The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 566 - 565: Tuberculosis

Chapter 566: Chapter 565: Tuberculosis

After school, just as they stepped out of the school gates Zhao Yun pointed across the street: "Yikes, isn’t that Uncle Zheng’s van?"

Pei Ziheng looked over and saw Shi Yizheng lowering the van’s window to greet him.

He had only given He Liyi’s information to Shi Yizheng last night for investigation, could there already be results?

However, regarding the investigation of He Liyi, he didn’t plan to let Zhao Yun know for the time being, to avoid Zhao Yun accidentally giving it away and making He Liyi suspicious.

Thinking this, he said to Zhao Yun, "You go visit Auntie He by yourself, I’ll talk to Uncle Shi and come back."

"Okay, then I’m off."

After speaking, Zhao Yun straddled his motorcycle, and it puttered away.

"Uncle Zheng, did you find out anything?"

After getting on the van, Pei Ziheng got straight to the point.

Shi Yizheng shifted his gaze from Zhao Yun’s departing back and asked, "Is Xiaoyun going to see that woman again?"

Pei Ziheng caught the unusual tone, "Is there a problem with her?"

Shi Yizheng started the van while replying, "I’ve had someone check her background and experiences, but there’s no progress yet. However, that medicine you gave me yesterday, I had it tested, it’s for treating lung tuberculosis."

Pei Ziheng was stunned.

After yesterday’ s series of probes, he was almost certain that lung cancer was just an excuse He Liyi used to deceive Zhao Yun, but he hadn’t expected that she would actually have lung tuberculosis.

Although lung tuberculosis isn’t a terminal disease, it’s contagious!

"That woman is no good, hiding such a disease – she’s simply a menace!"

Shi Yizheng, angered, sped up the van, "We can’t let Xiaoyun see her anymore."

Pei Ziheng nodded, "Let’s not tell Xiaoyun about her lung tuberculosis for now."

"Okay."

Shi Yizheng had absolute trust and obedience towards Pei Ziheng.

Even if Pei Ziheng asked him to ram the van into a wall right now, he would do it without a second word.

...

The two caught up with Zhao Yun in front of a skewer stall.

Zhao Yun thought Pei Ziheng and Shi Yizheng also wanted to eat skewers and generously told them to pick whatever they wanted, his treat.

"Stop eating, get on the bike and let’s go."

"Where to? My skewers are almost ready, and I’ve even paid."

Zhao Yun said this while twisting the handle of his motorbike.

"To the hospital."

"To the hospital? For what? Who’s sick?"

"Stop talking nonsense, let’s go!"

Zhao Yun reluctantly looked at the skewers bubbling in the oil, swallowing his saliva as he rode away.

The skewer stall owner shouted after his departing figure, "Young man, you still want your skewers?"

"No need!"

Hey!

The owner laughed as he retrieved the skewers from the oil and put them back onto the display plate.

To prevent missed orders, it was a pay-first-then-eat system at the skewer stall, and Zhao Yun had ordered quite a lot, all of them meat dishes.

...

At the hospital, Pei Ziheng led Zhao Yun to find Li Bing, briefly explained the situation but didn’t mention He Liyi’s name, only saying it involved prolonged close contact with a tuberculosis patient.

Li Bing, without a word, immediately arranged for them to have a tuberculosis bacterial blood test.

The results would take at least an hour to come out.

To prevent Shen Mingzhu from worrying and to avoid infecting more people, Pei Ziheng didn’t plan to tell Shen Mingzhu for the time being, nor did he plan to go home. He just sat with Zhao Yun on the hospital’s flowerbed waiting.

Li Bing also promised to keep it a secret for now, upon his request.

"Ziheng, what exactly is going on? Who has tuberculosis?"

"We’re not really infected, are we?"

"This isn’t something people die from, right?"

"No way, I have to give my dad a heads-up, have him also come to the hospital for a check-up, and Aunt Deng too."

Pei Ziheng grabbed Zhao Yun, who was about to make a call, "Don’t rush. If your test result is okay, they won’t have any problems."

Zhao Yun sat back on the flowerbed, sulking, "Damn it, who’s such a scumbag, having a contagious disease and still coming out to harm people, why doesn’t lightning strike this bastard dead!"

Pei Ziheng looked at him gloomily, "If cursing helps, curse some more."

Zhao Yun: "..."

Time passed amid Zhao Yun’s cursing and muttering.

...

Li Bing found the two of them as soon as the results were available.

"You two troublemakers, got yourselves scared, didn’t you?"

Seeing the ease on Li Bing’s face, Pei Ziheng had pretty much guessed the outcome.

"Auntie Li, please just tell us, I’m dying from anxiety here!"

Li Bing smiled and handed the test results to both of them, "The results are negative; neither of you are infected."

Zhao Yun, relieved, patted his chest, "Scared me to death!"

After speaking, noticing the disapproving look on Li Bing’s face, he quickly flashed an ingratiating smile.

"Auntie Li, thank you so much. I’ll treat you to a meal another day!"

Li Bing scolded playfully, "Alright, it’s getting late. You guys should hurry on home."

Pei Ziheng politely thanked Li Bing and left with Zhao Yun.

"Now you can tell me, who on earth is the despicable person? I won’t rest until I’ve dealt with him."

Once out of the hospital, Zhao Yun couldn’t wait to question Pei Ziheng.

Pei Ziheng said, "Yesterday, when I saw Auntie He refusing to go to the hospital for a check-up, I took a few pills from her room’s drawer, intending to find someone to see how far along her condition was."

"Did you find out?"

"Mm."

"How’s my mom’s illness? Is there a cure?"

Zhao Yun hadn’t made the connection between He Liyi and tuberculosis.

"One piece of good news and one piece of bad news, which do you want to hear first?"

"The good news!" Zhao Yun blurted out without thinking.

"Auntie He doesn’t have lung cancer."

Although Zhao Yun was foolish, he was not so stupid as to have no brains at all—they were just in short supply.

"Are you saying my mom has been lying to me?"

Pei Ziheng tacitly did not confirm nor deny, "The bad news I have to tell you isn’t that, the medication Auntie He has been taking is for treating tuberculosis."

"Impossible!"

Zhao Yun rebutted without hesitation.

Pei Ziheng looked intently at her, "I’m not sure if she has tuberculosis, but the medicine in her drawer is definitely anti-tuberculosis."

"Even if she really has tuberculosis, maybe she’s already cured?"

"I’ll go ask my mom right now!"

After saying this, she turned to leave.

Pei Ziheng held her back, "I have a more secure method."

...

In front of the public payphone.

Zhao Yun stared at the dial pad, unable to dial the number for a long time.

Pei Ziheng gently persuaded, "Even if you don’t consider yourself, you have to think of Uncle Zhao, Aunt Deng, and the people around you. It’s notoriously difficult to treat this disease. Until you’re certain Auntie He is not sick, you can’t see her, to eliminate the risk of infection."

Zhao Yun exhaled deeply and dialed the number for He Liyi’s residence.

The call was answered quickly.

"Cough, cough, mom, it’s me."

Upon hearing Zhao Yun’s coughing, He Liyi was very concerned and anxious, "Xiaoyun, are you sick? Have you seen a doctor?"

"Cough, cough! Yes, I have, cough, cough. The doctor says I’ve contracted tuberculosis..."

After speaking, Zhao Yun waited in bated silence for He Liyi’s response.

Due to the immense tension, she forgot the act of pretending to cough, until Pei Ziheng tapped her on the back, prompting her to cough a few more times.

It took several seconds for He Liyi on the other end of the phone to speak, "Xiaoyun, how could you contract such a disease?"

"The doctor says it’s contagious, I might have come into contact with a tuberculosis patient."

"Oh dear, you’ve been too careless."

Zhao Yun felt his heart sink to the bottom of the sea.

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