With a grateful smile, I replied, “Thank you.” The nurses exchanged knowing glances, still buzzing with the new information about my ex-boyfriend.
“Li, are you busy these days? I want to swap shifts for something important.”
“Not busy. I can cover your shift.”
“Thank you! I’ll ask the director for leave.”
After getting the leave and arranging next week’s shifts, I went home to pack. Upon entering, I told my mom: “Mom, a friend is sick. I’m going to the hospital to take care of him.”
Seeing me pack my toiletries, my mom understood. “Bingbing, who’s sick?”
I hesitated. “Ye Zhengchen.”
My mom anxiously asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing serious, just some minor injuries. He’ll be fine after some rest.”
“You’re going to take care of him?”
“Yes. He has no one in Nanzhou to look after him. I want to be with him.”
“Bingbing,” she finally asked, “Do you still like him?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“What about him? How does he treat you?”
“He treats me very well.” I linked arms with my mom, resting my face on her shoulder. “Mom, it’s been three years. I can’t forget him. I want to be with him again.”
“I know. You often call out ‘senior brother’ in your dreams.”
The night you got engaged to Zhong Tian, you drank some wine and cried in your sleep, holding onto me and repeatedly asking, “Why hasn’t he come back? Has he forgotten about you?”
“Mom…”
“Ah, Bingbing. If I had known he would return, I would never have agreed to your marriage to Zhong Tian. I know you’ve been wronged. It was all for your father…”
Suppressed grievances burst out from my heart, and I cried into my mother’s embrace. I sobbed until my voice became hoarse.
Mom hugged me, gently patting my back. Dad sighed heavily from the sofa across the room.
After I calmed down, Mom ladled me a bowl of ginseng soup. The rich fragrance filled the air. After I finished, she packed the rest for me. “Take this to the hospital. It’s perfect for replenishing qi and blood.”
I smiled and wiped my tears. “Mom, you’re so good to me.”
“Go quickly, before the soup gets cold.”
Returning to the hospital room with my bag, my eyes were still red. Ye Zhengchen nervously got out of bed, “Why are you crying? Did you have a fight with your family?”
“No. I just feel so happy.” I handed him the thermos. “My mom’s ginseng soup.”
As soon as Ye Zhengchen heard it was my mom’s soup, he drank more than half of it, almost chewing the ginseng.
“Is it good?”
“Mm, no wonder you’re such a good cook. You’ve clearly learned from my future mother-in-law.”
I’ve never met someone so forward. “Who’s your future mother-in-law?”
“You’re my fiancée, so of course your mom is my future mother-in-law.”
Fiancée? When did I agree to his proposal? I did promise him for Yin Zhongtian. I wish he’d propose more formally, under a cherry blossom tree, asking me once more: Will you marry me? Then, I could tell him: I will. Not for anyone else, just because I want to.
But knowing Ye Zhengchen, if there’s a shortcut, he’d never take the long way around.
I finished organizing my things as night fell. Ye Zhengchen smacked his lips. “Darling, I need to take a shower.”
He always remembers these things clearly.
“Okay, where do you want to wash?” I thought of his wound that can’t get wet. “In the bathroom or on the bed?”
He looked at me plaintively. “The doctor said I can’t do anything too intense.”
I shouldn’t have asked for his opinion.
“Come on, I’ll help you to the bathroom.” I supported him out of bed, and locked the door to prevent his overzealous nurse from interrupting us – that would be impossible to explain.
A scorching heat surged up, burning my face, luckily he had his eyes closed and didn’t see it. “Really? Who said that?” he smiled. “I just happen to have brought a formal suit.”
My impression of formal suits came from the occasions where soldiers wore them on TV, full of longing and respect. When I looked up at him, his lips were pursed, the corners slightly raised, a deadly flirtation. At this moment, the thick gauze reminded me that he was injured and I shouldn’t take advantage of him.
My unconsciously hesitant hand rubbed against his waist for a long time until he opened his eyes and asked, “Are you testing me?” I retorted that he was the one who asked me to help him shower, and he inhaled and asked if I had to rub like that. I glared at him and casually used the smallest water stream to rinse his body.
The water was slightly cool, his body shivered slightly, I wanted to adjust the water temperature but it became too hot again. At this moment, Ye Zhengchen couldn’t bear it anymore and pushed me against the cold wall, snatching the showerhead with one hand and showering me.
“What are you doing?” “You helped me shower for so long, of course I have to return the favor.” The hot water splashed on me, my clothes stuck to my body, almost transparent, my female form exposed before his eyes.
His hand, through the fabric, grasped a soft area, my body felt numb. He said with a smile, “You know, I’m never serious about anything I do, except for you.” A retaliatory tease made my body even more sensitive, I had to retreat until I reached the corner of the wall with no way to escape.
He lifted my face, “Girl, I like seeing you like this the most.” I knew he was a pervert, who liked to watch women bathe and change. His lips imprinted on the back of my ear, recalling that rainy day, I was sitting in his car, he said many inappropriate things, but I only blushed.
He thought he understood all women, but I alone puzzled him. Since he wanted to know, I confessed that I was afraid and begged him not to. He pinched my face with a smile, “Men all understand, when women say no, they actually mean yes…”
It wasn’t easy for us to be together, I sighed with emotion, I tiptoed and lightly kissed his lips. His lips were soft, but one part of his body was unusually stiff. I carefully clung to his neck and kissed him deeply, lost in the moment, but he interrupted me.
I retorted that the doctor hadn’t forbidden strenuous exercise. He said I was taking advantage of him, and I simply went along with it, “What can you do to me?” As our kiss deepened, Ye Zhengchen took a deep breath, pulled me up, wrapped his arms around my waist, and pressed me against the wall for a passionate kiss.
Then, chaos unfolded, we kissed from the bathroom to the ward, and finally to the hospital bed.
He pushed me onto the bed, instantly, my clothes were torn into a mess by him. Before my clothes were completely off, his body pressed down, his lips and tongue impatiently seeking warmth.
“What’s the rush? I’m not going anywhere, you can do whatever you want…”
“That’s why I’m in a rush.”
There were no lights on, and the curtains weren’t drawn. I lay on his hospital bed, my half-undressed clothes stuck at my half-exposed breasts, tightening that soft area. The hot tip of his tongue circled around the sensitive little bud, bringing a mind-numbing pleasure. I couldn’t suppress my intermittent moans. The moonlight shone in, making the whole room seem holy, the snow-white sheets and quilt exuded a faint smell of disinfectant. In this familiar environment, this feeling seemed strange. Doing this kind of thing with a patient made me feel ashamed and guilty, but also a little excited, like a child stealing candy, knowing it was wrong, but unable to resist the sweet temptation.
Ye Zhengchen’s fingers gradually explored downwards, sliding over my abdomen, sliding between my legs. I tightly grasped the sheet under me, in the darkness, slender fingers slowly entered my body, gently twisting. The intense stimulation made me unable to help but whisper, “Senior brother…”
A wave of heat surged, my face burning, luckily he had his eyes closed and didn’t see it. “Really? Who said that?” he asked with a smile.
“I just happen to have a formal suit.”
