Chapter 13: An Unexpected Visitor

“Oh, can we not talk about such boring things? I want to eat an apple.”

Xia Zhiquiu, hearing this, couldn’t help but feel a bit exasperated. She replied, somewhat irritably, “If you want to eat, do it yourself.”

Bai Hao, upon hearing this, dramatically clutched his chest, his expression over-the-top. “Ouch, my chest suddenly hurts so much. Sister, if I don’t get to eat the apple you peel for me, this pain will never go away.”

Faced with the boy’s shameless behavior, Xia Zhiquiu’s lips twitched, but she eventually sighed and said, “Alright, alright, stop acting. I’ll peel it for you.”

As she reached for the apple on the bedside table to start peeling, she sometimes thought this guy was incredibly childish, like a little kid.

Just then, Bai Hao’s phone, which was resting nearby, rang.

The boy picked it up, glanced at the caller ID, and then looked at the mature woman by the bed, his expression shifting. He pressed the speaker button and said, “Hello.”

At that moment, a girl’s voice came through the phone, causing Xia Zhiquiu, who was peeling the apple, to pause. “Bai Hao, I bought you some porridge. Are you awake yet?”

Bai Hao, hearing the girl’s voice, asked, “Where are you now?”

“I’m almost at your room,” she replied.

This made Xia Zhiquiu unable to stay seated. Although she wasn’t wearing the bracelet at the moment, her daughter had spent so much time with her that she might notice something.

Thinking this, Xia Zhiquiu put down the half-peeled apple and said, “I have something to attend to. It seems you have a friend coming, so let her take care of you for a bit.”

As Xia Zhiquiu was about to get up and leave, she seemed to forget how unreasonable her behavior was, as she was supposed to be the boy’s girlfriend!

Bai Hao, of course, understood why the woman was rushing to leave. He deliberately called out to her, “Sister, wait a moment.”

Xia Zhiquiu turned back, looking puzzled. “What is it?”

“Sister, aren’t you jealous? That girl on the phone, she’s my ex-girlfriend, you know.”

Indeed, after Xia Zhiquiu pretended to agree to be Bai Hao’s girlfriend, she used her father’s identity to make him break up with her daughter and stay away from her.

Now that Bai Hao had set his sights on Xia Zhiquiu, he had no interest in her daughter, that little girl. Or rather, as an anomaly, his motivation for anything was simply whether it was interesting or not.

Currently, Xia Zhiquiu, this beautiful and alluring woman, held a great deal of interest for him…

Xia Zhiquiu’s body tensed for a moment at this, finally realizing her behavior was abnormal. She coughed lightly and said, “I trust you completely, so I’m not jealous at all.”

The boy smiled faintly at this. “Is that so? Then I’ll definitely not let you down.”

He had only been trying to tease the woman, not really planning to let the mother and daughter meet, as the timing wasn’t right. If he pushed too hard, it might backfire.

So Xia Zhiquiu left, but she was also a bit worried. Hadn’t he promised her he’d broken up with Xia Wei? Normally, they shouldn’t be in constant contact like this.

Why was Xia Wei coming to visit him now? This made Xia Zhiquiu feel a subtle unease, hoping she wasn’t overthinking it…

In the hospital room, Bai Hao looked at Xia Wei, who was sitting in the seat her mother had just vacated, with a somewhat indifferent expression. “Why did you come here?”

Xia Wei rolled her eyes and handed him the porridge she had just bought. “Can’t I come and check on you? Or now that we’ve broken up, we can’t even be friends?”

Bai Hao shrugged and replied, “Your dad won’t be happy seeing you hang out with a troubled student like me.”

Xia Wei paused, then sighed, “My dad is just looking out for me. After all, you are a troubled student.”

Actually, Xia Wei and Bai Hao had first met a few months ago when she was harassed by a thug after school and Bai Hao stepped in to help.

Although Bai Hao’s reason for intervening was that the thug had annoyed him, he wouldn’t have bothered otherwise. But this encounter led to their meeting.

In the following days, Xia Wei discovered that the boy, despite his poor academics, was excellent in many other ways and wasn’t a bad person at heart.

One day, Bai Hao suddenly suggested they try dating. Although Xia Wei remembered her father’s advice against early dating, the allure of young love was too strong, and she hesitantly agreed.

However, the two of them barely even held hands, so how could they fall in love? They were more like friends than a couple.

Xia Wei had only agreed to try dating because she was curious about love, while Bai Hao was seeking to fulfill a past regret.

When Bai Hao suggested breaking up, Xia Wei wasn’t emotionally affected and agreed.

Earlier, she had been upset with her mother, Xia Zhiquiu, for not understanding the boy and immediately labeling him as a trouble maker, even preventing them from being friends.

Of course, there was also a touch of teenage rebellion in her behavior.

Hearing Xia Wei’s words, Bai Hao’s mind drifted to the image of Xia Zhiquiu earnestly urging him to study hard. He thought for a moment and said,

“Xia Wei, what if your dad wasn’t your dad, but your mom? Could you accept that?”

Xia Wei tilted her head, confused. “What do you mean? My dad is my dad. Are you saying he could turn into a woman?”

Bai Hao’s lips curved into a sly smile, his expression meaningful. “I’m just asking hypothetically.”

Xia Wei pondered for a moment and said, “If my dad became my mom, I guess I could accept it. After all, whether it’s my dad or my mom, they both love me.”

Bai Hao nodded, not disputing this point. After all, the woman had gone to such lengths to keep this troublemaker away from her daughter, what a wonderful example of motherly love. But this just worked in his favor…

Thinking this, he continued, “What if your dad had a much younger partner? Could you accept that?”

Xia Wei was taken aback. If she thought about her dad finding a much younger stepmother for her… “I guess that wouldn’t be impossible.”

However, Xia Wei had misunderstood the question. Bai Hao’s question was based on his previous one, so he was wondering if she could handle the truth when it came out. Would it lead to family discord?

Bai Hao felt it was his duty to prepare the girl for the truth, as that day would inevitably come…