The torrential rain poured throughout the entire night, only gradually easing as dawn approached.
The first rays of morning sunlight pierced through the clouds and fell upon the white curtains of the medical station, casting a faint golden glow over the room, which was filled with the sharp smell of disinfectant.
Su Man had fallen asleep with her head resting against the edge of Dabao’s hospital bed.
She was simply too exhausted.
Her hair was a complete mess, sticking out in all directions like a bird’s nest, and there were still traces of mud on her face that she had failed to wipe clean the night before.
Her once-fashionable dacron shirt was now wrinkled beyond recognition. Her trouser legs were rolled up to her knees, exposing both legs wrapped in thick layers of gauze, with faint traces of blood seeping through.
If she looked like this under normal circumstances, Su Man would never let anyone see her.
But at that moment, she slept completely defenseless, one hand still tightly holding Dabao’s little hand—the one without an IV needle.
“Creak—”
The hospital room door was pushed open.
It was Aunt Zhang, the woman who had loved gossiping the most the day before.
She had caught a chill yesterday, and her throat hurt terribly, so she had come early in the morning to get some medicine.
The moment she stepped inside and saw the scene before her, Aunt Zhang froze.
Then she curled her lips in disdain and cursed inwardly.
What bad luck. How could she run into this vixen wherever she went?
She was just about to turn around and leave when the corner of her eye caught sight of Su Man’s badly injured legs, as well as Dabao lying in the hospital bed with an IV drip hanging beside him.
“Oh my, Doctor Li, what… what happened here?”
Aunt Zhang lowered her voice and grabbed Military Doctor Li, who was making his rounds.
“How did Dabao get this sick? Could it be that his stepmother didn’t take proper care of him and he caught a chill?”
That mouth of hers was truly impossible.
Even at a time like this, she still couldn’t resist throwing mud at Su Man.
The moment Military Doctor Li heard her words, his expression darkened.
He tucked the medical chart beneath his arm and glared fiercely at Aunt Zhang.
“Zhang Guifen, could you try showing a little decency for once?”
“You didn’t see what happened last night!”
“It was pouring like that, and Sister Su Man carried Dabao on her back while dragging Erbao along, walking several kilometers through those muddy roads just to get here!”
“Her knees were beaten bloody, with the flesh practically split open. Even I couldn’t bear to look at them, but she didn’t make a single sound. She sent the child straight into the emergency room first!”
“If she hadn’t gotten him here in time, this child would have died last night!”
“And you say she didn’t take proper care of him? I’m telling you, there probably aren’t even a few biological mothers in this entire compound who would have gone this far!”
Military Doctor Li’s furious retort was loud enough for everyone to hear.
Aunt Zhang’s face flushed red, then pale.
She opened her mouth to argue, but when she looked at Su Man’s legs, wrapped completely in gauze, she couldn’t utter a single word.
Could this… really have been done by that delicate-looking stepmother?
Just then, Dabao stirred in the bed.
He woke up.
His fever had gone down considerably. Although his little face was still pale, his eyes were much clearer now.
He turned his head, and the first thing he saw was Su Man asleep beside his bed.
He looked at the exhaustion etched across her face, then at the icy-cold hand still holding his.
Fragments of last night flashed through Dabao’s mind.
Running through the rain.
The scorching heat of his body against her back.
And the muffled groan of pain she had made when she fell into the mud…
“Mom…”
Dabao silently called her that in his heart.
His eyes suddenly reddened, and his nose began to sting.
He used to think this woman had come to steal his father away from him. He had thought she was a bad person.
But now he finally understood.
This “bad woman” had risked her life for him.
Dabao carefully pulled his hand free.
He looked at the thin shirt Su Man was wearing, then at the quilt covering himself.
Biting his lip, he struggled to sit halfway up.
He wanted to pull the quilt over Su Man and cover her with it.
That scene was witnessed clearly by Aunt Zhang, who was still standing by the doorway.
She felt as though someone had slapped her hard across the face. Her cheeks burned.
Children were the least capable of lying.
For Dabao—who was stubborn as a mule—to care about this stepmother so deeply…
There was nothing left to say about what kind of stepmother she was.
“Sigh… I really did misjudge her…”
Embarrassed, Aunt Zhang no longer had the face to ask for her medicine. She turned around and hurried away.
Just then, a series of hurried, heavy footsteps echoed down the corridor.
The sound of military boots striking the floor carried an oppressive force that made one’s heart tremble.
“Bang!”
The hospital room door was pushed open once again.
This time, the man who entered was drenched from head to toe and covered in mud.
Lu Zhan.
He had just returned from a mission.
Before he had even made it back to the compound, he had heard that his wife and children were at the medical station. Without even stopping for a sip of water, he had immediately sprinted several kilometers to get there.
His military uniform was soaked through with rain and sweat, clinging tightly to his body and outlining his taut, muscular frame.
His eyes were filled with panic and anxiety.
But the instant he saw what was happening inside the room, he froze.
Dabao was awake and trying to cover Su Man with the quilt.
And Su Man lay there like a broken doll, the gauze wrapped around her knees stabbing painfully into Lu Zhan’s eyes.
It felt as though an enormous hand had seized Lu Zhan’s heart and squeezed it hard, leaving him almost unable to breathe.
In this lifetime, he had shed blood and suffered injuries. He had never thought any of it was a big deal.
But at this moment, looking at the woman and child before him, he actually felt an urge to cry.
He softened his footsteps, as though afraid of disturbing some fragile treasure, and slowly walked to the bedside.
“Dad…”
Dabao saw Lu Zhan and was just about to call out.
Lu Zhan raised one finger to his lips and made a quieting gesture.
He bent down and reached out with both strong hands.
With astonishing gentleness, he lifted Su Man from the chair and cradled her in his arms.
Her body suddenly left the ground, and Su Man jolted awake.
She opened her eyes in a daze, her vision still blurry.
All she could see was the familiar, strong line of a hard jaw.
And that familiar scent of tobacco mixed with the earthy smell of mud.
Her pillar of support had come.
The nerves Su Man had kept tightly wound throughout the entire night finally relaxed.
She had completely forgotten that she was in a hospital room.
She didn’t realize that doctors and nurses were nearby, either.
Instinctively, she buried her face against Lu Zhan’s broad chest and rubbed against him like a little cat that had been wronged.
“Husband… I’m so tired…”
The unconscious murmur was soft and hoarse, filled with deep dependence.
It was like a feather gently brushing against the very core of Lu Zhan’s heart—before setting an entire prairie ablaze.
Husband?
This was the first time she had ever called him that.
Not the polite “Commander.”
Not the calculating “Brother Zhan.”
But the most intimate and completely unguarded “Husband.”
Lu Zhan felt as though all the blood in his body had reversed course in that instant.
The urge to pull her into his very bones nearly exploded out of him.
He no longer cared whether anyone was watching.
He lowered his head and pressed his hot lips firmly against Su Man’s smooth forehead.
That kiss carried tenderness, guilt, and a deep affection that felt almost like a solemn vow.
“Sleep.”
His voice was low and hoarse, yet filled with a reassuring strength.
“I’m here.”
“If the sky falls, I’ll hold it up for you.”
Su Man shifted in his arms until she found a comfortable position, the corners of her lips curving into a faint smile before she completely fell back into sleep.
Lu Zhan held her as though he were holding his entire world.
He turned his head toward Dabao on the hospital bed, his gaze becoming exceptionally gentle.
“Rest and get better.”
“When you’re well, we’ll take a family photo.”
“Make sure your mom looks beautiful in it.”
Dabao nodded vigorously, and the tears he had been holding back finally spilled down his cheeks.
Outside the window, the storm had passed and the sky had cleared.
Warm sunlight poured over the family.
But as Lu Zhan tucked the edge of the quilt around Su Man, his eyes accidentally caught a glimpse of the red cord peeking out from beneath her collar.
Su Man had always worn it close to her skin.
He had never paid much attention to it before.
Now that he was so close, Lu Zhan finally noticed that the item hanging from the red cord wasn’t a jade pendant.
It was a tiny, antique-looking copper key.
The shape of that key…
Lu Zhan’s pupils contracted slightly.
Why did it look so much like the key to the treasure room in the Lu family’s old residence—the one that had been sealed away for more than twenty years?