Fortunately, it was only a minor fracture of the left scapula, severe soft tissue contusion, plus a cold with a high fever of 39 degrees Celsius.
In the hospital room, Qin Qing lay on her side, unable to lie on her stomach due to the injury to her scapula.
Xiao Yang, through her hospital gown, was helping her… apply a cold compress.
The doctor said that cold compresses were most effective in the early stages of the injury.
“Cold… hiss…” Qin Qing winced at the stimulation of the ice pack.
“Serves you right for showing off!” Xiao Yang still felt a chill thinking about the scene in the classroom earlier. “What if you had hit your head?”
“I couldn’t just stand by and watch the child hit their head…” Qin Qing retorted hoarsely, still feeling dizzy and muddled.
Xiao Yang didn’t disturb her further, simply sitting by the head of the bed and holding the ice pack for her.
“Young man, you’re so attentive to your girlfriend,” remarked the elderly woman in the next bed, who had a fractured leg and had been lying bored for days, always eager to chat.
Xiao Yang managed to respond politely at first, but seeing Qin Qing about to fall asleep, he simply stayed quiet.
Yet the enthusiastic aunt kept chattering on.
“…Let me tell you, girls need to be cherished. Especially when they’re sick or injured, they’re at their most vulnerable…”
“Auntie, my girlfriend needs to rest,” Xiao Yang turned around, making a shushing gesture. He couldn’t be bothered explaining to an elderly person; he just wanted her to be quiet.
“I understand, I understand! Young people are always so considerate when they’re in love!” The old aunt lowered her voice but kept talking.
Zhou Yansheng entered the room just in time to hear these two exchanges.
He was covered in dust, still wearing his outdoor training uniform.
Completely ignoring the strangers in the room, he walked straight toward the young woman lying in bed with an IV drip.
Her face was flushed with an unnatural redness from the fever.
Zhou Yansheng carefully reached out to feel the girl’s forehead temperature.
Still feverish.
Qin Qing had already drifted into a deep, drowsy sleep, completely unaware of the man’s approach.
Zhou Yansheng withdrew his hand, then turned to look at Xiao Yang, his voice low and icy: “Your girlfriend?”
Xiao Yang immediately realized that Captain Zhou had misunderstood. He shrugged and replied just as softly, “The aunt misunderstood, and I didn’t bother correcting her. I’ll explain the details outside.”
With that, Xiao Yang left the room first, completely unruffled.
Zhou Yansheng followed him out.
The old aunt was bewildered: Could she have two boyfriends?! And both so handsome!
As an eyewitness to the incident, Xiao Yang recounted the details.
“…How to handle the aftermath is up to you. I’ll leave her in your care. Qin Qing needs someone to watch over her. The doctor said to be especially cautious at night in case the fever spikes again.”
After speaking, he left without ceremony.
Even when Zhou Yansheng said “thank you,” he merely waved a hand without looking back.
Zhou Yansheng returned to the hospital room.
Seeing the ice pack still placed on Qin Qing’s scapula, he picked it up, turned it over for her, and continued applying it.
“Cold…” the girl murmured unconsciously.
In the middle of winter, with a fever, and an ice pack applied.
Zhou Yansheng’s brows furrowed tightly.
“Brother… cold…” Qin Qing whimpered again in discomfort.
“Brother is here, don’t be afraid,” Zhou Yansheng held the girl’s hand, feeling utterly helpless for the moment, wishing he could bear the pain for her.
“So you’re her brother!” The old aunt leaned over again to strike up a conversation.
Zhou Yansheng raised an eyebrow. “I am her husband.”
The old aunt: …
She was speechless for a long while.
Another half hour passed, and Qin Qing’s fever finally broke.
She was drenched in sweat.
She shifted uncomfortably, feeling sticky.
A sharp pain!
She woke with a start.
“What’s wrong?” The man leaned in to check on the girl almost as soon as she woke up.
Qin Qing opened her eyes and saw the man she had been longing for right before her.
Longing, grievance, and sentimentality all surged up at once.
“Brother… it hurts…” Her voice was still hoarse, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.
With just that one word, Zhou Yansheng’s heart twisted into a knot.
It took him a long moment to say, “Don’t cry.”
His rough fingertips gently brushed away the tears on the girl’s face.
“Want some water?” he asked.
Qin Qing shook her head, the movement pulling at the muscles in her back and causing another sharp pain.
No matter how much he wiped, the tears wouldn’t stop.
Zhou Yansheng’s gaze was fierce enough to devour someone, but his large hand caressing the girl’s cheek was incredibly gentle.
“I’ll go find the doctor,” he said urgently, rushing to the doctor’s office.
The doctor arrived quickly.
After a brief examination, he said indifferently, “It’s part of the process. Painkillers have already been administered. You’ll have to bear with it.”
The middle-aged doctor glanced at Zhou Yansheng’s stony face and added, “Family members should stay calm first and provide comfort.”
With that, he left, looking even grumpier than Zhou Yansheng.
Neither Zhou Yansheng nor Qin Qing spoke.
Instead, the elderly auntie eating dinner nearby chimed in:
“Dr. Hu is one of the top orthopedic surgeons at the Military General Hospital. Minor injuries like yours are nothing to him.”
“Mom, say less,” the elderly auntie’s daughter, who had come to deliver her meal, urged her mother upon seeing Zhou Yansheng’s dark, unapproachable expression.
Distracted by the mother and daughter, Qin Qing actually felt the pain lessen a little.
She tugged at Zhou Yansheng’s sleeve.
Zhou Yansheng immediately leaned down. “I’m here.”
Qin Qing blushed shyly and whispered something.
When nature calls, even Qin Qing, despite her embarrassment, had to turn to Zhou Yansheng for help.
Zhou Yansheng was momentarily stunned. “Can you get out of bed?”
Her injury was on her back, so he couldn’t carry her—it would aggravate the wound.
“I’ll try.”
Fortunately, the right side of her body could still move.
Zhou Yansheng supported her entire right side, helping her sit up on the hospital bed.
Even with the utmost care, it still hurt terribly.
Qin Qing didn’t cry out again, enduring the pain silently. Just the act of sitting up had beads of sweat forming on her forehead.
Zhou Yansheng let the girl lean against his chest, but he gritted his teeth, veins bulging at his temples. “Take your time. Rest for a moment.”
“Goodness! Why go through all this trouble? Isn’t there a bedpan?” the elderly auntie couldn’t help but interject again.
“Mom! Just eat your meal,” her daughter scolded, then very considerately pulled the curtain between the two hospital beds.
Qin Qing’s gaze involuntarily drifted toward the bedpan in the corner before she quickly looked away.
No way was she using that!
“Let’s go,” she said, leaning on Zhou Yansheng’s arm as she stood up.
Watching the man holding the IV bag and following her step by step, Qin Qing absurdly thought that being injured wasn’t so bad after all.
After hanging the IV bag on the wall, Zhou Yansheng asked worriedly:
“Are you sure you can manage alone?”
Qin Qing nodded. Even if she couldn’t, she had to.
“I’ll be right outside. Call me when you’re done,” Zhou Yansheng said, glancing at the stubborn girl but not pressing further.
Her left arm, connected to her shoulder blade, was almost immobile, and her left hand was hooked up to an IV drip.
Qin Qing endured the pain, clumsily managing everything with one hand.
Taking a deep breath, she carried the IV bag herself and opened the door.
Zhou Yansheng was standing right outside.
As soon as the lock clicked, he turned around.
“Why didn’t you call me?” he frowned, reaching to take the IV bag from her hand, but his gaze shifted downward.
“Wait,” he said.
Then, with utmost naturalness, he smoothed out a poorly tucked fold at her waist and straightened the loose hem of her hospital gown.
The entire process took less than five seconds, as brisk and precise as adjusting his own military uniform.
Qin Qing’s face instantly flushed a deep, purplish red.
It took her a long moment to force out two words: “…Thank you.”