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Su Ying placed the warm towel on his face and wiped as she spoke.
“You still need to change. It’s summer—clothes must be washed every day, and your body needs to be wiped daily. Otherwise, your bedsores won’t heal.”
Gu Jinghong, who had been cooperating until now, immediately shook his head upon hearing the word “bedsores.”
Su Ying held him down with one hand and wiped his face and neck with the other.
“Don’t move. If bedsores are cared for properly, they can heal. I even know a type of ointment that won’t leave scars. Don’t be scared—if we keep everything clean and dry and use the right medicine, you’ll get better.”
After finishing his neck, Su Ying rinsed the towel, then began wiping his chest along the collarbone. Gu Jinghong trembled slightly, his long eyelashes fluttering like little brushes.
Though his face remained cold and stern, there was something subtly pitiful about him.
Gu Jinghong was very thin. When Su Ying wiped down to his waist, she could feel the ridges of his ribs.
His abdominal muscles were wasting away, but faint muscle lines were still visible, suggesting that he had been in excellent shape before his paralysis.
When she reached for the waistband of his thermal pants, Gu Jinghong couldn’t feel it—but he knew what she was doing.
He closed his eyes, hiding any emotion.
Worried about making him uncomfortable, Su Ying didn’t lift the blanket but instead reached under it to remove his red thermal underwear. Because it was dark, her hands inevitably brushed against his skin now and then.
Warm. Hot, even. But dry—dry in the malnourished, sunken way that showed his body wasn’t absorbing nutrients properly.
She gave his lower body a quick initial wipe, then changed the water. This time, she removed his underwear entirely. When she saw the bedsores clearly, she couldn’t help frowning.
The wounds were raw and inflamed, clearly not cleaned properly before, which was likely why they hadn’t scabbed over.
She looked up at him and asked softly,
“Doesn’t it hurt?”
Gu Jinghong didn’t open his eyes, but his voice was calm.
“I don’t feel it. I can’t feel pain.”
Of course. He was paralyzed. And though he seemed calm, after just one day of caring for him, Su Ying no longer saw him as the powerful, star-ranked officer she imagined—but rather as a pitiful man no one cared for.
“You went to the hospital before, right? The doctor must’ve prescribed you some meds. Where are they?”
“In the drawer.”
Su Ying opened the drawer and found everything—gauze, cotton swabs, ointments, oral medication.
She efficiently cleaned the bedsores. Her movements were practiced, steady—she even applied the medicine like a trained nurse.
Gu Jinghong squinted at her. He was surprised—this girl looked barely twenty, yet her technique was just like a medical professional’s.
He suddenly regretted not asking Ye Zhengwei and the others more about Su Ying’s background. All he knew was that she was in her twenties and had come to Jiangcheng with her mother—the two relying on each other for survival.
That night, Su Ying was completely exhausted. By the time she finally lay down, it was almost 1 a.m.
Between wiping Gu Jinghong’s body, brushing his teeth, and washing all his dirty clothes and hanging them up, she had worked for over four hours.
She was so tired that the moment her head hit the pillow, she fell asleep—snoring, for the first time ever.
Gu Jinghong, who was in the room next door and had very sharp hearing, couldn’t sleep either. Hearing her snoring, he turned slightly and the corner of his mouth lifted into a faint smile.
He hadn’t expected such a delicate-looking girl to snore. Honestly… it was kind of cute.
The next morning, as soon as the alarm rang, Su Ying shot up from the bed.
Rubbing her face, she forced herself awake, got out of bed, and began tidying up before making breakfast for Gu Jinghong.
She remembered seeing rice and flour in the kitchen the day before, so she kept things simple and cooked porridge. She boiled two eggs for Gu Jinghong, fed him breakfast, and quickly threw on her shoes to head out.
“I don’t have time to wash the dishes. I’ll do them when I get back.”
Seeing how rushed she was, Gu Jinghong asked,
“Where are you going?”
“I have to report for work today—I’m running late. I’ll come back at noon to cook lunch for you. If you’re bored, just stare at the ceiling for the morning.”
As she spoke, she quickly changed her shoes and carefully wheeled out the new bicycle they had bought.
Gu Jinghong: “…”
Watching Su Ying push the large bike, which made her look even smaller, he couldn’t help asking,
“Do you know how to ride a bike? If not, don’t force it—it’s dangerous.”
Su Ying wheeled the bike to the door, closed it behind her, and replied,
“Of course I know how! I can ride not just a 28-inch men’s bike—even a motorcycle.”
Gu Jinghong had his doubts about her bragging, but as a dignified and reserved military man, he didn’t call her out on it.
He quietly turned away and resumed staring at the ceiling in a daze.
Only this time, unlike before, he felt oddly restless. The room was too quiet—almost uncomfortably so.
The military family compound was located in the southern part of the city—a prime location—and not far from the hospital where Su Ying was to work.
She tested the heavy “28-bar frame” bike and found the central bar to be awkward—it kept bumping into her thighs.
Looking around, she noticed others getting on their bikes by swinging their leg from the back, so she imitated them. After a few test kicks, she managed to mount the bike from behind.
Hey, not bad! The start was a bit wobbly, her grip on the handlebars unsteady, but she quickly got the hang of it.
She used to drive a car in modern times—riding a bicycle was definitely within her skillset.
The hospital she was assigned to was Jiangcheng Central Hospital, the same one she had visited earlier. When she arrived, it was only 8:00 a.m., and most of the staff hadn’t started work yet.
She waited at the entrance for about half an hour before a middle-aged woman wearing a plaid jacket and yawning came over. The woman unlocked the door and pulled a white coat from the cabinet.
Su Ying followed her in and handed over her recommendation letter.
“Hello, I’m here to report in.”
The woman put on her white coat while yawning, not even bothering to lift her eyelids, let alone acknowledge Su Ying.
Holding the letter awkwardly, Su Ying stood there, a little embarrassed.
The woman slowly buttoned up her coat, poured herself a mug of hot water, and began wiping down her desk.
She continued to ignore Su Ying entirely.
This cold reception made Su Ying bristle inside, but since she was new here, she had to bite her tongue. She stepped forward and tried again.
“Excuse me, I’m here to report for duty. Do I handle onboarding with you?”
The woman finally glanced at her, holding the rag in her hand.
“Why are you so dirty?”
Su Ying pressed her lips together, then smiled.
She set the recommendation letter on the desk and took the rag.
“Let me wash this for you.”
The woman tossed the rag at her and sat down.
Su Ying held it, but as soon as her hand dipped into the water, she couldn’t help but flinch—it was ice-cold, like freshly drawn well water.
Her body wasn’t in the best shape to begin with, and the sudden cold made her scalp prickle with pain.