Chapter 7: Slow to Understand

Regardless of whether Shen Qingqing wanted to or not, she was taken to the hospital.

She underwent X-ray examinations.

In the doctor's office, Jiang Zhixun sat upright beside Shen Qingqing.

After the doctor reviewed the films, he proactively inquired about the situation, "Her arm hurts severely; is there any bone damage?"

Although Shen Qingqing did not cry out or complain.

But from the stiffness in her right hand, Jiang Zhixun could tell that the problem was indeed serious.

"No bone damage."

The doctor first gave them a sense of relief.

Then he added, "But Comrade Shen has a severe ligament strain. She needs to take her medicine on time and get plenty of rest during this period."

A flash of contemplation crossed Jiang Zhixun's eyes. How could there be a strain out of nowhere?

He knew exactly how much force he had used; it shouldn't have been enough to injure Shen Qingqing.

Could she have run into trouble on the way here?

He wanted to ask for clarification, but since the setting was inappropriate, he could only temporarily suppress his doubts in his heart.

The examination results were similar to Shen Qingqing's own assessment; the problem wasn't serious and would improve with rest.

After thanking the doctor, she left the office ahead of him, without even glancing at the man beside her.

Jiang Zhixun frowned and followed behind her.

He saw her taking the slips to pay the fees and collect the medicine.

With a long stride, he caught up to Shen Qingqing and snatched the slips from her hand.

"I'll go."

Shen Qingqing didn't want to argue with him over such trivial matters. She gave Jiang Zhixun a faint look and sat down on a long bench by the corridor.

Her right hand rested on her lap, while her left hand unconsciously fiddled with the button of her coat.

With her head lowered, it was impossible to tell what she was thinking.

When they arrived at the hospital, she had been resisting incessantly, so Jiang Zhixun was somewhat surprised by her sudden withdrawal.

After looking at Shen Qingqing a few more times, he realized her complexion was also abnormal.

Her cheeks were flushed, and her breathing was heavy.

As his hand tightened around the slips, a conflicted expression appeared in Jiang Zhixun's eyes.

In the end, he knelt in front of Shen Qingqing to test the temperature of her forehead.

Shen Qingqing was in a trance and failed to dodge in time.

It wasn't until a pair of warm, dry hands pressed against her forehead that she realized what Jiang Zhixun had done.

If this had been before, Shen Qingqing would have been so happy she'd lose her bearings if Jiang Zhixun treated her like this.

But now, she felt as if she couldn't breathe.

It was precisely because the previous Jiang Zhixun had been too good to her that she had developed feelings she shouldn't have.

During these three years, she neither dared to come to the Great Northwest to find Jiang Zhixun and ask him to live a proper life with her, nor did she dare to bring up divorce and walk away freely.

She was afraid that the relationship between them would truly crumble, leaving no way to turn back.

Shen Qingqing leaned her body back, avoiding the large hand pressed against her forehead.

Tears flowed from her eyes for no apparent reason.

"Can you stop bothering me?"

Her voice was still somewhat hoarse, which robbed the rejection of its momentum.

Just now in the canteen, Jiang Zhixun hadn't thought much of it; he thought her voice had changed because they hadn't met in three years and the weather was too cold.

A sharp gaze fell upon that wet tear track.

Her eyes were red, as was the tip of her nose.

She looked somewhat pitiful.

Jiang Zhixun told himself that she was sick and injured, so it was normal for her to have a bad temper.

He shouldn't hold it against her.

"Where else does it hurt?"

Shen Qingqing felt like a clown; she had vented her emotions, yet Jiang Zhixun remained indifferent.

His mouth asked caring questions, but his eyes were a sea of calm.

In Jiang Zhixun's eyes, she was no different from a passerby.

She couldn't move his emotions at all!

After waiting for three seconds without Shen Qingqing speaking.

"You won't say, will you?"

Jiang Zhixun's patience ran out. "Then I'll have the doctor examine you again."

This time, instead of pulling Shen Qingqing along, Jiang Zhixun picked her up horizontally.

After re-registering, he carried Shen Qingqing to the appropriate department.

Shen Qingqing had a fever; she had improved after sleeping in the guesthouse, but she wasn't fully recovered.

After the ordeal outside, her fever started again.

The fever was somewhat severe, so she was kept in the hospital for an IV drip.

Jiang Zhixun ran back and forth, paying fees and collecting medicine.

In the end, he even bought two steamed buns for Shen Qingqing, simply because she hadn't finished her meal in the canteen...

The better Jiang Zhixun treated her, the more suffocated Shen Qingqing felt.

Especially since the people in the same ward looked at her with envious eyes, making her feel like she was ungrateful.

Jiang Zhixun had already given her everything he had.

Marriage.

Money.

He had given everything he could give; he just didn't come home.

And yet she still brought up divorce—if that wasn't being ungrateful, what was?

Seeing her burst into tears again without warning, Jiang Zhixun frowned.

"Does somewhere hurt?"

Compared to the coldness when they first met, he could be considered gentle now.

Shen Qingqing shook her head.

Since coming to the Great Northwest to see Jiang Zhixun this time, she was becoming less and less like herself.

The way she cried at the slightest provocation—forget Jiang Zhixun, even she found it annoying.

She closed her eyes, pretending to sleep, but moist liquid continued to flow incessantly from the corners of her eyes.

Jiang Zhixun didn't know what was wrong with her.

He stood by the hospital bed with pursed lips, staring at Shen Qingqing in silence.

The sister-in-law in the next bed couldn't stand it and spoke up to remind him, "Your wife is probably feeling unwell; you should coax her."

The words "your wife" made Jiang Zhixun very uncomfortable.

He and Shen Qingqing were married, but they hadn't spent a single day together after the wedding.

Aside from that marriage certificate, their marriage... had nothing.

During the first few years after Shen Qingqing arrived at the Jiang family home, he had indeed played the role of an older brother.

But as a husband, that was a completely different matter.

Jiang Zhixun didn't know how to coax Shen Qingqing.

When Sister-in-law Li from the next bed urged him again, he said stiffly, "When she stops feeling unwell, she'll naturally stop crying."

Sister-in-law Li: "..."

She had heard before that Captain Jiang was an excellent pilot, but that he was cold as an ice block.

She had thought the rumors were exaggerated, but now it seemed they hadn't wronged him at all.

His wife was sick and crying so pitifully, yet he could just stand there watching.

Was he perhaps a blockhead who didn't understand anything?

She glanced at the lunch box on the table, which contained two white, plump flour steamed buns.

The female comrade hadn't eaten a single bite.

Sister-in-law Li thought to herself: *What's the use of just buying food if your mouth isn't sweet?*

Once the female comrade recovered, she would probably only remember that he didn't coax her, and not those two flour buns.

Seeing Shen Qingqing with her eyes closed, unwilling to look at Jiang Zhixun, Sister-in-law Li became even more certain of this thought.

"Captain Jiang, a wife needs to be coaxed. Look at your wife—her face is fair and clean, and she has a great figure. With such a beautiful female comrade, do you have the heart to watch her cry?"

Jiang Zhixun fell silent for a moment. His long fingers curled slightly, and he used his knuckle to touch the corner of Shen Qingqing's eye.

He touched a moist sensation.

As if struck by electricity, Jiang Zhixun immediately withdrew his hand.

An indescribable surge of emotion welled up in his heart; he strongly rejected this feeling.

Jiang Zhixun thought, he really must get Shen Qingqing back to Beijing as soon as possible!

(End of Chapter)