âWhich part is complicated?â Huo Jinyao held her hand. âI just got started, and youâre already saying itâs complicated. I havenât even started to introduce my grandaunt and her family!â
He squeezed Su Qingsangâs hand. Taking out his phone, he showed her pictures of his family so that she could put names to faces.
Huo Mingfan had one son and one daughter, while Huo Mingqi had two sons. They were all Huo Jinyaoâs cousins, and none of them were married yet.
Huo Yangxiu, Huo Jinyaoâs grandaunt, had married a commander in the army. She was the youngest of her siblings, and she had two sons and one daughter.
Sheâd had her youngest son when she was forty, so he was almost the same age as Huo Jinyao.
All of her children were married. Like herself, her daughter had married an army man. Currently, grandaunt lived at the army base with her husband. Their eldest son was also serving in the army. He had twin sons who were fifteen years old, and they were the youngest members of the family so far.
âStop, I feel dizzy,â Su Qingsang complained. Even though Huo Jinyao had tried to help with the pictures, she couldnât possibly remember so many people at one time.
âHuo Jinyao, can you refresh me on them right before the dinner party? And can you give me tips on whoâs who during the party?â
âYou...â Huo Jinyao gently pinched Su Qingsangâs nose, saying, âYou donât need to memorize all of it. Iâll remind you whoâs who at the party.â
âMm...â Su Qingsang nodded. âAll these people, that cousin of yoursâthey donât live in this city. You donât get many chances to spend time with them, do you?â
âNo,â Huo Jinyao answered the question honestly. âMy granduncle was a governor. I used to go to his place during summer vacation, but that was boring. He was very busy and had many visitors every day. When I got older, I never went there again.â
âWhat about your grandaunt?â
âGrandaunt? She lives at the army base with her husband. Not many people are allowed to enter that place, but Iâve been there a few times. I have a good relationship with my two uncles.â
âAnd,â said Huo Jinyao, abruptly turning around to lie on Su Qingsang, âmy eldest uncle has twin boys. Should we try to have twins too? Itâd be even better if we could have a boy and a girl.â
Su Qingsang hit him on the chest and said, âTwins? Really? A boy and a girl?â
How could she possibly have control over the number and gender of her children?
âDonât you believe itâs possible?â Huo Jinyao put his forehead against hers, saying, âDonât you believe in my abilities?â
âStop it!â Su Qingsang hadnât even decided if she wanted a child so soon.
Huo Jinyao turned her body around and trapped her in his arms. âYou donât believe me? Maybe Iâve been too nice to you recently. Itâs time to show you what I can do.â
âHuo Jinyao.â
Su Qingsang twisted her body, but couldnât break free from Huo Jinyaoâs strong arms.
Before she could react, he pressed his lips against hers to stop her from speaking.
Nevertheless, when he released her, Huo Jinyao still got up to fetch condoms from the drawer.
As Su Qingsang looked at him in surprise, he kissed her earlobe.
âDear, of course weâll have children if you want to, and we wonât if you donât want to.â
Su Qingsang looked at him with watery eyes. Swiftly, she leaned toward him and kissed him on the cheek.
âOh, baby, you are so dead. I wonât let you get away easily tonight.â
Su Qingsang blushed but cheekily responded, âAlright. Iâd like to see what you can do to me.â
....
Unlike the passionate atmosphere in Huo Jinyaoâs room, the vibe in Huo Mingguang and Liu Tongjiaâs room was much more strained.
Huo Mingguang shot Liu Tongjia an irritated look and said, âAunty, uncle, and their families will be here on the day after tomorrow. When are you going to quit being so grumpy?â
Over the past few days, Liu Tongjia had left home whenever Su Qingsang was there.
It didnât become a problem since sheâd only done it once or twice, but if sheâd kept acting that way, Old Master Huo would not have liked it.
âWhoâs being grumpy?â Liu Tongjia had just showered. At the moment, she was going through her skincare routine. âI just donât like her. Whatâs wrong with that?â She spoke with a sullen look on her face.
âI know you donât like her, but she is already with Jinyao. Why canât youââ
âWhy canât I what? Thatâs exactly the problem I have with her.â Liu Tongjia put down her lotion loudly, turned to look at Huo Mingguang, and said, âHave you seen how Jinyao protects her? Donât you know how unhappy I am to see that?â
âTongjia.â As her husband, of course Huo Mingguang knew what she was thinking. âIt has been so long, already. The boy is grown up. Nowââ
âIt still bothers me.â Liu Tongjiaâs eyes turned red immediately. âI canât get over it. Huo Mingguang, Iâm telling you, I will never get over it.â
Huo Mingguang wrinkled his brows. He stood up and walked up to her. âTongjia, let it go.â
âI just told you that I canât let it go. I canât!â Liu Tongjia suddenly clutched her husbandâs hands and said, âWhy? Why does he get to be happy and married as if nothing ever happened? Why?â
Huo Mingguang gently patted Liu Tongjia on the back, watching her sulk like a little girl.
âDespite everything, heâs your son,â he said to her. âHeâs your son. What else can you do?â
Liu Tongjia threw away his hand, glaring at him through tearful eyes. âHave you let it go? Can you let it go? Iâm telling you, I canât do it. I will never let it go. To me, Huo Jinyao will always be a sinner. He owes me. Heâll owe me forever.â
Huo Mingguang sighed. He understood why Liu Tongjia couldnât get over what had happened.
He put an arm around her shoulder, saying, âTongjia, so many years have gone by. Jinyao is a grown man now. You two can make things right. No matter how much you hate him, you canât change the fact that heâs your son. How can a mother and her son hate each other?â
âI donât have a son like that.â Liu Tongjiaâs voice was tight with animosity. âI donât have a heartless son like that. Donât bother saying all this to me. Iâm telling you that I will never forgive him. Never.â
Liu Tongjiaâs sobs echoed around the room. Huo Mingguang stopped trying to reason with her and was left looking helpless and sad.
...
Su Qingsang could barely get up the next morning. She mentally cursed Huo Jinyao when she saw evidence of his kisses in marks all over her body.
It was her own fault though, she thought. After all, if she hadnât teased him so much, he wouldnât have almost gone mad with lust.
She washed up, got dressed, and went downstairs. Huo Jinyao had already left for work.
Seeing her come downstairs, Old Master Huo waved her over.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
âQingsang, are you going to the hospital for enrollment today?â
âYes,â Su Qingsang nodded and said, âthe Central Hospital.â
âIâll ask Lin to drive you.â
âNo need. Iâll drive myself.â
One of the cars that Li Qianxue had bought Su Qingsang was a sports car. Naturally, Su Qingsang wasnât keen to drive that. The other was an SUV. She had tried driving it the day before and found it to be a great car. She chose to drive that car to the hospital.
âIt snowed last night. The road can be a little slippery. Southerners might not be used to the roads being like that. If youâre going to drive yourself, be careful.â
âI know, grandpa, Iâll be careful.â Su Qingsang was grateful for Old Master Huo. He really did treat her like his own granddaughter.
As she prepared to leave, Su Qingsang turned on the GPS. Her appointment for enrollment at the hospital was for half-past ten. Thankfully, she would make it there on time.
Walking into the hospital, Su Qingsang was hit with the familiar smell of disinfectant.
She found the gynecology and obstetrics department, easily. The director of the department was Sun Huiya, who had been classmates with her tutor, Zhang Qiubai.
Recommendation letter in hand, Su Qingsang found Sun Huiya.
âSu Qingsang, right?â Sun Huiya read the recommendation letter, then raised her head to study Su Qingsang. She wore glasses and looked amiable, though she surprisingly seemed younger than fifty.
âYes, I am Su Qingsang. Iâve heard about you from my tutor. She told me to learn from you.â
âOh, thereâs not much for me to teach anymore, really. These days, the world is ruled by young people like you. Iâve read some of the papers that youâve published in journals. Not bad. You are a talented young doctor.â
Sun Huiya dropped the recommendation letter and looked at Su Qingsang. Even though Su Qingsang was one of her old classmateâs favorite students, she still wanted to make clear what she was to expect.
âIâm not sure how much you know about our hospital yet. This hospital is bigger than the one you worked at in Lin City. We have a lot of patients every day. Being a doctor here can be demanding. If you donât want a job that will exhaust you and keep you busy, you may want to reconsider working here. If youâre okay with that kind of life, Iâll have someone give you an orientation; once thatâs done, you can start working here after a few days.
âMs. Sun, donât worry. Iâm here already, and I intend to be a member of the Central Hospital in Rong City. Iâll certainly work hard here.â
âI know you will. Iâve also heard things about you from your tutor. However, making things clear at the beginning is always better than having to hear complaints when problems arise, donât you think?â
âI understand.â Su Qingsang nodded.
Sun Huiya called someone over and asked him to give Su Qingsang an orientation.
âThis is Zheng Chenyu, my student. Heâll tell you what to do.â
âThank you, Ms. Sun.â Su Qingsang was surprised to see Zheng Chenyu. It was quite rare to see male doctors in the gynecology and obstetrics department.â
âHi, Iâm Su Qingsang.â
âHi, Iâm Zheng Chenyu.â
After introducing himself to Su Qingsang, Zheng Chenyu guided her to the administration office. He was tall and slim, a polite and gentle-looking man.
âAre you Ms. Sunâs student?â Su Qingsang asked curiously. All of Su Qingsangâs college classmates had been girls. It was actually the first time sheâd met a man who had majored in gynecology and obstetrics.
âAre you surprised to see a man in this department?â Zheng Chenyu looked into Su Qingsangâs inquisitive eyes and said jokingly, âAfter all, not many men would choose that major.â
âYeah, Iâm a little surprised.â Su Qingsang nodded in agreement. âIn my experience, men have been quite rare in our department.â
âI was the only boy in my class. You have no idea how miserable that was. I never dared to skip class because I had to answer questions every single class.â
âI bet your teachers have paid a lot of attention to you.â
âThey didnât need to pay extra attention to me. I was the only boy, after all. But actually, over the years, my teachers and classmates have sort of stopped seeing me as a boy.â
âThat sounds sad.â His self-mockery didnât make Su Qingsang laugh. âBut for some reason, I feel like you donât really mind at all,â she said.