Chapter 409: Chapter 406: Heartache
Zhang Hao changed his clothes and finally didn’t have to wear the restricting formal attire anymore.
Looking at his loungewear, he thought back to when they were shopping, and He Qianhui inexplicably made a strange decision.
She insisted on buying childish couple outfits for them, but fortunately, it was just loungewear, meant to be worn only at home.
If they had been regular clothes, Zhang Hao probably wouldn’t dare to wear them outside.
He casually lay down on the sofa and dialed He Qianhui’s number to ask where she was.
After several rings, He Qianhui finally answered the call.
"I’m off work. Have you gone out?"
As soon as Zhang Hao finished speaking, it was obvious that He Qianhui on the other end of the phone was confused.
"Weren’t you supposed to stay at the hospital for two or three days? How come you’re back?"
Having hardly rested the night before, Zhang Hao was extremely tired and rubbed his eyes which were tearing up from yawning.
"The patient was discharged, so I came back. Do you want me to pick you up?"
"No need, I’m almost home. What would you like for lunch? I’ll make it for you."
The moment the call ended, Zhang Hao thought he could still hear He Qianhui chatting with someone else, probably at the supermarket or the market.
He lay on the couch and soon fell asleep. If He Qianhui hadn’t woken him up, he might have slept until the afternoon.
Zhang Hao yawned several times, trying to fight off the drowsiness.
"I made what you like to eat. Have a good meal and then go to sleep."
As a doctor, he basically had to be on call 24 hours a day.
How difficult this profession is goes without saying.
If it weren’t for the saying ’man is iron, food is steel’, He Qianhui really wouldn’t have the heart to wake Zhang Hao up.
Looking at the table full of delicious food, Zhang Hao touched his belly, jokingly saying, "I was just dreaming about having a feast, and it seems my dream has come true."
He Qianhui took off her apron, well aware that Zhang Hao was making small talk with her.
"Stop chattering and eat."
The extravagant feast Zhang Hao exaggerated about was actually just the most ordinary stir-fry, only with an additional steamed fish.
After consuming two bowls of rice, Zhang Hao felt his stomach was larger than before.
"Stop cleaning up. Go and rest."
"I’ve already slept for a bit, I’m not sleepy now."
He Qianhui was relieved. She felt sorry for Zhang Hao working so hard, so she tried to do more herself whenever possible.
But Zhang Hao, despite being busy with work, wouldn’t act indifferent at home.
"So the mentally ill patient was discharged. Did you find a treatment?"
"That girl wasn’t sick, she was pretending. As for the reason, it’s quite unexpected. I still hardly believe it."
Seeing Zhang Hao talk in such a mysterious way, He Qianhui grew even more curious about this patient who pretended to have a mental illness.
What could a normal person be resisting by feigning mental illness?
At least in He Qianhui’s mind, she couldn’t find a reason that would make her do such a thing.
"To defy her parents’ attempts at matchmaking her. I can only say the whole family is odd. But I do hope this child will have a new future."
As he spoke, Zhang Hao started yawning uncontrollably.
He Qianhui noticed and hurriedly reminded him to go back to his room and sleep.
This time, Zhang Hao didn’t resist but obediently returned to his room to sleep.
He Qianhui closed the bedroom door for him, so her cleaning in the living room wouldn’t disturb his sleep.
Lying in bed, Zhang Hao’s heart was filled with a happiness he had never felt before.
At the same time, he couldn’t help but think that his cousin was trading a watermelon for a sesame seed.
Such a virtuous wife was hard to find now, even with a searchlight.
Are children really that important?
He Qianhui took advantage of Zhang Hao’s slumber to clean the living room thoroughly, working up quite a sweat.
As she stood under the air conditioner to cool off, she suddenly heard a noise from the bedroom.
He Qianhui quickly approached the bedroom door and, upon opening it, found Zhang Hao lying on his side.
He hadn’t woken up.
Counting the time, it had been four to five hours since they finished lunch.
It was almost time for dinner, and she had planned to go for a walk with Zhang Hao after eating.
If she didn’t wake him up now, he might sleep till night.
To avoid that possibility, He Qianhui resolutely decided to wake him.
When Zhang Hao opened his eyes, he let out a long sigh of relief.
Noticing that something was off about him, He Qianhui sat on the edge of the bed and placed her hand on his forehead.
It wasn’t very hot.
Zhang Hao also tried to wake himself up quickly, holding He Qianhui’s hand, and said in a low voice, "I just had a dream, dreamed that you gave birth to several children for me."
"Then you despised me for not making enough money and wanted to take the kids to find a rich man to live a good life with, but luckily, it was just a dream."
He Qianhui couldn’t help but laugh, "Your dream is quite interesting, but I do want to know one thing, which rich man would want a woman with children like me?"
Zhang Hao, now fully awake, sat up straight, "There isn’t any, so you might as well forget about that idea, dreams are always the opposite of reality, anyway."
Realizing it was already evening, Zhang Hao went to the bathroom to freshen up.
"Let’s go out to eat tonight, don’t cook at home."
He Qianhui was indifferent, if they went out to eat, it would indeed save her some effort.
Once the two were ready, just as they were about to leave, Zhang Hao’s cell phone suddenly rang.
When he heard the ringtone, He Qianhui thought it was the hospital calling, asking Zhang Hao to work overtime.
She immediately felt downhearted, but when Zhang Hao took out his phone, she was surprised to see the name flashing on the screen wasn’t from the hospital.
"Mom’s calling," Zhang Hao was also puzzled as to why his mother was calling at this time.
He answered the phone, nonetheless.
"Hao, are you off work?"
Facing his mother’s inquiry, Zhang Hao replied honestly and mentioned that he planned to dine out with He Qianhui.
As a result, his mother intercepted their plans.
Together, they arrived at the restaurant and upon entering the private room realized that many people had come, the large table was nearly full.
Only two seats were left, and Zhang Hao pulled one out for He Qianhui to sit down.
The identities of He Qianhui’s relatives weren’t known to many, in fact, no one even recognized her.
This was thanks to Liu Gang, who hadn’t brought He Qianhui back home much.
However, He Qianhui wasn’t feeling quite as relaxed at the event.
She was always worried that someone in the room would recognize her.
Yet, until the end, aside from a few busybodies who asked a couple of extra questions,
nobody kept prying into her identity or her past.
Although they didn’t enjoy an intimate evening together, after this meal,
He Qianhui clearly felt that Zhang Hao’s mother’s attitude towards her had changed a great deal.
But, it could also be due to the crowd, making it difficult to give her the cold shoulder openly.
The two got up, ready to leave, but were suddenly called back.
Zhang Hao turned around and was surprised to find that it was his mother who had stopped him.
