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Director Zhao turned her head to look at the head nurse.
The head nurse quickly explained,
“The patient’s family is still waiting outside, and they all know you’re the one personally operating. Let’s check once more. If there’s any chance of saving her life, they’ll be extremely grateful to you.”
Director Zhao’s face turned unpleasant.
“I already examined her. Are you questioning my judgment?”
The head nurse hesitated. If it had already been checked, there shouldn’t be a need to do it again.
But Su Ying’s anxious expression from earlier flashed in her mind. That look made her uneasy. She couldn’t help but glance at the patient—her face was deathly pale, and the monitor readings were unstable.
“Director, this is a matter of life and death. Let’s examine her again. When she was brought in, a lot of people took notice. If you manage to save her, your skills will be recognized by even more people.”
Director Zhao paused slightly, seemingly in thought.
She didn’t care about other people’s lives, but she did care about achievements. With strong results, she could climb higher. Her ambitions extended far beyond being just a department head.
“…Fine. Let’s check again.”
Su Ying trudged home, exhausted, and sat alone in the living room, feeling a bit melancholy.
Why did she have to be the one to encounter all the bad luck? She had finally landed a job, but couldn’t hold back today. Those people were too much. Even when she had worked before, she’d never been targeted so openly and viciously.
She couldn’t control herself today—and now, she was probably going to lose the job she’d just started.
She couldn’t help glancing toward Gu Jinghong’s room.
He probably had a high-ranking background. If she asked him for help…
Su Ying quickly shook her head. Forget it.
She had seen firsthand how the guards treated Gu Jinghong. Even if he once had status, it clearly didn’t hold anymore. Even the guards looked down on him—how could others respect him?
Su Ying felt that Gu Jinghong was honestly a bit pitiful. She didn’t want to expose him to the cruelty of society again.
A low voice came from his room:
“You’re back?”
Su Ying quickly responded, “Mm, I’m back. Do you need to use the bathroom? I’ll help right away.”
She hurried to the bathroom, fetched clean pants, which had dried already, and brought a basin of warm water into Gu Jinghong’s room.
After cleaning him up and changing the bedding, she let out a deep breath without realizing.
“Exhausted?” he asked.
Su Ying looked up and met Gu Jinghong’s sharp gaze. She couldn’t help but smile.
“It’s just the first day. I’m not quite used to it yet, but I will be.”
Gu Jinghong’s gaze softened, and he changed the subject.
“No need to cook tonight. Use the meal card and grab something from the cafeteria. They’ll have porridge and your favorite meat dishes.”
Su Ying raised her eyes. “My favorite meat?”
Gu Jinghong arched a brow. “You don’t like meat?”
Su Ying blinked. Okay, she did like it.
In this era, people hardly had any oil in their meals—anyone would crave meat if they saw it.
“Get whatever you want. Don’t try to save money on my account.”
Su Ying had just been thinking how bossy his tone sounded when he added:
“There’s a savings book under the pillow. Keep it. If you need money later, just withdraw from it.”
Su Ying’s mouth opened slightly in shock. She pointed at herself.
“The savings book? You want me to keep it?”
Gu Jinghong looked at her, a hint of amusement in his eyes.
“We’re married now. You don’t want to manage the household money? Or… you don’t think of yourself as my wife?”
Su Ying was at a loss for words and even felt a bit guilty.
She really hadn’t thought of herself as his wife.
Although Gu Jinghong was good-looking, his current condition… even if she did have feelings for him, they wouldn’t be entirely pure. Right now, at best, they had a doctor-patient relationship.
She reached under the pillow and pulled out a red savings book. Opening it, she saw there was a balance of 763 yuan. Flipping through previous deposits, most months had about 300 to 400 yuan. He hardly spent anything.
Turning to the last page, the recent expenses were all large ones:
1,000 yuan, 300, 300…
Those must have been the bride price and wedding expenses.
She glanced at Gu Jinghong with mixed emotions.
“Um… about the bride price earlier, I…”
“It’s nothing. It was the right thing to do.”
Gu Jinghong’s calm and steady tone made Su Ying feel even more at ease, and her opinion of him rose again.
He looked cold and reserved on the outside, but he was clearly thoughtful and warm-hearted inside.
Su Ying wasn’t necessarily the kindest person, but she was the type who reciprocated. However others treated her, she’d return the favor. Since Gu Jinghong treated her well, she naturally would do her best to take care of him.
“There’s not much left in there,” he added, “but from now on, my monthly salary will be deposited into this account. If the house needs anything, just use it.”
Su Ying pursed her lips and thought for a moment, then nodded.
“Alright, then I’ll keep it.”
By the time she finished washing Gu Jinghong’s clothes, the sky had darkened.
He urged her to hurry and get dinner from the cafeteria—if she went too late, there might not be any food left.
Su Ying still had the bowls and dishes left behind by the two neighbor ladies from the day before. She figured she’d return them all at once.
But then she thought: shouldn’t she bring something back as a thank-you gift too? Courtesy should be returned.
She checked the kitchen but found there wasn’t much. Then, in one of the cabinets, she spotted some jars of wheat germ powder and powdered milk—probably intended for Gu Jinghong.
She didn’t feel right giving those away.
Opening the bottom cabinet, she found a stash of fresh fruit and rushed over to ask him:
“When did you buy those fruits? There’s still quite a bit left. Can I give some away?”
Gu Jinghong looked indifferent, as if he didn’t care at all.
“This is your home. You can handle things however you want. Those fruits were brought by the municipal committee people a few days ago. They’ve been here for a while. If you don’t eat them soon, they’ll spoil. Take what you need.”
Su Ying smiled at him.
“Alright, I’ll take a bit and leave some for you.”
The oranges were still fresh and tempting, but she didn’t have the heart to give them away. She chose kiwis for their nutrition and left those for Gu Jinghong. For the neighbors, she packed a bunch of grapes and three pears—fruit was rare in this era, so that should be plenty.
She took a woven basket from the wall, placed the fruit and bowls inside, and added two aluminum lunch boxes.
“I’m heading out then.”
She didn’t know exactly which courtyard the two neighbor ladies lived in, but she figured it’d be easy to ask around.
After all, there weren’t many people in the military housing complex. Most families knew each other.
That day, there had been a Sister-in-law Wu, so Su Ying approached someone with a lunchbox and asked.
The woman gave her a quick once-over, then smiled warmly.
“You’re… the young bride from Commander Gu’s house, right? Oh my, I heard early this morning from my own daughter-in-law that the Commander got married. Didn’t expect you to be such a pretty, delicate young lady. Take good care of the Commander, alright?”