Qin i painfully closed her eyes as she watched her brother and his future wife leave, unburdened. Were these really her relatives? Relatives by blood?
She was four years older than Qin Sheng. When their parents went to work, they would lock her and her brother at ho, making her responsible for looking after him. Initially, she found her brother to be a burden, but gradually, as he learned to crawl, to smile at her, and to speak, she started to feel responsible for him.
She didn’t start school until she was eight, but in her class, there were quite a few children who also started school at the age of eight or nine because, like her, they had to take care of their younger siblings. Other kids didn’t want to go ho after school, but the mont the school bell rang, she would rush ho. She felt sorry for her brother who was locked up at ho all day, so she wanted to get back to him as early as possible.
Up until Qin Sheng started school, the brother and sister were very close, even closer to each other than to their parents.
Qin Sheng changed when he was fourteen.
He gradually developed an Adam’s apple, fuzzy facial hair began to grow, and his voice began to deepen... Then, he no longer wanted to play with her or be close to her.
Initially, she was not used to it, but later, she thought it was just the rebellion of puberty, or perhaps, once he grew up, their relationship would beco close again.
Unfortunately, things did not turn out as she had hoped.
Her brother fell in love.
He got married.
Then, he started feeling that her presence in the house was a nuisance.
Later on, he got divorced.
He beca indifferent to everyone and everything at ho, imrsed only in his own emotions. When he finally ca out of it, he beca more prone to questioning and blaming others.
Even his failed marriage was blad on her; he believed that her presence caused so much discord between him and Wang Fong, leading to the end of their marriage.
And now, evidently, he didn’t even care whether she lived or died.
If she had never contributed, she had no right to bla anyone, but...
Tears rolled down her cheeks. In her thirties, with no ho, no job, no relatives, no friends, she felt her life was a complete failure!
Suddenly, there was a soft touch in her hand. The mont she opened her eyes, a hearty voice spoke, "If there’s anything you need, just tell , and I’ll help you with it. If I can’t do it, I’ll pass the ssage on."
The speaker was the son of the old man in the next bed. Her hand now held a clean handkerchief. She smiled gratefully at him, weakly voiced her thanks, and then closed her eyes again.
It wasn’t that she was being rude; she just didn’t know how to face it. Everything was starkly exposed for others to see. What could she say?
The man glanced at her, poured her a cup of water to cool, and after a mont’s thought, he headed to Song Xiaoyu’s office.
Song Xiaoyu was in surgery, and Wang Jing had gone with her. Only Chuxia was in the office. Seeing him enter, Chuxia stood up puzzled, "What’s wrong?" Since the old man was Director Huang’s patient, Chuxia naturally wondered why he had co.
"Doctor Xiao Lin is good." The man obviously rembered his sister telling him to pursue Chuxia. He greeted her, his face flushing to the shade of red cloth.
"Hello." Chuxia nodded and continued to look at him with a puzzled expression, waiting for his answer.
Steadying his emotions, the man said, "Comrade Qin’s family mbers have left, and now she has no one to look after her. There are so things I can help with, but there are other things that, as a man, it’s not quite appropriate for to handle."
"They left?" Chuxia frowned, "You an Wang Fong left the hospital?"
"Yes, her husband ca to take her away. Now, Comrade Qin has no one to take care of her. I saw her crying there; she seed quite distressed."
"Thank you," said Chuxia, as she rushed to the intensive care unit. It had only been a little more than three days, and her wounds were not yet healed. She was worried that Qin i might get overly agitated and worsen her condition.
Fortunately, Qin i was just lying there quietly, her emotions not too intense. If one didn’t notice the tears in the corners of her eyes, one might think she was asleep.
After giving Qin i a few looks, Chuxia quietly retreated and signaled to the old man’s son with a wave. The old man was delighted, humming a tune from his sickbed.
The old man’s son, Yu Jinfu, followed Chuxia, his face flushed red like a newlywed bride. As they passed by a pair of nurses, one couldn’t help but cover her mouth and giggle, making Yu Jinfu’s face turn even redder...
Although Chuxia noticed Yu Jinfu’s discomfort, now was not the ti to worry about these trivial things. Once inside the office, she looked at Yu Jinfu with a serious expression, "Brother Yu, I’m sorry to call you here, but I hope you can tell the details."
Yu Jinfu then stamred through the conversation between Wang Fong and Qin i, as well as the details after Qin Sheng arrived. Probably because he was worried Chuxia might think he was eavesdropping unethically, he explained that he didn’t an to listen; it was just that he was too close and the other party didn’t lower their voices. Even if he didn’t want to listen, he couldn’t help it.
Chuxia laughed and waved her hand, "Brother Yu, I understand. I really appreciate your help today. How about this, before Sister Qin cos to accompany , can you help out with anything that occurs, and if it’s not convenient, just co and call , is that okay?"
Yu Jinfu nodded repeatedly, "Of course, of course, that was my plan anyway."
"Thud thud..."
Chuxia turned her head to see that Commander Tongzi was standing at the door, expressionless, so she grinned and asked, "Why are you here now?"
It was now two in the afternoon. Zhou Mikang should have left yesterday, but a last-minute eting required his attendance so his departure was delayed by two days until tomorrow afternoon.
"The eting is over, I had nothing to do, so I thought I’d co to see you, and by the way, I have sothing to tell you, Uncle Three is getting married."
"Uncle Three is getting married?" Chuxia’s eyes suddenly bulged out, "Did he tell you himself? Who with?"
"Do you think I’m the type to spread rumors?" Zhou Mikang said as he sat down beside her desk, "Go ahead with your work, I’ll wait for you to get off work and we’ll pick up Uncle Three together. Tonight, the future Auntie Three is coming to our house for dinner."
"Really... really?" Chuxia stared at him, dumbfounded, thinking that the world was crazy, that even pigs were going to sleep in beds...
"I’m not sure about the specifics either. He wouldn’t say who the future Auntie Three is, just that we know her. I thought about it and couldn’t figure out who it could be. Oh well, we’ll recognize her when we see her." Zhou Mikang said, shaking his head, clearly as stunned by the news as she was.
"You couldn’t be..." Chuxia suddenly realized that there was a stranger in the room, feeling that it was impolite to continue this way. She then smiled at Yu Jinfu, "Brother Yu, this is my husband, Zhou Mikang..." Turning to Zhou Mikang, she continued, "Qin i’s brother ca to take his sister-in-law away, and now there’s no one to accompany her. Brother Yu kindly ca to tell ."
"Hello!"
"Hello!"
The two n exchanged greetings amiably and then fell silent.
"Doctor Xiao Lin, I’ll head back to the ward first." Yu Jinfu said with an embarrassed smile as he tiptoed away from Chuxia and Zhou Mikang.
Standing at six feet tall and robustly built, he walked as quietly as a cat. Zhou Mikang could not help but smile, and after the door was closed for quite a while, he leaned close to Chuxia’s ear, "When I’m not around, you’re not allowed to attract other n."
"Cut it out!" Chuxia rolled her eyes at him, "You’re overthinking it. His sister once thought of introducing to him. Once she knew I was married, she dropped the idea. But still, there was that bit of awkwardness when he saw , not because he likes , but because he was embarrassed about that incident, you understand?"
"What are you talking about?" Zhou Mikang pulled Chuxia into his arms, "When did this happen, how co I don’t know about it?"
"Stop it!" Chuxia struggled to free herself from his grip, "Let go of . What would it look like if soone walked in? How could I stay here? How could I face people?"
"The door is locked, soone would knock if they were coming in."
"No, I need to open the door and see. Just like Yu Jinfu, he must have misunderstood sothing when he closed the door," Chuxia said as she struggled, "Stop it or I’ll get really mad!"
Zhou Mikang let her go, jokingly chiding, "I’m leaving tomorrow, can’t you seem a bit more reluctant to let go?"
"Not here," Chuxia muttered as she opened the door. Sure enough, several young nurses were peeking around the corner. Seeing her at the door, they quickly pretended to be busy and walked away. Chuxia then turned back to glare at Zhou Mikang, "You’re going to be the death of ! Right, I was just about to call Uncle Three to ask soone to take care of Sister Qin, but now, I don’t feel it’s appropriate to ask him, you know?"
"Why wouldn’t it be appropriate? He’s helping Qin i purely because of work. You’re busy with work, I’ll call him for you." Zhou Mikang said as he sat down at Song Xiaoyu’s desk and started dialing the phone.
Zhou Shanping was quick; Zhou Mikang made the call at 2:10 PM, and by 3:00 PM, he arrived at the hospital with a neatly dressed woman.
"This is Liang Hongyan." After the introductions, Zhou Shanping instructed the woman, "This is my niece-in-law. If you need anything, you can go directly to her, and she will relay it to ."
"Yes, Director." Liang Hongyan respectfully smiled at Chuxia, "Doctor Lin, sorry for the trouble."
What a ss! Chuxia smiled back at her, "Don’t be so formal. Uncle Three said since you’re not going to the office, I’m just a ssenger."
Liang Hongyan quickly said, "You’re too kind."
Liang Hongyan’s speech was more polite than Huang Li’s, but it made Chuxia feel uncomfortable, a bit too fake. A chill ran down her spine, causing her to break into a cold sweat. Could this woman possibly be Uncle Three’s marriage prospect? If so, Uncle Three’s taste really was peculiar.
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That’s all for today’s update. I’ll post more tomorrow — I absolutely must work at full capacity the day after tomorrow, as I’ve lost all my attendance awards. If I lose the half-year award too, am I not just a total fool?..(To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welco to co to Qidian (qidian) to vote and support with monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian to read.)
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