"He Zhilan." The tone of He Teng’s voice suddenly became sombre.
"What?" He Zhilan thought that He Teng was about to reprimand her, so she responded very nonchalantly.
After this conversation, the ward fell silent for a long time. He Teng said nothing, and He Zhilan was embarrassed, her face flushed red.
After a while, He Teng cleared his throat dubiously and said, bafflingly, "I want to have rice tomorrow."
He Zhilan was speechless for a while.
His wish to eat rice wasn’t fulfilled till three days later, the same day Lan Li was discharged from the hospital.
When Lan Li and Gu En came to visit He Teng in his ward, He Teng was asking Bian Muhe when he might be allowed to eat. They came into the room amidst the doctors’ laughter, as they were poking fun at He Teng.
"Oh, Lan Li is here?" Bian Muhe, making a superficial attempt to look after Gu En, whom he saw beside Lan Li, said, "Not bad, you managed to get Miss Gu to personally come to the hospital to greet you, how grand!"
"What’s it to you?" Gu En, sensing the irony in Bian Muhe’s words retorted coldly.
"Still as unpleasant as ever?" Bian Muhe shook his head, ignoring Gu En. He continued speaking to He Teng, "Your recovery is going well, you can start eating in small amounts now. Let Zhilan come by the apartment tonight and prepare you something easily digestible."
He then looked over at Lan Li and said, "Now that you are here, please join me in completing the discharge procedure. Remember to come back for your follow-ups." A typical doctor’s routine reminder.
"You go ahead with your work, I’ll take care of it myself later." Lan Li nodded. Everyone in the Lan family was busy, so today only Gu En came to pick him up. Gu En drove to the hospital so he didn’t ask the family driver to come. That’s why Lan Li had to take care of his discharge procedures himself.
Because of last night’s incident, He Teng closely observed Lan Li. As expected, he looked tired, with dark circles under his eyes. Clearly, he hadn’t rested the whole night, and bloodshot veins were visible in his eyes.
"Captain He. I’m Gu En, Zhilan’s roommate, we share a bunk! Thanks a lot for helping my brother Lan Li this time! " Gu En greeted He Teng on the hospital bed, "I was worried when I heard you were injured. I feel relieved now that I’ve heard from the doctor that you’re recovering well. Although my brother Lan Li is being discharged today, you will still be in the hospital. If there is anything you need help with, you can let us know through Zhilan anytime, I’ll definitely help if I can!"
He Teng nodded, "I and Lan Li are comrades, and I believe that if the roles were reversed, he too would have done the same."
He Teng knew how to say just the right thing for the occasion, but he was taken aback by Gu En’s behavior today. Anyone who sees her today would think she’s an understanding and obedient young girl. Her words were flawless, and combined with her innocent demeanor befitting her age, one might think she’s just a simple-minded girl next door.
"I think Zhilan and I have quite the destiny! Look, you’re Zhilan’s brother, Lan Li is my brother, you both are comrades from the same military unit, and out of all places, Zhilan and I are roommates in the dormitory! But, I have a bit of a temper, and quite lose it in the dormitory at times. Zhilan must’ve complained about me to you a lot, hasn’t she?" Gu En laughed lightly as she said this, a trace of awkwardness in her smile, "Actually, I’ve been trying to control my temper, but it’s always like a firecracker, that sparks explosively."