Chapter 32: Are You Sure You Weren’t Bullied?

Yet after waking up, she did some simple cleaning in the house and went to the market near their place. She bought a fish to make fish soup for Xia Qingwei.

She also made a small pot of porridge and prepared two side dishes.

Packing all of them into thermos containers, she quickly left for the hospital.

***

“Mom.” Entering the hospital room, she saw that Xia Qingwei was already awake.

“Man Man.” Upon seeing Lu Man, Xia Qingwei immediately brightened up.

Even though she had already seen her secretly yesterday, now upon seeing her alive and well as well as hearing her voice, Lu Man could not hold back her tears.

Right now, Xia Qingwei’s face still looked pale and sickly and her body was thin and frail.

But at least, she was alive.

It was good that she was alive. Being alive meant that there is hope.

“What’s wrong? Why are you crying?” Seeing Lu Man’s red-rimmed eyes. Xia Qingwei got worried and quickly tried getting off the bed. “Did the Lu family treat you badly?”

“No.” Lu Man hurriedly went forward and held onto Xia Qingwei’s shoulders.

Xia Qingwei was still wearing the hospital gown. The entire hospital was filled with the smell of disinfectant. However, from Xia Qingwei’s body, she could still smell the familiar and gentle scent that belonged only to her mother.

“I just miss you.” Lu Man hugged Xia Qingwei and locking her in a loving embrace.

“Silly child, your mother is right here. Didn’t you just visit me a few days ago?” Xia Qingwei smiled and said.

However, for Lu Man, it had been eight years since she had last seen Xia Qingwei.

Yet, for Xia Qingwei, Lu Man just visited a few days ago.

Xia Qingwei gently stroked Lu Man’s hair, her face full of concern. “Are you sure you weren’t bullied? Tell Mom, don’t bottle everything up.”

Every time Lu Man visited, she was always smiling like she was in a very good mood.

She told her that she had a good time in the Lu family and nobody bullied her.

However, Xia Qingwei knew that Lu Man was just afraid that she would be worried for her and she did not want her to feel sad.

After all, who could tolerate the man they’ve once loved bullying their daughter?

Yet, just because Lu Man did not mention it, it did not mean that she did not know.

But the more Lu Man tried to act nonchalant and pretend everything was fine in front of her, the more it made Xia Qingwei uncomfortable.

However, as long as it was Lu Man, she had to pretend that she knew nothing.

Therefore, this pair of mother and child were both lying to each other.

“No, they can’t bully me now.” Lu Man said quietly, “I just miss you, that’s all.”

“Silly child.” Yet, Xia Qingwei was still happy with how intimate and expressive Lu Man was behaving.

As for Lu Man, she always tended to hide her feelings and coupled with the changes she had to overcome in her life, she matured at a very young age.

Lu Man always hides her feelings. Also, she was bad at expressing herself. Even though she was genuinely nice to others, she refused to say a word.

Anyway, Lu Man was her daughter, and she knew her too well.

She was clearly very close and loved her mother dearly, but she never behaved like other young ladies, seeking her mother’s embrace and acting like a spoiled child. She would not even hug her.

All she would do was foolishly show her best side to her.

However, Xia Qingwei knew that the burden on Lu Man’s shoulders was too heavy.

With Lu Qiyuan, Xia Qingyang and Lu Qi’s bullying, as well as the burden of her illness, all of it fell onto her shoulders alone.

Thus gritting her teeth, she had to withstand all these. So how would she still have the energy left to behave like a spoiled child?

Life had forced her to grow up quickly.

Just thinking about that, made tears well up in Xia Qingwei’s eyes too. She gently patted Lu Man’s back. “Mom knows that you are being thoughtful. Be it whatever is happening in the Lu family, or whatever unhappiness you are facing at work, you can always tell Mom. Even though in my current sickly state, I may not be able to help you much, but I can still be a listening ear to help you get things off your chest and let off some stress.”

“I’m really alright. I just miss you a lot.” Lu Man shook her head, sniffed her nose and finally calmed down. She let herself out of Xia Qingwei’s embrace. “I even brought some breakfast that I had prepared. You haven’t eaten yet, right?”