It was lunchti, and only the three of them were in the elevator. The young girl seed a bit reserved, so it was Shen Shuci who spoke first.
"You’re Xiang Xiaoyuan, right?"
"Yes." She nodded awkwardly, seeming unaccustod to dealing with strangers.
"We’ve t in Pingjiang, you should rember , right? I took your contact info later, wanting to invite you for a al, but you said you were busy." At that ti, Tang Wan invited a "Miss Xiao," but Shen Shuci had wanted to invite her too, and was politely refused.
"It’s no big deal, don’t worry about it. What brings you to the hospital..." Xiang Xiaoyuan looked at the lunchboxes in their hands.
"We have a family mber hospitalized."
By now, she had reached her office floor. Shen Shuci said she would invite her for a al when she’s free, and after a few polite exchanges, she and Huo Qinqi continued up the elevator.
"Quite a coincidence, running into her."
"Who?" Huo Qinqi suddenly spoke.
"You don’t rember her?" Shen Shuci chuckled lightly.
"Should I rember her? Besides you, I don’t really recall other won."
"When Liang Wenzhong was stalking , she was the one who stepped in bravely." Shen Shuci reminded him.
Huo Qinqi pursed his lips and stayed silent.
"I rember you even gave her your coat then."
"That was because I saw you were going to give her your coat, and I was worried you’d catch a cold, so I gave her mine."
"If I gave her my coat, and you were worried about catching a cold, you could’ve given yours to ." Probably not many girls would want to see another girl wrapped in their boyfriend’s clothes.
Huo Qinqi, not particular about such things, had only thought at the ti that Shen Shuci might catch a cold if she undressed, and didn’t think about the details. Now, reflecting on it, he nodded seriously, "Got it."
...
After they returned to the ward, everyone had a simple al. Shen Shuci had to prepare living essentials for the elderly woman being hospitalized. Busy as they were, no one ntioned the chance encounter with Xiang Xiaoyuan.
The elderly woman’s sudden hospitalization took everyone by surprise. In the afternoon, Grandma Jiang and Fan Mingyu specially ca to visit. In the evening, Jiang Yanting and his wife, along with their two children, also ca by, even Jiang Chengsi and others had visited. The ward was lively the entire afternoon.
As dusk fell and the entire ward quieted down, the discussion about who would stay overnight sparked another debate.
"Wanwan is pregnant, unsuited for overnight stays; she should go ho and rest. Xiaowu must accompany her, so you two couples shouldn’t get involved."
In the end, it was decided that the old man and Shen Shuci would stay with the patient.
Actually, the Shen parents also wanted to use this opportunity to gauge Shen Shuci’s thoughts, to share so heartfelt words.
Feeling her condition was not serious, the elderly lady urged Shen Shuci to go to work the next day, unable to convince her otherwise. Shen Shuci had to call Huo Qinqi to accompany the elderly couple.
Huo Qinqi, being not very talkative, made the room noticeably quiet when Zhou Zhongqing ca to conduct rounds. What were these three doing?
Having a staring contest?
Zhou Zhongqing, knowing Huo Qinqi’s taciturn nature, couldn’t understand why the girl chose to bring along soone so wooden for company; it wasn’t like she needed a bodyguard.
Finding the scene unbearable, Zhou Zhongqing quietly suggested, "Talk with the patients, chat a bit."
Huo Qinqi knew he should say sothing, but didn’t know how to start, especially since Elder Shen seed a bit hostile towards him. After hesitating, he finally ca up with a classic opening:
"The sun is nice today."
Elder Shen glanced out the window. In the middle of sumr, though it was only just past nine, the sunlight was already intensely bright, enough to scorch a person’s skin, "This sun... is quite sothing. I heard if it gets hotter, you could fry an egg on the ground."
"..."
Zhou Zhongqing stifled a laugh while continuing to help the elderly lady with her examination.
Being not good with words, coupled with Elder Shen deliberately putting on the airs of a future father-in-law, Huo Qinqi’s attempts to start a conversation didn’t go anywhere, making the atmosphere sowhat awkward.
Originally it wasn’t much, but around ten, Jiang Jinsang arrived.
As Tang Wan was pregnant, the elderly lady didn’t allow her to move back and forth frequently, but she was concerned about the elder’s health, so she had Jiang Jinsang accompany them for a while.
Compared to Huo Qinqi, Jiang Jinsang was much more at ease, being truly part of the Shen family.
Soone at that mont was rely an outsider, with an unavoidable feeling of not fitting in.
Upon finishing work, Shen Shuci saw her boyfriend being "isolated." Having already taken leave from work, she told Huo Qinqi to go ho and rest. But as soon as he reached ho, he received a gift.
A large cardboard box, and upon checking the sender’s information carefully, the na read: [Flower on Brocade]
Who sent this was self-evident!
With a frown, he opened it to find a stack of books:
"Don’t Lose Because You Can’t Express," "How to Make People Like You When You Speak," "Get to the Point with Your Words"...
And a box set with bold text on top:
[If You’re Really Bad at Speaking, Read These 5 Books]
Standing aside while looking over the stack of books, Huo family mbers said nothing. Only Huo Ran took a peek, and saw the sender, which was quite obvious.
Implying my brother is bad with words, and still embellishing it?
Inwardly, Huo Ran could only sigh:
Every cause has its effect, your retribution is Fifth Brother.
...
As the books had already been sent, Huo Qinqi accepted them with no reason not to, flipping through a few pages when he had ti, finding the content slightly interesting. By evening, he personally cooked and brought so soup and dishes to the hospital.
Maybe compared to Jiang Jinsang, he wasn’t as eloquent, but his actions never fell short.
Before reaching the ward, he saw two n standing at the entrance, in suits but quite unremarkable. As one fetched a cigarette from his pocket and lit it, he glanced around out of habit and suddenly saw Huo Qinqi, shocked enough to drop the cigarette.
Huo Qinqi squinted, not recognizing them.
"Brother..." Huo Ran also ca to the hospital, carrying two fruit baskets, and was sizing up the n at the entrance, vaguely recalling who they were.
"Hmm?"
"I know them."
"Who?"
"They’re from the guy who caused trouble at Fourth Brother’s club."
"You sure?" Huo Ran wasn’t known for a great mory.
"I rember it clearly; that bastard even called a little midget."
"..."
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