Lu Zhenhua’s peaceful sleeping face and steady breathing were like a shot of reassurance injected straight into the hearts of the Lu family. At the same time, they felt like a resounding slap across Qin Lan’s face.
She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but as she looked at the old man’s relaxed expression, every word of doubt lodged in her throat like a fishbone.
“Ruan Wen, you… you really are… you really are our family’s lucky star!”
Lu Yongjie rubbed his hands excitedly and lowered his voice as he spoke to her.
A grown man, his eyes were actually turning red. His excitement left him with only the simplest and most heartfelt words.
Ruan Wen gently shook her head as she carefully returned the silver needles to her cloth pouch.
“Grandpa is simply exhausted. The stagnation in his body has finally eased, so naturally he wants to sleep. Letting him get a good rest is better than anything else.”
With that, she turned toward the door.
“I’m going to check on the medicinal meal in the kitchen.”
She remained calm throughout, neither claiming credit nor asking for anything in return. That kind of composure only convinced Lu Yongjie further that his daughter-in-law was extraordinary.
Lu Jingheng’s gaze followed her the entire time. Only after she disappeared through the doorway did he finally look away.
There was curiosity in his eyes, surprise, and a trace of admiration that even he himself had yet to recognize.
Leaning against the doorframe, Qin Lan’s face shifted between shades of pale and flushed.
Her emotions were a tangled mess.
She had spent her entire career as a head nurse, believing in science, data, and the readings on medical instruments.
Yet today, everything she had trusted for decades had been shaken by a twenty-year-old girl wielding a handful of silver needles.
The feeling of defeat was unlike anything she had ever experienced.
Leaving the room, Lu Jingheng caught up with Ruan Wen at the staircase.
“You…”
He started to speak, then felt the question might be too abrupt.
After a pause, he finally asked,
“How did you learn all of this?”
Without slowing her pace as she descended the stairs, Ruan Wen answered calmly,
“My grandfather’s family practiced traditional Chinese medicine. I grew up around it and read some of the medical texts passed down through the family. I wouldn’t call myself an expert—just someone who knows a little.”
Her grandfather had long since passed away, and there was no longer any contact with that side of the family.
Even if the Lu family became suspicious and investigated, they would find nothing. It was the perfect explanation to avoid future trouble.
Walking behind her, Lu Jingheng studied her slender yet upright figure.
After a moment of silence, he said awkwardly,
“Thank you… for helping my grandfather.”
It was the first time he had ever thanked a woman so sincerely.
Reaching the kitchen doorway, Ruan Wen stopped and turned around.
“You don’t need to thank me. We’re partners. Curing Grandpa benefits both of us. You won’t have to carry the burden of being unable to help him, and I’ll be able to stay here peacefully. It’s part of our agreement.”
The warmth that had just begun to form in Lu Jingheng’s chest was instantly extinguished by a bucket of cold water.
This woman was frighteningly rational every second of every day.
His throat moved slightly.
In the end, all he managed was a simple,
“Mm.”
Then he found himself with nothing else to say.
Turning around, he strode back upstairs.
Something about his retreating figure suggested a frustration he could not quite explain.
Watching him leave, the corner of Ruan Wen’s lips curved ever so slightly before she entered the kitchen.
Dinner that evening carried a strange atmosphere.
Lu Yongjie was clearly in an excellent mood.
He kept piling food into Ruan Wen’s bowl until it resembled a small mountain.
“Ruan Wen, eat more. You’re too thin. We owe everything that happened today to you. Otherwise, we’d still be worrying ourselves sick.”
Qin Lan remained silent, mechanically picking at her food.
Her expression was still far from pleasant.
The frustration she had been holding back finally surfaced when Lu Yongjie stepped away to answer a phone call.
“Even if things seem better now,” she said to Ruan Wen, “traditional Chinese medicine can produce quick results, but no one can say whether the condition will return. You’re still young. You need to be careful. Your grandfather’s body can’t withstand too much.”
The words sounded concerned, but the distrust beneath them was obvious.
Before Ruan Wen could respond, the usually quiet Lu Jingheng set down his chopsticks.
“Mom.”
He spoke before Ruan Wen had the chance.
“Grandpa slept for three hours. When he woke up, his spirits were better, and he even drank an extra half bowl of porridge at dinner. Those are facts.”
Qin Lan froze.
Lu Jingheng continued,
“Director Wang from Peking Union Medical College Hospital is an expert. He treated Grandpa for two years, and we all know how things turned out. Since we’re finally seeing results, we should trust the process.”
Qin Lan fell completely silent.
In this family, the old man and her husband had always been the final authority.
Now even her son had taken Ruan Wen’s side.
Any further argument would only make her seem unreasonable.
For the rest of the meal, Qin Lan barely tasted her food.
That night, after washing up, Ruan Wen was about to enter her space when someone knocked on her door again.
She opened it.
Once more, it was Lu Jingheng.
This time he was holding a cup of brown sugar water.
“…”
Ruan Wen looked at the cup in confusion.
Lu Jingheng appeared equally uncomfortable.
He avoided eye contact entirely, staring somewhere past her shoulder at the wall.
His voice sounded stiff.
“Mom said… women who’ve exhausted themselves mentally should drink this. It helps replenish qi and blood.”
The explanation clearly sounded rehearsed.
Qin Lan must have told him exactly what to say.
It seemed that although Qin Lan remained unconvinced, she had chosen to make a small concession.
“Thank you.”
Ruan Wen accepted the cup.
It was still warm.
“Mm.”
Lu Jingheng answered as though he had just completed a difficult mission.
He turned to leave, took two steps, then stopped.
Without looking back, he added,
“From now on, just handle things in this family however you see fit. You don’t need to worry too much about holding back.”
Then he hurried away.
The sound of his bedroom door closing was noticeably louder than usual.
Holding the cup of brown sugar water, Ruan Wen found herself wanting to laugh.
This Lu Jingheng really was a stubborn and oddly interesting person.
Closing her door, she placed the drink on the table rather than drinking it immediately.
She didn’t actually need it.
Still, the clumsy gesture of goodwill from her ally made her feel that life in the Lu family compound might not be as difficult as she had imagined.
Now that she had established a place for herself, everything seemed to be moving in a better direction.
Lying in bed beneath the army-green quilt, she felt a sense of security she had never known before.
For this life, she wanted neither romance nor passion.
All she wanted was peace.
As for Lu Jingheng…
She turned her head toward the wall.
His room was on the other side.
The man had a sharp tongue and an awkward personality, but at least he was reasonable and had principles.
Compared to Huo Guoan—that beast—he was better by a thousand times over.
As a cooperative ally, he was actually quite suitable.
Closing her eyes, Ruan Wen unconsciously wore a faint smile.
The next morning, the Lu family compound felt unusually peaceful.
In the dining room, Qin Lan absentmindedly arranged bowls and chopsticks, her gaze drifting repeatedly toward the second floor.
She had barely slept all night.
Again and again, she replayed the image of Ruan Wen performing acupuncture and remembered the old man’s relieved sigh.
Part of her desperately hoped it was real.
Another part feared it was merely a final burst of strength before death.
“I’ve never fought such a well-supplied battle in my entire life! Every bone in my body feels refreshed!”
A booming voice suddenly rang out from the staircase.
The energy in it was so strong that Qin Lan nearly dropped the chopsticks in her hand.
Everyone turned at once.
There stood Lu Zhenhua.
Dressed in a neatly pressed old military uniform, he was making his way downstairs step by step with a cane.
And for the first time in a very long time—
he wasn’t being supported by Lu Yongjie.