Chapter 2 : A Stepmother Is Still A Mother
Jiang Tingxu stood at the door to the office of the Thoracic Surgery Department’s chief. She patted her own face several times before knocking.
Knock, knock…
“Come in.”
It was that familiar voice!
Upon hearing that sound, Jiang Tingxu grinned suddenly as her eyes slowly turned red.
As soon as she went in, her gaze immediately landed on the person sitting behind the desk. The woman was still as unsmiling as ever!
“Aunt Wen!”
Jiang Tingxu thought that she could control her tears, but they trickled down her cheeks all the way to the ground.
“Why are you crying? I didn’t even scold you. Are you feeling guilty?”
Despite her words, she had already stood up and walked over.
That very moment, Jiang Tingxu cried out even louder. “Aunt Wen… Aunt Wen!”
At long last, Aunt Wen was neither cold nor was she in the form of ashes contained within that little jar!
Wen Jie was puzzled by the scene and could not figure out what was up with the girl in front of her. Was Jiang Tingxu actually crying?
From what Wen Jie remembered, Jiang Tingxu maintained a cold expression and shed no tears even when her father passed away in an accident.
Those tears had all but extinguished the blazing flames of anger in Wen Jie’s heart. She stretched out her hand and gently embraced the girl by the shoulders.
“Yes, I’m here.”
Jiang Tingxu held Wen Jie tightly. Her strength was like someone desperately trying to hold on to something that must never be let go because it felt as though she was bound to lose everything in front of her as soon as she loosened his strength.
It went on for some time, and Wen Jie could clearly feel that the tears had soaked her white coat and another layer of clothing inside.
“What’s happened? Tell me! Did someone in the Emergency Department bully you?”
Jiang Tingxu continued to cry, but she snorted and chuckled after hearing Wen Jie’s words. The tumultuous emotions of earlier had finally dissipated.
“No, nothing happened and no one bullied me. I just haven’t seen you for a while and I miss you.”
As the saying went, flattery worked every single time!
Jiang Tingxu was elated to see Aunt Wen, but there were some things that were better kept for herself.
It would suffice as long as she took good care of Aunt Wen in her current life and prevent whatever that happened to Aunt Wen in the past as a result of her own actions.
Wen Jie sighed.
“You… I was so mad at you earlier. You’ll become an attending physician very soon after getting your medical license and completing your one year of medical training. Why did you resign? Your resignation letter wasn’t approved by the chief of your department and was sent to me instead. Tell me, what’s going on exactly? Why did you resign when everything was going so well? Is it because of that guy from the Mo family?”
As she asked that last question, there was a marked hostility in Wen Jie’s tone and she was practically gnashing her teeth.
“I just don’t understand. What’s so good about him? Is it worth it for you to do this for him? I really regret everything. I should’ve stopped them firmly when they came to take you last time. All this bad stuff wouldn’t’ve happened otherwise!”
Wen Jie and Papa Jiang were childhood sweethearts and grew up in the ghettos together. Sadly, they were later separated when Wen Jie furthered her studies in a university outside the province and Papa Jiang joined the army.
Nearly a decade passed before the two of them met again.
At that time, they were both divorced and had a child of their own, though one thing led to another, and ended up getting together over time.
It was a pity that their happy days lasted only briefly, as Papa Jiang died suddenly in an accident sometime later.
That was when the Mo family came.
They were ruthless, and resisting was futile because Wen Jie did not manage to get a marriage certificate with Papa Jiang in time.
A transfer at work forced Wen Jie to leave with the children and come to Yun City.
She had no idea that the person who picked up Jiang Tingxu at that time was the Mo family—the highest-ranked elite family in Yun City!
Wen Jie only learned about it after Jiang Tingxu went to university and the two of them met again by chance on campus.
Unfortunately, it was already too late by the time she knew about everything.
Regardless, she was still Jiang Tingxu’s mother even though she was only a stepmother!
Which mother would be willing to see her daughter give up her bright future for the sake of a man?
Moreover, her daughter had sacrificed far too much for that Mo family man during those years.
Her early twenties were supposed to be the time when she could enjoy the best years of her life, but she had gotten married and had a child before even graduating from university.
That was not all—Jiang Tingxu was so madly obsessed with him that she was willing to do practically anything for him.
However, the man turned out to be a very irresponsible person. For years, he had never taken the liberty to enquire about Jiang Tingxu and hardly ever went home. Then there was the occasional scandal that circulated in the public.
As a mother, it would not have mattered as much to Wen Jie if she was completely oblivious to it, but it was difficult for her not to gnash her teeth and resent all that had happened once she found out!
“Don’t worry, Aunt Wen. My judgment used to be clouded, but it’s all clear to me now. I won’t ever hurt you again for the sake of that man!”
Why would Jiang Tingxu fall back and repeat the same mistakes again after getting another chance at life?
She recalled her past experience where she either fell into the sea and almost drowned after stowing away on a ship, or was bombed to bits and pieces.
Would she do it a third time when she had already experienced it twice?
Certainly not!
“Are you sure?”
Aunt Wen was evidently still suspicious, not least because Jiang Tingxu had frequently done too many things to disappoint the people who cared for her.
“I’m a hundred and one percent sure. I’ll deal with my relationship with the Mo family as soon as possible. Trust me, Aunt Wen!”