Waking up, Shen Zhaoran was in a much calmer state of mind.
They hadn’t notified the housekeeper when they returned to Tianhai Bay late last night, so Shen Junhuai had a hotel pack breakfast and send it over instead.
As she drank her porridge, Shen Zhaoran couldn’t help asking, “Are you not going to work today?”
“It’s Saturday.”
Shen Zhaoran muttered under her breath, “A workaholic like you actually has weekends.”
After finishing breakfast, the two returned to the Shen family residence.
Shen Chengshan and Xia Qiaoya hadn’t slept well the night before either. Fearing her complexion looked terrible, Xia Qiaoya had simply applied a light makeup to keep from looking too washed out.
Yet, the moment she saw Shen Zhaoran, her eyes still turned red. On the contrary, Shen Zhaoran smiled as she walked over, hugged Xia Qiaoya’s arm, and acted spoiled, “Mom still looks the prettiest when she smiles.”
Shen Chengshan walked over as well, saying, “Your eyes are all swollen from crying, and you’re still talking about your mom.”
Eventually, Shen Zhaoran and Xia Qiaoya stayed in the living room to talk, while Shen Chengshan took Shen Junhuai into the study.
“How is Zhaoran doing?”
“Alright.”
“Your mom and I have been busy with work all these years and haven’t paid enough attention to Zhaoran. If she’s feeling upset inside, make sure to coax her a bit more.”
“I will.”
“Has everything been arranged on Xie Cangyue’s end?”
“She’s currently living in that apartment south of the city, and I’ve arranged for her to start working at Hengyu next week.”
Shen Chengshan had reviewed Xie Cangyue’s resume. Even leaving her family background aside, she was more than qualified to enter Hengyu.
“Your mother and I were thinking that we don’t have to make the news public just yet. Let’s get her household registration transferred here first and talk about the rest later.”
Shen Junhuai said honestly, “She might not be willing.”
Shen Chengshan frowned. “It’s not like we’re asking her to completely cut ties with that side. What would it look like if a daughter of mine took someone else’s surname?”
Shen Junhuai nodded in silent acknowledgment.
Well, doesn’t Zhaoran still carry the Shen surname anyway?
The father and son talked for a while longer. When they went back downstairs, Shen Zhaoran was already helping Xia Qiaoya with flower arrangement.
The family was composed of level-headed people, so whether they accepted it or not, things stood as they were.
Seeing that it was still early, Shen Chengshan changed his clothes and headed to the company.
Concerned about Shen Zhaoran, Shen Junhuai decided to work from home for the day.
In the afternoon, Shen Zhaoran knocked on his office door. “Older brother, can I go visit the hospital?”
“Where’s Mom?”
“She was halfway through arranging flowers when she said inspiration struck, so she should be arriving at her studio around now.”
Shen Junhuai remained silent for a brief moment.
Shen Junhuai told her to go back and change into a different outfit first while he made a phone call to Xie Cangyue.
On the way to the hospital, Shen Zhaoran was obviously a bit nervous. Shen Junhuai had someone prepare a bouquet of flowers for her and comforted her, saying, “Don’t be afraid. We’re just meeting. She should be very easy to get along with.”
Investigations showed that Xie Xiangxue had a very good personality.
Shen Zhaoran gradually calmed down.
Xie Cangyue had been waiting at the hospital entrance since morning. Seeing them arrive, she led them toward the elevator banks.
“She’s awake and reading right now. I just told her you were my colleagues and happened to run into each other at the hospital while visiting, so you dropped by to say hello.”
Shen Zhaoran nodded. “We’ll go with what you said.”
Xie Cangyue noticed that Shen Zhaoran’s outfit today was exceptionally well-behaved, making her look soft all over.
She recalled Shen Chengshan telling her to act as Shen Zhaoran’s twin older sister. Put that way, she supposed she really was a little older than Shen Zhaoran.
Xie Xiangxue’s daughter was naturally her younger sister.
Even in flat shoes, Xie Cangyue was slightly taller than Shen Zhaoran. Suddenly, she reached out and patted Shen Zhaoran’s head, and the texture of her hair was quite nice.
Shen Zhaoran asked with a questioning look, “?”
Shen Junhuai simply watched in quiet observation.
Xie Cangyue stated, “I should be older than you.”
Shen Zhaoran was a bit confused, but still replied, “That’s right, you were born a little earlier.”
Suddenly struck by a sense of territorial crisis, Shen Junhuai pressed a hand onto Shen Zhaoran’s shoulder, pulled her closer to his side, and reminded them, “Visiting hours will be over if we’re late.”
Xie Cangyue glanced at her, thinking to herself that no one in his family’s hospital would dare boss her around.
Xie Xiangxue’s room was a double ward. Although it was a standard double, it was a bit larger than the other rooms. From the second day she moved in, the patient in the neighboring bed had been discharged, and no one else had been assigned there since. The empty bed was shared between the caregiver and Xie Cangyue in turns.
Xie Cangyue had simply claimed that this hospital featured specialist consultations from several countries and was more authoritative, and that Luo Keming had pulled strings to get her transferred here.
Arriving at the hospital room door, Shen Zhaoran felt a little nervous again. She looked up at Shen Junhuai, who only gently patted her shoulder and said, “I’ll be right outside.”
Holding the flowers, Shen Zhaoran followed Xie Cangyue into the ward.
Xie Cangyue called out as she stepped inside, “Mom, this is my colleague, Little Shen. She happened to be visiting someone else in the hospital and said she’d drop by to see you.”
Xie Xiangxue was even thinner than she looked in the previous photos, and her condition was quite poor, but she still maintained a gentle demeanor. She smiled as she looked at Shen Zhaoran. “Yueyue’s colleague? Come sit down. Auntie has some fruit here, so would you like some?”
Xie Cangyue washed two apples, handed one to Shen Zhaoran, and even provided her with a fruit knife. “Was this sent by Senior Luo?”
“Of course it was. Mom already said that since Little Luo is so busy, we shouldn’t keep causing trouble for him, making him run back and forth multiple times just to arrange Mom’s transfer.”
Since she had to weave this lie, she naturally had to coordinate with Luo Keming beforehand. Upon finding out, Luo Keming could only praise her for being awesome, and then turned around to ask if he could audit the specialist consultations.
While babbling nonsensically, Xie Cangyue skillfully peeled and sliced the apple in her hand, plating the pieces and placing them on the table in front of Xie Xiangxue.
Xie Xiangxue patted Xie Cangyue’s hand, gesturing for her to pass the plate over. “Have some, Little Shen.”
Shen Zhaoran hurriedly said, “I’ll just eat this one.”
She put down the fruit knife, picked up the apple directly, took a tiny bite, spat the apple peel into the palm of her hand, and threw it into the trash can.
As Xie Cangyue and Xie Xiangxue talked, Shen Zhaoran silently sat to the side, chewing a single bite of apple more than a dozen times.
When Xie Xiangxue needed to rest, Xie Cangyue led Shen Zhaoran out of the ward, even destroying the remaining apples on her way out.
Only when they reached the doorway did Xie Cangyue ask, “You don’t know how to peel them?”
“I know how to slice them.”
“You don’t like apples?”
“I can eat them.”
“Got it.”
Xie Cangyue thought to herself that meant she neither knew how to peel them nor liked eating them.
Seeing them come out, Shen Junhuai first observed Shen Zhaoran’s expression before saying to Xie Cangyue, “We’re heading back. Call me if anything comes up.”
Xie Cangyue replied, “Mm.” With that, she patted Shen Zhaoran’s head one more time and turned to leave.
Shen Zhaoran stared in mild bewilderment.
Shen Junhuai watched quietly.
Silently, Shen Junhuai smoothed down her long hair that had been ruffled by the pat and pulled her along as they walked out.
Walking beside him, Shen Zhaoran whispered, “Her condition doesn’t look too good.”
“Unless it’s an absolute last resort, surgery isn’t chosen lightly.”
A heart transplant didn’t simply end the moment someone successfully came off the operating table, because the subsequent rejection reactions and postoperative infections could all be fatal.
Shen Junhuai suddenly stopped walking, pressed his hand against the back of her neck to soothe her, and said, “We’ve already done everything we can, so what comes next will have to depend on her own strength.”
Lowering her eyes, Shen Zhaoran said, “I know.”