A smile tugged at Huo Jingyuan’s lips as he reached out, encircling Wen Ci’s slender waist and pulling her to sit on the edge of the bed. He leaned close to her ear, “It misses you a little.”
Wen Ci’s face instantly flushed.
After all, Huo Jingyuan’s childhood friend was right outside.
Biting her lip in shy embarrassment, Wen Ci said, “You’re so improper.”
The man chuckled, “What’s there to be proper about? We’re a married couple. And as a public official, I should lead by example, responding to the call to have a high-quality child with you.”
Hearing this, Wen Ci broke free from Huo Jingyuan’s grasp and stood up from the bedside. She looked him over and let out a light laugh, “Talking as if it would be any different once you’re home.”
“My injury is on my upper body.”
As his words fell, an alternative position flashed into Wen Ci’s mind: the man, his upper torso still bandaged, lying flat on the bed…
Wen Ci’s expression shifted from shyness to outright bashfulness.
Even though they had tried such things before, as a woman, it was truly mortifying. She couldn’t bring herself to look Huo Jingyuan in the eye.
Wen Ci shook her head, trying to dispel those thoughts, and rubbed her warm cheeks. “Xiao Chuan and Xu Jinghe are waiting outside.”
“Then let them in.”
He had thought Xu Jinghe hadn’t arrived in Beijing yet.
He didn’t expect him to be so quick.
“Okay.”
As she spoke, Wen Ci walked to the door and opened it, her eyes curving into smiles. “I just gave him a little lecture. You childhood friends chat. I’m going to find the doctor to ask about his condition.”
Xiao Chuan asked innocently, “Sister, then why are your cheeks so red?”
“Are they very red?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Wen Ci turned and shot a sharp glare towards the man lying on the bed. It was all this damn man’s fault for saying such shameless things, making her blush and feel embarrassed.
Inside the hospital room.
Xu Jinghe looked at Huo Jingyuan lying in bed and couldn’t help but click his tongue, his tone full of frustrated concern. “Just tell me, what was it all for? Your uncle and aunt are working in confidential research units, only able to see you once every few years.”
“In the past, you were alone. But now you’re married, shouldn’t you think about the future?”
Huo Jingyuan’s eyelids lowered slightly.
He knew Xu Jinghe said this out of concern for him.
Every year when he visited his grandfather, the family urged him to leave the military and change professions.
Huo Jingyuan put on a smile, “I’ll try not to get injured next time. Besides, it’s the 1980s now. Except for a few remote areas, the provinces are safe.”
Xu Jinghe’s expression soured.
Regarding Huo Jingyuan’s career, even as a childhood friend, he could only offer verbal advice. “Forget it. You and your wife discuss it and decide for yourselves.”
“Okay.”
With that, Huo Jingyuan’s gaze fell on Xiao Chuan’s young face, studying it carefully. The last time he visited the hospital room, he hadn’t looked closely.
Now, upon closer inspection, he did bear some resemblance to Sister Xu. He sighed softly and asked, “How did Sister Xu… pass away?”
Xu Jinghe replied, “The Beijing military district said it was an accident.”
Xiao Chuan piped up in his childish voice, “It wasn’t an accident. Daddy had a car accident first. Mommy was too sad, and then she left.”
“How do you know that?” Huo Jingyuan asked.
“That’s what the grandmother next door said.”
Hearing this, Xu Jinghe and Huo Jingyuan exchanged a look.
Sister Xu had fallen out with her family over Xiao Chuan’s father back then, and it was very ugly. So all these years, the Xu elders had strictly forbidden any contact with her.
Anyone found doing so would be kicked out of the family, just like she was.
Over the years, although Xu Jinghe hadn’t been in direct contact with his sister, he had discreetly asked people to check on her situation and had even passed along some resources to the couple.
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