Chapter 36.3

In the hospital room, Jiang Rou set up a small table in front of Li Xiao and placed the food on it.

Li Xiao was eating with chopsticks in one hand and holding An An in the other. 

An An, now seven months old, could eat some complementary food. Her tastes were much like her father’s—she loved meat. 

Jiang Rou had bought some soft duck porridge and scooped a small bowl to feed her. An An seemed to like it so much after taking the first bite. She looked up at Jiang Rou with a smile, eagerly stretching her neck forward to ask for more before Jiang Rou could even hand her the spoon.

Seeing how happy An An was eating, Li Xiao felt a sense of pride. “How can that Grandma even dare to think of marrying his grandson to our An An? Can’t she see how great my An An is?”He said, half-joking.

When An An heard her name, she thought someone was calling her and turned her head to look and smiled at her father sweetly.

Seeing her smile made Li Xiao’s heart melt. He rubbed her small head affectionately.

Jiang Rou, however, rolled her eyes at him, clearly displeased. “Don’t say things like that in the future. It’s not good for others to hear,” she chided.

Li Xiao shrugged nonchalantly. “I’m not saying it outside.”

In his mind, his An An was the best baby in the world, and no one would ever be good enough for her. 

Thinking about it, he pinched An An’s little tuft of hair and said, “When you grow up, you’re not allowed to get married.”

Jiang Rou was left speechless. Meanwhile, An An, thinking it was all a game, shook her head to stop him from pinching her.

-o-o-o-

After dinner, Jiang Rou washed the dishes and prepared to return them. As she left, Li Xiao reminded her with concern, “Come back early.”

“Hmm,” she replied.

Later that evening, Jiang Rou was set on wiping down Li Xiao’s body. She had no idea how many days it had been since he last had a proper wash, and he smelled quite bad. Only An An seemed not to mind, still burying her face against him.

Jiang Rou, on the other hand, couldn’t stand how dirty he was. Jiang Rou made him sit still, removed all his clothes, and used a wet towel with soap to scrub him vigorously. The first basin of water turned black from the dirt. 

After three basins of water, she finally let him go, though by then, Li Xiao was feeling much cleaner and more comfortable, despite a bit of soreness in his back from the force Jiang Rou had used.

After taking care of Li Xiao, Jiang Rou took An An to the bathroom for a wash. 

She sat on a small stool, held An An between her legs, washed her thoroughly, and then dried her off before wrapping her in a towel. 

An An loved the water and giggled nonstop. Even when Jiang Rou dressed her and carried her out, she was still reluctant to leave the water.

Jiang Rou handed An An to Li Xiao and went to wash the dirty clothes she had changed out of.

Li Xiao glanced at Jiang Rou, noticing she was wearing only a thin, loose skirt that seemed to have nothing underneath. 

Feeling a bit awkward, he looked away.

The bathroom sink was too small, so Jiang Rou took the clothes to the water room at the end of the hallway.

There, she encountered Cao Wang’s mother, who was also washing clothes. While washing, Cao Wang’s mother praised Jiang Rou, saying her daughter-in-law was unsatisfactory in comparison. Jiang Rou returned the compliment, stating that her daughter-in-law was fortunate to have such a good mother-in-law.

Cao Wang’s mother, feeling pleased with the flattery, thought how wonderful it would be if Jiang Rou were her daughter-in-law. Then, with a sudden change in tone, she leaned in and said mysteriously, “I’m telling you, you have to be more careful. The nurses in this hospital are very powerful. Before you came, there was a nurse who watched your man every day, coming in early and leaving late, even asking around about where your husband works. I heard that this nurse has a strong background, and the other nurses in the hospital don’t dare to offend her. You have to be careful.”

Jiang Rou smiled, not following her lead, and simply replied, “My husband already told me about it. She then continued to talk calmly. “That nurse didn’t know he was married and misunderstood. It’s no big deal. He’s been liked by women since he was a child, so I’m used to it.”

Cao Wang’s mother was momentarily at a loss for words and awkwardly said, “Indeed, your husband is quite handsome.”

Jiang Rou then redirected the conversation to her, and by the time they finished washing clothes, Cao Wang’s mother hadn’t learned anything more about Jiang Rou and hadn’t built much of a relationship.

After Cao Wang’s mother left, she realized she had been outwitted and muttered curses under her breath. 

She was glad her son hadn’t married a woman like Jiang Rou, thinking it would have been impossible to know who would listen to whom in such a household.

However, Jiang Rou was not as calm on the surface as she appeared. When she returned to the ward, she immediately confronted Li Xiao. As soon as the door was closed, she asked, “I heard that a nurse was watching you every day. It doesn’t sound as simple as you made it out to be.”

Li Xiao, who had been sitting on the bed playing with An An, was caught off guard. He looked up at Jiang Rou, puzzled. “What?” he asked, not immediately understanding what she was referring to.

Jiang Rou glared at him, “Don’t play dumb with me. You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

She turned around, taking the clothes to hang up, but her mind was elsewhere. Hearing the story directly from Li Xiao had made her feel like it was no big deal—he had been honest, and it seemed innocent enough. But hearing it from the grandmother next door made it seem like something had been going on for days, and the thought that Li Xiao hadn’t refused the attention made her a little angry.

Jiang Rou didn’t want to admit it, but she was feeling jealous.

If she had known this, she wouldn’t have come.

Because of this, Jiang Rou didn’t sleep in the same bed as Li Xiao. The bed, though small, was still big enough for two people to squeeze in. She had planned to let An An sleep with Li Xiao, but An An, while happy to play with her father, insisted on sleeping with her mother.

With no other choice, Jiang Rou changed An An’s diaper and then carried her to the sofa, deciding not to read for the night. She didn’t read, feeling too tired from the day’s activities.

Li Xiao lay on the bed, occasionally glancing at the mother and daughter on the sofa, confused by the sudden change in mood. Hadn’t she just been washing clothes? Why had things changed when she came back?

After a while, Li Xiao couldn’t stand the silence anymore. He whispered, “What did you mean earlier?” He didn’t understand; hadn’t they discussed this in the morning?

Jiang Rou didn’t turn around and asked, “Was your injury this morning caused by that nurse? ”

“Who?” Li Xiao asked, puzzled by the sudden change in topic.

“The nurse,” Jiang Rou replied, her voice flat.

Li Xiao didn’t think much about the sudden change of topic and replied, “Oh, that nurse had poor skills.”

“She made you bleed every time?” Jiang Rou said with a light “Oh,” her tone not revealing much.

“Then you have a good temper,” she added.

After that, Jiang Rou fell silent, leaving Li Xiao to wonder if she was complimenting him or implying something else. 

Unsure, he responded hesitantly, “I guess so.” He did feel that his temper had improved, but it wasn’t really better—he had just learned to hide his emotions better.

As the silence stretched on, Li Xiao finally called out softly, “Jiang Rou?”

But she didn’t respond. He realized then that she was indeed upset.

Li Xiao thought about it all night, trying to figure out why Jiang Rou was angry. 

-o-o-o-

The next morning, when the nurse came back, he noticed Jiang Rou’s expression and finally started to understand.

The day before, when he mentioned the nurse, he had concealed some details out of concern that Jiang Rou might be upset. However, Jiang Rou had seemed completely unfazed at the time, her face even bearing a smile, which made him feel uneasy.

He suddenly realized that his feelings for Jiang Rou and her feelings for him seemed to be different.

Jiang Rou was transparent about her emotions. She seemed to know a lot of things—things he had never encountered. He didn’t know much about her past, but he could guess a little. She didn’t seem very old, and she had moments of naivety and romanticism. 

She would spend a lot of time decorating their home and choosing the perfect background for photos. 

Her personality was gentle and generous, traits that could only be nurtured in a happy and loving family. Because she had so much love, she wasn’t petty with others. Since she was cherished by many, she sometimes had a little temper and was also somewhat naïve and kind, having been well protected.

When he was with Jiang Rou, Li Xiao often felt a bit inferior. He didn’t know what he could possibly give her. Maybe what he gave with all his effort was just ordinary in her eyes.

He didn’t even dare to think about her past, afraid that he would find himself lacking in comparison. 

That’s why, even though it pained him to leave home, he had to come to the south. The only thing he could do was work hard to make money, give her a better life, and ensure she could attend college without worries.

At this moment, Li Xiao watched as Jiang Rou pretended to wipe the table while sneaking glances at him and the nurse. For some reason, he found it amusing and couldn’t help but feel happy.

Once the nurse finished administering the IV and left, Li Xiao said directly, “There’s nothing to see. It’s not this nurse; the one from yesterday probably won’t dare come back.”

The previous nurse had pestered him, even going as far as to threaten him, claiming that her uncle was the vice president of the hospital. 

But Li Xiao had calmly picked up the bedside phone in front of her. Before leaving for the south, Jiang Rou had worried that he might get into trouble, so she had slipped a note in his wallet—it was phone numbers that you can call if you want to report someone. 

He had memorized them all and dialed every single one.

The nurse had fled in fear.

Hearing this Jiang Rou, feeling somewhat uncomfortable, replied, “What are you talking about? I’m just cleaning the table.”