466 The Secret About the Past 84 (2/2)

”I'm three and a half. What's your name?”

”My name is Minhe, Zhong Minhe.”

Long Xiaoxi smiled widely and said, ”Shall I call you Brother Minhe then?”

”Missy, I don't think it'll be appropriate if Sir and Madam find out.”

”It's alright, my parents won't mind. Do you have any friends?”

”No,” he answered, shaking his head.

”I don't either. I only have a brother. But he went out with Daddy and I don't have anyone to play with now,” Long Xiaoxi said with much disappointment.

”I often see you playing with the Young Sir living opposite. How is it possible that you don't have any friends?”

”Don't talk about Brother Yiheng. I don't feel like talking about him. You said you've seen me, but why haven't I seen you around before?” Long Xiaoxi asked with a look of disappointment on her face.

He looked down and said, ”My parents don't allow me to come out. I usually stay in my own room. I saw you through the window.”

”Why don't they let you out?”

”They're worried about my safety because I don't have arms.”

Long Xiaoxi tugged on his clothes and said, ”They don't have to worry anymore in the future. You'll be playing with me. I'll tell your parents that I'll take you out to play every day, okay?”

Even after many years had passed, Zhong Minhe could still remember the look of purity and innocence on Long Xiaoxi's face when she asked him that question.

”Okay,” he agreed with a nod.

—

Song Yan admitted herself to the hospital a few days before the end of the month.

She underwent a full body checkup, and the doctor concluded that she was generally healthy with no signs of a miscarriage at all.

Song Yan felt a huge sense of relief. Although she thought that An Xiaoning's predictions were definitely inaccurate, she still admitted herself to the hospital to be safe, especially since the latter enjoyed a prestigious reputation for being accurate.

Song Yan thought it would be better to be safe than sorry.

On the other hand, she also wanted to prove An Xiaoning wrong.

Due to the extremely warm weather, the air conditioner was turned on in the VIP ward and adjusted to a comfortable temperature, neither too hot nor too cold.

She lay in bed and began playing with her mobile phone.

While scrolling through Weibo, she came across a discussion page where there were claims of her being photographed as she was admitted to the hospital. She hurriedly called for the doctor to bring a drip and syringe, which she then pasted onto the back of her hand with some adhesive tape. She ensured that the needle head was obscured before snapping a photo of her hand, which she then uploaded to Weibo, claiming that she had caught a cold.

A bunch of netizens hurriedly left comments on her post, telling her to take care of herself and get some good rest. Song Yan could not help but burst into laughter upon reading the netizens' well wishes.

”Why are you laughing?” her manager, Huahua, asked.

”The moment I uploaded a photo of myself on the drip, all these fans immediately left comments to tell me to take care of myself and stuff like that. But…” A sudden tinge of disappointment formed in her tone as she continued, ”But, once I make a teeny weeny mistake, they're always so quick to lash out at me and criticize me online. When I'm doing well, they'll shower me with all sorts of compliments, praising me for my beauty, my melodious voice, and my superb acting skills. Yet, when there are minor slip-ups, they'll start accusing me of having a plastic face and make snide remarks about my singing, saying that I sound like nails on a chalkboard.”

”Many of your fans are young and childish. Don't bother stooping to their level. In order to survive in the entertainment industry, you have to adopt the mindset of 'I will not get my head in the clouds when you criticize me, neither will I get angry when you criticize me.' You'll lose out if you take everything too personally and seriously in this industry,” Huahua said as she tried to comfort her.

”I understand what you mean. But sometimes, I just can't bear to give up my fame and wealth. Occasionally, I'd think that it'd be a good idea to marry Ciye and become his dutiful wife. Being a full-time housewife is a lifestyle coveted by many women, so why should I be so hard on myself? Am I being too stubborn and overachieving?”

”Song Yan, don't think that way. I've only heard of men despising their wives who don't go out to work and stay at home all day waiting for their husbands to bring home the bacon. I've never heard of men resenting their wives for being hardworking in their careers.”