Plunder-Chapter 295: Ungrateful Wolf

Time flowed like water, and in the blink of an eye, one and a half months had passed.

The weight of Qiao En’s belly had become more burdensome, and she was on the verge of giving birth.

Zhou Jin’an had already moved his work back home and, except for extremely urgent matters, he no longer went to the office.

One morning, Zhou Jin’an helped Qiao En take a walk in the backyard garden.

The sunlight was warm and gentle as it poured down, and the couple walked very slowly, chatting in bits and pieces.

"You go ahead with your work; don’t mind me. I can walk a bit on my own," Qiao En urged.

Ever since Zhou Jin’an had switched his office to Chu Garden, he had been leading an unproductive life, wanting to spend every minute of the day with Qiao En.

"I’m not busy. I’ll walk with you for another couple of rounds," Zhou Jin’an insisted, unwilling to let go.

"Isn’t work important?" Qiao En reproached teasingly.

"It is important, but not as important as you and the child. I’ve already thought it through: once Cheng Lu is out, I’ll hand over half of my workload to him. Then I’ll have plenty of time to spend with you and the child," Zhou Jin’an said cheerfully.

"You," Qiao En pouted, "Youyou still has more than two months to go, and she’s expecting twins. I’m afraid Assistant Cheng will only have time to be a devoted dad."

Zhou Jin’an clapped his forehead, "That’s right, I almost forgot about that. But it doesn’t matter, he’s rested enough while inside. Once he’s out, he should make up for the lost time. Besides, I’m paying him a salary."

Something suddenly came to Qiao En’s mind and she asked, "Tomorrow is Youyou’s day to visit Assistant Cheng, isn’t it?"

Zhou Jin’an nodded, "Yes, that’s right. Lucky guy, getting someone as good as Youyou."

Qiao En didn’t respond but instead turned and walked back inside, quickening her steps a little.

"What’s wrong, En’en? Why are you suddenly walking so fast? Tell me what needs to be done, and I’ll take care of it," Zhou Jin’an walked briskly to catch up.

Qiao En waved her hand at him, "It’s nothing to do with you, I need to find Sister Rong."

Just a moment ago, she had suddenly remembered that Youyou had mentioned wanting to eat the braised pork with mustard greens made by Sister Rong.

Pregnancy had made her quite forgetful, often oblivious to many things unless she thought hard; she could forget everything in just a second.

"Sister Rong," Qiao En called out loudly.

Sister Rong was busy in the kitchen, alongside Auntie Jiang, the two of them engrossed in lively chatter.

Although Qiao En’s call was loud, they were so absorbed in their conversation that they completely ignored her.

Supporting her waist with one hand and cradling her belly with the other, Qiao En hurried towards the kitchen.

The short distance had left Qiao En breathless with exertion.

However, as soon as she reached the kitchen doorway, a sharp pain suddenly shot through her abdomen.

"Young Madam, what’s wrong?" Sister Rong was the first to notice something amiss. Holding a kitchen knife, she quickly approached Qiao En.

She leaned against the doorframe, her face contorted in pain.

"Hurry, call an ambulance, Yayun seems to be in labor," Auntie Jiang cried out in panic.

Sister Rong frantically looked for the telephone, while Auntie Jiang promptly supported Qiao En.

"Yayun, are you alright?" Qiao En desperately shook her head, then frantically nodded, "Mom, it hurts so much!"

At that moment, Zhou Jin’an was in the backyard garden on the phone.

Unaware of what was happening inside the house.

Sister Rong dialed for an ambulance and immediately ran upstairs to grab the maternity bag.

"Young Madam, let’s go to the front door to wait. The ambulance will arrive any minute," Sister Rong and Auntie Jiang helped Qiao En and rushed towards the front courtyard.

All three were in a state of chaos, completely forgetting that Zhou Jin’an was at home.

When the ambulance arrived, Sister Rong suddenly slapped her forehead, "Oh no, I forgot the young master is at home."

She hurried back.

Zhou Jin’an hadn’t finished his phone call.

Not caring for anything else, Sister Rong rushed forward and snatched the mobile phone from Zhou Jin’an, "Young master, you better hurry, the Young Madam is about to give birth."

"What? She’s going into labor?" Zhou Jin’an was startled.

He sprinted off, rushing into the ambulance in stride.

"Wife, don’t be scared, I’m here for you," he clenched Qiao En’s hand tightly.

The vehicle immediately headed toward the hospital, and on the way, Zhou Jin’an made several phone calls.

Before the vehicle arrived, medical personnel were already waiting at the entrance.

Soon, Qiao En was wheeled into the delivery room.

Just then, a call from Aunt Liu also came through.

"Young master, the madam has woken up; she is insisting on seeing you," Aunt Liu exclaimed excitedly.

"Go ahead, we’ll take care of things here." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Auntie Jiang’s expression changed after hearing the content of the phone call.

Mrs. Zhou didn’t like Qiao En, which she had only learned of later.

At this moment, as Qiao En was in labor, she didn’t want any complications to arise.

"Mom, please look after En’en for me, I’ll be back soon."

Zhou Jin’an dashed towards the elevator.

The door to the hospital room where Mrs. Zhou had lain for nearly a year now stood open.

Laughter, long absent, filled the room.

"Madam, it’s truly a miracle, heaven has eyes, you’ve finally woken up."

Aunt Liu was overwhelmed with emotion.

"Where’s Jin’an? Why hasn’t he come yet?"

Mrs. Zhou had barely finished speaking when Zhou Jin’an appeared at the doorway of the hospital room.

"Mom—"

He choked out the word.

Mrs. Zhou turned her head to look at him, her cloudy eyes mixing too many things for Zhou Jin’an to see clearly, let alone understand.

"Why are you only coming now?"

Mrs. Zhou asked reproachfully.

She had been lying down for so long, yet it seemed as if she had merely taken a nap and had awakened back to her former self.

"Are you feeling unwell anywhere? I can call the doctor to have a look at you."

Zhou Jin’an said politely.

The relationship between him and Mrs. Zhou had always been distant. Only when she was in a coma, would he get close to her, hold her hand like a genuinely affectionate mother and son.

Now, they had reverted to their former estranged and indifferent state.

Mrs. Zhou gave him a cold look, "I’m uncomfortable everywhere from lying down too long. I want to go home."

"Madam, you can’t go home in your current condition. You just woke up; it’s better to stay and be observed for a while longer."

Aunt Liu tentatively tried to dissuade her.

Mrs. Zhou’s eyebrows knitted together, her expression changed drastically in an instant, "What’s there to observe? I want to go home now."

As she spoke, she rapidly removed the IV needle from her hand, "I’ve had enough of this place, I don’t want to stay another day."

Stubbornly intent on getting out of bed, Aunt Liu wanted to stop her but didn’t dare, so she could only make surreptitious eye contact with Zhou Jin’an.

"You take me home, right now."

Mrs. Zhou issued the command.

Zhou Jin’an let out a slight sigh of relief; the warmth stirring in his heart now completely evaporated.

"You can’t go back now."

Zhou Jin’an said with a cold voice.

"Why not?" Anger tinged Mrs. Zhou’s voice.

Zhou Jin’an’s gaze deepened, "The doctor said you need to stay in the hospital for observation."

"I don’t care about any damn doctor’s talk, I want to go home now. If you won’t take me, I’ll go by myself by taxi."

Mrs. Zhou was stubborn, insisting on acting immediately once she made up her mind.

She got out of bed, and there were no shoes by the bedside. She bent over looking for them everywhere, getting angry when she couldn’t find them.

"Are you blind? Can’t you see I’m looking for my shoes? Do you want me to go out barefoot?"

Aunt Liu hung her head in disarray, looking for the shoes without really expecting to find them.

"Young master, please persuade her," she said in a low voice to Zhou Jin’an.

"You can’t go back now," Zhou Jin’an repeated.

He knew to firmly grasp Mrs. Zhou’s wrist, signaling her to return to the hospital bed.

Between mother and son, there was only a cold distance.

"I already told you, I want to go home—"

Mrs. Zhou emphasized the last two words and drew out the sound.

She always had a way of igniting Zhou Jin’an’s suppressed anger at a certain moment.

"You can go home, but not today. Let’s go tomorrow, I’ll take you home tomorrow."

He patiently made a compromise.

However, Mrs. Zhou was not buying it.

"I don’t want you to take me, I’ll go by myself," she snapped.

She moved past Zhou Jin’an, determined to leave.

The distance that had lain between mother and son for over twenty years suddenly shattered.

"Can you please not be so self-centered?"

Zhou Jin’an said under his breath, almost growling.

At once, the air in the room grew tense, and Mrs. Zhou’s slightly hunched back came to an abrupt halt. Incredulous, she looked at Zhou Jin’an with those clouded eyes.

"How am I being self-centered? Do I need your permission to go back to my own home? Zhou Jin’an, don’t forget, I’ve been alone all these twenty-plus years. What, you despise me now, being your mother? Ungrateful wretch, that’s what you are—an ungrateful wretch!"