I Want a Lifetime with You
Chapter 413

Upon seeing how sincere Shi Nuan looked, Fu Ling turned to Fu Chengyan before shaking her head. "That's okay. I have to visit my kid at the hospital." Just as she was about to walk away, Shi Nuan hurriedly held onto her hand. "Bai, right? Yan mentioned him once, and he said that he's really cute. Can... Can I see him?"

Shi Nuan looked completely earnest. She didn't have a trace of pretense in her eyes, so Fu Ling couldn't bring herself to say no. Especially not after she met Fu Chengyan's gaze. She had never seen the man look guilty, but seeing such an expression on his face now really took her by surprise.

Fu Ling pursed her lips, unable to turn Shi Nuan down. Noticing that Fu Ling wasn't exactly a ruthless woman, Shi Nuan let go of Fu Chengyan's hand and held onto hers instead. "Let's go! I'd really like to see him."

Looking at Shi Nuan, Fu Ling finally nodded. "Okay. But Bai's a little timid, so he may not want to talk."

"That's fine!" Shi Nuan smiled sweetly and headed back into the hospital while holding Fu Ling's hand. Then, with her free hand, she signaled Fu Chengyan to come along.

Fu Chengyan's eyes gleamed slightly. He couldn't help but curl his lips as he quickly caught up to them.

Shi Nuan smiled with relief upon hearing Fu Chengyan's footsteps. She turned slightly to observe Fu Ling, noticing that the woman looked more defensive ever since she saw Fu Chengyan. Yan must have caused her a lot of trauma back then.

Still, before Fu Ling came back, Yan said she was one of the more capable members of the Fu clan. I thought they were pretty close, but I didn't think things would turn out this way.

Fu Ling felt uncomfortable being stared at by Shi Nuan, so she pursed her lips. "Is there something you want to tell me, Mrs. Fu?"

Shi Nuan's heart sank a little upon hearing the way Fu Ling addressed her. "Honestly, Ling, you and Huan are both Yan's sisters, so you can just call me Shi Nuan or Nuan." Shi Nuan continued to hold her hand, refusing to let the woman escape. "You may not know this, but Yan mentioned you when I had just gotten married to him."

"What?" Fu Ling was visibly taken aback. She didn't expect Shi Nuan to tell her this, nor did she expect Fu Chengyan to ever talk about her.

Shi Nuan smiled, seemingly satisfied with Fu Ling's expression. "Yan used to talk about you a lot."

"Is that so?" Fu Ling's lips curled slightly. It was clear that she was skeptical.

"Yeah! Yan's never been good at expressing himself. He doesn't even tell me how he feels about me. I had to force him to tell me when he started liking me!" Shi Nuan replied cheerily. "He actually had a crush on me ever since he was a teenager; can you believe that?"

Teenager?

Fu Ling arched her brow. "You mean my brother... Fu Chengyan's been into you since a long time ago?" She was astounded. In fact, she couldn't quite believe it.

Shi Nuan nodded. "That's right. That's why you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Yan often does things that he refuses to tell me about, but he helps me whenever I need him the most. Sometimes, actions speak louder than words."

Then, Shi Nuan patted Fu Ling's hand. "I don't know what happened between the two of you, but from what Yan's told me before, aside from Uncle Heng, Aunt Ning, and Pei Huan, you're the person he's the closest to in the Fu clan."

Fu Ling began to tremble, and her eyes obviously showed that she was in disbelief.

Shi Nuan couldn't help but sigh internally. "There's no reason for me to lie to you. I know I've only met you twice, Ling, but Yan really treats you as his own little sister. It has nothing to do with anyone else's status or background."

Fu Ling's eyes softened a little, but she remained silent.

Just as the three arrived at the children's ward on the third floor, Fu Ling's footsteps became especially light. She also became even more hushed upon reaching Bai's ward. Shi Nuan glanced at Fu Chengyan, who was behind, and the latter nodded.

With that, she followed Fu Ling into the ward, where Bai had just woken up. The nurses had taken good care of him, but his nose was red from crying because he hadn't seen Fu Ling all day. The boy immediately smiled the moment he caught sight of her. "Mommy!"

"Bai!" Fu Ling walked over and sat him up on the bed. "The nurse said you cried your butt off," she teased while pinching his nose.

"No, I didn't!" Bai shook his head and turned away to wipe his tears. "I'm a tough man, Mommy. I never cry! But why are you only here now, Mommy? I missed you so much."

"Mommy was at work, Darling. Mommy has to earn work hard so you can eat lots of good food!" Fu Ling's eyes were filled with warmth as she gently stroked the boy's cheek. "Did you eat your food today, Bai? "I did, Mommy. You can ask the nurse if you don't believe me. I've been a good boy!"

"Yes, you are indeed a good boy! Let Mommy reward you." Fu Ling kissed him on the forehead.

Beaming with delight, Bai reached out to pull Fu Ling by the hand. Seeing this, the woman leaned over so the boy could kiss her cheek. "I love you, Mommy!"

"I love you too, Bai." Fu Ling never stopped smiling the entire time.

Shi Nuan felt rather moved by the scene. Perhaps she could relate to how Fu Ling felt because she was pregnant too. On top of that, Bai really was an adorable child.

Fu Ling held Bai by the hand. "Come here, Bai. Say hello to Aunt Nuan."

"Hello, Aunt Nuan!" Bai was a timid boy, but it was Fu Ling who had brought Shi Nuan over. Furthermore, this unfamiliar woman looked extremely kind, so he instinctively greeted her.

Shi Nuan shot Fu Chengyan a glance and nodded with relief. "You're such a good boy, Bai!" she exclaimed, caressing Bai's tiny head. "You're so handsome!"

The three-year-old turned red upon hearing Shi Nuan compliment him like this. "Mommy, am I handsome?" he asked, tugging at Fu Ling's sleeve bashfully.

Fu Ling stilled for a moment before breaking out into a grin. "Of course, Bai. You're the most handsome boy in the world."

"Have a seat," she said to Shi Nuan while pointing to a chair. "You're pregnant, so it's not good for you to keep standing up."

Shi Nuan nodded. "Okay!"

Shi Nuan dragged the chair over to Bai's side and began talking to him.

She noticed that Bai was exceptionally obedient and considerate. He's not as restless as other children are. Maybe it's because he's been sick all this while and also because Fu Ling raised him so well. Seeing Bai readily interact with Shi Nuan, Fu Ling breathed a sigh of relief. She was pleased to see Bai able to accept and accustom himself to new people.

However, the boy was young and had spent most of his life in a hospital, especially since his illness had become more unpredictable in recent years. As a result, he barely had time to make friends. At the sight of Shi Nuan entertaining Bai and the two laughing together, Fu Ling curled her lips and shot Fu Chengyan a glance.

Fu Chengyan's eyes remained on Shi Nuan and Bai all this while. Fu Ling couldn't be entirely sure, but she felt that the current Fu Chengyan gave off a very fatherly vibe.

Her eyes darkening, Fu Ling walked over to him. "Shall we take a walk?"

Fu Chengyan nodded and followed his sister out of the ward. The two siblings headed down to the garden and walked together in silence for a long time until Fu Ling finally spoke up, "Bai is my life." Fu Chengyan glanced sideways and saw the determined look in Fu Ling's eyes. "I've already lost a child three years ago, so I'll do whatever it takes to save Bai."

Her hands inside her pockets balled into fists as she stared at him in resolve. Fu Ling knew it was rather low of her to emotionally blackmail him with whatever had happened three years ago. Even if the woman knew that he had nothing to do with the incident, she still couldn't forgive herself or Su Shaoqing, and she certainly refused to let Fu Chengyan off.

Especially after replaceing out that Fu Chengyan had been feeling remorseful about this all these years.

A dim light flashed in Fu Chengyan's dark eyes. "Okay," he replied after a long pause.

Fu Ling smirked. "There are some things Su Shaoqing can't do."

Fu Chengyan smiled faintly. "You understand him like the back of your hand."

Fu Ling's face fell. "I don't want to talk about him. Can you give me an answer as soon as possible?"

"What's your relationship with Qin Yanzhi?" Fu Chengyan didn't mind Fu Ling blackmailing him at all. He leaned against the wall as he spoke. Despite looking particularly nonchalant, the question he asked was a direct shot to Fu Ling's chest.

Fu Ling couldn't help but shudder. Pursing her lips and clenching her fists, she answered, "He's Bai's real father. Don't you already know that? I wouldn't have gone to look for him if he isn't the father. This is the second time I'm asking for your help, Chengyan. You didn't help me the first time, so this time, I'm begging you in exchange for that child's life. Can you do it?"

Fu Chengyan's lips twitched slightly. "Okay."

Fu Ling pursed her lips. She knew she had achieved her goal, but that didn't seem to make her feel any more relieved. "The child isn't Su Shaoqing's. If it is, I wouldn't have gone rushing over to someone else. Bai is more important than my own life."

Fu Chengyan nodded. "I know." He had seen her proceed with the abortion with his own eyes back then, so he knew that there was no way that child could have been born. But still... "Bai looks older than that child. How did you get pregnant with him?

Fu Ling once again clenched her fists that she had already loosened. She looked up at Fu Chengyan with an ashen face.

Those all-seeing eyes-she could never hide anything from them. They belonged to Fu Chengyan, after all. I'm sure he's found a clue. Either that or he already knows something. Fu Ling smiled lightly. "Knowing you, I'm sure you'd be able to replace out, so I won't hide it from you. Indeed, I didn't give birth to Bai. He's adopted."

She walked to the window and stared out into the scenery, continuing calmly, "I lost my will to live after losing my child. Then, I met a pregnant woman after I left Jiang City. She was also cast out by her family, and she lost a lot of blood while giving birth to Bai. They saved her eventually, but she didn't have much longer to live. She left the child in my care before passing on. I didn't want to come back, but because of Bai's leukemia, I had no other choice but to come back and look for his real father."

"How did you know Qin Yanzhi is Bai's real father?"

Fu Ling lowered her gaze. "Qin Xiaoxiao."