“Doctor Jiang, you…”
Shh!
A nurse’s voice suddenly came from behind.
Jiang Ci hurriedly turned around, covering the nurse’s mouth, and dragged her into the stairwell corner.
Mmmph!
The nurse was terrified.
Her large eyes were filled with fear and panic.
Jiang Ci quickly let go. “Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to. Are you okay?”
Still shaken, the nurse immediately backed away from Jiang Ci the moment she was released.
Then, she turned and ran.
Jiang Ci: ?
“Hey! I really didn’t… mean it just now.”
Alright!
The damage was already done; apologies were useless.
Jiang Ci composed herself and prepared to return to the Traditional Chinese Medicine Department to pack her things before making a quick exit.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she turned the corner of the stairs, she ran into Mother Jiang carrying a lunchbox.
Their eyes met, and Mother Jiang’s visibly swollen, tear-stained eyes were filled with resentment. “What are you doing here, you little ingrate?”
“Is the hospital yours? Where I go is none of your business. You’d better worry about yourself!”
“You… hmph!”
Perhaps preoccupied with thoughts of Jiang Wanwan, Mother Jiang merely glared at Jiang Ci without cursing her, then hurriedly walked past her.
Jiang Ci didn’t dwell on the encounter with Mother Jiang.
Returning to the Traditional Chinese Medicine Department, she packed her personal belongings—an enamel mug and an aluminum lunchbox—and left.
After leaving the hospital, she casually tossed the items into her Space and headed toward Auntie’s house from yesterday.
Signing the contract went smoothly.
Jiang Ci rented it for five years at 200 yuan.
She wasn’t sure if that was too much or too little, as renting was rare in this era, and there was no reference point.
But Auntie thought it was too much and only charged Jiang Ci one hundred.
“Comrade Jiang, if you’re going to open a clinic, you’ll have plenty of expenses ahead! Money will be needed everywhere; one hundred is enough.”
Auntie was very kind, always thinking of Jiang Ci’s interests.
Jiang Ci silently noted Auntie’s kindness, resolving to repay her when the opportunity arose.
With the house rented, Jiang Ci began planning the renovations, but she didn’t know where to find people for the job.
Auntie patted her chest confidently. “If you trust me, leave this task to me. I guarantee it’ll be done beautifully.”
“Ah! Wouldn’t that be too much trouble for you, Auntie?”
Jiang Ci was delighted to have help.
“No trouble at all. My son and daughter-in-law took my grandson back to Jingdu, and my daughter is in college living on campus. I’m just an old lady with nothing to do at home. Having something to pass the time is much better than sitting around alone.”
“Alright then, I’ll trouble you to help me add a door to this room and create a partition…”
Jiang Ci then explained in detail how she wanted the room modified. Worried Auntie might forget, she even drew a sketch and labeled it.
The room was originally Auntie’s storage room—large and well-ventilated. Jiang Ci divided it so that the entrance area would be the consultation zone, the left partition would hold the medicine cabinets, and the right partition would have an examination bed for check-ups.
With these changes, it really started to look like a clinic.
Next came purchasing medicine cabinets, an examination bed, tables, chairs, and benches.
Then contacting the hospital to acquire some traditional Chinese herbal medicines…
Adding it all up, there was still plenty to do.
Before she knew it, it was already afternoon. Only after finishing her tasks did Jiang Ci remember she had an appointment.
She hurriedly bought some biscuits at the supply and marketing cooperative to snack on and rushed home.
When she arrived, Father Jiang was already waiting for her.
Seeing her return, he asked, “Have you eaten? I brought food back from the cafeteria. Go eat first.”
“I’ve already eaten, Dad. Let’s go see Commander Pei first! We shouldn’t keep him waiting.”
“Alright, let’s go then!”
Pei Jiran also had a house in the military family compound, allocated by the authorities when his parents were still alive.
But after his parents sacrificed their lives, he rarely came back to live there.
This time, for the arranged meeting, Pei Jiran had returned.
It was only a ten-minute walk from the Jiang family’s small building to the Pei residence.
Very close.
Pei Jiran was dressed very formally today—a white shirt with a dark blue sweater over it.
His straight military trousers were impeccably pressed without a single wrinkle, and he had even switched to leather shoes, polished to a glossy shine.
The service soldier responsible for taking care of him teased, “Is the Regiment Commander going on a blind date?”
He had been fussing over his appearance since early morning.
He had changed into new clothes and even made a point of shaving his stubble.
He looked refreshed and spirited.
Pei Jiran gave the service soldier a faint glance but didn’t respond, because the soldier had guessed correctly.
Father Jiang had mentioned it to him earlier—due to his lax discipline, Jiang Wanwan had done some regrettable things.
He no longer had the face to let Jiang Wanwan marry into the family and had asked Pei Jiran if he would be willing to marry Jiang Ci instead, to fulfill the marriage arrangement between the two families. If he was unwilling, Father Jiang would have to apologize to his old comrade-in-arms.
The marriage agreement between the two families would then be called off.
Pei Jiran agreed.
Thinking back to the neighbors’ gossip that night, Jiang Ci might not have been living well in the Jiang family. If he could help her leave, it would be a good deed.
But now that it was time to actually meet and discuss marriage, he felt nervous again, worried that his haggard and unkempt appearance might scare her off.
That was why he had started grooming himself early in the morning, hoping to leave a good impression on her.
Father Jiang brought Jiang Ci over.
Father Jiang cheerfully introduced the two.
Seeing how meticulously groomed Pei Jiran was, Jiang Ci was pleasantly surprised.
Her eyes sparkled as she looked at Pei Jiran, as if they held a light. Pei Jiran’s ears flushed red, and he awkwardly averted his gaze, inviting Father Jiang to take a seat.
The service soldier glanced at Jiang Ci, then at his own red-eared Regiment Commander, and understood everything.
But the way this female comrade was looking at his Regiment Commander was just too blatant—staring straight at him as if she wanted to devour him whole.
In both her lifetimes, this was Jiang Ci’s first blind date. And her match was a soldier—someone with a great physique and handsome looks.
He came from a good family background, practically the perfect man.
She couldn’t understand why Jiang Wanwan, with such a perfect marriage prospect, insisted on falling for the cold, unreasonable, and penniless male lead.
Was it just to “help the poor”?
“Have some tea…”
Pei Jiran poured tea for Jiang Ci and pushed the cup toward her.
“Oh, thank you, Commander Pei.”
Father Jiang laughed, “After today, we’ll be family. Why call him ‘Commander’?”
Jiang Ci was taken aback. “Oh! Thank you, Brother.”
Father Jiang: ?
Pei Jiran: ?
Smack!
Father Jiang helplessly patted Jiang Ci on the back of her head. His daughter usually seemed quite sharp, so why was she acting foolish now?
“What do you mean, ‘Brother’?”
Jiang Ci belatedly realized her mistake, her face flushing red as she awkwardly chuckled. “Sorry, I misunderstood.”
“What did you misunderstand?” Father Jiang rolled his eyes at his hopeless daughter.
“I thought you meant we were becoming family by adopting Commander Pei as a son.”
Pfft!
Pei Jiran couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Father Jiang was once again speechless, looking at Jiang Ci with deep suspicion in his eyes, doubting whether Jiang Ci’s previous intelligence and excellence had all been fabricated.
Today, the truth was revealed.
He had already told her that he came to discuss marriage matters with her and Pei Jiran—who in their right mind would think it was about adopting a godson?
“Doctor Jiang is quite humorous.”
Father Jiang: ?
What’s going on with these two?
One is Commander Pei, the other is Doctor Jiang.