Chapter 12

“How’s everything at home? Who brought you here?” Su Dong washed his hands, returned to his office, took off his coat, and replaced it with a clean one from the wardrobe.

Su Xi sat on a stool and looked at her big brother’s office. Upon hearing Su Dong’s question, she replied, “Uncle sent me here. My Brother hasn’t come home this week, so my Uncle asked me to bring him food and shrimp sauce. I came over to hang out with him. Where is my brother? I don’t see him here.”

Thinking of Xi Yannan, who was lying in his own dormitory, Su Dong rubbed his forehead and said helplessly, “He’s in my dorm. Tell Grandma that Yannan is all grown up and can manage to get his own food. Don’t always let Uncle deliver food to him. He’s getting old, and besides, I’m here.”

Su Xi nodded and said, “Grandma didn’t specially ask Uncle to deliver it to Brother; it was just that Uncle would pass by here.”

He felt relieved upon hearing this. Su Dong checked the time and said, “It’s past 11. Did Uncle mention when he would come to pick you up?”

“In the afternoon, Uncle is going to the county government. I didn’t ask for details. We agreed that he would come to the hospital to find me after he was done. Why?”

No problem. Later, I have to do rounds. I don’t have time to take you around. How about you go find Yannan? Let him take you to the state-owned restaurant for some good food. In the afternoon, let Yannan take you to see a movie and buy some clothes.” Su Dong knew his little sister was delicate; leaving her alone like this to wait would be boring for her.

Su Xi shook her head and said, “It’s too hot outside. I don’t want to go out. Brother, can I follow you during your rounds?”

“What would you gain from following me?”

Su Xi said, “I also want to become a doctor in the future. Why not follow you and get a glimpse of it in advance?”

Su Dong took out the record book prepared for rounds and stood up, tapping his sister’s small head. “With your current grades, it’s not feasible to become a doctor.”

Su Xi also stood up and said, “Don’t worry, brother. I’ve already started working hard.”

Su Dong has always had a hard time saying “no” to his younger sister. He could only helplessly say, “Follow me later and observe, but no talking. Some patients have special conditions, and you can only wait outside, understand?”

After confirming that his younger sister had heard, Su Dong waved to the nurse’s desk and said, “Xiao Zhang, Xiao Li, let’s go! We’ll make our rounds before lunch.”

Su Xi had pursued her postgraduate and doctoral degrees in her previous life, so her theoretical knowledge was strong. Following her brother, she could naturally understand the professional terms he used when examining patients and communicating with them warmly.

In fact, she also interned with her teacher in her past life. However, the medical standards now were quite different from those in her future life.

Nevertheless, if you want to pursue the path of becoming a medical student, it is good to get a glimpse of the environment early on.

At this time, not many people chose to stay in the hospital when they fell ill, unlike in the future, when hospital beds were in high demand.

Therefore, they quickly arrived at the last ward and unsurprisingly found Su Sanya squatting at the door, keeping watch.

Su Sanya squatted at the door and saw Su Dong wearing a white coat from a distance, she couldn’t control the astonishment showing in her eyes.

The siblings, Su Dong and Su Xi, were truly good-looking. She had grown up without seeing anyone more attractive than them.

However, thinking about Su Dong and Xi Yannan being a couple, she sneered in disgust.

When the group reached the ward’s entrance, Cao Liang, who had gone out to make arrangements, happened to return.

Seeing the group in white coats, he hurriedly approached, expressing concern, “Doctor, is there something wrong with our company commander?”

Su Dong quickly waved his hand and said, “It’s a routine ward round before lunch. No need to worry.”

“Oh! That’s good, that’s good, doctor; please come in quickly, doctor.” Cao Liang relaxed, immediately opening the door and welcoming everyone inside. Before entering, he even thanked the nurse for helping to keep Su Sanya away and not allowing her to disturb the company commander.

Su Sanya didn’t expect Su Xi to come along, so she panicked and quickly followed. However, before she could reach the door frame, Cao Liang accidentally shut her outside with a sudden bang.

Everyone who saw the scene. “……”

Facing puzzled looks from everyone, Cao Liang awkwardly scratched his head and said, “Um, that woman outside might disturb our company commander’s rest.”

Su Dong raised an eyebrow and asked, “Isn’t she the one who saved your company commander’s life?”

At least he had heard Su Sanya shouting about it several times.

Cao Liang smirked. “Nah, if she hadn’t suddenly appeared, our company commander wouldn’t have been shot worrying about the safety of the people.”

Although a bit surprised by this answer, Su Dong didn’t press further and began the official examination.

Su Xi stood behind the crowd, curiously observing the man on the sick bed.

She wondered what was so special about the man Su Sanya was fixated on. Unexpectedly, she locked eyes with a pair of dark and profound pupils.

Su Xi blinked, thinking that she was only sneaking a peek and standing discreetly in the crowd. How did she end up making eye contact with him? This guy was just too alert; he truly deserves to be called a soldier.

Nevertheless, Su Xi wasn’t intimidated. She smiled at the man on the bed, secretly admiring him as yet another handsome guy.

He wasn’t as refined and beautiful as Big Brother Su Dong, nor as rebellious and outspoken as her brother Yannan. The man before her didn’t appear much older, around twenty, with sharp eyebrows, starry eyes, a straight nose, and tightly pursed, thin lips, exuding an air of dignity and righteousness.

And even if lying in bed, one can see how long his legs were, as the bed looked too small for his legs, which means he was not shorter than Brother Yannan.

Su Xi whistled in her mind—a top-notch handsome guy. No wonder Su Sanya was staring at him so intensely.

As Su Dong conducted the formal examination, Su Xi also focused, listening attentively to the conversation between Su Dong and the patient.

A few minutes later, the group streamed out of the hospital room.

Su Dong took the stethoscope off his ear and said to his sister, “Do you really not want to go to a state-owned restaurant?”

Su Xi shook her head decisively and said, “No. It’s too hot outside.”

“Alright then. The hospital cafeteria is not bad; we can have lunch there. In the afternoon, you can rest in my office.”

“I’m fine with that.”

After they left, Cao Liang, observing the persistent Su Sanya trying to sneak into the hospital room, directly stood in front of the door with a stern expression.

Su Sanya’s face didn’t look good either. She stared at Su Xi meeting Xie Zhen with wide eyes. She was anxious, but she couldn’t show it. She stiffly said, “I’m the savior of your company commander. It’s not appropriate for you to stop me from entering, right?”

Cao Liang frowned. “Give it a rest. If it weren’t for you, would our company commander be lying here?”

Su Sanya’s face turned pale. She had only heard about it when Su Xi’s uncle boasted to someone in her previous life. It seemed that Su Xi’s husband was saved by Xi Yannan. However, she wasn’t aware of the specific time or the extent of the injuries. Could it be that her appearance had worsened Xie Zhen’s condition?

But she didn’t want to miss this opportunity, so her voice softened, and she said, “Then, Xie Zhen is also my savior. I… I should stay to take care of him.”

Cao Liang squinted his eyes; she was really good at seizing the opportunity. He had been with the company commander for quite some time, but he had never encountered someone so shameless. At this moment, he didn’t even want to say much.

Just when he was getting impatient, hurried footsteps approached. He looked up, finally seeing the person they had been waiting for. He grinned. “Kaitao, it’s this woman. I suspect she’s a spy, specifically targeting our company commander. Take her back and interrogate her properly.”

???

Before, there was a false gentleness on Su Sanya’s face; now all that remained was terror. The moment she was detained by the police, she screamed in fear, “I… I’m not a spy! The People’s Liberation Army can’t wrong people. I… I’m innocent.”

Su Sanya was terrified. Even if she was ignorant, she knew what a spy represented—and that would be execution.

Thinking of the fear of death from her previous life, her whole body trembled. She just wanted to snatch a good man and be cherished by someone in the future. She really wasn’t a spy.

Cao Liang’s words were sharp: “You’re saying that you’re not a spy? Then how do you know our company commander’s name is Xie Zhen? And how did you know our company commander would be in that alley? Remember, we’re on a confidential mission?”

Su Sanya couldn’t stop shaking. She had no idea which alley Xie Zhen would appear in; she was truly like a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse.

In the past couple of weeks, she recklessly ran to the county town, weaving through alleys within a certain range, just hoping for a chance encounter.

As for how she knew the man was named Xie Zhen, with her strong dislike for Su Xi, how could she not know what Su Xi’s man was called?

But… How could she explain all this? It had been so many years since the end of the Cultural Revolution; if she claimed to be reborn, wouldn’t she be sentenced to death?

Thinking about this, she slumped, tears streaming down her face. She regretted not being able to turn back time, even just for a day, or better yet, half a day. She vowed never to daydream about things that didn’t belong to her.

No, she couldn’t stay here.

She needed to escape. However, in two lifetimes, she had never experienced anything like this. Her legs had long gone weak from fear, and despite struggling a few times, she couldn’t move an inch.

The policeman was named Kai Tao, who used to be Xie Zhen’s comrade. He was then transferred; he returned to his hometown and recently became a criminal investigator. He could easily see the guilt on Su Sanya’s face and instantly knew that something was amiss.

So, he directly handcuffed her and said, “Stop crying. If you’re innocent, we won’t falsely accuse you.”

Then, he turned and called out, “Tell Xie Zhen I said hi. I’ll detain her at the bureau for now and come back to talk to you all after work.”

The commotion naturally attracted a crowd, including Su Xi, who was planning to join her big brother for dinner.
Su Xi watched the whole scene in shock, bewildered by how, after not seeing each other for a few days, Su Sanya managed to land herself in the police station.

She had been worried before that Su Sanya might blab about her brother and Big Brother’s affairs everywhere and had envisioned a variety of backup plans.

‘What a good person.’ Su Xi looked in Xie Zhen’s direction with gratitude in her eyes.

“Boss, that woman outside is really suspicious; she knows your name. She mentioned your name, Xie Zhen.” After closing the door, Cao Liang felt relieved and immediately approached Xie Zhen to report what had just happened.

Xie Zhen was not surprised. He had already figured out that the woman outside, whose name he didn’t know, was here for him.

“Let Kaitao interrogate her thoroughly.”

Cao Liang nodded. “Don’t worry about it, Boss. By the way, are you hungry? Just wait a bit longer. I’ve asked the cafeteria to stew some fish soup for you. It’s scheduled for 12, and there are still 10 minutes left.”

Xie Zhen nodded and didn’t speak; he didn’t feel hungry yet.

Cao Liang, accustomed to Xie Zhen’s silence, went straight on and said, “Boss, Doctor Su is too handsome. I have only seen him wearing a mask before, but when he came here, my goodness, I’ve never seen a man look this good. It’s like Pan An is still in this world. I thought the battalion commander was the most handsome man I’d ever seen, tsk tsk… And that little girl, she’s also beautiful. In a few years, when she grows up, she won’t be any less than her older brother. I wonder which guy will take her home in the future.”

Images of the girl’s smiling face flashed through Xie Zhen’s mind. His gaze softened; indeed, she was remarkably beautiful, with expressive features. What stood out the most was the flower-shaped birthmark below her eye. She seemed young yet courageous.

As Cao Liang continued his unrestrained talk, Xie Zhen interrupted, “Don’t talk nonsense; she’s just a little girl.”

“I know, I’m just envious. That girl is really good-looking, even prettier than the dolls in the store. I wonder which lucky guy will marry her in the future, tsk tsk.”

“Achoo.”

“Boss, why did you sneeze? Did you catch a cold?”

“Shut up!”

“…”

……………….

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T/N: Well, I forgot about their age gap, but don’t worry, they won’t get together that early. No grooming!!!!!!!

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