Chapter 49: A Fascinating Story

A sudden clamor erupted as four people from the neighboring bed 516 rushed in.

Tao Fei could no longer sleep. She reached out to pull the curtain beside her bed, but before she could let go, it was abruptly drawn aside with a rustle.

“Sorry about that. It feels so stuffy with the curtain closed. I like looking at the scenery outside.”

The woman with a round face beamed brightly at Tao Fei, holding a packet of sugar-roasted chestnuts as she settled cross-legged on the hospital bed. She called out to the two men who had come in with her to return to the ward quickly, then urged her mother, who was busy stuffing bags and packages into the cabinet, to sit down and rest for a while before tidying up.

The aroma of the roasted chestnuts made Tao Fei swallow involuntarily. Strangely, ever since she had taken over this body, she no longer felt the pain from injections, medication, or minor wounds. The savory wontons Tang Songyuan had brought her that morning smelled delicious, yet tasted bland to her. It was as if this body were made of stone. Yet now, her stomach suddenly rumbled with craving.

Tao Fei turned her back, trying to resist the tempting scent of the chestnuts.

“Your name’s Tao Fei, right? I’m Wu Xiuli.”

Wu Xiuli looked to be in her early thirties.

“Hello.”

“Hi, hi!”

Wu Xiuli withdrew her gaze from the little name card at Tao Fei’s bedside, her smile growing even more radiant.

“Tao Fei, are you here alone? Where’s your family?”

“That chubby guy who just went out is my husband. Isn’t he handsome?”

Before Wu Xiuli finished, Nurse Li Ya came in with a patient wristband. Seeing the chestnut shells scattered over the table raised by bed 516, she frowned.

“Wu Xiuli, your surgery has been scheduled. Remember, no eating or drinking after five this afternoon.”

“What? Surgery so soon?! How can I have the strength for the operation without eating? And not even water? I’ll be dying of thirst!”

“Mom, what are you saying? When will I be able to eat, then?”

Wu Xiuli kept peeling chestnuts as if the surgery didn’t concern her at all. Her mother, however, nervously bombarded Nurse Li Ya with questions. Li Ya answered briefly, hung the wristband and nameplate by the bedside, glanced at Wu Xiuli opening another packet of spiced melon seeds, and gently reminded her that snacks with shells were not allowed in bed.

“We’re paying so much to stay here. You won’t even let us have snacks? What kind of lousy hospital is this?”

Wu Xiuli’s mother immediately flared up, and Wu Xiuli pouted in displeasure.

“I’m just kindly reminding you to keep the bed clean, especially for post-op care where dryness and hygiene are crucial. Eat whatever you want, but when you can eat again, that will be noted in your care instructions. If you’re unsure, you can ask the attending physician.”

Though this was a top-tier private hospital unaffordable for most, as long as one had money, all kinds of people stayed here. Being too strict would be ineffective; being too harsh might lead to complaints from patients’ families. Li Ya didn’t want any trouble.

“That little nurse looks like a fox spirit—definitely not a good person!”

“Mom, you shouldn’t say that.”

“I have the sharpest eye for people. You can tell their character and temper just by looking.”

“Mom’s the best judge of character!”

The mother and daughter bantered back and forth with lively energy. Tao Fei smiled secretly at their temperaments—like two peas in a pod—bringing some joy to the otherwise dull waiting hours.

“Tao Fei, what illness do you have? I’m dealing with an ectopic pregnancy. Don’t know how it ended up outside the uterus this time.”

Wu Xiuli offered Tao Fei the paper bag of chestnuts.

“I probably have uterine fibroids. They’re almost healed. I don’t eat, thanks.”

Looking at Wu Xiuli’s brightly painted red nails, Tao Fei suddenly lost her appetite. The chestnut aroma seemed to vanish instantly.

“I heard women who are unhappy easily grow fibroids. Are you introverted and prone to sulking? Life’s too short to dwell on troubles! Laughing or crying, it’s still a day. Crying solves nothing.”

Wu Xiuli patted her plump white hands. Seeing Tao Fei’s silence, the round-faced woman’s expression hardened in her conviction and then sought confirmation from her mother. Receiving a nod, she laughed heartily.

Tao Fei did not consider herself introverted. She was both a top student and an active arts enthusiast—dancing, singing, playing instruments, painting—with countless awards and trophies to her name.

Being rational didn’t mean being introverted.

Whether this version of Tao Fei was introverted was uncertain, but she probably wasn’t one to brood. Love was the best nourishment and beauty tonic for a woman. This Tao Fei had a devoted husband and excellent financial conditions—how could she be unhappy? If anything affected her mood, it would be the mother who had arrived this morning. Having such a mother was truly shocking.

At lunch, Wu Xiuli’s husband brought in two large bags of food. Finding the hospital meals bland, they had ordered six boxes of fried and sautéed dishes from a restaurant, filling the ward with delicious aromas as the three of them gathered around the small table on the bed.

“Tao Fei, aren’t you eating lunch? Want some?”

Tao Fei smiled and shook her head, feeling a bit uncomfortable with the strangers’ excessive friendliness.

“You’re the patient—you have to eat! I hate feeling hungry; I eat four or five times a day. When I had my three babies, I could eat a whole chicken in one sitting and ate six or seven meals a day. I wore out my mother-in-law taking care of me during my confinement. Mom, here’s a chicken leg for you.”

Wu Xiuli took the chicken leg her husband had just put in her bowl and gave it to her mother.

“There’s no one like a mother in this world. No matter how good a mother-in-law is, she’s not your own mom. I had three kids, and my mother-in-law didn’t help me with any of their confinements. I know she resented that they were all girls. So what if they’re girls? Daughters are their parents’ little protectors. I’m going to treat my mom well this lifetime, and when my daughters grow up, they’ll treat their maternal grandmothers well too. Sister, how old are your kids? What’s your mother-in-law like...”

Wu Xiuli grumbled about her mother-in-law while eating. Her husband quietly ate, not daring to say a word.

It seemed that the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship was an age-old puzzle, with scandals surfacing in every era.

Tao Fei licked her dry lips—she was indeed a bit hungry. She had forgotten to drink water all morning, all because of that demanding mother.

She prepared to go to the cafeteria herself but found no money in the bedside drawer. Even if she could pay by phone, the problem was—there was no phone in the drawer either!

Where was her devoted older husband now?

“Tao Fei, you must be hungry, right?”

Just as Tao Fei was beginning to resent the older man Tang Songyuan, he appeared before her.

“That’s your husband!” Wu Xiuli clicked her tongue as she looked at Tang Songyuan.