Chapter 53.1

Jiang Nian’s eyes widened in shock. The sensation on her lips clearly told her what Lu Yu was doing, and she felt her heart pounding in her throat.

Subconsciously, Jiang Nian tried to push him away, but Lu Yu grasped her wrist, forcing her compliance. She passively endured Lu Yu’s forceful kiss, feeling powerless.

“Deputy Commander Lu—”

Zhu Jun’s voice approached from outside the ward. Jiang Nian’s breath hitched. Before she could react, Lu Yu withdrew first. His eyes, dark and inscrutable, left an indelible mark in Jiang Nian’s mind, stirring up another wave of turmoil.

Lu Yu helped Jiang Nian lie back just as Zhu Jun entered the room with two aluminum lunch boxes in hand. His face cleared up upon seeing Jiang Nian awake. “Sister-in-law, you’re finally awake!”

He placed the lunch boxes on the table and said, “This meal was made by Sister Feng. She specially slaughtered a chicken to nourish you.”

Zhu Jun chuckled heartily, oblivious to anything more. He glanced curiously at Jiang Nian’s lips, noting how quickly her complexion had recovered. In just one night, her face was not only rosy but her lips were also glossy. Lu Yu cleared his throat lightly and said to Zhu Jun, “You should go back first.”

“Alright.”

Once Zhu Jun left, the ward returned to silence.

The adjacent bed had housed two elderly people last night who had left early in the morning. Their neatly folded beddings contrasted sharply with Jiang Nian’s scattered gaze, darting from the window to the IV drip bag. She dared not look at Lu Yu. The kiss just now felt like a dream yet lingered vividly in her mind.

Suddenly, the room dimmed. Jiang Nian jumped in surprise, turning to see Lu Yu still embracing her. She stammered, “You…”

“I’ll help you sit up and have some food first.”

Lu Yu glanced at Jiang Nian’s blushing cheeks, a smile dancing in his eyes. He helped her lean against the headboard, then uncovered the aluminum lunch box. The fragrant aroma of chicken soup instantly filled the ward. Jiang Nian, who had been hungry for a day and night, felt her stomach twist in discomfort upon smelling the soup.

She kept her head down: “I’ll eat by myself.”

Jiang Nian wanted to take the aluminum lunch box, but only then did he notice the IV tube on her other hand. Lu Yu’s voice was even hoarser than before: “I’ll feed you.”

If not for the kiss just now, Jiang Nian could have been more composed. But it had already happened, and she couldn’t ignore it.

Watching Lu Yu offer a piece of chicken to her mouth, Jiang Nian hesitated before opening her mouth. This time, Feng Mei seemed to have seasoned it generously, making the chicken much more flavorful. The room was quiet except for the sound of Jiang Nian chewing.

Jiang Nian ate quite a bit this time and drank a lot of chicken soup.

Only when she said she was full did Lu Yu stop feeding her. He wiped Jiang Nian’s mouth and looked at her flushed face, his gaze deepened: “Jiang Nian.”

His voice was low and magnetic, causing Jiang Nian’s heart to flutter.

She pursed her lips, looking at the IV tube on the back of her hand, and murmured softly, “Hmm?”

Lu Yu looked at Jiang Nian’s bowed head. “I know what you’re worried about. I also know you might still not fully let go of elder brother. In everyone’s eyes, we are brother and sister-in-law, but everyone also understands one fact: we are not blood relatives.”

Jiang Nian blinked, enduring the pounding of her heart, listening as Lu Yu continued, “I won’t force you, nor will I push you too hard. I’ll wait until the day you open your heart and truly accept me.”

But…

Lu Yu reached out to stroke Jiang Nian’s hair. “Can you not make me wait too long?”

Jiang Nian hesitated for a moment, feeling overwhelmed by Lu Yu’s sudden confession. She hadn’t expected that after waking up, Lu Yu would change so much.

“I…”

Jiang Nian clenched her fingers, but couldn’t bring herself to say it.

Her mind was still muddled when Commander Song’s voice came from outside, “Lu Yu.”

Footsteps approached.

Lu Yu withdrew his hand and stood up to greet Commander Song, who had hurried over upon hearing from Zhu Jun that Jiang Nian had awakened. To Commander Song and as a father, Jiang Nian was the savior of the Song family.

Commander Song asked, “Jiang Nian, how are you feeling? Is there anything uncomfortable?”

Jiang Nian smiled and shook her head. “I’m fine.”

Commander Song sighed, wiping his face, his eyes reddening. “Jiang Nian, this time I truly have to thank you. I want to bring the entire Song family to thank you. If it weren’t for you, Xiangdong would be gone. Not to mention me, Mei Zi doesn’t know what to do, and this family might collapse.”

Jiang Nian said, “Xiangdong was also endangered because of me. As long as you don’t blame me, that’s enough.”

Upon mentioning this, Commander Song’s anger flared up. “That scumbag You Guoqiang’s good sister-in-law did something so wicked. I spent the whole night worrying about Xiangdong’s situation. When I go back, I’m going to settle this score with the You family and the Hou family!”

Lu Yu had been accompanying Jiang Nian all night and didn’t know about those things. When he heard what Commander Song said, he frowned and asked, “What’s going on?”

Commander Song was obviously furious, and he said without thinking, “What else could it be? My Mei Zi said that You Guoqiang’s wife brought her sister Hou Meng to your Sister Feng, wanting to let Hou Meng and Song Bai meet each other. Your Sister Feng didn’t like Hou Meng, so she said that Song Bai was dating someone. I don’t know what Hou Meng got into, but she thought that the person Song Bai was dating was Jiang Nian, so she tried to push Jiang Nian into the water, and ended up pushing my Xiangdong in. If Jiang Nian hadn’t jumped in to save Xiangdong, I would have taken up my knife and killed all the Hou family members!”

His words were heavy, but whose son wasn’t their parents’ lifeblood?

It’s no wonder that Commander Song was so angry. If any other child was almost killed by someone, which parent could tolerate it?

Commander Song said to Jiang Nian, “Rest well and recover. When you return, our family will host a celebration for you and Xiandong.”

After Commander Song left to check on Xiangdong.

Lu Yu looked at Jiang Nian as if making a promise. “I will seek justice for you in this matter.”

Jiang Nian nodded directly.

Because of Hou Meng’s actions, both she and Xiangdong had suffered unjustly. If this debt wasn’t settled, she wouldn’t feel at ease.

Jiang Nian glanced at the lunch box still unopened on the table and whispered, “You should eat.”

Lu Yu smiled, “Okay.”

He sat on the bedside stool, opened the aluminum lunch box, and focused on eating. Jiang Nian twiddled her fingers to pass the time, occasionally glancing at Lu Yu. He ate quickly, finishing in no time, and then cleared away the remaining food from Jiang Nian’s tray.

“Hey—”

Before Jiang Nian could stop him, Lu Yu had already taken her soup bowl’s place and started eating.

After finishing his meal, Lu Yu took the aluminum lunch box to the washroom to clean it. Jiang Nian lay on the hospital bed, gazing out at the sun, lost in thought.

“Deputy Commander Lu.”

She heard Sun Ying’s voice. Jiang Nian furrowed her brows slightly.

Outside the corridor, Sun Ying, dressed in a white coat, gathered her courage to intercept Lu Yu before he entered the ward. After being deeply hurt by Lu Yu last time, she had decided not to see him again, but after returning home, she intermittently dreamed of him.

His figure seemed etched into her consciousness, and seeing Lu Yu again, Sun Ying couldn’t help but want to speak to him. “Can we talk? Just for ten minutes.”

“I have nothing to say to you.”

Lu Yu walked past Sun Ying and entered the ward. “This is the last time. If it happens again, I’ll go directly to your superiors.”

Sun Ying’s face turned pale as she watched Lu Yu enter the room, her eyes reddening once more.

“What are you looking at?”

As soon as Lu Yu entered, he saw Jiang Nian stretching her neck to look out. Caught off guard, Jiang Nian blushed instantly and coughed, saying, “I just heard that female nurse’s voice.”

Lu Yu said, “I have nothing to do with her.”

Jiang Nian added casually, “I know.”

Lu Yu held the aluminum lunch box, looking at Jiang Nian’s lowered head, and suddenly said, “Jiang Nian.”

This time, he didn’t even call her sister-in-law, but just called her by her name.

Jiang Nian raised her head to look at him. She heard Lu Yu asking, “Do you mind me talking to her?”

“Do you mind now?”

The man repeated himself, his pitch-black eyes closely watching Jiang Nian’s changing expression. Seeing Jiang Nian hesitate for a moment, her eyes quickly avoiding his gaze twice, Lu Yu’s eyes twinkled with a smile. “I already know the answer,” he continued. 

“I have to go back to the unit for a while. I’ll come see you in the afternoon. Sister Feng will be here soon.”

After Lu Yu left, Jiang Nian still didn’t know what “answer” Lu Yu had “already known.”

She sighed and raised her hand to touch the place Lu Yu had kissed earlier.

“It’s time to change the IV.”

A female nurse came in. Jiang Nian came back to her senses and looked up at the bottle of drops. It was almost empty. This should be the nurse that Lu Yu had just called, right?

After changing the IV, Jiang Nian stared out of the window blankly.

At noon, Feng Mei and Xu Yan both arrived. Song Bai also came along, and they went to see Song Xiangdong in the next room first. Song Xiangdong lay in bed, still somewhat groggy. The child had been intermittently feverish last night and had caught a cold after being washed with water. He coughed from time to time, his nose still congested.

Feng Mei patted Song Xiangdong’s head and smiled as he opened his eyes. “Xiangdong, look at what Mom brought you to eat.”

Holding a bag of peach crisp, Feng Mei’s eyes sparkled with delight as Song Xiangdong’s eyes widened in surprise. Despite his weak color, he said, “Mom, let Aunt Jiang eat first.”

Xu Yan chuckled. “What a thoughtful child.”

Song Bai put biscuits and a bottle of milk on the table, looking down at Song Xiangdong. “Xiangdong, tell Uncle how Aunt Jiang saved you yesterday.”

This perked Song Xiangdong up. “After I fell into the river, I couldn’t see anything. Then I heard Aunt Jiang calling my name. I saw Aunt Jiang swimming towards me and holding me. After that, I don’t remember anything. Later, I vaguely remember Aunt Jiang carrying me on her back and singing beautiful songs to me, beautiful songs. I don’t know what songs.”

Song Xiangdong took a breath and continued, “Aunt Jiang told me not to sleep, keep calling my name, saying that Mom and Dad were waiting ahead. Later, I really saw Dad.”

Feng Mei’s eyes welled up, wiping away tears. “Our Song family owes Jiang Nian a great debt.”

Song Bai lowered his gaze, lost in thought. In the dark night last night, the scene of the frail woman falling into Lu Yu’s arms once again entered Song Bai’s mind, like fragile porcelain.

“Uncle.”

Song Xiangdong called out several times, but Song Bai didn’t respond until Feng Mei nudged him. “What’s wrong?”

Feng Mei was puzzled. “What’s the matter with you?”

Song Bai shook his head. “Nothing. You stay with Xiangdong. I’ll go see Jiang Nian.”

“Okay, I’ll come over later,” Feng Mei said.

Accompanying them was Liu Jianye. Liu Jianye and Song Xiangdong were chatting, and Xu Yan noticed the smile on Liu Jianye’s face, suddenly realizing how long it had been since her eldest son had smiled so happily.

In the corridor, nurses and family members glanced more than once at Song Bai in his military green uniform as he walked back and forth.

Song Bai knocked on the door of the next ward. “Sister-in-law.”

Jiang Nian turned her head and saw Song Bai walking in. He pulled out a stool next to the bed and sat down, placing what he had in his hands on the table. “How are you feeling?”

Jiang Nian smiled. “I’m fine.”

Song Bai smiled too, his gaze falling on the IV needle on Jiang Nian’s hand. “Sister-in-law, thank you for saving Xiangdong.”

Jiang Nian pursed her lips and smiled. “You’re welcome. I would have saved any other child too.”

Even if it were a stranger’s child, she couldn’t bear to see a young life disappear before her eyes. Fortunately, she knew how to swim; otherwise, both she and Xiangdong would have drowned in that river.

Song Bai chuckled. “Is Sister-in-law teasing me with her words?”

Jiang Nian was momentarily stunned before realizing what he meant. A few days ago, he had said something similar in the car on their way back from the city.

She explained, “That’s not what I meant. Don’t misunderstand.”

Looking at her, Song Bai said, “I know.”

He asked again, “Tomorrow is the Dragon Boat Festival. What kind of zongzi filling do you want? I’ll bring it for you.”

Jiang Nian blinked in confusion. Could there be multiple kinds of zongzi^[1]Zongzi is a traditional Chinese rice dish made of glutinous rice stuffed with different fillings and wrapped in bamboo leaves. fillings in this era?

She was curious. “What kinds of fillings are there?”

Song Bai replied, “Red dates, peanuts, red beans.”

Jiang Nian realized and laughed. “It’s okay, you don’t need to bring me any. I’m mostly fine, and I’ll be discharged tonight. I’ll make zongzi myself when I get home, and you can come over and taste them.”

“What are you in such a hurry for?”

Feng Mei and Xu Yan came over. Hearing Jiang Nian’s words, Feng Mei continued, “You don’t need to make zongzi. I’ll make them. I’ll bring them over for you to eat when they’re done.”

Seeing Feng Mei approach, Song Bai stood up. “Sister-in-law, you stay with Lu Yu’s sister-in-law. I’m going back to the team.”

“Go ahead,” Feng Mei replied.

After Song Bai left, Feng Mei sat on the stool, and Xu Yan sat on the bed. They both inquired warmly about Jiang Nian’s well-being. Feng Mei almost wanted to grab Jiang Nian’s hand and not let go. “Jiang Nian, you are my great benefactor. If you ever need any help, I will spare no effort.”

Jiang Nian almost burst out laughing.

Seeing her trying not to laugh, Feng Mei was puzzled. “What’s wrong? Isn’t that how you say it? I often hear Old Song say that.”

She looked at Xu Yan, who shook her head. “I don’t know either.”

Jiang Nian chuckled. “That’s right.”