Whether Shen Qingqing liked it or not, she was brought to the hospital.
X-rays were taken.
In the doctor’s office, Jiang Zhixun sat upright beside Shen Qingqing.
After the doctor reviewed the films, he took the initiative to ask, “Her arm hurts badly—did she injure the bone?”
Although Shen Qingqing hadn’t cried or complained,
Jiang Zhixun could tell from the stiffness of her right hand that the problem was genuinely serious.
“No bone damage.”
The doctor first gave them a reassurance.
Then added, “But Comrade Shen has a severe ligament strain. Take your medicine on time during this period and rest well.”
A contemplative look flickered in Jiang Zhixun’s eyes. How could she have gotten a strain out of nowhere?
He knew exactly how much force he’d used—it shouldn’t have been enough to hurt Shen Qingqing.
Could something have happened on the way here?
He wanted to ask for clarification, but this wasn’t the right place, so he could only suppress his doubts for now.
The examination results matched Shen Qingqing’s own assessment—the problem wasn’t serious, and it would heal with proper rest.
She thanked the doctor and left the office first, without even glancing at the man beside her.
Jiang Zhixun frowned and followed behind her.
He watched her take the prescription to pay and collect the medicine.
With a long stride, he caught up to Shen Qingqing and pulled the slip from her hand.
“I’ll go.”
Shen Qingqing didn’t want to argue with him over such trivial matters. She gave Jiang Zhixun a faint look and sat down on the bench by the corridor.
Her right hand rested on her lap while her left hand absently fiddled with the button of her coat.
Head lowered, lost in thought.
She’d been resisting the whole way to the hospital, but now she’d suddenly gone quiet. Jiang Zhixun was somewhat surprised.
He took a closer look at Shen Qingqing and noticed her complexion was off as well.
Her cheeks were flushed, and her breathing was heavy.
His hand tightened around the prescription, a conflicted look appearing in his eyes.
In the end, he crouched down in front of Shen Qingqing and reached out to test her forehead temperature.
Shen Qingqing was dazed and couldn’t dodge in time.
Only when a pair of warm, dry hands pressed against her forehead did she realize what Jiang Zhixun had done.
If this were before, Jiang Zhixun treating her like this would have made Shen Qingqing overjoyed beyond measure.
But now she felt like she couldn’t breathe.
It was precisely because Jiang Zhixun had been so good to her in the past that she’d developed feelings she shouldn’t have.
These past three years, she’d neither dared to come to the Northwest to find Jiang Zhixun and ask him to live a proper life with her,
nor dared to bring up divorce and walk away cleanly.
She was afraid that their relationship would truly fall apart, with no road back.
Shen Qingqing leaned back, avoiding the large hand on her forehead.
Tears inexplicably spilled from her eyes.
“Can you just leave me alone?”
Her voice was still a bit hoarse, which robbed the rejection of any force.
Earlier in the cafeteria, Jiang Zhixun hadn’t thought much of it—he’d assumed it was because they hadn’t seen each other in three years, combined with the cold weather, that her voice had changed.
His sharp gaze landed on the wet tear tracks on her face.
Her eyes were red, and so was the tip of her nose.
She looked rather pitiful and endearing.
Jiang Zhixun told himself: she’s sick, she’s injured, and it’s normal for her temper to be off.
Don’t hold it against her.
“Does anything else hurt?”
Shen Qingqing felt like a clown. She’d vented her emotions, yet Jiang Zhixun remained indifferent.
His mouth asked caring questions, but his eyes were utterly calm.
In Jiang Zhixun’s eyes, she was no different from a stranger.
She couldn’t stir his emotions at all!
She waited three seconds, but Shen Qingqing didn’t speak.
“Not saying?”
Jiang Zhixun’s patience ran out. “Then I’ll have the doctor examine you again.”
This time, he didn’t pull her along—Jiang Zhixun simply scooped her up in his arms.
He re-registered and carried Shen Qingqing to the appropriate department.
Shen Qingqing had a fever. She’d improved after sleeping at the guesthouse, but she hadn’t fully recovered.
After being dragged around outside, she started running a fever again.
It was fairly severe, so she was kept at the hospital for an IV drip.
Jiang Zhixun ran up and down—paying fees, picking up medicine.
He even bought Shen Qingqing two steamed buns, simply because she hadn’t finished her meal at the cafeteria…
The better Jiang Zhixun treated her, the more suffocated Shen Qingqing felt.
Especially when the other patients in the room looked at her with envious eyes, making her feel utterly ungrateful.
Jiang Zhixun had already given her everything he had.
Marriage.
Money.
Everything he could give, he’d given—he just didn’t come home.
And she was still bringing up divorce. If that wasn’t being ungrateful, what was?
Seeing her cry again without warning, Jiang Zhixun frowned.
“Does something hurt?”
Compared to his cold distance when they’d first met, he was practically gentle now.
Shen Qingqing shook her head.
Ever since coming to the Northwest and seeing Jiang Zhixun, she’d become less and less like herself.
Bursting into tears at the drop of a hat—not just Jiang Zhixun, but even she herself found it irritating.
She closed her eyes and pretended to sleep, but still, warm liquid kept seeping from the corners of her eyes.
Jiang Zhixun didn’t know what was wrong with her.
He pressed his lips together and stood by the hospital bed, staring at Shen Qingqing in silence.
The woman in the neighboring bed couldn’t bear to watch and spoke up, “Your wife is probably feeling unwell. You should comfort her.”
The word “wife” made Jiang Zhixun feel very uncomfortable.
He and Shen Qingqing were married, but they hadn’t spent a single day together after the wedding.
Apart from that marriage certificate, their marriage… had nothing else.
In the early years when Shen Qingqing first arrived at the Jiang family, he had played the role of an older brother.
But being a husband was an entirely different matter.
Jiang Zhixun didn’t know how to comfort Shen Qingqing.
When Sister-in-law Li from the neighboring bed urged him again, he said stiffly, “When she stops feeling unwell, she’ll naturally stop crying.”
Sister-in-law Li: “…”
She had heard before that Captain Jiang flew planes exceptionally well, but he was cold as ice, like a block of ice.
She had thought the rumors were exaggerated, but now it seemed they hadn’t wronged him at all.
His wife was sick and crying so pitifully, yet he could just stand there watching.
Was this man some kind of dense blockhead?
She glanced at the lunchbox on the table, which held two plump, white steamed buns.
The young woman hadn’t taken a single bite.
Sister-in-law Li thought to herself, what use was buying her food if he couldn’t say sweet words?
Even when the young woman recovered, she’d probably only remember that he didn’t comfort her, not those two steamed buns.
Looking again at Shen Qingqing, who had her eyes closed and refused to look at Jiang Zhixun, Sister-in-law Li became even more certain of this thought.
“Captain Jiang, wives need to be coaxed. Look at your wife—her face is fair and clean, her figure is good too. Such a beautiful young woman, can you bear to watch her cry?”
Jiang Zhixun was silent for a moment. His long, slender fingers bent slightly, and he touched the corner of Shen Qingqing’s eye with his knuckle.
He felt a damp touch.
As if struck by an electric shock, Jiang Zhixun immediately withdrew his hand.
An indescribable emotion surged in his heart, and he strongly disliked this feeling.
Jiang Zhixun thought, he still needed to get Shen Qingqing back to the capital city as soon as possible!