Chapter 486: Let’s Not Hide Anymore
Since the day Hu Ran had married into the Sheng family, it was the second time she had been harmed already.
After the doctor examined the red spots on Hu Ran’s body, he told Third Brother, “This is an allergic reaction. As for which substance that causes the reaction, we are still not clear about it.”
“But she fainted…”
“Don’t worry, Mr. Sheng. It is the allergic reaction that put her into shock. But fortunately, it is not life-threatening.” When the doctor saw him barefooted, he said, “You should have worn your shoes when you came.”
Third Brother looked at his feet. He did not mind. He just wanted to know whether Hu Ran’s allergy was an accident or a scheme.
Soon, the other Shengs came to the hospital. When Grandpa Sheng saw Third Brother, he asked immediately, “How is Xiao Ran now?”
“The doctor said it’s an allergic reaction. They are not sure if it’s caused by food or other things…”
“But all of us had eaten the same food. I wonder what Xiao Ran is allergic to.” Grandpa Sheng was concerned.
“We will have to wait until she wakes up. We can only know after she has her check-up.”
Third Brother’s questioning eyes focused on Gu Ziling with scrutiny. However, he did not say it out loud.
“How strange, why is Third Brother not blaming me at all?” Seeing Third Brother did not confront her openly, Gu Ziling asked deliberately.
“Perhaps it is just an accident. This should not have anything to do with Second Sister-in-law.” Third Brother knew her motive. She wanted to sow discord and make him lose temper in front of Grandpa Sheng. But he did not want to play along. “Grandpa, you all should go back first. I can take care of Xiao Ran. Don’t worry too much about her.”
“Alright. Then I shall leave. Take good care of Xiao Ran. And I will let the butler send you a pair of shoes,” Grandpa said as he got up from the bench outside the ward.
Before Gu Ziling left, she purposely told Third Brother, “Actually, Sister-in-law is sick because of me. She cannot take honey.”
Third Brother clenched his fists. However, he remained indifferent toward Gu Ziling’s provocation.
“You can still stand it when I tell you this?”
“Second Sister-in-law put in a lot of effort in taking care of the family. I must ‘thank’ you for it.”
Gu Ziling smirked and left the hospital. And Third Brother kicked hard on the trash can outside the ward.
As a husband, he kept failing in his duties. He let his wife live in danger. Moreover, she even had to keep smiling at the culprit. If he were Sheng Xiao, he would smash Gu Ziling a hundred times already. This showed the gap between him and Sheng Xiao.
What was Gu Ziling’s purpose that she kept on provoking them?
Was it only because she hated Xiao Ran being a fool? Although he did not wish to admit it, he was very incapable compared to Sheng Xiao.
Third Brother had no one else to talk to, so he could only call Sheng Xiao.
Although Sheng Xiao was very busy in his work and had no spare time to listen to the matters of the Sheng family, he never treated Third Brother rudely.
“I just want to know what Second Brother and that woman are up to. You must know it.”
Sheng Xiao had just taken his shower and was waiting for the little one who was drinking some water. When he received the phone call, he sat down and helped him to analyze the situation. “You were grounded by Grandpa before. How did they treat you by then?”
“They sympathized and pitied me. And they wanted to help me.”
“Now that you’ve regained the trust of Grandpa, who will be threatened the most? Second Brother is always not very confident of himself. Don’t you think Gu Ziling will keep on causing troubles if she wants to help Sheng Kai keep his position? She wants to make you into a hateful character in front of everyone and make you too busy to be the real deputy CEO of Huang Yao. She can get a lot of benefits by doing this. If I were her, I would do the same.”
“Isn’t it tiring?”
“You just want to stop Grandpa from being suspicious of you. You just want harmony. But to them, your existence is a threat.”
“But Second Brother is already the CEO of Huang Yao.”
“Grandpa is such a capricious character. Do you think he can have peace of mind? If you want to protect Third Sister-in-law, you will only have two choices. One is to get rid of Gu Ziling, another one is to replace him as the CEO.”
Neither were easy to achieve.
“If you keep on hesitating, you will only let Gu Ziling become more ruthless. It’s just an allergic reaction today. But who can guarantee you it won’t be life threatening next time?”
Mu Qiqi entered the room after having some water. When she heard their conversation, she could roughly guess what had happened in the Sheng family.
So she leaned on Sheng Xiao’s chest and said to the phone, “Third Brother, if you keep giving in, you can only be the one who is beaten up.”
“Any suggestions then?”
“Third Sister-in-law is about time to recover her mind, isn’t she? It is not very safe now to keep on pretending to be a fool in the Sheng family.”
Third Brother knew what Sheng Xiao meant.
“I don’t understand all those complications. I don’t know how to weigh the pros and cons.”
“That’s why Third Sister-in-law must become normal again, so that she can remind you openly in public,” said Mu Qiqi, smiling, “You can’t wait anymore in getting rid of Gu Ziling.”
When Third Brother hung up the call, his shoes were also delivered to him by the butler.
“Third Young Master, you must protect yourself and Third Young Mistress well.”
Upon hearing this, Third Brother stood up and walked into the ward. They were the only two in the ward.
Hu Ran had regained her senses but the red spots on her skin had not subsided. So, she could only lie on her bed and rest.
“Second Sister-in-law did it, Xiao Ran. She told me herself.”
Hu Ran knew he would blame himself, so she said, “It had nothing to do with you. Don’t blame this on yourself.”
“If I had one eighth of Eighth Brother’s cleverness, at least you would not be harmed to this extent.”
“I had my reason as well,” said Hu Ran.
“Let’s not hide anymore, Xiao Ran. There is nothing you can do now if you keep on pretending. It is better for you to act normal. Only then, we can fight with Second Sister-in-law openly.”
Hu Ran thought for a while. “I am worried that Second Sister-in-law will collude with my stepmother.”
“If they want to, you won’t be able to change anything even if you pretend to be a fool. It’s better to bring everything onto the table, including your stepmother. In this way, she will be wary of you and will not dare to act. Otherwise, your father will get suspicious of her.”
“You are right.”
“I will not show mercy anymore. I will not yield for the sake of harmony anymore. I will get what is meant to be mine,” said Third Brother, “Let’s take the risk together.”
Hu Ran nodded. “Then we shall say that I recovered my mind because of the shock. By the way, Third Brother, I used to be an arrogant and unreasonable character. Please bear with me.”
“I have never wanted to become their enemy. But they forced me into this. I have no choice already. I must protect you. and I don’t want to be wronged again.”