Still in Doubt

Eugene Jr. hesitated, but Belle's anxious voice urged him from inside. Hearing the commotion, he knew that if he didn't bring the child in soon, Belle would get out of bed herself to check on her baby.

Eugene Jr. steeled himself—Belle would see the child sooner or later anyway—so he braced himself and carried the child inside.

Soon, Belle's heart-wrenching cries echoed from the room, so raw and painful that Su Li's own tears began to fall.

"My poor, unfortunate child, it's all your mother's fault! I did this to you!" Belle sobbed uncontrollably, clutching her child after learning the truth.

The child in her arms, dull-eyed and silent, neither cried nor smiled—there was no reaction at all.

Through her tears, Belle loosened her collar and tried to nurse her baby, but the child, lost in confusion, didn't even have the instinct to suckle.

Belle, desperate and crying, tried to guide the baby's mouth, but the child simply held on, showing no sign of sucking.

"She... she can't even nurse... How is she supposed to survive like this?" Belle whimpered, clutching her child and crying in despair.

Su Li couldn't bear to go in and witness the scene. She stayed outside, listening to Belle's anguished cries, tears streaming down her own face as she touched her belly.

She would soon be a mother herself, and she felt Belle's pain in her very bones.

A child so impaired she can't even nurse—how could she possibly survive? Su Li couldn't bear to imagine if her own child were like this; she wasn't sure she could handle it.

Belle's cries continued, her voice growing hoarse from all the sobbing.

Amid the desperate wails, Lin Xiaowu burst in, panting and clutching a large bundle. His face was drenched in sweat. "Sister Ali, I found it! All the blood-testing and transfusion equipment mentioned in that Western medical book—your courtyard has everything!"

"Really!" Su Li wiped away her tears and hurried to check Lin Xiaowu's bundle. Sure enough, everything was there!

With these tools, a blood transfusion was actually possible!

If they could perform a transfusion, maybe Belle's child could be saved.

Even if her intelligence couldn't be fully restored, she'd be better off than now—better than a child who can't even nurse.

Lin Xiaowu was beside himself with excitement. He rushed into the room, holding up the equipment for Belle and Eugene Jr. to see. "I've gathered everything from the Western medical book! If we can do the transfusion, maybe we can save the baby!"

"A transfusion?" Eugene Jr. held his wife and child, his face pale and wooden, all his usual spirit gone. His sad eyes fixed on Lin Xiaowu. "Xiaowu, you're still young. You should listen to your father."

Lin Xiaowu's face flushed purple in frustration. "My father said he couldn't help, but I can save your child! Eugene, Belle, if we just do the transfusion, the baby will get better!"

"I've lived all these years and never heard of such a thing as a transfusion." Eugene Jr. shook his head weakly. "Xiaowu, I know you mean well, but... sigh, even if my daughter is impaired, I'll still raise her the best I can."

Lin Xiaowu stomped his foot in frustration. "But the toxins are in her blood! If we don't act fast, her condition will only get worse. Every moment counts—if we transfuse now, the poison will have less time to hurt her!"

"No, Xiaowu, I can't put my own daughter through that." Eugene Jr. still didn't believe it, gently stroking his daughter's head. "She can't nurse on her own, so we'll feed her with a small spoon. We'll find a way to raise her, no matter what..."