"Where am I so delicate? We members of the PLA are made of iron! Half a month is enough for a full recovery," Qin Jian said.
Before An Hao could respond, she heard the door being pushed open behind her. Turning her head, she saw the nurse coming over with a tray holding gauze and antiseptic solution: "PLA comrade! Don’t even talk about being made of iron, even if you were made of steel, you would still need ample rest for a swift recovery! Come on, it’s time to change your dressing."
Seeing the nurse approach to change the dressing, An Hao quickly stepped aside.
The nurse efficiently lifted the blanket to expose half of Qin Jian’s body. "Come on, unbutton your shirt," she instructed.
Qin Jian did as told, and the nurse peeled away the blood-stained gauze, revealing a three-centimeter-long knife wound. She used tweezers to pick up a cotton ball, soaked it with iodine, disinfected the wound, and then applied a clean piece of gauze.
When she raised her head, the nurse’s cheeks were faintly red.
As a nurse, she had seen the bodies of all kinds of patients, but the patient before her was a hero. His appearance, temperament, and physique were enough to make any woman’s heart race and face blush.
Especially for an unmarried girl like her!
"Come on, you need to lower your pants as well, I need to change the dressing on the wound below," the nurse said with a flushed face, while picking up a cotton ball ready to disinfect Qin Jian.
But when she turned around, she saw that Qin Jian was staring at her, motionless.
"PLA comrade, you need to lower your pants halfway so I can help you change the dressing..." the nurse repeated.
"No need. You go out; I can do it myself," Qin Jian said in a muffled voice.
"How can that be? You can’t sit up with your wound," she objected.
An Hao knew Qin Jian didn’t want others to see his body, so she stepped forward and volunteered: "Let me do it, I’m a medical student! I can manage changing a dressing."
Seeing that the patient agreed, the nurse left the supplies and after giving a few instructions, left the room.
An Hao washed her hands, then disinfected them with alcohol and said, "PLA comrade, now you can take your pants off, right?"
Qin Jian nodded and, with hot ears, pulled his pants down halfway, exposing the wounded area, then awkwardly turned his head away.
An Hao, worried the pants might rub against the wound, pulled them down a little more, but they got stuck in a particularly awkward position.
Her face flushed, she exhaled deeply and then gently lifted the gauze.
Seeing the deep purple stitched wound, her heart quivered, and she gently wiped the wound with a cotton ball dampened with the solution.
Her movements were light, careful not to hurt Qin Jian, she applied as little force as possible.
As a result, the swab felt as gentle as a feather brushing against his abdomen.
Qin Jian, naturally feeling An Hao’s cautiousness, turned to look at her and said, "It doesn’t hurt, you don’t have to be so extremely careful."
"Mmm," An Hao quietly acknowledged, threw away the cotton ball, picked up a piece of gauze with the tweezers and placed it over the wound, then began to tape it in place.
After all, she wasn’t trained in nursing, and while dressing-changing might appear simple, that’s relative to the skilled hands of a nurse.
For someone like An Hao, dressing actions weren’t very fluent, and her arms would accidentally brush against Qin Jian’s body as she applied the dressing.
Qin Jian watched the persistent blush ripple across An Hao’s porcelain-like face. Besides that, the occasional brush against a sensitive area a time or two soon elicited a reaction.