Morning Longing for Warmth – Chapter 10

Hospital

Do you like Third Miss

After breakfast, Shiyi was called to get in the car by Wei Hui. She asked in confusion: “Third Miss, where are we going?”

            

Wei Hui leaned against the chair back and said softly: “The hospital.”

Shiyi’s heart trembled without reason. She remembered what Third Miss had said before about taking something from her body, so were they going to the hospital to remove it now?

The journey was silent. Shiyi’s face was even paler than Wei Hui, the actual patient. When they were almost at the hospital entrance, she finally couldn’t hold back and called out: “Third Miss.”

            

Wei Hui slowly opened her eyes. Having not rested well last night, she was somewhat drowsy, but the sunlight outside the window was too harsh. She had to close her eyes to rest, yet couldn’t fall asleep. She kept hearing the sound of fabric rustling as Shiyi seemed to be constantly moving. Just as she was about to open her eyes, she heard Shiyi call for her.

“Third Miss.”

She turned her head to look at Shiyi, seeing worry on her fair face, and those beautiful eyes held traces of fear. Wei Hui parted her lips: “What’s wrong?”

            

Shiyi anxiously fidgeted with her fingers, and forcing herself to speak with a stiffened scalp (a Chinese idiom meaning to do something despite fear), she asked: “You haven’t said yet, what are you going to take away?”

“Is it really not my eyes?”

Wei Hui hadn’t expected her to be thinking about this, but considering it, it made sense. She had mysteriously brought someone to the hospital without any explanation. From her perspective, it wasn’t surprising that she would overthink. Realizing this, she gently shook her head: “No, it’s not.”

            

Seeing Shiyi still staring at her intently, Wei Hui coughed lightly twice. Her face was tinged with an unusual blush, and her eyes weren’t as sharp as usual, somehow gaining a softness. When she spoke again, her voice was slightly hoarse: “Don’t worry, whatever it is, I will ask for your consent.”

Without an imposing aura, without sharpness, her gaze was very calm. When Shiyi met those eyes, her chaotic heartbeat returned to normal. For some reason, she suddenly felt very much at ease.

After arriving at the hospital, the driver opened the back door. Wei Hui got out first, carrying her bag, and said: “Come out.”

            

Only then did Shiyi follow behind her out of the car.

Perhaps because she had been here once before, Shiyi wasn’t as timid this time. She walked naturally beside Wei Hui as they went inside together. The two cute older sisters (a polite way to refer to young female workers) at the front desk from last time weren’t there. Shiyi frowned and looked carefully – there was no one in the hospital at all.

Su Ziyan walked out from the back office wearing a white coat, and upon seeing the two of them, called out: “This way.”

            

Wei Hui nodded slightly and said to Shiyi: “Follow me.”

Shiyi followed behind Wei Hui step by step. The two entered an office, where Su Ziyan smiled at Shiyi and said: “Third Miss and I have something to discuss, please sit here for a while.”

After speaking, he took several candies from the drawer and handed them to Shiyi: “We’ll be back after we’re done.”

            

Shiyi held the colorful candies, speechless but feeling warmth in her heart. As the door gently closed, she unwrapped a candy – it was lemon flavored, both sour and sweet, the same taste as the candies Popo (respectful term for elderly woman/grandmother) used to give her.

Like a child who had found treasure, she became intensely curious about these candies. As soon as she finished one, she immediately unwrapped another. Before long, the room was filled with a faint sweet fragrance.

In the separate office, Wei Hui sat at the desk. Su Ziyan looked at the examination report and said coldly: “You still wanted to hide this from me?”

            

Wei Hui had fever for half the night yesterday and couldn’t rest properly in the car earlier. Coming for the examination had taken considerable effort, and now sitting down, she was still slightly short of breath. Hearing the reproach, she replied without lifting her head: “I wasn’t hiding it from you, I just wanted to wait until work was finished before coming.”

“Wait until work is finished?” Su Ziyan gripped the X-ray films and said in a deep voice: “I’m afraid you won’t even live to see that end!”

He looked at Wei Hui. Previously, she had always come for monthly check-ups, strictly following the lifestyle routine he had prescribed. Although her condition hadn’t improved, it hadn’t worsened either. Since last month, she hadn’t come to the hospital for check-ups, and when he tried to schedule appointments, she kept pushing away three times and blocking four times (a Chinese idiom meaning repeated refusal). He should have noticed earlier, shouldn’t have been optimistic. Su Ziyan felt annoyed at his own delayed realization.

            

“If you continue like this, I’m afraid you’ll be meeting King Yama (the ruler of the underworld in Chinese mythology) in just a few days.”

Wei Hui lowered her head and smiled. Perhaps only Su Ziyan dared to speak to her this way. She parted her lips: “Let’s do the IV drip.”

“Still talking about IV drips.” Su Ziyan muttered: “I really don’t know why you’re working yourself to death like this. What’s the use of earning so much money? You have the life to earn but not to spend it, and you can’t even leave an heir to help you…”

            

At this point, he suddenly turned his head to look at Wei Hui: “Wait, you brought that child back, don’t tell me you’re thinking of…?”

Wei Hui leaned against the chair back, her face pale, the unusual flush on her face growing worse, her body gradually developing a high temperature. She parted her lips: “Ziyan, hurry up.”

The urgent tone made Su Ziyan take a few quick steps. He stood in front of Wei Hui, looked down at her expression for a few seconds, and swiftly inserted the needle. The cool medicine flowed through her veins into her body, and Wei Hui slowly closed her eyes.

            

“Are you planning to…”

“Ziyan,” Wei Hui interrupted his words and said softly: “Let me rest for a while.”

She was extremely tired, with faint dark circles under her eyelids, and a slight flush on her beautiful face. Where now was any trace of her decisive business warrior demeanor? She was completely a sick beauty, weak and powerless. Su Ziyan could only say: “Then rest for a while, I’ll go check on Shiyi.”

            

A neither light nor heavy “mm” came in response, and Su Ziyan sighed as he left the office.

Shiyi had just put the last candy in her mouth when she heard the door open. She tensed up, causing the hard candy to slip straight into her throat, forcing her to swallow it hard.

Su Ziyan smiled when he saw the pile of candy wrappers on the table: “You really ate them all?”

            

“Won’t you skip lunch now?”

It was a completely different feeling from Wei Hui. Shiyi felt that Su Ziyan was gentle – gentle in speech, gentle in actions, and even now as he chatted with her, his tone was soft and gentle.

But compared to all this gentleness, she preferred being with Wei Hui. Even though they had only known each other for a few days, Wei Hui was like a mountain to lean on in her heart, making one unable to resist wanting to depend on her.

            

Especially after last night’s events, she discovered that Wei Hui wasn’t so scary after all.

Seeing Su Ziyan still looking at her, Shiyi stared at the candy wrappers and bit her lip: “You said you’d come back when I finished eating them.”

Su Ziyan was slightly stunned. He had thought the child was just greedy for sweets, but hadn’t expected it was because of his casual words before leaving. This child was quite different from what he had imagined.

            

Remembering his earlier conversation with Wei Hui, he spoke: “Shiyi ah.”

Shiyi’s bright eyes stared at him unblinkingly, with scattered sunlight falling into her pupils, making them sparkle. Su Ziyan held back for a moment: “I’ll take you to eat something delicious later.”

“Where is Third Miss?” Shiyi looked behind him, her gaze searching: “Won’t Third Miss eat with us?”

            

Su Ziyan smiled: “She’s resting, she won’t be joining us.”

“What would you like to eat?”

Su Ziyan had a younger sister studying abroad, about the same age as Shiyi, so his gaze softened when he looked at her: “There’s a restaurant nearby that just opened, the food is quite good. Would you like to try it?”

            

Shiyi stood up, her hands hanging at her sides. Perhaps from eating too many candies, there was a cloying sweetness in her throat. She bit her lip and said: “I want to wait for Third Miss to join us.”

Her attitude was very firm. Su Ziyan looked at his wristwatch and shook his head: “No need, she’s not used to outside food.”

Upon hearing this, Shiyi deflated like a punctured balloon, her whole being drooping. Seeing her like this, Su Ziyan couldn’t help but ask: “Do you really want to eat with her?”

            

“No, no, that’s not it,” Shiyi hastily replied: “I just think Third Miss will be hungry if she doesn’t eat lunch.”

“She doesn’t look very well.”

She appeared reticent, but unexpectedly had such delicate thoughts. Su Ziyan’s expression paused slightly, and he said in a low voice: “She’s fine, just a slight cold from the wind last night. She’ll be better after a nap.”

            

Shiyi nodded: “Mm.”

Su Ziyan picked up his clothes and said to her: “Let’s go out.”

Shiyi walked beside him. When leaving, she heard soft coughing from next door, the same sound she had heard last night – it was Third Miss. She tilted her head to look, but the door was tightly shut, and she couldn’t see anything.

            

Su Ziyan had already put on his coat and walked several steps ahead. Shiyi quickly withdrew her gaze and hurried to catch up.

They had lunch at a nearby restaurant, which was decorated in a national style. Small private rooms were arranged right next to each other. Su Ziyan worried that Shiyi might feel uncomfortable being alone with him, so they chose a seat in the main hall by the window. Looking up, they could see the hospital, and Shiyi glanced in that direction several times.

After ordering the food, Su Ziyan said to her: “These are all home-style dishes. I ordered several dishes in case you’re not used to some.”

            

Shiyi hurriedly waved her hands: “No need, I can eat anything.”

Su Ziyan sent the server away, took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, then called out: “Shiyi, what do you think of Third Miss?”

Shiyi raised her eyes to look at him when she heard this question. Seeing his serious expression, although his face still carried a gentle smile, his aura was slightly different. She thought for a moment, then said with sincere eyes: “Third Miss is very good, she’s a very good person.”

            

A light chuckle came from across the table. Su Ziyan wiped his mouth with a napkin, shaking his head: “You know what? This is the first time I’ve heard anyone say she’s good.”

Outsiders saw her as beautiful, wealthy, rich, powerful – good in every way. But those kinds of “good” were different from the “good” that Shiyi just spoke of. He could tell that the child before him wasn’t lying; she truly felt that Wei Hui was good.

Could this be what the elders called yuanfen (destined relationship or fateful connection)?

            

Shiyi didn’t quite understand why Su Ziyan was suddenly staring at her, but she didn’t dare to ask. She lowered her head, hands hanging at her sides, pinching the legs of her pants. The clothes were all prepared by Third Miss – brand new, now creased from her wringing. Only when the food arrived did Su Ziyan withdraw his gaze and say lightly: “Eat, have more.”

“Thank you, Doctor Su.” Shiyi lowered her head to eat. Sunlight shone through the window onto her shoulders. The girl before him was delicate and thin, refined and proper. She ate without making a sound, her movements careful. When looking down she was unremarkable, but when she raised her head, her beautiful face was enough to enchant anyone. No wonder Wei Hui brought her home at first sight.

Even he had to admit that she was already so beautiful before fully growing up – when she fully matures, she would surely be another outstanding color (meaning exceptional beauty).

            

And this must be what Wei Hui liked about her.

Su Ziyan looked at Shiyi for a long while, then put down his chopsticks and called out: “Shiyi ah.”

Shiyi looked up, and seeing his serious expression, her heart tensed: “Doctor Su?”

            

After a few seconds of deep thought, Su Ziyan asked: “Do you like Third Miss?”

Hearing this, Shiyi was so startled that her chopsticks crashed onto the table, making a crisp sound.

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