Miss Su took the warm towel from Sister Chen’s hand and gently wiped the sweat from Su Lu’s forehead.
"Indeed, this girl has always been sensible and able to endure since she was little. She has swallowed all sorts of bitterness..."
Sister Chen sighed, "Ah, I feel being sensible isn’t really a good thing. Those who are sensible in this world often suffer all kinds of grievances."
Su Zhe had not expected this caregiver to be so philosophical, but then he thought about it, and it didn’t seem so surprising. In a hospital , all sorts of life’s expressions constantly unfold, in every variety imaginable.
Indeed, Su Lu had indeed suffered all kinds of worldly grievances.
"Brother..." Su Lu heard Su Zhe’s voice, but because she was still groggy, her eyes only cracked slightly open, and her gaze was somewhat blurred.
"Ah." Su Zhe eagerly responded and leaned down, "Are you awake? Does it hurt?"
Su Lu’s mouth corner struggled to curl slightly, then she gently shook her head, "No, it doesn’t hurt. I’m not in pain."
If she said it hurt, although Su Zhe would feel pained, it probably wasn’t that serious.
But her pale face, shaking her head saying it didn’t hurt, suddenly reminded Su Zhe of Sister Chen’s words from before, about how those sensible in this world often suffer all kinds of grievances.
And seeing Su Lu’s sensible and enduring manner, Su Zhe felt as if his heart was being cut with a knife.
"Don’t worry," Su Lu said, "I’m not in so much pain anymore, it’s okay. You look pale; did you... give me a blood transfusion?"
"Let’s not talk about that, your health is what’s important," Su Zhe said.
Su Lu’s voice was quiet, "You also look pale, brother. You should go and rest as well."
"Yes, Mr. Su, please go and rest," Sister Chen also advised from the side, "I will take good care of Miss Su. You look unwell, and it would be better for you to get more rest. Otherwise, when Miss Su recovers, you might collapse yourself."
Su Lu nodded, "Right."
With no choice, Su Zhe smiled wryly, "At a time , and in the state you’re in, you still have the energy to worry about me."
Su Zhe thought for a moment, "I don’t think you look like you can sleep. Are you interested in knowing what happened outside the operating room?"
Upon hearing this, Su Lu’s gaze seemed to stall, and although her still groggy mind was a bit slow, she gradually grasped the meaning behind Su Zhe’s words.
Then she gently shook her head, "No, I don’t want to know."
Su Zhe was somewhat surprised by her refusal, "I thought... you’re always so composed."
Not so easily influenced in attitude, the more one can let go and put down, the less likely they are to be affected.
For this reason, Su Zhe didn’t mind sharing with her the earlier situation outside, as a form of... desensitization therapy.
But Su Lu had refused. Hearing Su Zhe’s words, she smiled, a faint smile that, coupled with her weak complexion, made her seem all the more ethereal.
Su Lu said, "I can’t be calm about this. I’m not completely immune to being shaken..."
Su Zhe let out a light sigh and reached out to hold her hand, "Your hand is ice-cold."
Su Lu helplessly replied, "It’s hard for you to even notice my hand is cold, yours feels like a block of ice. It seems we’re in the same boat..."
"Lulu," Su Zhe called her.
"Don’t be afraid, with Professor Zhou here, he will definitely find a way to save what’s in your stomach. Just adjust your mentality and take care of your health. Don’t worry, it will be alright," Su Zhe said soothingly, his voice gentle.
His voice was naturally the colder sort, rarely containing too much tenderness in tone or texture.
But now, it seemed as if all the tenderness in the world had been kneaded into it.
"Uh-huh, I’m not afraid," Su Lu nodded, feeling a small, indescribable emotion in her heart.
She had clearly refused to learn from Su Zhe what was happening outside the operating room, but without thinking, it must be about Bo Jingshen’s condition outside the operating room.
Yet now it felt like a tiny tentacle had brushed against her heart, not forcefully. The sensation was subtle, yet utterly impossible to ignore.
Su Lu worried that if she continued , she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from asking.
So she paused for a moment and asked in a low voice, "Brother, who were those two people?"
"Ah?" Su Zhe was startled, his face showing rare unsettlement.
It was as if he hadn’t expected Su Lu to notice the presence of Jing Su and Shen Xun at all.
But fortunately, Su Zhe was generally composed. His expression quickly settled back to normal, and the fleeting unsettlement seemed as if it had never been there.
"Those two... are friends of mine. They happened to be around and came to visit," Su Zhe said.
After speaking, he watched Su Lu’s expression without a trace of concern.
Su Lu’s face was ordinary, and she showed no intention of probing further, "Oh, I see..."
Su Zhe nodded, silently sighing with relief in his heart.
"Alright, let Miss Su rest more. People need to rest for wounds to heal quickly," Sister Chen said from the side.
Su Lu nodded, "Yes, brother. I need to rest now. You should also go take a break; I’m fine."
After talking with Su Lu for a bit, Su Zhe felt more at ease as well.
He agreed, instructed Sister Chen to take good care of Su Lu and then left the ward.
As soon as Su Zhe stepped out, Su Lu grabbed the bedsheets and took several deep breaths, her expression impossible to conceal.
Sister Chen sighed as she watched, taking her hand to press on the pain-relief acupoint, "You’re really strong to endure this. Does it hurt a lot?"
Su Lu took a few heavy breaths and gave Sister Chen a weak smile, "Thank you for the trouble."
"It is no trouble..." Sister Chen felt distress seeing her , thinking of how she had talked with Su Zhe earlier despite being in pain, just so he wouldn’t worry – the girl was truly sensible.
Sensible children, God knows how many grievances they bear.
Pain can exhaust both one’s physical and mental strength, and Su Lu’s eyelids soon drooped again, and she fell into a semi-sleep, half-aware state.
Amidst this drowsiness, she thought of those two men; she clearly knew they were not Su Zhe’s friends.
Although Su Lu didn’t know who Su Zhe’s friends were, she was aware that he wouldn’t act with such guarded caution around his friends.
Moreover, Su Lu knew her hearing was too good.
So she could hear when Su Zhe intended to draw blood from her in the ward, which allowed her to slightly open her eyelids and see the moment Su Zhe drew her blood and handed it over to the two men.
Su Lu wasn’t silly; she could sense what was going on, but she didn’t have much emotional reaction.
With all that had recently occurred, she was mentally and physically exhausted and truly had no energy left to ponder over more significant issues.
She slowly closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Just before slipping into dreams, her mind was still preoccupied with the unfinished words of Su Zhe, about what was happening outside the operating room...