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Chapter 37 Giving Her Dignity
Lin Wan gently nudged Jiang Guier, and the two tiptoed to the crack in the door, crouching down to peek inside.

Grandma Jiang Wumei was standing with her back to the door, her spine ramrod straight, her right hand pressed tightly against the edge of her great-grandmother's sickbed, her knuckles white from the force.

She didn't turn around, but it was as if she had eyes in the back of her head: "You two sneaking around outside, come in!"

Jiang Guier trembled in fright, and only dared to take a step when Lin Wan grabbed her arm.

The two were constantly exchanging glances.

I'm talking to you.

I'm talking to you!
The two held each other's hands tightly to make sure the other wouldn't run away, and then squeezed through the crack in the door, standing close to it.

The attending physician was standing by the bed, his white coat sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing a throbbing vein on his wrist. He blinked helplessly at the two girls, as if asking for help, but when he met the grandmother's gaze, he immediately swallowed his words.

The attending physician helplessly advised, "Ms. Jiang, you should trust the hospital. Everything we do complies with regulations, and we absolutely do not intend to overcharge."

Jiang Wumei's eyes widened, filled with fierceness. She glanced at Jiang Guier, then at Lin Wan, and finally settled on the doctor. "The family has clearly refused, so you don't need to say anything more."

"Please reconsider..."

"She doesn't want to suffer like that, can't you make her a little more comfortable? Do you have to torture her until she's breathless before you're satisfied?"

Jiang Wumei took half a step forward, almost touching the doctor, her eyebrows furrowed, "Whoever dares to insert this tube today, I'll lie here and let you all insert it together!"

The attending physician's expression changed drastically. He took half a step back, and a smile that looked more like a grimace stretched across his face.

His hands clenched and unclenched repeatedly in the pocket of his white coat, then he waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "Please calm down, let's discuss it again... let's discuss it again..."

As he spoke, he squeezed between Jiang Guier and Lin Wan, hurriedly left the ward, and the soft sound of the door closing seemed like a sigh of relief.

Lin Wan and Jiang Guier couldn't control their facial expressions for a moment.

The ward fell silent instantly. Jiang Wumei remained in the position with her hands on her hips, her chest heaving violently. After a while, she turned around, her eyes still blazing with anger as she looked at the two girls: "What are you standing there for? What did you come here for today?"

"Mother-in-law, Gui'er felt sorry for you working so hard these past few days, so she specially made some food for you and brought it here." Lin Wan nudged Jiang Gui'er, who was standing next to her, and gestured for her to hand over the takeout box quickly.

Jiang Guier's fingers, gripping the lunchbox, turned white, her knuckles pressing against the edge of the insulation layer as if against a red-hot branding iron.

She held the aluminum lunchbox forward, her voice trembling, "Grandma, would you like to try this? It's... it's something I made especially for you."

"No, I won't eat it." Jiang Wumei's expression didn't change at all. "Get to the point."

"Just one bite," Jiang Guier said, taking half a step forward and pushing the takeout bag forward a little more. "What if you like it?"

Before she could finish speaking, Lin Wan gently nudged her elbow, her eyes conveying a hint that she had misspoke.

Then, she turned to Jiang Wumei, her voice crisp and clear, like candy soaked in honey: "Grandma, Gui'er got up in the middle of the night yesterday to fuss over things. If you don't try it, she'll feel like she's been busy for nothing."

Jiang Wumei indeed raised an eyebrow, her palm-leaf fan hovering in mid-air as she glanced sideways at Jiang Guier: "Could she possibly have such intentions?"

“It really is!” Lin Wan laughed before Jiang Guier could speak. “If you don’t believe me, look at her hand. There’s a red mark on the web of her hand.”

She gestured to Jiang Guier with her eyes, urging her to quickly extend her hand.

Jiang Guier struggled slightly before reaching out her hand.

The red mark from the oil burn was particularly noticeable on the fair back of his hand.

I definitely got burned. It was from the oil that splashed on me when Lin Wan was doing all that.

Jiang Wumei's gaze lingered on the red mark for two seconds before she finally reluctantly raised her chin. "Give it to me."

Jiang Guier breathed a sigh of relief and immediately tore open the takeout bag.

The moment the lunchbox was handed out, Jiang Guier's heart skipped a beat.

With a "click," the lunchbox was opened.

The amber-colored braised pork chunks were coated in a thick sauce, with oil droplets still gently trembling on the skin, and the aroma of star anise and cinnamon wafted straight into one's nose.

The food looks delicious.

The slight relaxation on Jiang Wumei's face instantly froze, like a frozen lake.

She shoved the lunchbox aside abruptly, the aluminum edge slamming against the table with a jarring sound.

Aunt Chen, who had been cleaning nearby, was startled and rushed over to see what was going on. "What happened?"

She opened the lunchbox, saw the braised pork inside, took a deep breath, and hesitated as her gaze slid between the three faces.

"Grandma...Grandma?" Jiang Guier was startled.

"Braised pork?"

Her voice suddenly became shrill, her eyes like ice, shooting straight at Jiang Guier, "Is this your sincerity?"

"Is...is there a problem? Is braised pork not good?" Jiang Guier was so frightened that she took a half step back. She didn't dare to tell the truth and could only pretend to be stupid.

"You like it?" Jiang Wumei sneered. "This is the thing I hate the most in my life!"

Her gaze turned cold again as she looked at Jiang Guier and Lin Wan. She began to scold, "Jiang Guier, weren't your little tricks enough? We already had a fight last time, and I thought you would be more sensible. It seems I overestimated you. You're testing me step by step. What exactly are you trying to do?"

These words were like a needle, piercing Jiang Guier's heart.

Her face turned pale instantly, and she looked at Lin Wan for help.

Lin Wan braced herself and said, "Grandma Jiang, Gui'er is doing this for your own good. He's young and doesn't know how to care for you. The only thing he could think of was cooking you a meal..."

"She doesn't know?" Grandma suddenly turned to Lin Wan, her eyes even sharper. "She doesn't know, and you don't know either? You two are teaming up to make me happy, aren't you?"

Her expression grew even colder. "Do you think that just because you read that letter, braised pork is something extraordinary?" Jiang Wumei's expression shifted between light and shadow, a strange mix of a smile and something else.

"Grandma... I just wanted to do something."

Jiang Wumei pointed her finger at Jiang Guier's nose, "You have so many things you can do, but you insisted on making braised pork for me, wasn't that just a test?"

"Grandma, I..." Jiang Guier took a deep breath, deciding to take a gamble. "Grandma, why do you seem so cold-blooded? Are you hiding something? The things you said to the doctor just now show that you still care about Grandma. Why do you have to make things so irreconcilable?"

“The only way for us to reconcile is if one of us dies,” Jiang Wumei said with even greater resolve.

The last few words were like icicles, slamming hard onto the ground.

Jiang Guier finally couldn't hold back her tears and they fell.

She seems to have messed things up!
(End of this chapter)