Whether he liked this woman or not, she was to be his future wife—that fact would not change.
Unless she insisted on being with Jiang Chi.
Moreover, she had helped him protect his mother’s keepsake today, and it seemed she intended to live properly with him.
If he turned a blind eye to the bullying she had suffered, it would only prove that he, Jiang Yao, was a man without responsibility or dignity.
Outside the door, Jiang Yao’s deputy hurried over and called out to him, “Sir!”
Jiang Yao turned his head and met his gaze.
The deputy’s expression was somewhat complicated, as if he had something to say but hesitated. He glanced awkwardly at Xu Changxia behind Jiang Yao and didn’t speak further.
After a moment’s consideration, Jiang Yao lowered his voice and said to Xu Changxia, “I’ll step out for a moment.”
Xu Changxia watched as they walked out one after the other, thoughtfully observing their figures disappear around the corner of the hallway.
She could probably guess why Deputy Lu had looked so troubled.
“Xiaxia, I don’t need anyone to watch over me here. It’s just two IV drips. You still have the homecoming banquet today! Hurry and go take care of it!” On the hospital bed, Xu Jin noticed it was almost noon and that Xu Changxia had already spent too much time with him, so he couldn’t help feeling a bit anxious.
“The homecoming banquet is hosted by our Xu family. We can’t let the Jiang family think we lack manners.”
“It’s fine, Third Uncle.” Xu Changxia knew that Xu Jin was thinking of her, worried that she might have a difficult time in her husband’s family in the future.
But no matter how perfectly she behaved, Jiang Yihe would never treat her well, so why should she force herself to suffer unnecessarily?
“Besides, since you can’t attend, the gathering won’t be complete. Wouldn’t the Jiang family think we’re even more impolite?” Xu Changxia gently reassured him.
“I was thinking, wouldn’t it be better to postpone the banquet until you’re feeling a bit better? It wouldn’t be too late, right?”
Hearing this, Xu Jin thought it made some sense. After a moment’s thought, he added, “Our family doesn’t have anyone to make decisions right now. Discuss it properly with Jiang Yao yourself, and don’t let this cause any discord between you.”
“I know. I’ll go discuss it with him in a bit,” Xu Changxia replied obediently.
Just then, a nurse knocked on the door and brought in the payment slip. “Bed ten, please go pay the bed fee.”
“Alright.” Xu Changxia took the slip, gave Xu Jin a few more instructions, and then went downstairs to pay.
When she reached the payment window, she reached into her pocket and realized she didn’t even have a single ten-yuan bill left.
Between the earlier medical fees and the bed fee, she had no idea how much money would be enough.
“That’ll be eight mao,” the nurse at the window said to Xu Changxia.
“Eight mao?” Xu Changxia was surprised.
“Yes, that comrade just paid earlier. Only the bed fee is left,” the nurse said, looking up and pointing behind Xu Changxia.
Xu Changxia turned to look in the direction the nurse pointed. Jiang Yao was standing not far away at the entrance of the inpatient department, talking to two other soldiers also dressed in military uniforms.
She took a closer look at their shoulder insignias—they were likely Jiang Yao’s superiors or subordinates from the same unit.
Covered in blood as she was, it wouldn’t be good to be seen. After a moment’s thought, she turned and walked to a nearby corner to avoid them.
“What a coincidence!” The two men had also just run into Jiang Yao and greeted him with smiles.
“What are you two doing here?” Jiang Yao had just finished giving Deputy Lu a few instructions and was surprised to run into the political instructors from his unit here.
“Last night, Commander Hu’s wife suddenly fainted at home and went into premature labor. Their house isn’t far from yours, right? How come you didn’t know about it?”
“Of course I knew.” Jiang Yao paused, then said, “Wait for me a moment.”
Within two minutes, Jiang Yao returned carrying an exquisitely packaged pink gift box and handed it to the political instructor. “Please take this gift up for me first. I’ll be there shortly.”
Earlier in the car, Xu Changxia had caught a glimpse of a beautifully wrapped pink box on the passenger seat in her flustered state.
Beside it lay a receipt, clearly indicating it was a newly purchased item.
During breakfast, when Jiang Yao asked her to wait for him for over ten minutes, she had thought… he had gone to the neighboring department store to buy her a gift.
Turns out, this was a gift for his superior’s wife.
Fortunately, her mind had been preoccupied with her third uncle at the time, so she hadn’t asked further—otherwise, it would have been awkward between them.
“So what were you doing here just now?” the political instructor curiously asked Jiang Yao before heading upstairs.
“There was a bit of an issue on the family side.” Jiang Yao smiled, offering a brief explanation.
Knowing Jiang Yao had held an engagement banquet, the political instructor nodded with a chuckle. “Alright, we won’t pry further. You go handle your business first!”
After the two went upstairs, Jiang Yao turned to look in the direction where Xu Changxia was standing.
He had noticed Xu Changxia hiding there when he first entered.
Their eyes met through the glass, and Xu Changxia obediently walked over.
Because of his earlier mention of “family,” she felt a little happy inside now.
Standing before him, she smiled with curved eyes. “If you have urgent matters to attend to, go ahead. I’ll be fine on my own.”
“It’s fine,” Jiang Yao replied.
“The house is in such disarray, and your mom and eldest uncle are at the police station right now, so I’ve temporarily canceled the noon homecoming banquet. Or perhaps we can reschedule it once your third uncle’s condition improves. What do you think?”
Unexpectedly, they were both thinking along the same lines.
Xu Changxia hadn’t realized Jiang Yao was such a thoughtful person.
“Alright, we’ll decide based on Third Uncle’s recovery later,” Xu Changxia nodded in agreement.
With so many things happening in the Xu family today, probably no one was in the mood for this meal. Moreover, Zhou Yun’s mouth might say who-knows-what during the gathering.
Originally, the homecoming wasn’t scheduled for today anyway. Xu Changxia preferred her third uncle to attend as her most important elder.
“Also, if you’re worried, tomorrow I can arrange for someone to take Third Uncle to Haicheng for a check-up.” Jiang Yao paused, then suddenly added, “They have a recently imported CT machine there that can clearly scan the inside of the body.”
Hearing this, Xu Changxia was stunned.
She hadn’t expected him to notice her unspoken concerns earlier in the hospital room upstairs.
Most importantly, in the early 1980s, there were only a handful of CT machines across the entire country, mostly reserved for critically important patients and research purposes.
Jiang Yao’s offer to help surprised her somewhat.
After hesitating for a few seconds, she asked softly, “Won’t it be too much trouble?”
Jiang Yao smiled at her. “The leadership at the military general hospital there are life-and-death friends of mine. A CT scan is no trouble at all.”
Xu Changxia thought for a moment before replying, “Alright then, tomorrow I’ll go to Haicheng with Third Uncle.”
Since Jiang Yao wasn’t being formal with her, there was no need for her to be coy either. Between husband and wife, unnecessary politeness wasn’t required.
With his support, she felt much more at ease.
“There’s one more thing I want to ask you,” Jiang Yao fixed his gaze on Xu Changxia.
Seeing his serious expression, Xu Changxia smiled and said, “What is it? Go ahead.”
Frowning, Jiang Yao grabbed her hand and pulled her into a quiet, secluded corner.