Thanks to Dr. Lu's help.
He gave my grandfather another shot of "Valium", which finally put this lively old man full of fallacies back to sleep.
As we came out of the ward, Dr. Lu seemed preoccupied. He glanced at me, hesitating to say something.
"Dr. Lu," I spoke first. "Since my grandfather is awake, can we transfer him to a general ward?"
The ICU was too expensive. Although there was a substantial amount of money in my card given by Wei Yuan, I thought unnecessary expenses should be saved whenever possible.
"Well, we'll observe him for a day. If there are no issues, he can be transferred to a regular ward tomorrow." Dr. Lu nodded. After a moment of hesitation, he said, "Du Xinghe, could you come to my office? I have something I'd like to consult you about."
"Ah..." I was taken aback. I wondered what Dr. Lu could possibly want to consult me, an ignorant little soothsayer.
"Sure." I nodded quickly.
Dr. Lu was a living Bodhisattva who saved lives. He was not only highly skilled in medicine but also kind. I hoped I could be of help to him.
Si Jiangchen followed behind me and suddenly coughed softly.
I turned around in surprise.
"It's too late. Let's do it tomorrow." Si Jiangchen wasn't speaking to me but to Dr. Lu. "Xiao He is not in good health and needs to go back and rest."
Dr. Lu glanced at his watch. Considering it was indeed quite late, he reached for a small bag of glucose solution on the nurse's station and handed it to me.
"You have low blood sugar. You should pay more attention in the future."
As a doctor, he had noticed that I was breaking out in a cold sweat.
"Thank you, Dr. Lu." I took it casually. "Then... I'll call you tomorrow!"
Before I could finish my sentence, Si Jiangchen gently reached out and wrapped his arm around my waist, lifting me up. "Let's go."
There was no discernible emotion in his voice, but somehow I felt that he was angry!
All the way to the elevator, Si Jiangchen still didn't put me down. Fortunately, it was midnight and there was no one in the elevator. Otherwise, his carrying me like this would have been very eye - catching!
I was so hungry that I felt dizzy. I twisted open the soft - packed glucose solution and gulped it down.
"... Do you know why I came to find you today?" Si Jiangchen looked down at me.
"Why?" I took big sips of the slightly bitter glucose solution. I also thought it was strange that Si Jiangchen showed up. He couldn't have known that I would encounter trouble on my first day at work, right?
"To bring you dinner, you ungrateful little thing!"
As he spoke, the elevator reached the first floor. "I made bird's nest porridge. It tastes quite good."
"Ah!" I was stunned, and my mouth immediately started to water instinctively.
"Do you want to try it?" Si Jiangchen squinted his eyes.
"Yes! Of course I do!"
Thinking of the delicious food Si Jiangchen cooked, I couldn't help but swallow hard...
"Let's go. It'll take about an hour to get home. You can eat in the car." Si Jiangchen kindly suggested.
It wasn't until I was sitting in the car, eating the fragrant and glutinous sweet porridge in the insulated lunch box that I suddenly realized that I seemed like a silly sparrow, boarding the pirate ship without hesitation just for something to eat.
...
The home Si Jiangchen mentioned was in a very low - key neighborhood within the Third Ring Road of Beijing.
There wasn't even a name outside the neighborhood.
The security guards on duty looked very energetic. At first glance, they were well - trained elites.
The outer perimeter of the neighborhood was a not - very - high red wall. When Si Jiangchen's car drove in, the barrier at the gate automatically opened, and the security guards saluted in unison.
I wasn't very familiar with Beijing. During the few years I'd been here, I'd only been active in the suburban areas.
I was quite interested in this quiet place in the bustling city.
While eating the fried shrimp balls Si Jiangchen brought me, I peered out of the car window.
Although it was night, I could still see the elegant environment of the neighborhood. The well - arranged lights cast soft light into every corner.
From afar, I saw the iron gate of a three - story building slowly open. Ji Chen skillfully drove the car in.
An old man was already waiting at the door. As soon as the car stopped, he stepped forward and opened the car door.
"Sir, you're back."
The old man had gray hair and was wearing a light - gray linen Chinese - style long gown. He seemed to be nearly seventy years old.
When he saw Si Jiangchen get out of the car, he still saluted respectfully.
"Old Tang, are all of Si Tong's doctors here?" Si Jiangchen said as he pulled me out of the car.
"They're all here. The doctors from both shifts heard that the master was coming and have been waiting until now."
The old man called "Old Tang", seeing me looking at him, immediately smiled and saluted me. "Hello, Miss Du. Nice to meet you. My name is Tang Shili. I'm Mr. Si's butler."
"Hello, Uncle Tang."
I never expected that Si Jiangchen would even have a butler... I wondered how long he had been with Si Jiangchen and if he knew that Si Jiangchen was a non - human being!
"Miss Du, you don't need to be so polite. Just call me Old Tang or Steward Tang."
Tang Shili still smiled. He didn't show overly enthusiastic emotions about my friendliness.
Si Jiangchen took my hand and walked towards the entrance on the first floor.
"Who's at home?" He glanced at a lit room on the second floor.
"The eldest miss. She heard that you were coming back and rushed over immediately."
The eldest miss Tang Shili mentioned was probably the Ms. Lin Shuya I had met once.
She was the wife of Si Jiangchen's rival, Wei Wenzhao. Since she had the surname Lin, I thought for a long time and decided that she probably wasn't a blood relative of Si Jiangchen...
"Okay."
Si Jiangchen showed no unusual expression upon hearing this. He just nodded slightly and pulled me into the house.
Just inside the entrance was the living room. The luxurious pure - European furniture and decorations dazzled me.
The burgundy long - pile carpet was woven with dark - gold patterns.
The milky - white furniture was almost all painted with intricate gold - lined patterns, looking like something out of the Middle Ages, luxurious and... pretentious.
Yes!! Pretentious!
The whole room's furnishings seemed over - done. Everywhere my eyes looked seemed to be shouting "rich" and "I'm so rich!!"
Before I could get used to the dazzling decorations, I heard Lin Shuya's surprised cry from upstairs.
"A Chen, you're finally back."
I saw Lin Shuya quickly walking down the stairs from the second floor. Today, Lin Shuya was still dressed very strikingly. Her long cheongsam with beige and cyan stripes was paired with jet - black curly hair. The red gemstone earrings on her ears sparkled under the warm light.
"I heard that Tongtong's illness can be cured, so I rushed over overnight!"
As she spoke, she had already reached the first floor. When she saw me, a look of surprise flashed in her beautiful big eyes. "She... How can she be here?!"
Lin Shuya had a mature charm but would also occasionally show a girlish pout. At the moment when she coquettishly spoke to Si Jiangchen, I even had the illusion that Si Tong was their child!