The CEO is domineering, the devil Boss is addicted to pampering

Chapter 1386 Yunrui's Sincere Departure: No Return Without a Tranquility

Yang Xiaotang regained consciousness on the morning of the seventh day postpartum.

As the effects of the anesthetic wore off, a tearing pain shot through the wound in my abdomen. Every breath felt like countless needles were pricking my internal organs.

She struggled to open her eyes, her vision was so blurry that she could only see a hazy white. The air around her nose was thick with the smell of disinfectant, and there was also a faint aroma of chicken soup.

"Xiao Tang? You're awake?" Qi Ruixiang's voice rang in my ears, carrying a deliberately softened gentleness.

He put down the thermos in his hand, walked quickly to the bedside, and gently brushed her sweaty forehead with his fingertips. The temperature of his fingertips was cool, which made her shiver.

Yang Xiaotang opened her mouth, wanting to speak, but found her throat so dry that she couldn't make a sound, only a faint whisper.

Qi Ruixiang immediately understood, picked up the water glass next to him, dipped a cotton swab in water, and carefully moistened her lips.

Water droplets slid down her lips, bringing a faint warmth and helping her regain some strength.

“Child…” she finally managed to squeeze out two words, her voice hoarse like sandpaper.

"The baby is fine, it's a girl, weighing six pounds and eight ounces." Qi Ruixiang smiled gently and reached out to adjust the angle of the headboard so she could see the incubator next to her more clearly. "Look, she's sleeping. Her eyes look like yours, she's so beautiful."

Yang Xiaotang turned her gaze to the incubator, looking at the tiny, wrinkled baby, and tears welled up instantly.

For this child, she suffered from morning sickness from the early stages of pregnancy, was diagnosed with gestational hypertension in the middle stage, and was bedridden in the later stages. In the end, she almost lost her life due to placental abruption.

The little life, saved by a near-death experience, now lies quietly in the incubator, like a fragile yet precious pearl, giving meaning to all her suffering.

Over the next few days, Qi Ruixiang performed impeccably. He arrived at the hospital before dawn every day, first going to the doctor's office to inquire in detail about Yang Xiaotang's recovery, and then writing down all the precautions in his phone's memo app.

Then, carrying the nutritious meal I had cooked myself, I fed her spoonful by spoonful, patiently coaxing her to eat a few more bites;

He would wipe her hands and face, and massage her swollen legs, his movements as gentle as if he were taking care of a fragile treasure;

He would also lie down beside the incubator and speak softly to his daughter, his eyes filled with the joy and tenderness of becoming a father for the first time.

Yang Bin watched this unfold, and his guard gradually lowered. Yang Xiaotang watched this unfold, and her heart, which had been filled with despair due to childbirth, was gradually filled with this false warmth.

She thought that after going through this life-or-death ordeal, Qi Ruixiang had finally settled down and their family could finally get back on track.

But only Qi Ruixiang himself knew the torment and struggle hidden behind this gentleness. When he fed Yang Xiaotang, the image of Gu Yunxi feeding him cold medicine years ago would flash through his mind;

When he changes his daughter's diaper, he remembers Gu Yunxi saying that she wants to have a child with eyes like his in the future.

The longer it went on, the more forced his smile became, and the tenderness in his eyes would often inadvertently reveal a sense of dazedness.

Once, Yang Xiaotang asked him to hand her a glass of water, but he was stunned for a long time. It wasn't until Yang Xiaotang spoke again that he realized what was happening, and he almost dropped the glass of water in his hand.

On another occasion, he was talking to his daughter in the incubator when he accidentally called out "Yunxi's" name. Although he immediately corrected himself, the perceptive Yang Xiaotang still caught it.

Yang Xiaotang felt as if she had been pricked by a needle. She didn't expose him on the spot, but silently turned her head, looked at the sky outside the window, and tears silently streamed down her face.

She remembered why they got married; it wasn't because of love.

She recalled that these days, Qi Ruixiang would often stare blankly at his phone late at night. His phone contained photos of Gu Yunxi, and the password to the encrypted album was Gu Yunxi's birthday.

She recalled that after she became pregnant, Qi Ruixiang was also very happy, but he always inadvertently revealed his concern for Gu Yunxi.

She finally understood that once someone's heart is filled, there is no room for anyone else.

Her marriage to Qi Ruixiang was a mistake from the very beginning. The family she tried her best to maintain was nothing more than wishful thinking on her part.

Fourteen days postpartum, Yang Xiaotang's health had recovered somewhat, and the doctor said she could be discharged from the hospital and go home to recuperate in another half month.

For a moment, Qi Ruixiang actually showed a hint of joy, and even seemed eager to pack her things and contact the driver immediately, looking as if he was about to be relieved.

Yang Xiaotang watched his busy figure, her heart filled with sorrow, yet she also clung to a last glimmer of hope—perhaps, for the sake of the child, he could truly let go of the past.

But what she got wasn't a car to take her home from the hospital, but Qi Ruixiang's departure without saying goodbye.

That morning, when Yang Xiaotang woke up, the ward was empty.

Qi Ruixiang's coat was gone, as was his laptop. On the bedside table, only a bank card and a simple note remained. The note read: "Xiao Tang, I'm sorry, there's enough money in this card for you and the child to live on. I've arranged for a caregiver to take good care of you."

There was no "wait for me to come back," no reluctance whatsoever, and no set date for his return, so he wasn't planning to come back!

Yang Xiaotang held the note, her fingers trembling, tears streaming down her face like broken beads, splashing onto the paper and blurring the writing.

The wound on her abdomen throbbed with pain due to her emotional distress, but she couldn't feel it. The pain in her heart was far greater than the physical pain, as if someone had ripped a piece out with a knife.

She was still in her postpartum confinement period and suffering from various physical discomforts, and needed someone to take care of her. But at this time, her husband abandoned her and their newborn daughter without hesitation for another woman.

"Why..." she murmured, her voice choked with despair, "Qi Ruixiang, what is it about me that I lack compared to her? For you, I gave up my career; for you, I risked my life to give birth to your child. Why can't you even look at me?"

The ward door was pushed open, and Yang Bin walked in carrying breakfast. Seeing Yang Xiaotang's broken-down crying and the note on the bedside table, he instantly understood what had happened. His face turned deathly pale, and the breakfast in his hand fell to the ground with a clatter.

"That beast! I knew he couldn't be trusted!" Yang Bin roared, trembling with rage. He turned to rush out to find Qi Ruixiang, but Yang Xiaotang grabbed him.

“Dad, don’t go…” Yang Xiaotang’s voice was calm with despair, “He doesn’t care about us. Even if you find him, he won’t come back.”

Looking at his daughter's haggard appearance, Yang Bin was filled with heartache and regret. He hated Qi Ruixiang's heartlessness and even more so, he hated himself for agreeing to the marriage and putting his daughter in such a predicament.

He knelt down, hugged Yang Xiaotang, and said in a choked voice, "Don't worry, Dad is here. Dad will take care of you and your granddaughter and will never let you suffer any injustice."

Yang Xiaotang leaned against her father's chest and burst into tears. All her grievances, pain, and despair turned into tears and poured out.

She knew that from the moment Qi Ruixiang left, her marriage was completely over, and her life would be completely changed.