Doctor Wang thought Xu Tingyu was just concerned about her mother's life, so he introduced the situation enthusiastically.
In summary, Zhang Qiu was a solitary person and didn't make many friends.
Only when she was in a good mood would she chat with the people in the nursing home.
Apart from Secretary Qian, no outsiders came to visit her.
However, every now and then, a Mr. Jiang would contact the nursing home to inquire about her recent situation, but he never contacted Zhang Qiu in person.
The doctors assumed he was Xu Tingyu's friend, so they didn't ask any more questions.
Xu Tingyu knew that Mr. Jiang must be Jiang Li.
It was needless to say that his concern for Zhang Qiu was definitely at Qi Shifeng's behest.
"Okay, I understand. Thank you."
Xu Tingyu didn't ask any more questions and thanked the doctor with a smile again.
"You're too polite, Miss Xu."
The doctor waved his hand while looking at Xu Tingyu.
She resembled Zhang Qiu quite a bit, but her gestures were more imposing.
Perhaps this was the influence of personality.
Zhang Qiu had a twisted personality. After so many hysterical outbursts, even her facial features seemed to have become mean.
Xu Tingyu didn't know what he was thinking. She just stood up and said, "I'll go and see my mother."
After saying that, she thanked him again and then left the office.
To get from the office to Zhang Qiu's ward, she had to cross a covered bridge.
She walked a short distance and then stopped, adjusting her breathing.
It was so ironic. Just now, she could chat and laugh merrily with the doctor she met for the first time.
But now, when she was about to see the mother who gave birth to and raised her, she felt inexplicably nervous.
Even the rhythm of her breathing was disrupted.
She stood there for about a minute or two before finally starting to move forward again.
The sun was shining brightly outside today, and the air - conditioning in the building was on full blast, making it neither too hot nor too cold.
When she reached the ward, her palms were a bit sweaty.
Just as she wiped the sweat off her palms and was about to knock on the door, the door suddenly opened from the inside.
Zhang Qiu was neatly dressed and made - up, smiling brightly as she appeared at the door.
As soon as the door opened, the two of them locked eyes. It took Zhang Qiu a while to recognize who she was.
Immediately, the smile on her face disappeared completely.
Her eyes were filled with hatred.
"Xu Tingyu, what are you doing here?"
She stared at Xu Tingyu with wide - open eyes and frowned tightly.
Xu Tingyu let out a soft breath and forced a smile. "Of course, I'm here to see you."
After saying that, regardless of Zhang Qiu's mood, she stepped directly into the ward.
As they passed by each other, Xu Tingyu could even feel the stiffness of Zhang Qiu's body.
But she ignored it and just walked in, looking around.
The ward that cost 60,000 yuan a month was more like an apartment.
It wasn't very large, but it was fully equipped.
On the table by the window, there was a glass vase with a bunch of brightly blooming flowers in it.
Before Xu Tingyu could finish looking around, Zhang Qiu, who had come to her senses, pushed her from behind.
"Who allowed you to come in? What right do you have to come in? Get out of here right now!"
When facing Xu Tingyu, Zhang Qiu seemed to automatically turn into a powder keg, ready to explode at any moment.
Xu Tingyu staggered from the push, and her bag hit the cabinet beside her, making a dull sound.
"The room you're living in is paid for by me. Why can't I come?"
She turned around. Her tone was still calm, but the hand holding the bag strap had turned white from the force.
Zhang Qiu's gaze fell on the bag in her hand. After a moment, she let out a sneer.
"So, you've made it big now and come here to show off in front of me, huh?"
"Yes, my good daughter. You're all dressed in designer brands, and the bag you're carrying is a rare leather worth hundreds of thousands of yuan."
"And yet you come and tell me that you're the one paying for this room. Well, I gave birth to you and raised you. Isn't it your duty to support me now?"
Before the Xu family went bankrupt, Zhang Qiu was a fan of luxury handbags.
In her dressing room, there used to be a whole wall of handbag cabinets. The bags in there were enough to buy a top - class villa in Kyoto.
After the Xu family's downfall, most of her bags were sold to help Xu Jianmin pay off his debts.
This incident was even mocked by the rich ladies in her circle.
Now, seeing the bag Xu Tingyu was carrying, she was, of course, resentful.
Xu Tingyu followed her gaze and looked down at the bag in her hand.
As Zhang Qiu had said, this bag was indeed very expensive.
She had specifically chosen this bag for this visit to Zhang Qiu.
Since she didn't usually carry a bag, she only had a few for formal occasions.
She wanted to know if Zhang Qiu's attention to a bag would exceed her attention to herself.
Apparently, she was right.
Zhang Qiu looked at the bag much more amiably than she looked at Xu Tingyu.
Xu Tingyu laughed to herself. She casually placed the bag on the coffee table and sat down on the sofa.
"You don't need to be so hysterical every time you see me. What do I owe you?"
"I know you don't like me, but what can I do? The fact that I'm your daughter will never change."
"I'm not here to argue with you today. I want to ask you if Dad offended anyone before he had that accident?"
She didn't want to have a meaningless argument with Zhang Qiu, so she quickly got to the point.
But how could Zhang Qiu talk to her calmly?
She seemed not to have heard the last sentence at all. She only grasped the previous words and retorted.
"If I had a choice, I wouldn't choose you as my daughter. Just Jiajia would be enough for me."
"You not only owe me, but you also owe Jiajia. You're the one who should have died. Four years ago, I shouldn't have stabbed that bastard of yours. I should have stabbed you instead."
She looked at Xu Tingyu meanly, wishing to curse her with the most venomous words in the world.
Unfortunately, Xu Tingyu had already become numb to this kind of pain.
She didn't care that Zhang Qiu wanted to kill her, but she couldn't accept Zhang Qiu calling Youyou a "bastard".
So she gave a simple and straightforward warning.
"Ms. Zhang, if you keep talking like this, I'll go and tell the doctor right now that I won't pay the fee next month."
"And I'll also stop your allowance. I'm sure you don't want to go back to the mental hospital, do you?"
No emotional plea worked as well as cutting off Zhang Qiu's source of income.
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Zhang Qiu finally calmed down a bit, but her mouth was still tough.
"Fine, you've grown up and can only threaten me now. Are you brave enough to tell others that you want to send your mother to the mental hospital?"
Mentioning the mental hospital, Zhang Qiu couldn't help but shiver.
Apparently, it wasn't a good memory.
Xu Tingyu noticed this but didn't soften her heart. "I'm just stating the facts. Don't forget that the only concession from Old Master Qi that kept you out of jail was sending you to the mental hospital."
Sending Zhang Qiu to the mental hospital was the only concession from Old Master Qi that Xu Tingyu had bought with her marriage, her going abroad, and the custody of Youyou.
Zhang Qiu finally became completely obedient.
She didn't want to go back to the mental hospital, so she could only sit opposite Xu Tingyu and ask impatiently, "What on earth are you doing here?"