Xiao Liu carried his luggage on his back, and Zhou Runqing pushed his mother out of the ward. She followed slowly behind the man, feeling a sense of ease she had never felt before.
I still remember when I was first hospitalized, in the neighborhood hospital. At that time, my mother was paralyzed and unconscious, and she had to shoulder all the chaos on her own.
Clutching the receipts, she ran up and down the stairs. She was the only one guarding the ward day and night. Only she knew the embarrassment and bitterness of not being able to raise medical expenses.
Now, someone is carrying her heavy luggage and sharing the responsibility of caring for her mother.
Looking at the tall figure of the man pushing the wheelchair ahead, and the gossipy glances from the nurses around her, she couldn’t help but feel a little awkward.
For her, nothing could be more fortunate than her mother waking up and being able to move into a better nursing home.
Emerging from the dimly lit hospital corridor, the sunlight seemed to celebrate the moment, spilling over the ridgeline of the tiled roof and gilding the mottled walls with a warm orange-gold edge.
The weight on my heart was lifted, and my whole body felt soft and warm from the sun, like a cotton quilt that had been sun-dried for a long time. Even my steps became lighter.
Upon reaching the entrance of the hospital building, Zhou Runqing instructed, “Xiao Liu, go and bring the car over.”
“Yes, Commander.”
Xiao Liu hurriedly carried his luggage in both hands and ran towards the parking lot.
The coarse nylon mesh bag was filled with pots and pans, unlike the neatly arranged luggage of others.
It already makes a tinkling sound when it walks, and when it moves a lot, it sounds like a string of out-of-tune bells.
Hearing the clanging sounds, Lin Yuqiu suddenly felt an indescribable sense of shame and embarrassment.
She quickly followed, her tone sincere: “Xiao Liu, let me take it.”
Xiao Liu chuckled and said, “No need, Comrade Lin, you and the regimental commander wait here.”
As soon as the guard Xiao Liu left, it was so quiet that you could almost hear the sound of your heart racing with nervousness and helplessness.
She didn’t dare to look up, but the moment she turned around, she still caught sight of that tall and unfamiliar figure behind the wheelchair.
Seeing her mother’s earnest gaze, she walked gently to her mother’s side with a smile, took her mother’s hand, and explained in a soft voice, “Mom, we’re going to a nursing home.”
My mother’s condition has improved; she can now make indistinct sounds and has her usual gentle smile back on her lips.
The mother mouthed “he,” clearly asking who the comrade behind her was.
Lin Yuqiu felt grateful to Zhou Runqing but was at a loss for words, not knowing how to bring it up with her mother.
I glanced up casually and saw the man’s handsome profile; the curve of his jawline exuded a sharp, soldierly air.
Suddenly, perhaps noticing her gaze, the man looked up at her.
In that instant, that breathtakingly handsome face cast a condescending gaze upon her, like a narrow blade swiftly slicing through her heart, leaving behind an indescribable numbness.
Lin Yuqiu quickly looked away, paused for a few seconds, then bent down and whispered to her mother, “He was my brother’s comrade-in-arms. He was the one who delivered my brother’s pension.”
Perhaps recalling her eldest brother in his military uniform, her eyes instantly reddened, becoming misty and wet. The unspeakable grief made the atmosphere somewhat tense.
Zhou Runqing lowered his gaze slightly, glancing at the flustered look the woman gave him after she finished speaking. He didn’t expose their true relationship on the spot, but instead steadily supported the wheelchair and said in a calm and composed tone, “Don’t worry, Auntie, I will take good care of Xiaoqiu from now on.”
The man’s words carried a convincing certainty, like a pebble thrown into a calm heart, creating ripples that added an inexplicable sense of security to the unfamiliarity of knowing each other for only a few days, while also carrying a sense of bewilderment and panic.
Lin Yuqiu hurriedly looked at her mother’s reaction, only to see her mother smiling gently at her, her eyes full of tenderness and guilt for being a burden.
The gentle and strong mother she remembered was now showing such a vulnerable side, and her heart felt as if it had been ripped apart, a sharp, aching pain.
Xiao Liu quickly drove over and parked at the entrance of the inpatient department.
Zhou Runqing pushed the wheelchair forward, first helping Lin’s mother into the car, and then reaching out to help Lin Yuqiu get in.
Lin Yuqiu glanced at the long, slender fingers and then at the large, powerful hand, and said politely, “No need, thank you.”
She stood on tiptoe to hold onto the car door frame, and used her other foot to push against the bottom edge of the car body as she tried to get in. However, she overlooked the fact that the car chassis was too high, and she couldn’t get up properly. She leaned back and suddenly bumped into a broad and sturdy chest.
Her cheeks flushed, and she turned her head away apologetically, saying, “I’m sorry.”
But in the instant she turned her head, her lips accidentally brushed against the man’s chin again. A fragrance, like the mist in the mountains, wafted from the collar of his white shirt. The gentle scent, mixed with the warm breath, brushed past her nose, so pleasant that it slowed her breathing.
Lin Yuqiu quickly turned her head away, embarrassed as if she were a quail, with a blush appearing on her rosy cheeks.
The red color, as seen in the man’s eyes, resembled the red lychees picked from the coconut groves of an island in the summer to quench his thirst, exuding a juicy sweetness that made him want to peel them open and take a bite.
Zhou Runqing glanced at him a couple more times without making a sound before looking away.
With one hand firmly supporting her waist and the other gently holding her arm, he lifted her up in a half-hug manner.
He closed the car door and walked to the passenger side.
Suddenly, a sweet voice came from the entrance of the inpatient department, breaking the silence.
“Runqing”.
The man outside the car window stopped and turned to look.
Lin Yuqiu also curiously looked out the car window and saw that it was the beautiful female doctor she had seen in the ward.
She wasn’t wearing a white coat, but had changed into casual clothes, and had a Red Cross medicine kit slung over her shoulder.
A moon-white cotton sweater paired with a pale yellow plaid skirt accentuates her graceful figure. In the afterglow, she resembles a gentle moonlight, radiating a soft beauty that would captivate anyone.
She couldn’t help but look down at herself, wearing inconspicuous coarse cloth work clothes, the corners and cuffs of which were worn and torn.
Labeled as a capitalist, she could no longer even wear her favorite dresses.
She suppressed her disappointment, slowly calmed herself down, and couldn’t help but look out the window again.
When the female doctor saw that it was Zhou Runqing, her eyes lit up again, and she ran towards the man, her voice rising a few decibels with obvious excitement.
“Runqing, is it really you? You’ve come to pick me up?”
Lin Yuqiu looked at the woman outside the car and heard a hint of coquettishness in her tone that she would never do in front of strangers, with a slight sway at the end of her voice.
She used to act the same way in front of Xie Qingwei.
Suddenly, she really wanted to see what expression her fiancé, who was still a stranger to her, would have at this moment, but unfortunately, the man stood with his back to her.
She heard Zhou Runqing say in a gentle voice, “Unfortunately, I’m here to pick up an elderly person from the hospital today.”
Suddenly, the female doctor looked into the car and met her gaze. Her expression froze for a moment, then she smiled with a hint of surprise and asked, “Runqing, who is in the car?”
Zhou Runqing turned his head and saw her gaze still fixed on him in the car. His tone was straightforward and left no room for concealment: “Fiancée.”
Lin Yuqiu never expected him to be so open about their relationship in front of outsiders.
She saw the female doctor’s face freeze instantly, the disbelief and devastation in her eyes, the bitterness, the resentment, and even the forced smile that showed she was trying to remain calm, all of which gave her an indescribable sense of guilt.
If it weren’t for repaying a debt of gratitude, Zhou Runqing wouldn’t have married her, and she also knew that she married Zhou Runqing so that her mother could receive better treatment.
“When did you get a fiancée? How come I didn’t know? I’ve never heard your aunt mention it.”
“Just decided.”
“Congratulations.”
After the female doctor finished speaking, her eyes reddened, and she hurriedly turned and left.
Zhou Runqing opened the car door and got in.
Xiao Liu must have known the female doctor. He glanced at the man, hesitated, coughed, and started the car.
Lin Yuqiu stared at the back of the man’s head in the front seat, and couldn’t help but recall the female doctor’s familiar tone just now, but what right did she have to ask?