Chapter 17.2

Early the next morning, the hospital’s cleaning staff arrived first.

Dr. Wang, who had stayed in the clinic overnight because of Jiang Nian, came by twice to check on her. At dawn, he came again.

After examining Jiang Nian’s pupils and other conditions, Lu Yu, who had been standing by the bed, feeling uncomfortable and conflicted, asked hoarsely, “Doctor, how is my sister-in-law?”

Dr. Wang, who hadn’t slept all night and looked tired, breathed a sigh of relief. “Her condition is stabilizing. She should wake up soon.”

Dr. Wang couldn’t help but yawn before he continued, “You need to talk to your sister-in-law, make sure she doesn’t do anything foolish again.”

Hearing that Jiang Nian was out of danger, Lu Yu finally felt a weight lift off his shoulders. He nodded, “Understood.”

After Dr. Wang left, Lu Yu sat by the bed, staring blankly at Jiang Nian’s pale face.

His sister-in-law had never looked as carefree and happy as she did yesterday. He noticed her odd behavior but never imagined she would do something so drastic.

After about half an hour, Jiang Nian began to show signs of waking up.

Her eyelashes fluttered, and she felt a severe headache, nausea, and dizziness. Struggling to open her eyes, she heard a familiar voice.

“Sister-in-law…”

The voice was low and hoarse.

Following the voice, Jiang Nian turned her head slowly and was startled to see Lu Yu sitting by her bed.

Lu Yu, who usually maintained a straight posture, was now slouched. His handsome, clean face looked haggard, with a ring of stubble around his mouth and bloodshot eyes.

Lu Yu didn’t scold her but asked gently, “Do you feel any discomfort? Should I get Dr. Wang?”

Jiang Nian replied, “I’m alright.”

Apart from the pain in her head, dizziness, and nausea, she felt relatively okay. She assumed she had suffered another concussion.

Looking around the room, she lowered her eyes in disappointment. Recalling the blurry scene she saw last night, she realized that her body in the real world had died, and she was now permanently in this world, living under Jiang Nian’s identity.

This realization made her feel a bit sad.

But at least she had gradually adapted to life here. She still had Lu Yu to rely on and no longer had to worry about following the plot. Whether Lu Yu ended up with Sun Ying or not didn’t matter anymore.

From now on, the family quarters would be her home.

Jiang Nian looked at Lu Yu, who was still focused on her, and hesitated before saying, “I’m sorry for worrying you.”

Lu Yu frowned slightly and glanced at her head. “Don’t do anything foolish again. Although my brother is gone, this family still has me. As long as I’m here, I won’t let anyone bully you. Do whatever makes you happy without worrying about what others say or do.”

Jiang Nian felt a warmth in her heart, knowing Lu Yu genuinely cared for her as family.

As daylight brightened, the hospital started to get busy.

Dr. Wang came back to check on Jiang Nian again and said she could stay in the hospital for two to three days and be discharged if there were no major issues. As he left, Feng Mei arrived with an aluminum lunchbox. Seeing Jiang Nian awake, she slapped her thigh and exclaimed, “Oh my heavens, you scared us to death!”

Lu Yu stood up. “Sister Feng, please stay with my sister-in-law. I need to wash my face.”

Feng Mei nodded. “Go ahead.”

She then turned to Jiang Nian. “Look at Deputy Commander Lu, carrying you all the way from the family quarters to the hospital last night, his eyes were red. What could have been so unbearable for you? Just think about who would benefit the most if something really happened to you?”

Feng Mei continued to ramble on for quite some time.

Jiang Nian didn’t catch much of what she said, except for the part about Lu Yu carrying her all the way.

Seeing the stubble and the red bloodshot eyes of Lu Yu, she realized he hadn’t slept all night. She looked at Lu Yu, who was walking towards the door, and said, “I won’t do anything foolish again.”

Feng Mei smiled. “It’s good that you’ve come around.”

Lu Yu walked out of the room, his tightly pressed lips finally relaxing into a light smile.

Breakfast was brought by Feng Mei. Jiang Nian, feeling better, sat up with her help. “Since you’re here, who’s watching your children?”

Feng Mei handed her the chopsticks. “Xu Yan is helping me.”

Mentioning Xu Yan reminded her of last night’s events. “Last night, when I followed you to the hospital, I didn’t expect Xu Yan to come along with me.”

Jiang Nian took a sip of porridge and was stunned for a moment after hearing this.

“Deputy Commander Lu.”

Lu Guosheng’s voice came from outside the ward. Jiang Nian turned her head to see Lu Yu looking very much less tired after washing  up. His stubble added a wild touch to his usually clean-cut face, and his military green uniform accentuated his straight posture.

He walked to the bed, relieved to see Jiang Nian sitting up and eating.

Lu Guosheng and Zheng Hong entered the room with their son, Lu Zhijun. Zheng Hong held Lu Zhijun’s hand, avoiding eye contact with Jiang Nian. Lu Zhijun complained, “Mom, you’re hurting me.”

“I didn’t hurt you!”

Zheng Hong loosened her grip, glared at him, and denied squeezing his hand out of anger.

Lu Zhijun, pouting in frustration, looked at the red sugar pastries and eggs his father was holding. They were his favorite, but unfortunately it was not for him.

Feng Mei scoffed, glaring at Zheng Hong with disdain.

She had discussed Zheng Hong’s actions with her husband last night. Realizing how wrong she was to pity Zheng Hong and blame Xu Yan before. Old Song had bluntly told her that she was not only blind but also had a pig brain for taking this long to see the truth.

Lu Guosheng placed the items on the small table beside the bed, glanced at Lu Yu and then looked at Jiang Nian. “Deputy Commander Lu’s sister-in-law, I apologize for not keeping my wife in check. She said hurtful things in front of the military wives. We brought these supplements as a gesture of our apology. Please don’t hold a grudge against Zheng Hong.”

Upon finishing, Lu Guosheng looked at Zheng Hong, signaling her to come forward and apologize.

Zheng Hong bit her lip, seeing the stern look on Lu Guosheng’s face. Fearing that his anger might send her back to her parents’ house, she took a few steps forward and recited the words Lu Guosheng had made her memorize on the way there.

“Comrade Jiang Nian, I apologize for the hurtful words I said to you. I promise I won’t speak to you like that again.”

After a gentle nudge from Lu Guosheng on her back, Zheng Hong hesitated for a moment before bending at the waist and bowing to Jiang Nian. “Comrade Jiang Nian, I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”

Lu Yu watched Zheng Hong coldly before turning his gaze to Jiang Nian. She was holding the aluminum lunch box in both hands, with her head lowered as usual, as if she had trapped herself in a corner where no one could see her, and she just sat there quietly without saying a word.

He said nothing and waited quietly.

The room fell into an uncomfortable silence. Lu Guosheng frowned, worried that Jiang Nian wouldn’t forgive Zheng Hong and might escalate the matter to the political commissar.

Zheng Hong kept her head down, her eyelids hiding the impatience in her eyes.  She couldn’t understand why this widow was being so difficult. She had already apologized and even made a public self-criticism in front of the whole regiment. What more did Jiang Nian want? Why was she putting on such an act now when she had been so sarcastic before?

Feng Mei broke the awkward silence by gently patting Jiang Nian’s hand, the one without the IV. “Captain Lu brought all these items to apologize, and he promised to keep a closer watch on his wife. I think we should let this matter rest.”

Since they all lived in the same family quarters and often saw each other, continuing the conflict wouldn’t be beneficial for anyone.

Jiang Nian was waiting for Feng Mei to say something like this. She nodded slightly, her voice barely audible, “Let’s listen to Sister Feng.”

By saying this, she was also indirectly showing respect to Feng Mei, acknowledging that she would need her support in the future.

Lu Guosheng gave Feng Mei a grateful look. Feng Mei straightened up, feeling a bit proud of herself.

—See, my words still carry weight, don’t they?

After Lu Guosheng’s family left, Feng Mei turned to Lu Yu. “I brought you some corn pancakes. Eat something to fill your stomach.”

She took out a plate of corn pancakes from her cloth bag and handed them to Lu Yu. He took them with a smile, “Thank you, Sister Feng.”

Feng Mei smiled back. “Nothing to thank me for.”

Lu Yu sat on an empty hospital bed, eating the corn pancakes in large bites. Feng Mei handed him an enamel cup of water. “Eat slowly, don’t choke.”

“Are you Jiang Nian?”

A nurse walked into the room. The voice sounded familiar to Jiang Nian, so she looked up and saw the nurse was Sun Ying, the female lead in the book. If it were before her injury, she might have tried to set her up with Lu Yu. But now, she didn’t have the energy for that, especially since she couldn’t go back anyway.

Moreover, judging by Lu Yu’s demeanor, he didn’t seem to have any feelings for Sun Ying.

Jiang Nian replied, “I am.”

Sun Ying hesitated upon seeing Jiang Nian’s face, her gaze lingering on the bandage on Jiang Nian’s forehead, puzzled by her new injury. She changed Jiang Nian’s dressing and, as she turned to leave, noticed Lu Yu sitting on the neighboring bed, drinking water.

He was looking down at the enamel cup in his hands, dressed in his military uniform, sitting just like the man in her dream last night. In the dream, she and this man, whom she had only met once, were sitting face-to-face on a train, both in military attire.

She couldn’t understand why she had dreamed of a man she barely knew.

“Yingying, Dr. Wang is calling you.”

Wu Yuoshan’s voice came from outside.

“Coming.”

Sun Ying quickly left the ward.

Feng Mei stayed for a while, chatting with Jiang Nian before getting up to leave.

Lu Yu handed her the items that Lu Guosheng had brought. Feng Mei was taken aback. Although she was tempted and wanted to give them to her two sons, she wasn’t shameless enough to take someone else’s gifts.

She hurriedly walked out of the ward, waving her hand. “No, no, keep them for your sister-in-law.”

“Sister Feng.”

Lu Yu took a few strides to catch up with her and blocked her path, pushing the items into her hands. “These were from Zheng Hong. You take them. I’ll buy what my sister-in-law needs by myself.”

Feng Mei was stunned, and so was Jiang Nian.

Jiang Nian turned to look at Lu Yu’s sharp profile. The man was expressionless as he handed all the items from Lu Guosheng to Feng Mei.

Jiang Nian quickly lowered her head, pressing her lips together to suppress her laughter.

She hadn’t expected Lu Yu to be so petty.

After seeing Feng Mei off, Lu Yu sat down on the neighboring bed and said to Jiang Nian, “Sister-in-law, tell me what you want to eat, and I’ll buy it from the supply and marketing cooperative.”

Jiang Nian nodded slightly. “Okay.”

Lu Yu, seeing her quiet and reserved demeanor, couldn’t help but recall her cheerful smile from yesterday, full of youthful exuberance.

She looked beautiful when she smiled.

The news of Jiang Nian’s suicide attempt spread throughout the family quarters by the next day. The military wives privately blamed Zheng Hong for pushing Deputy Commander Lu’s sister-in-law to the brink.

Who would want to be a widow?

Who would want their husband to die young?

Jiang Nian stayed in the hospital for three days. On the morning of the fourth day, Commander Song sent Zhu Jun to borrow a car from the military district to pick up Lu Yu and Jiang Nian.

This injury was worse than the last one. When Jiang Nian stepped off the bed, she still felt a bit dizzy. She leaned on the small wooden table by the bed to steady herself. On the first afternoon, Lu Yu had returned home to bring her toiletries and a clean set of clothes. He packed everything into a cloth bag, turned around and saw Jiang Nian holding on to the table.

He handed the bag to Zhu Jun and walked over, half-squatting in front of Jiang Nian. “Sister-in-law, I’ll carry you.”

Jiang Nian was taken aback by Lu Yu suddenly appearing in front of her.

He was tall, and even when he squatted he was not much shorter than her.

Jiang Nian extended her hand from the table to Lu Yu’s broad shoulder and leaned onto his back. Lu Yu hooked his hands under her knees and carried her out. She was very light and weighed nothing to him.

When he carried Jiang Nian back to the house for the first time, he noticed she was very light. Last night, carrying her while running, he didn’t feel any weight at all.

Maybe he should buy more nutritious food for her.

After leaving the hospital, Lu Yu placed Jiang Nian on the car seat. He instructed Zhu Jun to stop by the supply and marketing cooperative and the food station. He got out and bought a bunch of items. Jiang Nian took a quick look and saw brown sugar, eggs, cream biscuits and two kinds of chocolate candies in old fashion packaging. From the food station, he bought a chick.

Jiang Nian: …

Is he raising her like a pig?

Zhu Jun was also surprised by the amount of stuff Lu Yu bought. He knew that the items Lu Yu bought were worth a month’s salary for a squad leader like him. At this rate, even Lu Yu’s monthly salary wouldn’t cover it.

Lu Yu is really generous to his sister-in-law.

Back at the family quarters, Lu Yu carried Jiang Nian inside while Zhu Jun helped carry the items to the kitchen. After putting everything in place, Zhu Jun said to Lu Yu, “Deputy Commander Lu, I’ll return the car to the military district.”

Lu Yu replied, “Thank you.”

Zhu Jun scratched his head and left with a smile.

At that time, everyone had just finished breakfast and was chatting outside. The military wives gathered together saw Zhu Jun driving away in the borrowed military car and knew that Deputy Commander Lu’s sister-in-law had been discharged from the hospital.

Feng Mei, knowing Jiang Nian was being discharged today, had prepared breakfast early. When she saw them return, she had her two sons help carry the food into Lu Yu’s yard and set it on the table before heading to the first room on the east side.

“Jiang Nian, how are you feeling? Is your head better?”

Feng Mei entered with her two sons. Jiang Nian nodded lightly, “Much better.”

She looked at the boys standing on Feng Mei’s sides. Their eyes were bright. The older one stood quietly beside Feng Mei, while the younger one occasionally hid behind her, lowering his head shyly when Jiang Nian looked at him.

Jiang Nian felt a pang in her heart. Now the two children were innocent and happy, but after Commander Song’s death, Feng Mei had to raise the two children alone. Her in-laws despised her, and her family didn’t support her. She vaguely remembered in the book that when the male lead visited Feng Mei and her children later, they were emaciated from hunger. The younger son, Song Xianghong, became mentally impaired from a high fever that went untreated due to lack of money.

Since she arrived here, Sister Feng had treated her well and always thought about her.

Now that she couldn’t go back and didn’t need to worry about deviating from the plot, she wanted to help Commander Song’s family avoid such misfortune.

“It’s good that you’re better. Don’t do anything foolish again.”

Feng Mei glanced at her sons and tapped the back of their heads, “What are you standing there for? Greet your aunt!”

Song Xiangdong said, “Auntie.”

Song Xianghong clung to Feng Mei’s clothes, peeked out from behind, and shyly said, “Auntie.”

Their mother said that the peach crisps, brown sugar water, and eggs they were eating were all thanks to this aunt. The two children looked at Jiang Nian with a newfound warmth.

Jiang Nian smiled and responded, then asked Feng Mei, “Sister Feng, should your eldest be starting school soon?”

Feng Mei replied, “In September, but there’s no school on the base. He has to go to the school in the neighboring village.”

After chatting for a while, Feng Mei left with her children.

Jiang Nian stood up and walked to the door of the house by holding on to the wall. A slender hand stretched out in front of her and held her arm in a measured manner.

“I’ll help you.”

Jiang Nian initially wanted to refuse, but her head was still a bit dizzy. So, she didn’t insist and let Lu Yu help her sit on a small bench in the yard.

Feng Mei had cooked two dishes, stir-fried potatoes and stir-fried eggplant, and brought over four white steamed buns. Lu Yu’s gaze lingered on the steamed buns for a moment, knowing that Sister Feng was expressing her gratitude in this way.

He was merely passing on the favor.

Jiang Nian’s appetite was unusually good this morning. Maybe it was because she had decided to settle down here and felt a sense of relief. She ate one and a half buns and drank a bowl of porridge. Only after seeing her finish did Lu Yu devour the rest of the breakfast.

Jiang Nian looked around. Since she planned to stay, she wanted to tidy up the yard, plant some vegetables, and maybe raise some chickens.

Seeing the chicken meat cooling in an enamel basin by the well, she wondered where Lu Yu got the money to buy all this since he had given her his salary for safekeeping.

Could he have borrowed it from someone?

Hesitantly, she looked at Lu Yu, wondering if she should ask. To her surprise, he seemed to sense her thoughts, put down his chopsticks, and asked, “Sister-in-law, do you have something to say?”

Jiang Nian twisted the hem of her clothes and softly asked, “You gave me all your salary. Did you borrow money to buy these things?”

Lu Yu was stunned for a moment, then raised his head to look at Jiang Nian.

**

Ayalee: Thanks for reading and supporting my translation. Hope you enjoy it! (♥‿♥)

And I would really appreciate it if you could check out my other translation project:

You Treat Me As If I Have A Sickness (Ongoing)
Marrying The Ex’s Uncle (Completed)
The Green Tea Supporting Character Disgusts The Male Lead (Completed)
I Confessed To The Male Lead’s Brother By Mistake (Completed)

Thanks a lot (ꈍᎲꈍ)˘ε˘ )