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"Patient is almost fully recovered; you can be discharged now!" Doctor Zheng said to Lin Zhen. "Great! Thank you, Doctor!" Lin Zhen replied, and then proceeded to handle the discharge paperwork with Xu Nancheng. Once outside the hospital, Lin Zhen hailed a taxi. "Hello, please take us to Laohuai Tree District." As they settled into the car, Lin Zhen's phone rang. Glancing at the screen, she saw it was Xu Wenzhao. "Hello! Old Xu! What's up?" Lin Zhen asked.
"Are you guys being discharged today?" Xu Wenzhao inquired. Upon hearing this, Lin Zhen's temper flared. "You actually know Xu Nancheng is being discharged today? You've only come by a few times these past few days! Just wait for me at home!"
"Hey, dear! I've been busy too! Isn't Xu Nancheng with you?" Xu Wenzhao quickly defended himself. Or rather, he was explaining himself. After all, he knew that his wife was upset, and he wasn't foolish enough to ignore that; he needed to pacify her or face her wrath later. It wasn't that Xu Wenzhao was irresponsible; as a police officer, he dedicated his time and efforts to serving the country and its people, leaving him little time to care for Xu Nancheng.
"What's going on?" Lin Zhen knew this well and only spoke out of frustration. Xu Wenzhao replied, "It's a bit complicated; let's talk when you get home! It's easier to explain!"
"What’s so mysterious? You better not tell me you've found a new love!" Lin Zhen teased.
"Oh dear, don't you know me? My heart is only for the country and you! There really is something important!" Xu Wenzhao insisted earnestly.
"Fine, we'll talk at home. I'm hanging up now!"
"Beep beep beep..." Lin Zhen ended the call. The taxi sped through the city streets and soon arrived at Xu Nancheng's apartment building. Lin Zhen paid the fare and helped Xu Nancheng upstairs.
Upon opening the door, they were met with silence; no one was home. Seeing this, Lin Zhen crossed her arms and sighed, "Ugh! That rascal! He calls to say he has something important but isn't even here! I rushed back for nothing." Saying this, she hurriedly helped Xu Nancheng onto the bed. In reality, after a few days of rest, Xu Nancheng was nearly fully recovered. However, his mother insisted on treating him like a fragile treasure, fearing something might happen.
"You really shouldn't be causing such trouble every day; it almost cost you your life!"
"You're fine now, but you're not cut out for fighting; you're too honest and should stop trying to be like your father," Lin Zhen said as she looked at her son. The memory of him being stabbed sent shivers down her spine; she was relieved nothing serious had happened because otherwise, she wouldn't know how to explain it to his grandparents back home.
Those grandparents lived an hour away in their rural hometown and cherished their grandson dearly; they couldn't bear to see him hurt even slightly. This time, they hadn’t told them about Xu Nancheng’s incident for fear it would upset them.
"Mom, it’s not like that! You can't just let us watch while someone else suffers!" Xu Nancheng defended himself. Although scared, he genuinely wanted to help others. If he saw someone committing a crime on the street, he would feel compelled to intervene—ordinary people would do the same; how much more so for the son of a police officer? Yet truthfully, he felt conflicted—he was timid and introverted by nature, so his boldness in standing up surprised everyone.
"You still have the nerve to say that? You're foolish! Chen Yi and his friends could have handled it; you should have just called the police and stayed safe—those two scoundrels wouldn't have gotten away!" While it sounded reasonable enough, it was true that Xu Nancheng had acted recklessly.
After a moment of silence, he finally spoke up: "I guess that's true... but Chen Yi is one of my buddies."
Seeing her son so stubborn made Lin Zhen even angrier: "You think you're strong enough?"
"..." Xu Nancheng fell silent.
Just then, the doorbell rang amidst the quiet. Lin Zhen went to answer it and found Xu Wenzhao standing at the door. "Oh wow! You actually remembered to come back! I rushed home thinking you were already here!" Lin Zhen said while playfully tugging at Xu Wenzhao's ear.
"Ouch! Dear! Give me some face!" Xu Wenzhao pleaded.
"Come inside and talk!" Lin Zhen said as she stepped aside; she didn’t want to disturb the neighbors.
At that moment, she noticed a girl standing behind Xu Wenzhao. The girl had her hair tied in a ponytail with fair skin and rosy cheeks; her bright almond-shaped eyes sparkled with life. She had a delicate nose and full lips and wore a fitted white dress that accentuated her figure. Her gentle smile made her look like an ethereal beauty straight out of a painting.
Lin Zhen was momentarily taken aback. Whose daughter is this? She looks so enchanting! If only she were Xu Nancheng's girlfriend!
Xu Wenzhao noticed his wife staring blankly and said, "Dear! What are you zoning out for?" He gently tapped her shoulder to snap her back to reality.
Recovering from her daze but still feeling puzzled, she asked, "Oh... who is this?"
Xu Wenzhao replied as he entered with the girl following him inside. "Child, please come in!" The girl smiled and nodded politely as she stepped inside.
Upon seeing Lin Zhen, she greeted warmly with a bow, "Hello Auntie!"
Her confident demeanor without any shyness made Lin Zhen even fonder of her as she smiled back warmly: "Hello there!"
Xu Wenzhao turned back to Lin Zhen and said, "Quickly prepare some food for this child! We can discuss everything once we sit down." As he spoke, the girl walked further into the room and began looking around nostalgically; tears welled up in her eyes which she quickly wiped away when no one was watching.
Lin Zhen followed Xu Wenzhao's suggestion and prepared some snacks and fruits since they always did this when guests arrived—it was their way of hospitality.
"Come here dear; you must be tired—sit down and eat slowly!" Lin Zhen urged as she helped the girl settle onto the sofa.
"Where's that rascal Xu Nancheng?" Xu Wenzhao asked curiously.
"I'm right here! What’s going on?" Xu Nancheng replied from where he leaned against the door frame.
The girl turned around upon hearing his voice; concern lit up her face as she hurried over to support him. "Nancheng!"
Feeling warmth from her touch—a soft brush against his skin—Xu Nancheng hadn't yet registered who she was before instinctively pulling back his arm in surprise; panic washed over him as he avoided eye contact. "What... what are you doing?"
But out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of her face—wait a minute! This girl looks just like someone from my dreams!
However, he didn’t ask any further questions since they weren’t familiar with each other yet. Meanwhile, both of their parents watched in shock at this unexpected scene unfolding before them—this was indeed the first time in his life that he had been so close to a girl.
The girl seemed aware of their gazes and quickly withdrew her hand while appearing awkwardly reserved with her hands behind her back. "Um... I just wanted to check on Nancheng since I heard about his injury," she said with an awkward smile.
In the station earlier on, Xu Wenzhao had mentioned how Nancheng's group saved her life. She thought to herself: Oh no... Is this our first meeting? Will I leave a bad impression on both Nancheng and his parents? Will they think I'm too forward or something...? Someone save me!
At this point, her cheeks were flushed red.
Xu Wenzhao quickly reacted by stepping forward with a smile: "Hahaha it's okay; he's almost fully recovered—let me introduce you all: this is Lin Menghan," he said enthusiastically.
"This is Auntie Lin Zhen; that older brother is Xu Nancheng—the son of Uncle." As he introduced everyone,
"Hello Auntie! Hello Nancheng!"
"Hello!"
"Hello!"
"And by the way," Xu Wenzhao added after introductions were made, "Lin Menghan will be staying with us for a while!"
Both Lin Zhen and Xu Nancheng were left utterly astonished by this revelation.
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