I Bacame the Mother of His Child-Chapter 68 - 67: Preferring Sons to Daughters

Compared to Xu Xiuxiu’s current state of fear and trepidation, Cai Qingqing was very calm. The young girl with a strong soul wrapped her skinny, fleshless arms tightly around Xiuxiu, "Auntie, you don’t need to comfort me. I know whether I will die or not. Don’t worry, I’m not sad, really." Cai Qingqing also smiled and hugged Xu Xiuxiu back, her tone gently soothing Xiuxiu’s emotions.

At that moment, their roles seemed reversed. Cai Qingqing, a teenager facing death, appeared as mature as an adult, so brave and fearless. Xu Xiuxiu, however, was like a delicate, sensitive, and extremely fragile child, where the slightest rustle of grass seemed capable of stirring up towering waves. Xu Xiuxiu was afraid, afraid of facing this sensible but ill-fated girl.

But God was just so unfair, such a sensible girl, yet her life had only a few days left!

"Auntie, I’m really not sad," Cai Qingqing continued, reaching out to wipe away the tears on Xu Xiuxiu’s cheeks. "I’m just a bit afraid, afraid that after I die, my mom and dad will be very sad. They love me so much." As she spoke, Cai Qingqing’s facade of strength spectacularly crumbled. Her little head buried itself in Xu Xiuxiu’s embrace, and her slender hands began to tremble violently. The tears that had been hanging on her long eyelashes now began to tremble and slowly slide down her cheeks.

"Auntie, can you tell my mom and dad for me? Ask them not to be sad because of my death, okay? Once I’m gone, they should quickly have another child, preferably a boy. That way, my grandparents won’t despise my dad for not having a male heir, and they won’t scold them for being unfilial." Cai Qingqing was young, but the environment she grew up in and the pressure from her relatives forced her to mature much earlier than her peers.

"..." A male heir, unfilial? Xu Xiuxiu was so angry she could barely choke out a word.

"Auntie, do you know? Grandma often curses me behind my parents’ backs, calling me ’a loss-making venture.’ She threatens to drown me in the toilet. I should’ve been dead already, right?" Facing the gender discrimination from her grandparents, the teenage Cai Qingqing couldn’t comprehend, but being the target of blame, she slowly understood the sin of being a daughter. If only she had been a boy.

"No, what they said is wrong. Qingqing, you need to understand that being a girl is not your fault, but theirs. Do you understand? It’s them who don’t know the value of a girl, it’s them who don’t realize how wonderful Qingqing is." Tears like raindrops fell from Xu Xiuxiu’s eyes, and she tried hard to control her temperament, Oh how desperately she wanted to have a talk with those elderly people, but—she couldn’t!

The mindset of preferring sons to daughters was a fate that countless women throughout history couldn’t change. As an outsider, what right did she have to criticize those elderly people for favoring sons? They just wanted some peace of mind.

"It’s Qingqing’s fault." Cai Qingqing shook her head in disagreement, her voice clearly conveying disappointment and resignation. "Otherwise, why would Qingqing have to die so soon?" Many people were able to grow up healthy, but she could not.

"My silly girl, Qingqing," Xu Xiuxiu didn’t know what to say. All she could do was helplessly rub Cai Qingqing’s little body. "Do you know? Auntie heard someone say that God is actually very lonely. He watches over us alone from the heavens, and if He finds something is missing, He lets someone die to keep Him company. If He lacks someone who sings well, He lets a good singer die. If He needs a bodyguard, He lets someone proficient in martial arts die. So, auntie thinks, God must be missing a lovely daughter because He wanted a precious daughter— that’s why Qingqing fell ill." Remembering some jokes she had seen on the internet, Xu Xiuxiu adapted the concept to comfort the frail girl before her.

"Really?" Cai Qingqing stopped crying, looking at Xu Xiuxiu with disbelief.

"Really," Xu Xiuxiu nodded, affirming her previous words. "So please, don’t blame Him, okay? God just didn’t realize He was using the wrong way. He just wanted a precious daughter sooner rather than later."

"Mmm, no complaints," Qingqing nodded. "But I can’t bear to leave my dad and mom. Can’t God choose some other child to accompany Him?"

"Qingqing, you’re such a good girl," Xu Xiuxiu praised. "Auntie can’t bear to part with Qingqing either! But maybe being chosen is also a kind of luck, so let’s not reject Him and learn to calmly accept it, okay?" She gently combed through Qingqing’s few remaining strands of hair, looking at Cai Qingqing whose hair was rapidly falling out due to chemotherapy, feeling an intense heartache.

But what could she do? All she could do was deceive this upset little girl in front of her so she wouldn’t be so sad; there was nothing else she was capable of.

After a long silence, Cai Qingqing finally said, "Okay! Qingqing accepts it."

Because she had been crying, Cai Qingqing’s eyes were red. Even though her emotions had stabilized, Xu Xiuxiu still dared not to let the little girl stay outside for too long carelessly. After comforting her, she stood up and pushed the wheelchair Qingqing was sitting in around the small lawn for a lap, and then she had to trouble the nurse to carry the girl back to her hospital room.

Cai Bo’s wife rushed back to the hospital very quickly, her face covered with sweat from her urgency. As soon as she entered the hospital room, she began to thank Xu Xiuxiu nonstop, "Sister-in-law, it’s really been trouble for you. Was Qingqing well-behaved this afternoon?" Even if she was very much aware of her daughter’s temperament, she would still ask out of concern, worried that her child might have inadvertently troubled someone. That’s the nature and habit of honest folks.

"Well-behaved, so well-behaved that it made me wish this precious daughter were mine," Xu Xiuxiu said with a distressed expression.

Cai Bo’s wife chuckled, "Sister-in-law, why are you acting like a child? Don’t talk nonsense." People always have their taboos, especially parents like Cai Bo’s wife who were about to face their daughter’s life and death. They naturally feared certain words, deeply afraid that a mishap might become reality if spoken. ƒгeewebnovёl.com

"Yes, yes, I spoke without thinking," Xu Xiuxiu quickly nodded in agreement, and pretended to smack her own mouth, "Alright, sister, I’m leaving Qingqing safe and sound with you. You should hurry and check to see if your girl has lost a few ounces. It’s getting late, and I still have two naughty kids at home; I need to rush back to look after them." Xu Xiuxiu playfully teased Cai Bo’s wife.

"Look at you, both a mother and still can’t act properly. Go on back now! You’ve really been a great help today!" Cai Bo’s wife helplessly yet gratefully shooed her away.

Xu Xiuxiu nodded, "Qingqing, Auntie has to go back today, but I’ll come to the hospital to see you in a few days, okay?" Xu Xiuxiu was feeling quite emotionally turbulent today, and she was deeply upset by her own helplessness in front of the sensible Cai Qingqing.

"Then Auntie, be careful on the road," Cai Qingqing, lying in the hospital bed, nodded obediently and advised.

"Okay," Xu Xiuxiu accepted the care from the two in the hospital room, who seemed to be extremely anxious about her, and with her things in hand, she returned to Sichuan Pavilion.