The Tender Beauty is Sweetly Doted in the 20th Century Novel!-Chapter 218 - 217: Wrong, Wrong!

Liu Rulan’s health is not very good, so the Liu Family specially hired someone to prepare three meals a day for her. Her condition fluctuates, and she has no specific demands for food—it’s enough as long as she’s full. Seeing her not being picky, no one in the family thinks about buying snacks for her.

If Ye Manman hadn’t asked today, Liu Gaoyuan would have almost forgotten about buying snacks.

Everyone in the family is an adult, and even when Liu Yanghua’s two children were home, they wouldn’t come to the courtyard to find Liu Rulan. So snacks, being an adult, don’t come to mind to eat nor to buy for Liu Rulan.

At this moment, Liu Rulan is like a child, craving the pastry, staring at it while swallowing her saliva, yet stubbornly insists that Ye Manman eat first.

Ye Manman didn’t refuse, obediently taking the piece she handed over and eating it.

The pastry is a bit hard at first, but it quickly softens, and soon the whole mouth is filled with sweetness.

Ye Manman pressed her lips together, swallowed the pastry, "It’s really good, thank you, mom. You should eat some too."

Seeing Liu Rulan still trying to give her more, Ye Manman quickly stopped her, "Mom, I’m pregnant, I can’t eat too many snacks, these are all bought for you."

She touched her stomach, and Liu Rulan only then had a delayed reaction, pulling back her hand, obediently eating the pastry herself.

After eating several pieces, she even licked her fingers.

It was then that Ye Manman noticed fresh scars on her hands.

"Mom, what’s up with your hands?"

She wanted to reach out and hold Liu Rulan’s hand to take a look, but Liu Rulan was startled and backed away, refusing to let her see.

"Mom, come here, let me take a look? I won’t be mad."

Ye Manman was concerned within but tried to maintain a gentle expression on her face.

She softly coaxed, but Liu Rulan wouldn’t listen anymore, directly hiding under the orange tree, back to her, secretly eating snacks.

No matter how she called, Liu Rulan wouldn’t come over.

Having no other option, Ye Manman asked Liu Gaoyuan.

"She scratched herself."

Liu Gaoyuan wasn’t reassured about her being alone with Liu Rulan, so he sat beside them.

"She used to go crazy and self-harm, smashing things, banging against walls. It’s much better these years. I guess watching the flowers and orange trees she planted when she was young reassures her. But sometimes she suddenly relapses, and if she can’t help it, she scratches her hands or legs."

He sighed, rummaged in his pocket for a cigarette, but remembering Ye Manman was pregnant, he put the pack back.

"She doesn’t let anyone touch her. If touched, she screams and scratches. We used to tie her up to apply medicine, but she’d harm herself even more once she woke up. So, we stopped doing that."

"She can dress, eat, and go to the restroom, but refuses to apply medicine. Even if we leave it for her, she wouldn’t use it, waiting for wounds to heal on their own, sometimes reopening them. So she’s covered in scars, all self-inflicted."

The more he talked, the more upset he became, eventually falling silent, his aging face filled with heartache and helplessness.

Ye Manman initially thought Liu Rulan’s condition was more normal than she imagined, at least recognizing her and communicating normally. But now it’s much harder to handle.

No one knew what Liu Rulan experienced when she was young, and she even suspected Ye Guoqiang of possibly having abused Liu Rulan before.

But Ye Guoqiang didn’t seem like someone who’d abuse women; he’s too timid and never hit anyone.

However, Liu Rulan was abducted by traffickers, and abused—if it happened—must have occurred between then and when Ye Guoqiang married her.

But these things are unknown now, and she could only use the fact that Liu Rulan recognized her to try guiding her.

Ye Manman asked Liu Gaoyuan for some prescribed medicine and went to the iron gate.

"Mom, if you keep hiding from me, I’ll go home, okay?"

Currently, Liu Rulan has a childlike mentality, stubborn yet caring about her dearly.

So, at Ye Manman’s words, Liu Rulan immediately put down the snacks and rushed over.

She seemed to forget what she was upset about earlier, running over, grabbing Ye Manman’s hand urgently.

Ye Manman took the opportunity to clearly see her wounds.

Aside from the old scars, the new ones were obviously fresh, with tender red beneath the damaged skin and blood crusted in her nail beds, turning black and red.

Ye Manman, being a bit of a germaphobe, couldn’t usually stand dirty nails, but this was her mother.

Her heart ached, and she quickly opened the ointment.

"Mom, let me put some medicine on, okay? Please don’t scratch yourself anymore." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"Mom, it hurts me when you’re injured, and then my stomach hurts too."

She held Liu Rulan’s hand, preparing to apply the ointment.

But Liu Rulan suddenly knocked the ointment out of her hand, pulled her own hand away forcefully, and quickly stepped back.

The sudden gesture startled Ye Manman, making her stagger back a step.

Liu Gaoyuan, watching nearby, quickly supported her, but Ye Manman clutched her stomach, her face suddenly turning pale.

"Ugh, my stomach hurts..."

Her expression suddenly became particularly painful, which terrified Liu Gaoyuan.

He quickly called Zhou Jing, who was still cutting fruits, over to help support Ye Manman, while he hurriedly went for money and car keys.

"Manman, don’t be scared, grandpa will take you to the hospital right now!"

He was genuinely panicked, running fast, making a lot of noise in the process.

Zhou Jing was also frightened, her hands still unwashed from cutting fruits, rushed over, supporting Ye Manman, repeatedly asking if her stomach felt uncomfortable and if anything had come out, making it quite scary.

Liu Rulan was completely stunned.

She stood in the courtyard, bewilderedly watching Ye Manman in pain, half leaning on Zhou Jing, realizing only then she was the cause of her daughter’s condition.

Sudden panic enveloped her as she ran to the iron gate, urgently yelling, "Manman!"

"Manman! Wrong!"

"Wrong, wrong!"

Seeing Ye Manman seemingly in extreme pain, Liu Rulan became so anxious that she started crying, shaking the iron gate as if trying to tear it down.

At this time, no one noticed her muttering two words. Zhou Jing was busy, helping Liu Gaoyuan get Ye Manman to the front. After turning a corner, Liu Rulan could no longer see Ye Manman.

She anxiously leaned on the iron gate, wailing loudly, eventually sitting on the ground, furiously pounding herself, wishing she could bash her head against the wall.

But then, Liu Rulan suddenly paused, saw the ointment she’d knocked to the ground, remembering Ye Manman’s words moments ago.

For some reason, she picked up the ointment and sat on the ground, staring blankly at it.