Chapter 8

Chapter 8

“Mommy, can we please go home?”

Ranran asked again in a small, hushed voice.

I swallowed hard several times, trying to suppress the lump in my throat.

“Be a good girl, Ranran. This is just a minor surgery, and Mommy has the money for it.

“Once the surgery is over, Mommy will take you home, okay?”

Unfortunately, she was older now and wasn’t so easily coaxed.

Gu Cong and Dr. Qin finished checking on the other two patients in the ward, but the little girl still refused to speak. She just buried her head against my neck, nuzzling me restlessly.

“What’s wrong, Ranran? Are you scared of the surgery?” Dr. Qin seemingly conjured a piece of candy out of her pocket.

She gently stroked Ranran’s little head.

“But Dr. Gu said this surgery might completely cure you. We have to try, right?

“Then our Ranran can go to school and be just as healthy as all the other children.”

Ranran finally lifted her head, her eyes brimming with tears.

“Ranran doesn’t want to go to school.

“Ranran just wants to be with Mommy.”

Gu Cong suddenly spoke up.

“Ranran.”

He knelt down, his tone gentle and his voice clear.

“Do you want to stay by Mommy’s side forever and protect her when you grow up?”

Ranran nodded without hesitation, saying in her sweet, milky voice, “I do!”

“Then you should definitely have the surgery so you can get better quickly, right?”

Ranran tilted her head, thinking for a couple of seconds. She nodded, then quickly shook her head again.

“But… Mommy works so hard.”

Gu Cong was remarkably patient. “Mommy works hard because she loves you, just like you love her. Mommy wants you to be healthy and happy, just like you want her to not have to work so hard.

“The difference is that Mommy is an adult. Adults have the responsibility and the ability to work, earn money, and take care of children. You’re still a little girl, and a little girl’s only responsibility is to grow up happily.

“Only when you grow up can you truly love and take care of Mommy so she doesn’t have to work so hard anymore, right?”

Ranran was dazed by his long explanation.

Her big eyes blinked as she looked back at me, then at Gu Cong.

Finally, with a mix of lingering conflict and utter confusion, she nodded.

Dr. Qin was amused by her half-comprehending little expression.

“She’s too cute! Just look at her face!

“It’s so wonderful to have a daughter. They’re so well-behaved and sweet.”

Her eyes crinkled into crescent moons.

“I want to have a little girl of my own in the future, too.”

Standing side by side, the two of them were a striking and well-matched pair.

Gu Cong couldn’t help but curl his lips into a smile.

Whatever he was thinking of brought a touch of softness to his face.

“Yeah.”