"Thank you for your trouble," Ye Ziyu said as she took the payment slip from the teacher, accepting it with both hands. "Let me have someone escort you back."
"Then I'll leave Yuzawa and the others to you. I'll head back to school now." The teacher refused Ye Ziyu's offer to arrange transportation for her. After entrusting the matter to Ye Ziyu, she and the accompanying school doctor took a taxi back.
Di Mingjue queued up to pay, while Ye Ziyu went to the ward.
In the general pediatrics ward, Yuzawa and Qianqian lay quietly on their hospital beds, the sounds of other children drifting through the room.
Ye Ziyu's heart ached as she approached the beds and gently rubbed their small bellies through the blankets.
"Mommy," Yuzawa opened his eyes.
Beside him, Qianqian, having slept through it, also woke up.
Standing between the two beds, Ye Ziyu asked with concern, "Does your stomach still hurt?"
Qianqian and Yuzawa both shook their heads.
Stroking their cheeks with affection, Ye Ziyu remembered what the teacher had just told her and turned to ask, "What did you eat for lunch?"
"Rice, carrots, beef stew with potatoes, and broccoli," Yuzawa listed them all.
The ingredients were all nutritious, and it was unclear what had caused their upset stomachs. Furthermore, all the children ate the school meals. If there were an issue, it wouldn't just be these two with stomach pain.
Ye Ziyu brought up the school's meals and, bending down, sat by the bed to hug Qianqian. "Did you sneak some snacks?"
Qianqian shook her head. "The fruit was spoiled."
"Fruit?"
"The fruit after lunch today was bananas, but the bananas tasted sour. The teacher tasted them later and told us not to eat them."
After hearing this, Ye Ziyu looked at Yuzawa beside her. "Is that right?"
Yuzawa said, "My banana was fine. Only Qianqian's and Xiaoran's were bad."
After some questioning, Ye Ziyu had a general understanding. The school meals were not the issue; it was just that their stomachs were too delicate and needed to strengthen their own immunity.
After all, out of the three children, only they had stomachaches. Xiaoran, who was always active, naturally had higher immunity than the other two.
Holding the payment slip, Di Mingjue saw Gu Xiuyu standing by the ward entrance.
He had followed them?
Di Mingjue folded the payment slip and strode towards Gu Xiuyu. "Mr. Gu?"
Gu Xiuyu turned to look at Di Mingjue.
"It really is you. I thought I was mistaken," Di Mingjue teased.
"Seeing Ziyu leave in a hurry, I followed," Gu Xiuyu stated without concealment.
How amusing!
No matter how big the incident, it was not his place to worry.
Di Mingjue glanced at Ye Ziyu in the ward. "Thank you for your concern, Mr. Gu. Now that you've seen, the children inside are sick. You can leave with peace of mind."
Having come this far, to leave?
Gu Xiuyu stepped into the ward.
"You!" Di Mingjue watched his retreating back with displeasure. There were other patients in the room, so he lowered his voice, his anger subtly conveyed as he entered the ward.
Upon seeing Gu Xiuyu enter, Qianqian turned to look at Yuzawa beside her. They exchanged glances, their expressions full of wariness towards Gu Xiuyu.
"Mr. Gu, since you've seen them, you can leave now." Di Mingjue followed behind him, repeatedly urging him to depart.
The sudden presence of the two men in the ward drew curious glances from the neighboring patients.
Ye Ziyu pulled on Di Mingjue's arm. "I'm truly sorry to have made Mr. Gu follow us. The site inspection for the project will likely have to be tomorrow."
With Yuzawa and Qianqian not yet discharged, she was in no mood for anything else.
Gu Xiuyu did not listen to Di Mingjue, but he did heed Ye Ziyu.
"If you need anything, please don't hesitate to call. I won't disturb the children's rest," Gu Xiuyu said with a smile to Yuzawa and Qianqian.
The children knew his identity, but they offered no smile in return, completely unfazed.