Chapter 104 I Am Her Son
The morning hours flew by quickly as Eileen was engrossed in diligent studying.
It was her last cla*s. Other cla*ses were having meetings, arranging their own time for activities, watching movies, and playing games.
The cla*s still had two more evening study sessions to go, which would last until nine-thirty.
Being in the top-performing cla*s, they hardly had any leisure activities, as most of them were busy with their own study plans. However, there were also surprises. Everyone received a Christmas cherry.
Eileen couldn’t attend the evening self-study session. She had two test papers for homework, which she could only take home to complete at night. She had to pack up her things and rush to her piano and dance cla*ses.
The cla*s was on the sixth floor. As Eileen took the elevator, she happened to pa*s by Cla*s Six just as they were finishing. Vera was tidying up and happened to see her. “Eileen…” she called out.
Eileen paused. “Vera.”
The two of them greeted each other through a window.
Vera flashed a faint smile. “Today is Christmas. I was just about to look for you, but I didn’t expect to see you here. This is the card I’ve made for you. Merry Christmas.”
Eileen glanced around the cla*sroom. There was a ma*sive Christmas tree, ribbons, balloons… The Christmas spirit was palpable. Everyone was holding a gift, presumably exchanged with each other.
“I have something for you too.” Walsh pulled out a greeting card from the drawer and handed the gift to Eileen.
Eileen accepted it, feeling a bit embarra*sed as she hadn’t prepared anything in return.
After pondering for a moment, she opened her backpack and took out two wrapped Christmas cherries. They were packaged in a paper box with two golden bells hanging on it. The bells were made of pure gold, making them quite valuable.
“I don’t really have much to offer you, so consider this as a token of my gratitude.” Conveniently, there were two items; one was a gift from Yvette, and the other was a beautifully crafted greeting card.
One for Vera, and the other for Walsh.
This was the first time Walsh received a gift from Eileen. “Wow, this is so beautiful! Thank you, I really like it.”
Vera noticed the Olympiad Mathematics exercise textbook in Eileen’s bag.
She said, “Today is a festival. Eric will also be going home for dinner. Let’s later!”
go
back together
Eileen glanced at her wristwatch, realizing she was almost late. “I won’t be going back,” she said, “I have other cla*ses to attend. I’ll be leaving now.”
“Is that so… All right. I’ll tell Eric later,” Vera said, sounding somewhat disheartened.
Eileen nodded, then left.
Walsh glanced at the Christmas cherry in her hand. “I remember this Christmas cherry. Cla*s One gives it out every year, and it must cost quite a bit!”
Charlie overheard their conversation. “How on earth has she managed to stay in Cla*s One for so long with grades earned through cheating? I even lost hundreds on the last bet.”
Albert responded, “Cheating? Did you see it? Or did you catch her?”
Charlie clicked his tongue. “I’m just surprised. The perennial second-to-last, managing to squeeze into Cla*s One. If she didn’t cheat, I wouldn’t believe it. Who knows what tricks she used this time.”
Walsh retorted, “That’s not true! You just don’t know how hard Eileen has been working. She used to be the last one to leave, always engrossed in solving problems. Just now, I saw Olympiad Math textbooks in her bag. She must have joined the Olympiad Math cla*s. Given Eileen’s grades, she might even become the top scorer in this year’s university entrance exam in Hulbury.”
Charlie laughed. “If she becomes the top scorer in the university entrance exam this eat my hat.”
“Vera, look at him.”
year, I’ll
Vera smiled, but her eyes didn’t/share the amusement. “If they hold prejudices against Eileen, it’s because they don’t understand her. Someday, someone will recognize her efforts.”
Walsh responded, “Exactly. You all are just jealous…”
Charlie let out a chuckle. “Me, jealous of Eileen? That’s truly laughable.”
The usually reticent Albert suddenly spoke up. “If you can’t do it yourself, don’t always deny others. Eileen has changed. At least she’s not as annoying as before. What do you think, Elm?”
Elm tossed the apple in his hand, still wearing his black short-sleeved shirt. The blue tattoo on his arm gave him a mysterious and rebellious vibe. “Stop mentioning her in front of me. It’s disgusting!” he spat out.
No one dared to speak again until a strange atmosphere gradually began to spread.
Eileen stepped out of the school gate just as Alan arrived.
The road wasn’t too congested.
Upon arriving at the rehearsal room, Eileen was still a few minutes late.
After she was done with her two hours of piano lessons, the next two hours were the most difficult for her.
She had been idle for the past few days. Now, as Eileen started her warm-up stretches, she felt as if she was getting back into the swing of things.
Halfway through the jump, a sudden pain surged in her lower abdomen. She could feel a warm flow between her legs, slowly trickling down. It was a familiar sensation, accompanied by a faint scent of blood.
She hurried to the restroom, took off her pants, and looked at the bloodstains. Eileen quickly put on a clean set of clothes she had taken from the locker room, grabbed a sanitary pad, and rushed back to the restroom.
After cleaning up, Eileen sat dazedly on the toilet bowl. She knew that girls usually have their first period between the ages of thirteen and fifteen. In her previous life, she had her first period when she was a freshman in college. At that time, she thought there was something wrong with her b*dy, so she went to the hospital for a full b*dy check-up. The results came back normal. The doctor told her that everyone’s b*dy was different and that it was normal to start later. She continued to drink herbal concoctions to regulate her b*dy and didn’t worry too much about it.
Eventually, her uterine abnormality turned cancerous and spread to her stomach. She was diagnosed with advanced gastric cancer, and not long after, she pa*sed away.
Only now did she realize what was considered normal! The medical report was a sham. The medicine was fake, and consuming it would only make her health deteriorate over time. What Eric wanted was her life.
A delayed menstrual cycle could be a negative reaction caused by an abnormality in the
uterus.
Whenever her period came, Eileen had to rely on pain relievers to alleviate the discomfort. The most severe episode resulted in her fainting from the pain at home. If Sharon hadn’t discovered her that day, she might have pa*sed away unnoticed.
Eileen didn’t attend the next cla*s. She sat in the car, her b*dy curled up, her complexion pale from the pain. Despite the air conditioning being turned up to the highest temperature, she still felt her hands and feet were freezing cold, shivering uncontrollably.
Alan couldn’t bear to watch any longer, so he fetched a nurse and had her rushed to the emergency room using a medical transport vehicle.
Eileen was lying in bed, breaking out in a cold sweat, with an IV drip hanging from the back of her hand. Upon hearing the nurse’s instructions, Alan hurriedly went out to buy two hot packs.
With a hot pack and the pain relievers she had just taken, the pain was slightly reduced…
Her period was the most dreaded occurrence for her.
Taking pain relievers had become a regular routine for her. Over time, due to excessive consumption, her b*dy developed a tolerance to them, making them ineffective. Each time, she had to take double or even triple the dosage despite the medication’s side effects.
Alan made a phone call back home, informing them about Eileen’s hospital admission.
All he received was a cold and perfunctory response from Will.
Mary rushed to the hospital overnight. When she arrived, she even brought along some ginger tea sweetened with brown sugar. Eileen didn’t like anything with ginger because the taste was too strong. Even after reluctantly taking a few sips, she ended up vomiting it all up…
