He needed her calm before they would let her in that door.
He waited until she gave a muffled agreement and hung up, swiping open his taxi app and quickly ordering a cab, seeing that at this hour, multiple were nearby and there would be one here in minutes. He lifted his wallet and keys and headed out, pushing everything into his pockets as he scrolled his cell and fired at his mother’s number.
He was wound up, breathing hard and agitated at the mere sight of her name as he scaled the corridor and entered the elevator. Bristled and raging as he tried and got her answerphone. It didn’t even shock him that it was off.
She wouldn’t answer even if it weren’t.
He knew her too well.
He knew this wasn’t about trying to take Yue. This was a warning because he dared to stand up to her demands, and she was reminding him how far her influence and money could reach, that she didn’t tolerate disobedience. Kai cursed her out and pulled up Qian’s instead.
Qian was assaulted by the loud, intrusive tone of his cell going off and dragged an arm out of his cocoon of bedding to pull it under his cushions with him. He slept under everything on his bed like some buried mole rate, face down, splayed out like a star, and propped it against his cheek without checking to see who it was. He was still asleep and on autopilot from years of nighttime invasions like this.
“Hmmm,” he mumbled to whoever it was.
Legally or not. It was one of his most impressive skill sets.
“Do it.” Kai hung up, knowing Qian would get on it. He had always been able to rely on him, no matter the hour. Qian’s most defining trait was his loyalty to his loved ones and how he would go above and beyond for a person.
Kai exited the elevator and waved down the oncoming cab as soon as it got close, jumping in and telling him where to go before he turned his attention back to his cell.
It took around twenty minutes to get to the hospital, and he had no doubt Qian would track down the number for him before he arrived.
He gritted his teeth, tapped his thumb impatiently on his leg as he watched his screen, and waited for the text, trying to keep his internal simmering temperature level because he needed to stay cool to deal with this matter.
He had no doubts that getting access wouldn’t be hard once they knew who was calling them. He had a reach of his own, and his name alone couldn’t be ignored. That hospital was so intertwined with his family that they would be fools to ignore him when his own daughter was being held.
He knew nothing would happen to Yuelin except the best care and hoped she wasn’t too distressed. Picturing her sweet little face, and he couldn’t even imagine how sick she was for Meilei to take her there in the first place. Angry that his mother would do this to her. His paternal worry about her being unwell was stoked, and he willed the driver to put his foot down.
His mother had crossed a line by doing this that he would never forgive.
He could admit to himself she had always been this kind of person who used weaknesses to put you back in your place, and he internally raged at it. He should have seen this coming.
She was angry at Kai’s disobedience and was putting him back in his place by trying to scare Meilei this way. His mother knew she couldn’t legally detain or take her and that keeping Meilei away was not something they could drag out. This was about sending Kai a clear warning of her ability to monitor and interfere if he insisted on contact with Yuelin.
This is why he sometimes hated his own mother.
Kai closed his eyes and took a long breath before dropping his head back against the seat to cool his internal mayhem. He would have to be cool when he called the hospital director to demand access.
His mother was something else.
Did she really think these shitty tricks could make him turn his back on his kid?
Sometimes, he didn’t understand the inner workings of her mind, any woman’s.
He had long grown up, but she still tried to control every aspect, which was no different from the punishments she inflicted on them as children. Using weapons, using their weaknesses and emotions against them.
Hadn’t she done that before when he refused to give up on Meilei back then?
Punishing him by making him jump through hoops just so he could continue dating her and making it known to everyone, even Meilei, she was not liked. The constant reason to protect her and not allowing him to move closer to her campus. He had known back then his mother would never agree to their marriage and had relentlessly pushed marriage dates at him that entire year as though Meilei didn’t exist. Orchestrating meetings with potential matches when he refused and even having women show up at his apartment. She had pressured him from beginning to end.
He knew this wasn’t about taking Yuelin because she didn’t even want her. Yue didn’t pass her tests, and Meilei’s connection had ensured her dislike. His mother would never accept either, but he was at an age where he no longer needed her agreement or support. He wasn’t twenty-two anymore.
Knowing Yuelin was sick meant his mother had been keeping tabs on Meilei and watching. Having her followed and probably compiling a million pathetic reasons Kai should cut them off. She was looking for an opportunity to use her money and power, which was meant to make him feel insecure about Yuelin’s safety. Proving she could get to her if she wanted. Manipulating him while also causing Meilei to mistrust his intentions.
Driving a wedge in their agreement that he could see Yuelin without going to court and making her doubt him. Meilei would probably cease contact after this if he didn’t convince her he had nothing to do with it.
He shook it out of his head and sat up, scanning his texts again and mentally willing Qian to hurry up. He was impatient with resolving this before he got there so he could take Meilei directly up.