The sanatorium ward had a faint smell of disinfectant, and sunlight streamed through the window, falling on Lin’s mother’s bed where she lay paralyzed.
A pot of roses sat on the bedside table, a few clear water droplets clinging to the petals, as if they had just been watered that morning, making the bright color stand out vividly in the serene hospital room.
Lin Yuqiu knew that the nursing home caregivers had been taking good care of her mother these past few days, which was evident from her mother’s improved complexion, clean and tidy clothes, and fresh, odor-free room.
She walked over quietly, bent down, and gently took her mother’s hand, which could still move slightly, and placed it next to her cheek, feeling the warmth of her mother’s palm and recalling the loving care her mother used to give her face.
She looked at her mother’s emaciated face after she fell ill, her heart aching, yet she felt helpless.
If she hadn’t married Zhou Runqing, she wouldn’t have been able to afford her mother’s expensive medical treatment, nor would she have been able to afford to stay in a sanatorium.
Her mother’s health would deteriorate day by day as she followed her.
Now that my mother is in the nursing home, she not only has caregivers who take good care of her, but also doctors who make rounds and examine her at any time. If she falls ill, she can receive proper treatment immediately.
Her throat tightened, but not wanting her mother to worry, she forced a happy smile and said in a soft voice, “Mom, I’m getting married.”
As she finished speaking, she turned her head to look at the man standing beside the hospital bed. Her eyes were smiling, and her voice, which was no longer cold and aloof, was like the soft and sweet song of a nightingale, so sweet that it could melt into one’s heart.
“Runqing, come here, let Mom take a look at you.”
Her smiling eyes and brows revealed a captivating charm, as if the innocent and naive girl she once was had reappeared.
The man was momentarily distracted, the sweet “Runqing” echoing repeatedly in his mind, like a delicate thread that silently burrowed into his heart and gently hooked him, causing his chest to tremble slightly.
“Runqing~”
“Runqing~”
“Runqing~”
When the woman saw that he was not moving and looked puzzled, she immediately walked over, her posture upright, but she deliberately lowered her posture, bowed to the sick mother of Lin, and then suddenly took Lin Yuqiu’s hand.
Lin Yuqiu was caught off guard when the man intertwined his fingers with hers in front of her mother. Before she could blush with embarrassment, her hand was raised in front of her mother, and she heard the man say with a tone full of care, “Don’t worry, I will treat her well.”
Lin’s mother blinked, her eyes darting around with difficulty before landing on the two people’s clasped hands. Then, her withered fingers curled slightly, and she nodded very slowly.
Lin Yuqiu saw a tear well up in her mother’s eyes, which burned her heart and made her nose tingle.
She knew her mother felt sorry for her. In her mother’s eyes, she was a well-educated young lady from a respectable family who had grown up listening to the traditional customs of marriage and proper betrothal. But now her father and second brother were in a labor camp, her eldest brother had sacrificed his life, and the family had long since fallen apart.
With no elders to make decisions for her and no dowry to rely on, she had no choice but to find a place to settle down and make a living on her own.
There was still a hint of unspeakable regret in the mother’s eyes, clearly still thinking about the boy who had promised to marry her, and regretting that her daughter could not marry the man she loved.
Lin Yuqiu had not yet told her mother that the Xie family had broken off the engagement, but her mother was very intelligent and had already seen through the clues from the predicament she had been in a few days ago.
Whenever the topic of marriage came up, her mother would always smile and say that she had prepared a whole house full of dowry for her precious daughter.
The neatly folded silks and satins in the camphor wood chest, the gold and silver jewelry stacked in the red lacquered box, as well as the gold hairpins, jade bracelets, and silver necklaces passed down from their ancestors, and even the dowry bedding made of fine brocade with the double happiness pattern, were all taken away on the day the house was raided.
She leaned down and whispered in her mother’s ear, her voice as soft as willow catkins: “Mom, don’t worry about me. He treats me very well. With him protecting me, you and I can both be safe and sound.”
Lin’s mother’s tear-filled eyes trembled slightly, and she finally nodded.
After leaving the ward, Lin Yuqiu asked Zhou Runqing to go downstairs and wait for her. She then found Zhang Jie, the caregiver who usually took care of her mother, and pulled her to a quiet spot in the corridor. She spoke very slowly and carefully gave her instructions.
“Sister Zhang, my mother has this illness, and it’s not very convenient for her to eat. Please bear with her and make sure the food is cooked until very soft.”
“She has nightmares at night; talk to her when she wakes up.”
“And her legs, remember to massage them several times a day, so the muscles don’t get stiff.”
She paused, then added, “I’m going to the island to join the military. It’s far away, so I won’t be able to come back often. I’ll call the compound every few days from now on.”
“You must tell me about my mother’s recent situation, even if it’s just how many bites she ate or how long she slept.”
As she spoke, she held back the tears welling up in her eyes, took out a handkerchief pouch from her pocket, opened it layer by layer, and inside was her elder brother’s pension money, which she insisted on giving to the caregiver.
“Take this money. I will send you my monthly salary once I get to the island.”
The caregiver, Sister Zhang, smiled and pressed her hand down, gently pushing it back. Her voice was sincere: “Young lady, you’re being too polite.”
“Commander Zhou had already spoken to the institute, and my monthly salary is already quite high.”
“Besides, taking care of patients is my duty.”
“Just call me when the time comes. I will do my best to take care of your mother. You can go with peace of mind.”
Suddenly, the caregiver, Sister Zhang, looked at Lin Yuqiu with gratitude in her eyes and said with a smile, “To tell you the truth, Commander Zhou’s father is a benefactor to our family.”
“My husband was injured and disabled while on a mission in the army in his early years. When he retired, life was so hard that there was no hope for him.”
“Thanks to Old Master Zhou, who remembered that he was injured for the country, he ran around helping with the procedures so that he could receive the disability pension, which is much more substantial than the subsidies others receive.”
“And they even found me this kind of job.”
“Our whole family is grateful to the Zhou family. When I heard that Mr. Zhou’s mother-in-law had moved into a nursing home, I volunteered to come.”
“Young lady, Commander Zhou and his family are all very kind people, and I will take good care of your mother. You two just go to the island and bring back a big, healthy son when you arrive!”
Lin Yuqiu hadn’t expected this relationship. Hearing Sister Zhang’s beaming teasing, her face flushed red, making Sister Zhang laugh heartily.
As I walked out of the corridor, I saw the figure standing quietly waiting at the entrance of the sanatorium.
It felt like there was a wad of cotton stuck in my throat, a warmth spreading slowly through my chest, mixed with a bit of indescribable sourness.
It turned out that he had arranged everything in advance and had never mentioned a word to her.
Zhou Runqing turned around and looked at the woman’s eyes, which were slightly red, like red cherries soaked in water, and even the tip of her nose was covered with a pitiful thin red.
The slight moisture welled up in her eyes, not falling, but it made the man’s heart clench suddenly, and he strode towards her in an instant.
Lin Yuqiu watched as the man walked towards her, stopped in front of her, and suddenly reached out and gently lifted her chin, forcing her to look up and meet the man’s scrutinizing gaze.
“You cried secretly?”
The man’s deep voice became exceptionally soft at this moment, carrying a gentle coaxing tone.
Lin Yuqiu did not respond.
The chin has a distinct tactile feel.
The bittersweet feeling of parting was overwhelmed by shame. She glanced at the people coming and going in the corridor, gave the man a light glare, and pushed his hand away.
Zhou Runqing remained expressionless: “To the police station?”
Lin Yuqiu nodded.
After leaving the sanatorium, the two got back in their car and went to the police station to renew their household registrations.
Upon arriving at the police station, I submitted an application to reissue my household registration.
After reviewing the application, the clerk said in a businesslike manner, “An application alone is not enough. You need an identity certificate issued by the street revolutionary committee to prove that you are a resident of this area, and that the loss of your household registration book is true. Otherwise, we cannot reissue it.”
Lin Yuqiu frowned slightly. Her original address had long been sealed off, and most of the neighbors she knew had suffered the same fate. Since the street office had allowed Shen Lichuan to lead the search of her home, why would they issue her an identity certificate?
The man behind her took his hand out of his pocket, greeted the clerk, took the replacement application, gently grasped her arm, and led her out the door, softly reassuring her, “Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered.”
He then turned to his bodyguard, Xiao Liu, and instructed him, “Get in the car, let’s go back to the guesthouse first.”
Xiao Liu chuckled and replied, “Okay, Commander.”
The two first took Lin Yuqiu back to the guesthouse, and then drove to the street revolutionary committee where the Lin family lived.
Zhou Runqing didn’t let Lin Yuqiu come along because he was afraid that the people from the neighborhood committee would use her status as a capitalist’s daughter to make things difficult for her. As a regimental-level cadre in military uniform, he could suppress those gossips.
Lin Yuqiu knew Zhou Runqing’s thoughts, so she returned to the guesthouse to wait for news.
As the car passed the department store, Zhou Runqing suddenly said, “Stop the car.”
Xiao Liu slammed on the brakes, and Zhou Runqing pushed open the car door and strode towards the department store entrance.
Customers were coming and going at the entrance, creating a lively scene, and everyone seemed to be beaming with joy.
He stepped straight into the mall, following closely behind the dense crowd, and turned into the women’s clothing counter.
Upon seeing his crisp military uniform, the saleswoman immediately greeted him with a warm smile, “Comrade soldier, what would you like to buy?”
Zhou Runqing’s ears suddenly turned slightly red. The usually aloof and composed man raised his hand to touch the tip of his nose, looking somewhat flustered: “Do you have one, the one the bride wears?”