Jiang Yao gazed at the unconscious patient on the bed next to Chen Zhibin. Her hair was as white as snow and her face was wrinkled, with wires and tubes were scattered all over her body. If she hadn’t heard Lu Xingzhi earlier, she would have thought the patient was Chen Zhibin’s grandmother.
Jiang Yao observed the men’s standoff closely. Lu Xingzhi was a sergeant whose base was in Jindo, a city far away from Nanjiang City. If a comrade’s mother fell ill, under normal circumstances, the army would not have sent a sergeant to visit his comrade’s relative.
Moreover, it seemed that Lu Xingzhi had rushed here in a hurry.
There must be a reason behind all this.
“The hospital has assigned a nurse to look after your mother, you can take turns with her,” Lu Xingzhi uttered. His tone was natural despite the lack of gentleness when he spoke to his subordinate. He patted Chen Zhibin’s shoulder and continued, “The hospital will arrange for a new ward for you. I’ll come back later.”
“Sergeant, you don’t have to come…” Chen Zhibin gritted his teeth and relented the truth in his heart. “I’ve made up my mind, I won’t return to the army no matter what.”
“Chen Zhibin, I told you once and I told you twice, don’t make me repeat again. Listen carefully, it’s not up to you to decide!” Lu Xingzhi growled in dismay, “You! Stay here and wait for the updates!”
Lu Xingzhi walked out of the ward, taking Jiang Yao with him. His indignant expression was like an ambulance where all the doctors and nurses who walked past them quickly stood aside to make way.
Similarly, Jiang Yao was frightened by Lu Xingzhi’s sudden burst of temper. He was not the type who would get irrational when he got angry which paired with shouting and yelling. Instead, he would suppress the burning rage in his heart. There was not much expression on his stone face, but his eyes were icy cold and the dangerous aura that radiated from his body was so distressing that it would make everyone around him choke and gasp for air.
“Xingzhi,” Jiang Yao nudged him gingerly and mumbled, “what happened to your comrade?”
Lu Xingzhi stopped abruptly. He turned his head to look at Jiang Yao, but his eyes were in a daze as if they had lost focus as they stumbled into deep thoughts. Very swiftly, he composed himself and looked at Jiang Yao again like he was trying to determine something. At the same time, he withdrew his raging emotions.
Lu Xingzhi was so agitated by Chen Zhibin’s remarks that he forgot that Jiang Yao was with him the whole time until her voice echoed into his ear, and that caught him by surprise.
“I’ll go back to the base latest by tomorrow afternoon. Chen Zhibin will not return to the base right away, I assume. After I go back, please visit him and his mother at the hospital whenever you’re free. Pease keep an eye on them for me,” Lu Xingzhi said.
Jiang Yao nodded. She was a little disappointed when she learned that Lu Xingzhi would leave tomorrow. “So, you’ll stay here overnight? Where will you stay?”
“At the hotel.” Lu Xingzhi didn’t notice the change in Jiang Yao’s expression as he was bothered by the matter in hand. “Do you have anything to do later? If not, I’ll accompany you back to your dorm now to pack your clothes. Stay with me at the hotel tonight, I’ll send you back to the university tomorrow afternoon.”
“No, I’m free.”
After the opening ceremony this morning, the matter that ensued after that was not significant and she could get Wen Xuehui to help her with that. It happened to be Friday today. The next two days would be the weekends and her class would officially start next Monday.
After they came out of the dorm, they went straight to the hotel where Lu Xingzhi stayed. He stayed at the most exclusive hotel in Nanjiang City.
When they had checked into their room, Lu Xingzhi began to tell Jiang Yao about Chen Zhibin.