After accompanying Ling Ruonan for dinner at the hotel, Luo Ziling helped Ling Ruonan with her makeup. Then, under the escort of Wuyue and others, he left the hotel parking lot by car, heading to Chen Xiaoyi’s residence.
Ling Ruonan didn’t go directly to Chen Xiaoyi’s place but stopped at a large shopping mall along the way.
She bought a lot of things for Chen Xiaoyi and her daughter.
Ling Ruonan is only forty-three years old this year. She had Luo Ziling quite early; Luo Ziling is now only twenty-one years old, and she had her daughter even earlier, so Ling Ruonan became a grandmother at such a young age. Although she wasn’t prepared to be a grandmother, she has a granddaughter now, so she definitely wants to make a good gesture.
When people reach a certain age, especially having witnessed many births and deaths, they develop deeper feelings for their children and grandchildren.
Generally, as people age, or as they get closer to death, they tend to value kinship more.
No matter her discontent with Chen Xiaoyi having a daughter privately, she definitely wanted to make a special gesture for her granddaughter, Luo Ziling’s first daughter. She bought many maternity and baby items, filling the trunks of two cars.
As she watched her subordinates load these items into the car, Luo Ziling couldn’t help but smile wryly, "Mom, you bought way too much!"
"It’s more convenient than them having to buy it themselves. They can use it within its expiry date anyway." After buying these items and other necessary postpartum supplies, Ling Ruonan went on to buy several precious ornaments for Chen Xiaoyi and the child, spending twenty thousand Euros.
Luo Ziling didn’t stop her, allowing Ling Ruonan to shop wildly.
After spending about an hour, they finally got back in the car and headed to Chen Xiaoyi’s residence.
When mother and son arrived at Chen Xiaoyi’s place, it was already eight o’clock in the evening.
As they entered, Chen Xiaoyi was feeding the baby.
Seeing Luo Ziling and Ling Ruonan coming in together, Chen Xiaoyi, who had been uneasy for the past few hours, hurriedly covered her chest, stopped the baby from feeding, and sat up to greet them.
The somewhat hungry baby immediately protested and started crying loudly.
"Feed the baby first!" Ling Ruonan said, sitting by the bed and holding down Chen Xiaoyi who was preparing to get up, "The baby is crying!"
Chen Xiaoyi awkwardly nodded and lay down to continue feeding the baby.
After a short while, the baby finished feeding and fell into a deep sleep.
Chen Xiaoyi wiped the milk stains from the baby’s mouth and then sat up to talk to Ling Ruonan.
But Ling Ruonan reached out and picked up the baby, gently patting the baby’s back, expressing dissatisfaction to Chen Xiaoyi, "The baby’s digestive tract is not fully developed right after birth; milk can overflow easily during feeding, risking choking if overflowed. Each time after feeding, you need to hold the baby up and tap gently, ensuring the milk flows entirely into the stomach before letting her sleep."
Being told off by Ling Ruonan in front of Luo Ziling, Chen Xiaoyi felt somewhat awkward.
She had read many parenting books before giving birth and understood this well. Previously when feeding, she would always gently pat the baby after feeding to prevent milk overflow. When Ling Ruonan arrived today, she felt a bit flustered and nervous, fearing she might lose face in front of Ling Ruonan, hence hurriedly getting up after feeding, intending to talk to Ling Ruonan.
Unexpectedly, because she didn’t hold and pat the baby after feeding, Ling Ruonan criticized her, leaving Chen Xiaoyi embarrassed and even more nervous.
"I...forgot. I’ve always...given a pat before letting her sleep!"
After awkwardly explaining in a few words, she wanted to reach out for the baby, but Ling Ruonan ignored her.
Ling Ruonan continued to pat the baby while carefully examining the child’s features.
The baby was quite pink and cute, and seeing the little one sleep so peacefully, Ling Ruonan couldn’t resist curling up the corners of her mouth. Though embarrassed, Chen Xiaoyi kept a close eye on Ling Ruonan’s expression, and seeing Ling Ruonan smile, she felt slightly relieved.
Ling Ruonan did not return the baby to Chen Xiaoyi. After patting for a while, she carefully placed the baby in a small bed next to the large bed, tucked the small blanket neatly, then seriously observed the sleeping baby for a while before looking at Chen Xiaoyi.
Chen Xiaoyi got up from the bed, tidied her clothes and hair, and stood with her head down before Ling Ruonan.
"Mrs. Ling," she softly greeted when Ling Ruonan looked at her, then expressed her gratitude, "Thank you very much for traveling all the way to Paris to visit us."
"I came specifically for your situation!" Ling Ruonan withdrew the affectionate look she had while observing the child, her expression turning serious, "I really didn’t expect you to be pregnant with Ziling’s child and that you would give birth to her."
Ling Ruonan’s tone seemed unfriendly, making Chen Xiaoyi’s heart skip and her face redden.
"Mrs. Ling, I... I didn’t realize I was pregnant until later. But... It’s just that Europe doesn’t allow abortions..." Stammering a few words, Chen Xiaoyi paused and then, as if throwing caution to the wind, said, "It’s actually... I couldn’t bear to terminate the pregnancy. When I learned about the severe dispute between you and my grandfather and father, I thought about aborting the baby. But feeling the movements in my belly, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. If this child were gone, I think half my life would be lost too. Mrs. Ling, you’re a woman too; I suppose you felt the same when you were pregnant with Ziling."
Chen Xiaoyi’s words made both Ling Ruonan and Luo Ziling’s expressions change.
Luo Ziling hadn’t expected Chen Xiaoyi to use Ling Ruonan’s situation as a comparison, fearing that Ling Ruonan might get angry. He immediately stepped forward, ready to mediate.
However, Ling Ruonan merely changed her expression but didn’t get angry. After letting out a long sigh, she said, "Things are already this way; blaming you is futile. Nonetheless, I hope you realize the seriousness of the matter and more importantly, how you plan to settle this child, and yourself. You should be aware of the gravity of this situation."
Ling Ruonan softened her tone, easing Chen Xiaoyi’s tension.
"I and Ziling are in a life-and-death struggle with your grandfather, father, and uncle; your grandfather, father, and uncle all want Ziling dead. If they find out you bore Ziling a daughter, they won’t just take Ziling’s life, but yours and your daughter’s too. This is not a scare tactic; the severity is a hundredfold worse than I’ve stated," Ling Ruonan continued sternly, "I know it’s unsettling to hear these words during your postpartum period, but I can’t stay in Europe long, and this matter must be properly addressed during this trip. Today, we need to clear it up. I hope we can be rational and discuss the best handling method."
Without waiting for Chen Xiaoyi to respond, Ling Ruonan turned to Luo Ziling, who was standing aside, and said, "Ling’er, you go outside first. Mom and Xiaoyi need to chat alone for a bit."