Chapter 7

Dr. Wu took out alcohol, cotton, and gauze from her bag and placed them on the table.

“Expose your wound, I’ll change the dressing for you,” she said.

Cheng Jingmo sat on a stool and glanced at Yu Xiangnian, who was sitting on another stool. Yu Xiangnian urged, “Hurry up, let Dr. Wu examine you.”

She wanted to see how serious Cheng Jingmo’s injury was. If it was severe, they couldn’t afford to delay treatment.

Cheng Jingmo lifted his shirt slightly, revealing his six-pack abs and sturdy waist to Yu Xiangnian. The injury was on the left side of his waist, covered by a piece of gauze stained with a small patch of dark red.

“You got slashed?” Yu Xiangnian blurted out a joke.

Cheng Jingmo’s mouth twitched. After a moment, he replied, “Just a cut.”

“Oh…” Yu Xiangnian responded nonchalantly.

As Dr. Wu peeled back the gauze, she commented, “Couldn’t you hope for something lighter?”

Yu Xiangnian didn’t understand any of the humor!

Dr. Wu uncovered the wound, revealing a cut about the length of her index finger. The stitches were visible, twisted and irregular, with dried blood around them.

Yu Xiangnian was amazed by the sewing technique.

The wound appeared to be a typical external injury, not too serious.

Dr. Wu dipped cotton in alcohol and began cleaning the wound. Seeing Yu Xiangnian watching attentively, she glanced at her and remarked, “You won’t be much help here. You might as well go cook.”

Huh! She was at her own home and still had to avoid others’ eyes!

She was determined to stay here and see if they dared to make any moves!

Yu Xiangnian placed her right hand on her flat belly and shyly glanced at Cheng Jingmo before saying, “Cheng Jingmo said I’m pregnant with his child. He’ll be cooking from now on.”

Cheng Jingmo’s body shook slightly. At the same time, Dr. Wu accidentally trembled while wiping Cheng Jingmo’s wound.

Then she heard Cheng Jingmo inhale sharply.

“Dr. Wu, be gentle. Cheng Jingmo’s face turned pale from the pain,” Yu Xiangnian said, pretending to be concerned.

Cheng Jingmo took a deep breath, turned away, and didn’t want to look at Yu Xiangnian.

This woman… now she’s pregnant, now she’s not. Who knows which of her words to believe!

Dr. Wu also took a deep breath and changed the cotton, disinfected the wound, and applied new gauze.

Yu Xiangnian watched Dr. Wu’s unfamiliar technique with disdain. Even with her eyes closed, she could do better.

After finishing up, Dr. Wu instructed Cheng Jingmo, “Your wound has reopened. Don’t exert yourself, or it won’t heal properly.”

Cheng Jingmo lowered his shirt. “Thank you, Comrade Wu.”

Yu Xiangnian speculated whether Cheng Jingmo had strained the wound while moving things last night or during morning exercises today.

The man… didn’t know how to be careful even when injured!

Although she thought this, she had to make those two feel uncomfortable, so she said, “Thank you so much, Dr. Wu. You should tell him these things. I kept telling him to be gentle last night, but he wouldn’t listen!”

Dr. Wu’s face turned pale, and she glared at Yu Xiangnian, then turned to Cheng Jingmo. “Comrade Cheng, you shouldn’t engage in strenuous activities during this time. It will affect your recovery.”

Yu Xiangnian received a sarcastic glance.

Very well! Not only do they want to occupy her nest, but they also dare to glare at her!

She smiled and slowly stood up. “Thank you so much, Dr. Wu. How much do we owe you?”

Dr. Wu hesitated for a moment, then smiled, “It’s just a small favor. No need to pay.”

“We can’t do that! Alcohol, medicine, gauze, these are all from the clinic. We can’t take advantage of the state.”

Dr. Wu’s smile froze.

Wasn’t she implying that Dr. Wu was using clinic supplies for personal use and taking advantage of the state?

Dr. Wu explained, “I didn’t take advantage. I bought these supplies myself from the clinic.”

Yu Xiangnian said, “Then we shouldn’t take advantage of you either! Since Cheng Jingmo will need to change his dressing several more times, we’ll buy these supplies from you. I’ll take care of changing his dressing myself in the future, so it won’t trouble you.”

Dr. Wu’s smile faded, and she replied coldly, “You’re not a Dr.. Do you know how to change it?”

Was she challenging her?!

Yu Xiangnian didn’t want to reveal herself, maintaining a smiling demeanor. “What’s so difficult about this? My technique is similar to Dr. Wu’s.”

She was clearly implying that Dr. Wu’s skills were akin to those of someone with no medical training.

Dr. Wu gritted her teeth. “Don’t joke about Comrade Cheng’s health.”

“I wouldn’t dare joke about his health. If he’s well, then I’m well too,” she said, then shyly lowered her head.

Cheng Jingmo, observing them, felt increasingly that something was off. He stood up, interrupting their conversation. “Comrade Wu, payment should be made. Leave the supplies; I’ll handle the dressing change myself.”

After Cheng Jingmo’s assertion, Dr. Wu had nothing more to say. After a while, she said, “Two yuan.”

Cheng Jingmo searched his pockets and folded his hands behind his back, embarrassedly saying to Yu Xiangnian, “You pay first.”

“Huh?” Yu Xiangnian suddenly looked up at Cheng Jingmo.

After a moment, she realized: Cheng Jingmo must be out of money!

She chuckled suddenly, catching Cheng Jingmo off guard with her unexpected smile, making his ears burn.

Indeed, he was out of money!

His monthly salary was 126 yuan. He gave 80 yuan to Yu Xiangnian, sent 30 yuan home, and used the remaining 16 yuan with Xiao Jie.

But 80 yuan a month wasn’t enough for Yu Xiangnian, who often asked him for money. The few hundred yuan he had saved over his ten years in the military had all been spent by Yu Xiangnian.

Last month, when he had to go out on a mission, he entrusted Dong Minghao’s wife from the same hospital to take care of Xiao Jie, giving her the last 20 yuan on him as Xiao Jie’s living expenses.

Yu Xiangnian rummaged in her bag for a while, and finally scraped together exactly two yuan, handing them to Dr. Wu.

She was out of money too!

Luckily, she managed to scrape together two yuan. Otherwise, she would have lost face today!

Dr. Wu took the money and seriously advised Cheng Jingmo again, “Don’t engage in strenuous activities, or your wound might get infected.”

Cheng Jingmo escorted Dr. Wu out.

Yu Xiangnian looked at their backs and sneered softly.

She could already imagine one person feeling wronged and crying, while the other hurriedly explained his innocence!

What a despicable man! Either don’t succumb to power, bravely stay with the one you like, or live a straightforward life.

A married man thinking about someone else in his heart—disgusting!

Yu Xiangnian cursed in her heart as she walked into the kitchen, squatting in front of the stove to light it and prepare dinner.

Suddenly, a pair of black leather shoes appeared before her eyes, followed by a statement, “I’ll cook.”

Yu Xiangnian ignored Cheng Jingmo. She kept the fire burning and was about to get up when she saw Cheng Jingmo scoop two ladles of water into the pot and scrub it with a brush.

Yu Xiangnian stood up, saying tonelessly, “Didn’t you hear Dr. Wu telling you not to engage in strenuous activities?”

Cheng Jingmo poured out the water from the pot and added two more ladles of clean water to cook the rice. “I didn’t do any strenuous activities.”

Yu Xiangnian thought to herself, This guy dares to admit in front of her that Dr. Wu is his!

She was about to say, “Why weren’t you this brave before?” when someone barged in, interrupting her thoughts.