Chapter 87

Xu Zhao didn’t spare the nurse another glance. His eyes were fixed on Jiang Suihan as he tried to get out of bed. “Why are you here? You even brought Chenchen with you. Was the journey alright?”

He couldn’t imagine how she, a young woman, had managed to travel an entire day and night by train with a six-month-old baby.

The nurse quickly stepped forward, attempting to support Xu Zhao, but he rejected her help without hesitation. She bit her lip in disappointment and gave him one last look before turning her attention to Jiang Suihan, who was still standing at the door.

“Stay where you are,” Jiang Suihan said immediately, putting down her luggage. “The army sent a soldier to accompany me, so the trip was fine. It seems like you’re the one in trouble now.”

Xu Zhao awkwardly rubbed his nose, trying to shift the subject. “You must be exhausted. Sit down.”

He turned to the nurse, “Comrade, my wife is here. Could you please fetch some water?”

The nurse’s face turned white, then blue, and back to white. She had a cousin who also served in the military, so she knew most soldiers married late. When Xu Zhao had been admitted to the hospital with serious injuries, she was the nurse assigned to care for him. The moment she laid eyes on him, she felt her heart flutter. She had cast aside her usual shyness and made efforts to befriend him, only to be rejected on the grounds that he was already married and had a child.

She had thought it was just an excuse. Surely, if she took good care of him, he would see her worth and agree to date her.

But now, seeing Jiang Suihan in person, she realized Xu Zhao hadn’t lied. He was telling the truth. The feeling of being caught in the act by his actual wife was so embarrassing that she wished she could dig a hole and disappear.

The nurse grabbed an enamel cup, ran out of the room, and soon returned with it filled with hot water. She handed it over stiffly and said, “The water’s ready. I’ll be leaving now.”

Jiang Suihan unstrapped Chenchen from her back and gave Xu Zhao a sidelong glance. “Not bad, Deputy Commander Xu. Still as charming as ever, attracting admirers wherever you go.”

Back in high school and college, many boys had pursued her, but she had always been quick to turn them down because she was young and not ready for marriage.

She started to wonder if she had cut down too many of her “flowers” back then, since she hadn’t had any admirers since arriving in Li Province. Meanwhile, Xu Zhao seemed to attract one after another. It was getting on her nerves.

Xu Zhao wasn’t dumb. He could hear the sarcasm in her voice. He quickly tried to explain, “It’s just a nurse from the hospital. I don’t even know her. How did you find out I was injured?”

Jiang Suihan stretched her neck before taking a sip of water. Only then did she answer, “Wang Dahe told me. The train ticket and the comrade who escorted me were arranged by the political commissar. You have the nerve to ask? Were you planning on waiting until you were fully recovered before coming home? We agreed you wouldn’t keep anything from me, but you’ve been treating my words like air, haven’t you?”

Xu Zhao shook his head, reaching out slowly to take her hand. He blinked innocently, “I wouldn’t dare. I just got injured and had surgery not long ago, so I didn’t have time to write to you. Don’t be mad. Are you hungry? How about some porridge?”

This guy—how old was he? And still trying to act cute like Chenchen.

The train had been stuffy, and with the hot weather, both Jiang Suihan and Chenchen had eaten little during the trip.

“I’m not hungry yet. I’ll go out and grab something later. You should drink the porridge first.”

Xu Zhao raised his bandaged right hand and signaled with his eyes that it wasn’t easy to drink with only one hand.

Seeing how badly he was injured—his hands and feet wrapped in bandages, with cuts on his face and pale lips—Jiang Suihan lost the urge to argue. She picked up the bowl and spooned some porridge, bringing it to his lips.

The two quietly continued—one feeding, the other drinking. For a moment, the room was silent.

Suddenly, Chenchen woke up with a loud cry.

Jiang Suihan quickly picked him up and comforted him. Feeling his diaper, she noticed it was wet. After changing him into a clean one, she laid him down on Xu Zhao’s bed. “Keep an eye on Chenchen while I make his formula.”

It had been two months since father and son last saw each other. Their faces shared similar features, and they stared at each other wide-eyed. Xu Zhao looked down at Chenchen, realizing how fast time had flown. In just two months, the boy had grown so much. He suddenly felt guilty, realizing how much of his son’s growth he had missed.

After a while, Chenchen grew tired of staring and turned his head away from the somewhat familiar, yet strange, man in front of him.

Xu Zhao, amused, extended a finger and gently poked Chenchen’s soft, chubby cheek. The feel of it was so satisfying that he poked again and again.

The result was predictable. Chenchen wasn’t the kind of baby who would tolerate this. He was a little guy with dignity. The moment he was poked too much, he let out a piercing wail that could be heard throughout the hospital wing.

Great, now he had made his son cry.

Panicked, Xu Zhao hurriedly tried to comfort him. “There, there. Don’t cry, Chenchen. Daddy won’t tease you anymore. Please stop crying, okay?”

The more he tried to soothe Chenchen, the louder Chenchen’s cries became. It was a vicious cycle.

Out of desperation, Xu Zhao tried reasoning with him. “Xu Chen, no crying! Men don’t cry. We bleed, but we don’t shed tears. You’re the future hope of the Xu family. You must be strong. How can you cry?”

Chenchen was unmoved. As a six-month-old baby, what did he know about being the family’s hope? While his dad talked, he cried.

Xu Zhao felt like his head was going to explode. When the tough approach didn’t work, he tried softening his tone: “Son, could you stop crying? If your mom finds out I made you cry, she’ll be mad at me and won’t want to talk to me.”

Just then, Jiang Suihan hurriedly pushed the door open. She saw Xu Zhao sweating as he tried to calm the crying Chenchen. She quickly picked up the baby and popped a bottle into his mouth. Chenchen, clearly starving, sniffled twice and eagerly grabbed the bottle, happily drinking.

“Why was Chenchen crying?” she asked.

Faced with his wife’s question, Xu Zhao was too embarrassed to admit it was his fault. “Maybe he was hungry. He suddenly started crying, and no matter what I did, he wouldn’t stop.”

Jiang Suihan gave him a skeptical glance, sensing that he was speaking faster than usual.

Xu Zhao, however, remained perfectly calm, not showing the slightest bit of guilt.

Chenchen quickly finished his bottle and was now wide awake, full of energy.

Father and son were well-fed, but Jiang Suihan still hadn’t eaten. She looked at Chenchen, concerned. “Are you sure you can manage by yourself?”

Xu Zhao, slightly exasperated, replied, “I can handle it, don’t worry. I used to help take care of him when we were at home. You’ll only be gone long enough to grab a meal. I’ve got this.”

As Jiang Suihan hesitantly left, glancing back every few steps, she clearly wasn’t confident in leaving Chenchen with him. After all, Xu Zhao had been away from home for two months, and Chenchen was now somewhat unfamiliar with his father. It would take time for them to bond again.

As expected, Xu Zhao was slapped in the face.

Chenchen had been happily playing with his little feet on the bed. But when he turned his head and saw that his mom was gone and only the not-so-familiar man was beside him in an unfamiliar environment, he became uneasy. The wailing began again.

Afraid of disturbing the hospital and other patients, Xu Zhao plunged back into the difficult task of calming the baby. At six months old, Chenchen couldn’t understand adult reasoning, so trying to explain things to him was pointless.

Rummaging through the luggage Jiang Suihan had brought, Xu Zhao was relieved to find that she had the foresight to pack Chenchen’s favorite toys. After playing with the toys for a while, Chenchen finally calmed down, though he continued to sob every now and then while playing.

But soon even the toys lost their effect. Chenchen started fussing for his mom again, and his crying gave Xu Zhao a headache. A nurse came in and asked him to quiet the child down, as the noise was disturbing other patients.

Xu Zhao tried several different strategies, and finally, through sheer persistence, managed to calm Chenchen down.

It wasn’t easy.

The older the child got, the more mischievous he became. He was only six months old and already so hard to handle. Xu Zhao couldn’t even imagine what kind of trouble he’d be in once he could run, jump, and talk.

Xu Zhao was suddenly overcome with the worries of a father growing older.

Lost in thought, he stopped whistling. Without the sound, Chenchen wasn’t happy. His little face fell, and his lips began to quiver.

This reaction was all too familiar to Xu Zhao, who immediately resumed whistling. The moment the sound returned, Chenchen’s face brightened, and he beamed, kicking his arms and legs in delight to show his joy.

Meanwhile, downstairs, Jiang Suihan had run into the young nurse with freckles on her face. She approached her and asked for directions to the nearest state-owned restaurant.

The nurse responded indifferently, “Turn right after you exit the hospital, walk straight for about 300 meters, then turn right again. Walk another hundred meters, and you’ll see it.”

“Thank you,” Jiang Suihan smiled.

The nurse barely managed a smile in return. “You’re welcome.”

Following the nurse’s directions, Jiang Suihan found the state-owned restaurant. It was just after 3 p.m., well past lunchtime. She asked the server what was still available.

“All we have left are steamed buns and plain noodles,” the server replied.

Jiang Suihan ordered a bowl of vegetarian noodles. Although there was no meat and only two pieces of green vegetable leaves, it tasted unexpectedly delicious. The noodle soup did not seem to be boiled in pure boiled water, but had a light taste of chicken soup.

The server, bored and sitting at a table across from her, curiously asked, “You’re not from Yun City, are you?”

Jiang Suihan nodded. “No, my family is from Mingjiang, in Guangdong Province. These noodles taste great. It’s my first time having such delicious noodles.”

The server lifted her chin proudly. “Of course! Our head chef was trained by someone who used to work in the imperial kitchen. Impressive, right? I’ve never been to Guangdong. How does it compare to Yun City?”

The young server, obviously just looking for someone to chat with, seemed eager for a conversation.

After swallowing a mouthful of noodles, Jiang Suihan replied, “My hometown, Mingjiang, is by the sea, so we have a lot of seafood. People there are used to eating seafood with every meal. Yun City is inland, so the customs and food are quite different from back home. For instance, you have noodles here, but in my hometown, rice has been the staple for generations.”

The server’s eyes lit up with curiosity and a hint of envy. “Seafood, huh? You’re so lucky. You get to eat all that seafood and see the ocean. I’ve never had real seafood in my life—only river fish and shrimp.”

Jiang Suihan smiled softly. “Every place has its own specialties. Eating too much seafood isn’t always good, and living by the sea means dealing with humid air, which can lead to rheumatism. We also have a lot of typhoons.”

The server, noticing they were about the same age, found herself chatting quite easily with Jiang Suihan. She innocently shared her name and where she lived.

While chatting, Jiang Suihan had finished her bowl of noodles without even realizing it. Looking at the empty bowl in front of her, she could hardly believe she had eaten it all. She let out a satisfied burp.

Seeing this, the server, named Zhong Jing, enthusiastically offered, “Would you like another bowl? There’s still more in the kitchen. I can get you some.”

Jiang Suihan smiled at the warmth of her new friend but shook her head. “No, thank you. I’m full.”

Zhong Jing then informed Jiang Suihan that the restaurant would have some great dishes for dinner. She told her to come early, but reassured her that if she arrived late, she could always save a dish for her.

Jiang Suihan smiled as she thanked Zhong Jing. She never expected to make a new friend during her visit to Yun City—it was quite a nice surprise.

When Xu Zhao saw Jiang Suihan finally return, he let out a heavy sigh and rubbed his sore jaw.

He had been whistling for half an hour to entertain Chenchen, but as soon as he stopped, Chenchen cried. Xu Zhao suspected that Chenchen was just seeking revenge for Xu Zhao having poked his cheek earlier. If Chenchen weren’t his own son, he would have let the little guy cry it out on his own.

Seeing his mother come back, Chenchen was overjoyed. He kicked his short legs and reached out for her to hold him.

Jiang Suihan picked up Chenchen and tried to make him laugh. “Did you cry while Mommy was gone?”

Xu Zhao, with a blank expression, glanced at Chenchen and complained, “He started crying at first, but then he wouldn’t stop. Do you know what he did to me?”

“What did he do?” Jiang Suihan asked.

Xu Zhao scoffed, “I whistled for half an hour. My cheeks are nearly numb from it. He’s definitely come to collect his debt, the little rascal!”

Jiang Suihan couldn’t hold back her laughter. “Whistling!?”