Zhou Rong responded, but his answer seemed unrelated: “Just like this, it’s good. Everyone is walking on the path to realizing their dreams.”
He stood up under everyone’s puzzled gaze, exhaling with his entire body’s strength, as if he had just finished a difficult battle. In the pause between artillery fire, he patted the shoulders of his three comrades one by one: “I’m proud of you.” He flashed a brief smile and turned to walk out of the small canteen.
Si Nan was indeed not cooperating, just leaning and resting by the bed in the intensive care unit. Only when he heard Zhou Rong’s footsteps did he sit up straight, and in an almost imperceptible subtle way, his state seemed to relax slightly.
The aircraft carrier’s supplies were quite good. Zhou Rong brought back meals and sweet soup. As the sea quickly darkened and night fell, they sat head-to-head at a small table in the hospital room, eating, with the hot steam from the tangyuan and pineapple sweet soup spreading under the light.
“Is the rooster okay?” Si Nan asked without looking up.
“He’s fine,” Zhou Rong said. “Don’t go find him. Give him some time alone.”
Si Nan nodded thoughtfully.
After a while, Zhou Rong saw him open a lunchbox he had just sealed, and start eating two braised chicken legs and half a bowl of sweet soup. He suddenly understood why Si Nan had separately kept this lunchbox before eating—it wasn’t to save for breakfast tomorrow.
He wanted to take it as a gift to see Guo Weixiang.
Zhou Rong suddenly burst out laughing. Si Nan, expressionless, spat out a chicken bone: “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing, nothing,” Zhou Rong waved his hand, and the dark clouds hanging over his heart suddenly dispersed.
After the meal, the nurse finally dared to draw blood. Zhou Rong watched closely. Surprisingly, they only drew 100CC and stopped. When he asked why, the nurse was very polite: “Director Ning from the Strategic Research Institute said that 800CC was drawn a few days ago, and they’re afraid drawing too much might affect the body, and want to ensure long-term sustainability…”
The nurse accidentally let slip and immediately blushed bright red.
Si Nan, unfamiliar with basic national policies, rarely took the initiative to ask: “Sustainable what?”
The nurse fled in a panic.
