Liu Ling, Granny Liu's granddaughter, pushed her bicycle out and called to the distraught Lin Qin, "Sister Qin, I can get you there faster on my bike."
"Thank you, thank you..." Lin Qin, with tears in her eyes, looked gratefully at Liu Ling.
"Don't mention it! Get on!" Liu Ling knew the situation was urgent, and without time for small talk with Lin Qin, she pedaled furiously, reducing the usual forty-minute ride to less than thirty minutes.
Lin Qin still wanted to express her thanks.
Liu Ling urged, "Hurry and take the child inside, we'll talk about everything else later."
After Lin Qin delivered the child to the emergency room, she was completely drenched in sweat, and slumped against the hospital's wall, stifling the emotional storm inside her, not daring to let herself cry out loud.
The wait for treatment felt endless, long enough for Lin Qin to have already figured out how to deal with those three women of the Liu family.
Just then, the doctor and nurse came out, "What is your relation to the patient?"
"I'm her mother, doctor, how is my daughter?"
The doctor took a long, deep breath and said, "The child has extensive burns on her back, the situation is somewhat serious, but luckily, you arrived in time. We've already applied medication and put her on IV. In the next few days, the child might have a fever, so you need to be vigilant and try not to touch her wounds. If the blisters burst and get infected, it could be troublesome."
"I understand... Thank you, thank you, doctor!" Lin Qin nodded and wiped her tears while crying.
After the doctor left, the nurse gently said, "Please come with me to pay the hospitalization fees."
Lin Qin looked longingly at Liu Yaya in the treatment room, and saw Liu Yongming and the heavily pregnant Fang Yin at the corner just as she finished paying the medical fees.
They were whispering intimately to each other, walking towards her.
Lin Qin immediately turned to face the wall, pretending to look at her receipts.
Fang Yin playfully slapped Liu Yongming's restless hand, "This is a hospital! Behave!"
Liu Yongming shrugged, "What's inappropriate? Didn't the doctor just touch your belly like this? Hey, look, our son moved, he kicked me! He'll definitely be a sturdy boy."
Fang Yin giggled, "We've been back for more than half a month now, your son is about to be born, why hasn't your house's old wife been dealt with yet?"
"Don't worry, I've already had her called back, this time I'll be frank with her. Rest assured, I'll marry you openly and won't let anyone gossip." Liu Yongming promised confidently.
Lin Qin slowly turned around, looking at the backs of the adulterous couple walking away, and clenched her fist in silent determination.
Liu Yaya's burns were too extensive to lie on her back, and she kept getting IV drips. When she was conscious, she cried out in pain.
The patients in the same ward felt heartbroken seeing her like that. They noticed Lin Qin rushing around the whole day with no one else coming to help, so they couldn't help but ask, "Comrade, where is the child's father? Why hasn't your family come? The child crying like this isn't good!"
Lin Qin's heart was anxious, just about to explain when Chen Wenjun rushed in with food, "How did she get hurt like this?"
Looking at Liu Yaya's pitiful and painful appearance, his eyes reddened.
The kind-hearted woman on the next bed immediately started talking non-stop, "Her whole back is blistered and burnt, who knows if it'll scar! The child has been crying all day, and I see her mom is exhausted. Why did you, as her dad, come so late?"
The implication was blaming Chen Wenjun for being an irresponsible father.
Just as Lin Qin was about to speak, Chen Wenjun quickly bowed and apologized, "It's my fault, I came too late."
After placating the woman, he gestured to Lin Qin to talk outside.
"What happened? I heard about the Liu family's incident when I went to sell fish this evening. How did the child get hurt? What's the situation?" Chen Wenjun was very anxious.
Lin Qin, sobbing, briefly explained, "Liu Li poured hot water on me, and Yaya got severely burnt trying to protect me. The doctor said we need to be very careful these few days, if the blisters burst and get infected, it could be trouble. Please go to Shanglin Village and find my dad, and have him bring some money."
Without a word, Chen Wenjun stuffed thirty yuan into her hands, "Take this money first, treating the child is the priority. I'll go bring your dad here now, don't worry, we'll deal with the Liu family later."
With that, he left quickly, not even giving Lin Qin a chance to refuse.
Thinking of Liu Yongming whom she saw today, Lin Qin's mouth curled into a smirk of contempt, realizing that in the past life, she didn't push hard enough to see the Liu family's even uglier side.
"Liu Li! I'll make sure you pay for today's grievance for the rest of your life!" Lin Qin angrily clenched the money in her hand, wiped her tears, calmed herself, and re-entered the ward.
Chen Wenjun ran all the way to Shanglin Village, and by then it was just getting dark.
There were few people out in the village, and he, familiar with the way, approached Lin Yi's house carefully to avoid disturbing the neighbors, knocking quietly but urgently.
Lin Yi had just lain down and hadn't fallen asleep yet. Hearing the knock, he immediately grabbed his clothes and headed out, "Coming, coming."
As soon as the door opened, before he could see who it was, Chen Wenjun said anxiously, "Uncle, Lin Qin and the child are at the city hospital now, she asked me to call you to come over."
Lin Yi's heart clenched with worry, and without asking more, he turned back to grab some money, shut the door, and followed Chen Wenjun out of the village hastily.
It wasn't until they reached the main road outside the village that Lin Yi recognized Chen Wenjun, and was greatly shocked, "Why is it you?"
Chen Wenjun, walking quickly, explained as they went, "I heard about the Liu family's incident when I went to the market to sell fish this evening. The aunties were all talking about how serious it was, so I came over concerned."
Upon hearing this, Lin Yi quickened his pace, not daring to ask how his daughter and granddaughter were until they reached the hospital and found out that it was Liu Yaya who was injured.
When they got to the ward and saw the child's miserable state, Lin Yi broke down and ran to the end of the corridor to cry aloud.
Lin Qin entrusted Liu Yaya to Chen Wenjun and followed to comfort him.
"Dad..."
Lin Yi, full of regret and self-blame, beat his head, "It's all my fault! If I hadn't driven you back, you wouldn't have suffered this! The Liu family is out for your lives!"
"Where is Liu Yongming? I heard he's back, where is he? Why hasn't he come?"
Lin Qin couldn't hold back and started crying along, "Dad! Don't ask anymore! Liu Yongming never truly intended to marry me. He only proposed because he couldn't afford to study and was forced to. Now that he's graduating, with a future ahead, how could he possibly want to stay with me!"
"I... I heard that he's been back for half a month already, and didn't show up when they bullied me, and hasn't asked about the child now. How can we expect him to protect us?"
Back then, when it was time for her to get married, there were no brothers in her family, so Lin Yi was generous, openly offering a hundred yuan dowry, which was why Liu Yongming proposed.