“Nothing.”
They spoke at the same time again.
Right now, Lin Qiqi really wished someone else would appear in the ward so things wouldn’t feel this awkward between her and Jian Yushu.
Silence filled the space once more.
Jian Yushu waited for a while, confirming that Lin Qiqi had no intention of speaking again.
So he spoke first, “Just a minor issue with my stomach.”
Lin Qiqi scoffed inwardly.
Loss of appetite, and he still calls it a minor problem?
So stubborn.
“My leg just got cut a bit. It’s not serious either.”
Jian Yushu’s gaze dropped. The lower half of Lin Qiqi’s right pant leg had been cut off, and almost her entire calf was wrapped in gauze.
And that’s not serious?
After those two lines, the atmosphere became awkward again.
Jian Yushu leaned against the single bed and closed his eyes to rest.
Inside her old black cloth shoes, Lin Qiqi’s toes curled as if digging out a mansion.
After hesitating for a while, she finally gathered the courage to speak, “Is there anything you want to eat?”
Jian Yushu had helped her several times—she had to thank him somehow.
The man on the bed opened his eyes slightly in surprise. He didn’t answer, but his brows furrowed faintly, as if thinking.
Lin Qiqi waited expectantly for quite some time.
What she got was a low, “I don’t know.”
Jian Yushu closed his eyes again.
Lin Qiqi: …
I shouldn’t have even asked.
I really want to run away. Why hasn’t Uncle Zhang come yet?
Just as she finished complaining in her mind, Uncle Zhang’s stern face appeared right on cue.
Qiqi hadn’t eaten dinner yet, so he went to buy two steamed buns for her as an emergency meal.
After finishing most of one bun, the IV drip also ended.
Lin Qiqi left Jian Yushu with an awkward, “Get well soon.”
Before he could open his eyes again, she limped away.
On the way home, she thought about what to say when she saw Jiang Yunling.
Should she play the victim, or analyze the situation and persuade her?
After what happened tonight, her feelings toward Jiang Yunling had changed.
It seemed she could no longer remain a rational bystander—she had begun to genuinely think from Jiang Yunling’s perspective.
In the 1980s, getting a divorce would definitely attract gossip.
Especially for the woman.
If Jiang Yunling truly didn’t want to divorce, it wasn’t like Lin Qiqi had no way to deal with Lin Zhengxian—it would just be more troublesome.
What Lin Qiqi didn’t expect was that she struggled with this all the way home.
But when she got back and Jiang Yunling saw her leg injury, it was Jiang Yunling who spoke first.
“Qiqi, I’ve thought it through. Once the stitches in your leg are removed, I’ll divorce Lin Zhengxian.”
Lin Qiqi blinked. “Really?”
“I asked Aunt Zhang to borrow a pair of crutches. Starting tomorrow, I’ll try getting out of bed and walking.”
“That’s great.” Lin Qiqi leaned over and hugged Jiang Yunling. This time, the word came naturally. “Mom, that’s great.”
“Aunt Zhang is right. For me, you are the most important.”
“Even without one leg, I still have the other. Instead of seeking death, I should stand up as soon as possible and live a good life with you.”
With the biggest burden in her heart resolved, Lin Qiqi settled Jiang Yunling to sleep and went to the kitchen humming a tune.
The porridge had been simmering in the clay pot, the stove kept at a gentle flame. As soon as she lifted the lid, a rich aroma filled the air.
She planned to pack this pot of porridge into a thermos tomorrow morning and ask Uncle Zhang to deliver it to Jian Yushu at the hospital.
She would consider the favor repaid. Whether Jian Yushu accepted it or not was no longer her concern.
Originally, Lin Qiqi only planned to crack one egg, but thinking of Jian Yushu’s weak state in the hospital, she gritted her teeth and took out another.
She quickly whisked the eggs and spread them into a thin golden omelet in the pan.
Then she sliced the omelet into thin strips and added them into the porridge.
Just porridge might not be enough, so she kneaded some dough and left it to rest, planning to make sesame sugar pancakes in the morning.
Judging from Jian Yushu’s bag filled with milk candies and chocolate, he probably had a sweet tooth.
Even if he couldn’t eat the porridge, he should at least manage a few bites of the sweet pancakes.
Early the next morning, when the lid of the clay pot was lifted, even Lin Qiqi herself was startled by the fragrance.
The rice had completely broken down into soft, blooming grains.
The millet had released its oils, making the entire pot of porridge incredibly smooth.
She served a bowl for Jiang Yunling and poured the rest into the thermos.
She made plenty of sesame sugar pancakes—not only enough for Jian Yushu, but also for herself, Jiang Yunling, and even Uncle Zhang and Aunt Zhang.
Uncle Zhang, being from the Central Plains, loved wheat-based food, but not many people here knew how to make it.
These pancakes were crispy, fragrant, and sweet—he loved them dearly.
Ignoring the heat, he ate three in one go.
He wanted to take two more, but Aunt Zhang was already rolling her eyes beside him.
“Were you a starving ghost in your past life?”
Lowering her voice, she added, “Qiqi’s family barely has any food left, and you still have the nerve to eat like this?”
Uncle Zhang had no choice but to carry the thermos and a paper-wrapped package, mount his bicycle, and head to the hospital.
But Qiqi had said that when there was a chance, she would stew a pork knuckle for him.
Just thinking about her cooking made his mouth water before the food even arrived.
It had to be delicious!
Uncle Zhang handed the items to a nurse and hurried off to work.
At this moment, Jian Yushu was in Xue Ruishan’s office, frowning at the pile of food in front of him.
“What kind of expression is that?” The speaker was Xue Ruifeng.
He was Xue Ruishan’s younger brother, and both brothers were Jian Yushu’s good friends.
“What, I went through all that trouble to bring this, and there’s not a single thing you want to eat?” Xue Ruifeng was exasperated.
This friend of his—every day it’s this he won’t eat, that makes him nauseous.
Like a woman three months pregnant—if he smelled something he didn’t like, he’d even gag.
He was surviving on milk candy and chocolate.
Watching him grow thinner and thinner, his brother had given a strict order: Jian Yushu had to eat today.
Early in the morning, he went to a state-run restaurant and asked the chef to prepare several dishes.
“These chicken broth wontons—so fragrant!” Xue Ruifeng brought them close to Jian Yushu. “I can eat three big bowls in one sitting. You don’t want any?”
Jian Yushu’s brows furrowed even deeper.
Helpless, Xue Ruifeng brought out two plump buns. “Shrimp filling—fresh and bouncy. Special supply—you can’t even buy these by queuing. I had to use connections.”
Jian Yushu even leaned back slightly.
“You won’t eat that either? Fine, Your Highness.”
Xue Ruifeng then presented a bowl of soft tofu pudding sprinkled with white sugar. “Sweet, no oil. This should work, right?”
The beany smell churned Jian Yushu’s stomach, and he covered his mouth. “Take it away.”
After removing the tofu pudding, Xue Ruifeng was on the verge of tears.
This job was too hard—maybe it’d be easier to just get beaten by his brother.
While he sulked in frustration, a nurse knocked and entered.
“Is Comrade Jian Yushu here?”
“Someone brought you food.”
Food delivery?
Aside from him, this unlucky soul, who else would take on such a deadly task?
Xue Ruifeng’s competitive spirit was suddenly ignited.
He took the thermos and paper package from the nurse.
They looked clean, but old and simple.
“This?” Opening them, Xue Ruifeng couldn’t help but sneer. “Who sent this to you?”
“A bucket of shabby wild vegetable porridge and a few sesame pancakes. You expect someone like you to eat this?”
“I think we should just return it before it wastes food.”
But he didn’t notice that on the hospital bed, Jian Yushu’s nose twitched slightly.
What is that?
Why does it smell so good?