried to force her to look at him. He wasn't used to this behavior of hers'. Even if she was angry at him or something else, she would still look at him, or even show that she was listening.
Zhao Moyao debated whether or not he should call a psychiatrist. Just then, a knock echoed throughout the room. He sighed and turned towards the door. "Come in." He gruffly responded, sitting back and placing his hands to himself.
Li Xuan walked in and bowed his head. He was accompanied by a doctor with a clipboard. "Good afternoon, President Zhao. It's an honor to meet you."
"What is wrong with her?" Was the first thing Zhao Moyao asked. Usually, he couldn't care less about what happened to other people. His world revolves around himself and the company. He was just too hard-headed to realize it was actually centered around Zhao Lifei and her alone.
The doctor briefly glanced at his clipboard and then at the spaced-out Zhao Lifei. "I recommend we speak about this outside." He was mindful of her current condition. Anything could trigger a patient, especially a woman as young as her. From his reports, he saw that she was only twenty-one.
Zhao Moyao's face was always in a permanent scowl. His bushy and coarse eyebrows only made it worse. "Very well." He stood up from his chair and caressed the back of Zhao Lifei's head. "I will be back very soon, Xiao Fei. Try to not...stare so much." He accompanied the doctor outside.
Zhao Moyao could see a woman carrying a child from the corner of his eyes, but he paid the new mother no mind. "What is her current condition?"
The doctor took off his glasses and placed it into his pocket. When giving out bad news, he wanted to look at the family eye-to-eye with no interference. "My condolences, President Zhao. it is with great regret that I inform you, Miss Zhao has suffered a miscarriage."
WAH! WAHH!
The baby in the mother's arms began to cry, his loud screamings echoing down the hallways. The mother gently swayed the crying infant, but it only increased its volume.
Suddenly, another sharp cry pierced the air. This time, it was a scream that froze Zhao Moyao's blood. A chill crawled up his spine as a cold sweat dribbled down his forehead. "Xiao Fei." He breathed out, swiveling around to the door of her room, flinging it open to see the heart rate monitor accelerate.
"NOOO!" She wailed, like a possessed spirit who couldn't keep their mouth shut. "STOP IT!" Her screech was like a banshee looming around at night and scaring off its prey. She was hyperventilating on her bed, thrashing around and clutching her ears.
"MAKE IT STOP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" She tossed herself onto the floor, the sound of her knees colliding with the cold tiles echoing through the room.
"Li Xuan, I don't care how much you have to pay that mother, but move her from this floor this instant!" Zhao Moyao commanded Li Xuan who took out the checkbook in less than a second. The doctor rushed into the room and raced to the hospital bed where he slammed his finger on the emergency button.
Zhao Moyao didn't know what to do. He had never comforted her before, nor had he ever witnessed her in such a horrid state. When he finally found the will to stagger forward and do something, nurses came rushing into the room.
"NO! DON'T TOUCH ME!" Zhao Lifei struggled and kicked at the hands grabbing her arm, lifting her from the floor and pushing her onto the bed.
"DON'T TOUCH ME! STOP IT! I SAID LET ME GO!" She screamed and screamed on the bed, raising her body off the soft surface.
The nurses were having a hard time holding her down. Finally, one of them finished the preparation of the sedation syringe.
"NO! GET THAT THING AWAY FROM ME!" She was forcibly injected. Soon, little by little, she began to calm down, her eyes rolling to the back of her head. "Please…" She sobbed, "Protect my baby." She was knocked out cold.
The nurses all let out a collective sigh of relief, stepping back and catching a much-needed breath of air.
Zhao Moyao was frozen to the ground. The weight of the word "miscarriage," finally sunk into him. He felt his world crumble to his feet, his face paling. His first great-grandchild. Gone. Just like that.
"Sir, we have moved the mother into a different and upgraded ward. I have also cleared the entire floor of any mothers or babies." Li Xuan didn't read the atmosphere in the room from a distance until he finally walked in and realized how quiet it was.
"Li Xuan." Zhao Moyao's voice sounded foreign to the secretary's ears.
Li Xuan remembered the last time he heard his boss' voice sound so...cruel and inhumane. It was when the news broke out that Zheng Tianyi had a mistress on the side. "Y-yes, President?"
"Call the shareholders immediately. Bring in the Zhengs. I demand an explanation."
Li Xuan could see the world ending very soon. He bowed his head, "Understood."
- - - - -
The present.
Yang Feng was so quiet that Zhao Lifei thought he had fallen asleep. She fidgeted and played with her fingers, wondering when he would finally speak up. A second passed, then a minute, and then five minutes of pure silence fell between them. He didn't move a muscle, but the air got chilly. Not even the blizzards in Siberia could rival this below-freezing point temperature. He kept his intentions secret whilst absentmindedly twirling the strands of her hair and memorizing every inch of it with his fingers.
"And how do you feel now?" He attentively asked her, lowering his head to study her face.
Zhao Lifei sensed something was off in the way he spoke to her. He was as endearing as always, in fact, his voice was more affable than usual. She wished she knew what he was thinking. "After spending some time training and going through therapy, I felt a lot better. But it always lingers at the back of my mind." She subconsciously placed a hand on her stomach, something he finally realized she did a lot.
He pressed his lips together. How could he not realize this? The reports about her didn't mention anything about a miscarriage. He could only assume Zhao Moyao sufficiently covered it up without any hesitation. But how was this possible? Nothing could get past his records and all of his men diligently drafted the report. 'That crafty old fox… Of course, he would have something up his sleeve.'
Yang Feng knew how cunning that old man was. 'What else had the ancient turtle buried?'
"I know it will never go away," She brushed her hands on the fabric of her sleeping gown. "But I'm doing a lot better. Instead of denying the truth, I've come to accept and learn from it."
Yang Feng's placid face bloomed into a serene smile. He shifted their position and tenderly touched her face, kissing her on the forehead. "Is that so?" He murmured, kissing her nose and then peppering her lips with short kisses. "I'll be more careful when I bring up the topic of having a child."
"That's very kind of you, but you don't have to." Zhao Lifei easily smiled up at him, one that reached her eyes and revealed the deep dip of her dimples. Her eyes twinkled and even in the dark, he could see them glisten with color. She rested her hand on top of his, "I don't mind it if it's with you. I don't think anyone can ever heal from it fully, but I prefer progress over perfection."
Mesmerized by her words, he gently nodded his head and rested his forehead upon hers. "I suppose I should strive for the same mentality." He murmured before locking their lips together.