Chapter 129: Chapter 129: Meng Ping is Discharged from the Hospital
“I don’t want to move.” Sheng Ning had run so many laps, holding her breath without feeling much, but now that she’d stopped, everything went dark before her eyes, and she nearly fainted.
“Get up and walk around.” Xu Qigang frowned, his broad palm pulling her hand to take a few more steps to get some movement.
His voice was husky, “Feeling better now? Still uncomfortable?”
“I’m fine.” Sheng Ning came to her senses and realized that Xu Qigang was actually holding her hand in his palm. His hands were wide and his palms were thick and scorching hot, callused from years of training.
Suddenly, Sheng Ning’s face burned with embarrassment. She tried to pull her hand away, but he held it just right, and she couldn’t wriggle free despite several attempts.
“Oh!” Xu Qigang had never been in contact with female comrades before. In the urgency of the moment, he hadn’t been aware of his behavior, but now that Sheng Ning mentioned it, he was taken aback and then a rare smile broke across his serious face.
That smile had the mischievous flavor well-known among the War Wolf Rescue Team members.
At eighteen, Sheng Ning had always been spared from doing household chores because of her personality; Sheng An did those, and Shen Luhua didn’t dare to order her around. So her hands were fair and soft—not completely untouched by spring water, but still much nicer than the average rural girl’s.
This was one of the reasons Qin Cuifen had always been jealous of her. They both lacked a mother, so why did Sheng Ning get a better lot in life with a kind stepmother? Why was her own luck so poor, stuck with a mean-spirited second aunt?
Xu Qigang obediently let go, looking at his empty palm and suddenly feeling a sense of loss. He sighed inwardly and said in a deep voice, “You should go back and rest!”
It was almost lights-out, and the training field was deserted. The light from nearby lamps cast their long shadows, and as the two stood face to face, it looked from their shadows as if they were embracing.
Seeing the shadows, Sheng Ning felt an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.
“Yes, Captain!” In the War Wolf Rescue Team, Sheng Ning still greeted according to their ranks, then turned and flew off.
Xu Qigang stroked his chin, vexed for the first time by his intimidating reputation as the Living Yama.
Today was Meng Ping’s discharge day. After the bandages were removed, he stood at the hospital entrance in a black Chinese tunic suit, attracting the attention of the medical staff coming and going.
He waited for less than three minutes before a bunch of his rakish friends arrived on the trendiest bicycles to pick him up.
He made a face of disdain, “You’re making me ride this thing?”
“Your dad has a jeep; would you dare to take it?”
“I think you’re asking for a beating.” Meng Ping and his brother were two extremes in the Meng Family; their father, Meng Xingzhi, almost wished to disown him, so how could he come to pick him up?
His stepmother, Su Yun, would occasionally show concern, but he only found it annoying.
The little fat man, Wang Guoqing, came up grinning, not minding Meng Ping’s ash-bottomed face, joking, “How dare you stand at the door? Aren’t you afraid of the nurses clinging to you?”
Meng Ping, although a ladies’ man and known to be rowdy, was always irresistible among women. Sometimes, without even trying, others would flock to him.
Thinking about this made the little fat man green with envy.
“Most of them went for intensive training.” The ones who administered his injections were all male doctors.
“Brother Xiao Meng, how did you get beaten so badly by Huo Yan this time? Don’t tell me you were caught harassing a decent woman right in front of him?” The little fat man’s eyes gleamed mischievously as he spoke.