Chapter 9: Lin Yi's Remorse

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Grandma Liu’s granddaughter, Liu Ling, wheeled out a bicycle and called urgently to Lin Qin, who looked lost and helpless, “Sister Lin Qin, I can take you there faster by bike.”

“Thank you, thank you...” Lin Qin’s eyes welled with tears as she looked gratefully at Liu Ling.

“No problem! Get on!” Liu Ling knew the situation was urgent and didn’t stop to chat. Her legs were almost burning from the effort, but what normally took forty minutes by bike was done in less than thirty.

Lin Qin felt deeply thankful.

Liu Ling urged, “Hurry and take the child inside. We’ll deal with everything else later.”

After Lin Qin brought the child into the emergency room, drenched in sweat and utterly exhausted, she slid down the hospital wall to sit on the ground, suppressing the storm raging inside her, afraid to let herself cry out loud.

The wait for treatment dragged on endlessly—long enough for Lin Qin to have already decided how she would make those three women of the Liu family pay for this.

Just then, the doctor and nurse emerged.

“What is your relationship to the patient?”

“I’m her mother, doctor. How is my daughter?”

The doctor exhaled heavily. “The child has extensive burns on her back. It’s quite serious, but you came in time. We’ve treated the wounds and started IV fluids. The child may run a fever in the next few days, so you must watch her closely. Also, do your best not to touch the wounds—if the blisters burst and get infected, it will be very troublesome.”

“I understand... thank you, doctor!” Lin Qin wiped her tears, crying as she nodded.

After the doctor left, the nurse gently said, “Come with me to pay the hospital fees.”

Lin Qin reluctantly glanced back at Liu Yaya in the treatment room, looking back repeatedly. After paying, she spotted Liu Yongming and the heavily pregnant Fang Ying around the corner.

The two approached, whispering intimately to each other as they walked toward her.

Lin Qin immediately turned to face the wall, pretending to read the receipt.

Fang Ying playfully slapped Liu Yongming’s restless hand. “This is a hospital! Behave properly!”

Liu Yongming laughed it off. “What’s improper? Didn’t the doctor just touch your belly like that? Hey, look, our son just moved—he kicked me! He’s going to be a strong little guy for sure.”

Fang Ying giggled. “We’ve been back for over half a month now, and your son is almost due. Why hasn’t your yellow-faced wife been dealt with yet?”

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“Don’t worry, I’ve already called her back. This time, I’ll confront her directly. Rest assured, I’ll marry you properly and openly—no one will have anything to say,” Liu Yongming declared confidently.

Lin Qin slowly turned around, clenching her fists as she watched the deceitful couple’s retreating backs.

Liu Yaya’s burns were so extensive she could only lie prone, receiving IV fluids constantly. When conscious, she cried out in pain.

Other patients in the ward felt heartbroken watching her. Seeing Lin Qin running around alone all day with no one else coming, they couldn’t help but ask, “Comrade, where is the child’s father? Why isn’t anyone else here? The child crying like this isn’t good!”

Anxious inside, Lin Qin was about to explain when Chen Wenjun hurried in carrying food.

“How did it happen?” He looked at Liu Yaya’s pitiful, painful expression, his eyes reddening.

The kind woman in the next bed immediately started talking, “Her whole back is blistered from burns. We don’t know if there will be scars. The child has been crying all day, and her mother looks exhausted. How could you be such a latecomer as the father?”

Her words were tinged with blame.

Lin Qin was about to speak when Chen Wenjun bowed repeatedly, admitting fault, “It’s my fault, I’m late.”

After appeasing the woman, he signaled to Lin Qin, and they stepped outside to talk.

“What happened? I only heard about the Liu family incident this evening while selling fish. How did the child get injured? How is she?”

Lin Qin sobbed as she briefly explained, “Liu Li threw hot water on me. Yaya got badly burned trying to protect me. The doctor said we must be very careful these days. If the blisters burst and get infected, it will be serious. Please run to Shanlin Village and bring my father here, and ask him to bring some money.”

Without hesitation, Chen Wenjun stuffed thirty yuan into her hands. “Take this for now. The child’s treatment is most important. I’ll bring your father right away. Don’t worry, we’ll settle things with the Liu family later.”

He turned and hurried off, not even giving Lin Qin a chance to refuse.

Lin Qin thought of Liu Yongming today and smiled bitterly. Last life, she must have been too easy to deal with, never seeing the Liu family’s uglier faces.

“Liu Li! I swear you’ll pay for this for the rest of your life!” Lin Qin clenched the money tightly, wiped her tears, and steadied herself to return to the ward.

Chen Wenjun ran all the way to Shanlin Village as night fell.

Few people were about in the village. Moving swiftly and quietly, he arrived at Lin Yi’s house, knocking urgently but softly to avoid alerting neighbors.

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Lin Yi had just lain down and not yet fallen asleep when he heard the knocking. He grabbed his clothes and went out. “Coming, coming.”

The door opened before he could see who it was. Chen Wenjun spoke anxiously, “Uncle, Lin Qin and the child are at the city hospital. She sent me to get you.”

Lin Yi’s heart sank. Without asking further, he grabbed some money and hurriedly shut the door to follow Chen Wenjun out of the village.

They reached the main road outside the village before Lin Yi recognized Chen Wenjun, greatly surprised. “Why you?”

Chen Wenjun explained while walking briskly, “I heard about the Liu family’s situation this evening while selling fish in town. Some older women said it was serious. I was worried and came straight away.”

Hearing this, Lin Yi quickened his pace, unable to ask about his daughter or granddaughter’s condition until they reached the hospital and learned it was Liu Yaya who was injured.

Seeing the child’s miserable state in the ward, Lin Yi broke down completely and ran to the end of the corridor to cry loudly.

Lin Qin entrusted Liu Yaya to Chen Wenjun and followed to comfort her father.

“Dad...” Lin Yi beat his head in regret and guilt. “It’s all my fault! If I hadn’t driven you back, you wouldn’t have suffered this! The Liu family wants to destroy you both!”

“What about Liu Yongming? Didn’t he come back? Where is he? Why isn’t he here?”

Lin Qin couldn’t hold back and cried, “Dad! Don’t ask! Liu Yongming never really wanted to marry me. He had no money to study and had to come to our family. Now that he’s about to graduate and make something of himself, how could he continue living with me?

“I... I heard he’s been back for over half a month. They’ve been bullying me and the child, but he hasn’t shown up. He ignores the child’s condition. Do you really expect him to protect us?”

When she was of marriageable age, having no brothers, Lin Yi had generously promised a hundred yuan dowry, which was why Liu Yongming came to propose under those circumstances.