Volume One, Chapter 71: Dealing with the Annoying Sister-in-law

Huo Cong felt alternating chills and heat throughout his body. When he measured his temperature, it was 37.5 degrees. Ye Sheng asked Huo Mingting to bring all the hospital examination reports from the past few days for Huo Cong. She sat by his bedside, carefully reviewing them one by one, while Huo Cong lay flat on the bed, barely moving.

In a haze, he remembered that she used to do this too—always sitting by his bedside, watching over him. She only appeared when he was unwell. Whenever he saw her, she was either wiping tears from her eyes or frowning deeply, as if he were a dreadful burden, a troublesome existence whose presence caused her pain.

His father told him that being ill wasn’t his fault. But if it wasn’t his fault, why didn’t she like him? Why didn’t she want him?

“All the indicators are normal.” Ye Sheng’s brows relaxed slightly; it was a relief that the illness hadn’t returned. Winter flu was common, and it was normal for children to catch cold and run a fever. However, children like Huo Cong, with weaker constitutions, had much less resistance than others; once they caught a cold, it was hard for them to recover, relying entirely on the attentive care of those around them.

Ye Sheng turned her head and asked gently, “Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?”

Huo Cong stared at her, blankly.

She leaned in slightly, the warmth in her eyes evident, making Huo Cong unable to resist moving his lips. “I…”

Just as he was about to speak, a mocking laugh sounded at the door. Huo Shuting’s voice, full of derision, rang out: “Aren’t you the miracle doctor? Shouldn’t a miracle doctor be able to tell what’s wrong with a child at a glance? What’s the point of chasing after him and asking questions? Minshu took the child for every single test and stayed with Cong’er through his IV drip; that’s what caring really looks like. As for the real mother, she just glanced at some reports, pretending to make a show of it. How fake can you get? Medical doctorate, eh? Probably just muddling through.”

Every word was sharp and barbed. Ye Sheng had heard such remarks countless times before—from her education to her family background, from her attire to her daily habits, Huo Shuting could find fault with her from head to toe. She always compared Ye Sheng to Qin Minshu, believing Ye Sheng inferior in every way.

There was such a thing as human chemistry, especially among women, and Ye Sheng and Huo Shuting simply didn’t mesh. Ye Sheng was not the type to seek warmth from someone cold; to avoid direct confrontation, she tried to keep her distance. But under the same roof, avoidance was impossible.

Huo Shuting, after all, bore the Huo surname; she was Huo Mingting’s biological sister, the pampered young lady of the Huo family. If she disliked someone, she would want that person erased from her world, utterly destroyed. When Ye Sheng and Huo Mingting divorced, no one was happier than Huo Shuting. Her possessiveness over her brother was intense; she couldn’t bear to share a shred of affection and resented the existence of a “sister-in-law.”

She was friendly with Qin Minshu partly because Minshu liked to indulge her, and partly because Minshu had not yet become her sister-in-law; otherwise, Huo Shuting would not tolerate her either—Ye Sheng saw through this completely.

“Brother, calling her back was pointless. I told you, Minshu should just take a leave and come back; Cong’er is close to her, they’re practically mother and son already.”

Huo Shuting kept talking, “You insisted on bringing this woman back. If it weren’t for that ridiculous hat she knitted, Cong’er wouldn’t have had nosebleeds and a fever; she’s the cause of all this!”

The bitterness in her tone was so sharp that even Huo Mingting couldn’t bear it. “Enough, say less.”

“A hat?”

Ye Sheng caught the key word precisely. “What do you mean, because of the hat, Cong’er had nosebleeds and a fever? Wasn’t the hat thrown away?”

“I threw it out, but my brother picked it back up.”

Huo Shuting had endured plenty of scolding for that hat and was still fuming; she had to vent. “The hat you knitted was so flimsy. Xiao Ying washed it and it fell apart into a pile of yarn, completely unusable. Terrible quality.”

Ye Sheng frowned and turned to look at her son. “You didn’t throw the hat away?”

Huo Cong pressed his lips together, his pale face tense.

He didn’t want to betray his aunt, but he also didn’t want her to misunderstand him.

Because of the hat, Huo Xiaobei had been furious with him, and it had taken a lot to reconcile.

Ye Sheng understood now; she looked up at Huo Mingting. “So, because Huo Shuting threw away the hat and someone ruined it, Cong’er got upset and developed a fever—is that right?”

Since the hat was something Huo Cong wanted, it meant he liked it, regardless of whether it was because Xiaobei wore it. That didn’t matter.

As long as her son wanted it, she would give him whatever she could.

If he didn’t like it and wanted to throw it out, she wouldn’t knit him another. But if the hat wasn’t discarded by him but by someone else, that was another matter entirely.

“Huo Mingting.” Ye Sheng’s voice was cold and low. “I’m asking you.”

For the first time, Huo Mingting saw a fierce expression on Ye Sheng’s face, felt the chill radiating from her. Under her gaze, he nodded, not bothering to cover for his sister—it was clearly Shuting’s fault.

“Fine.” Ye Sheng rose to her feet and said calmly, “I’ve called the medical team. In a while, Cong’er will get an antipyretic injection.”

She looked at Huo Cong again, her gaze soft and gentle.

“It’s just a hat. If you like it, I’ll knit you another. But to get so anxious you have nosebleeds?”

As she spoke, Ye Sheng leaned down and gently brushed the tip of his nose.

Huo Cong was stunned for a moment.

Ye Sheng then turned around and looked at Huo Shuting. The warmth in her eyes vanished instantly. She stepped forward and pushed Huo Shuting out the door.

“What are you doing—”

Huo Shuting started to protest, but Ye Sheng covered her mouth with one hand and yanked her hair back with the other, her voice icy.

“Quiet. I’m going to deal with you.”