Chapter 20 Whose Birthday is it at the Hospital?

The man opposite her seemed surprised to see her there. He hurriedly grabbed the shirt he had just taken off and put it on in a flustered manner. His actions made Ji Wei feel like a scoundrel who had accidentally wandered in. She cleared her throat and explained, "I didn't see you in the yard just now. I thought you were drunk and hiding somewhere. I was a little worried, so..."

"I'm really not drunk." Gu Zhiyuan was truly helpless now; it turned out she never believed him.

"Okay, I know now. Did you take a cold shower just now? Even though it's June, the water temperature is still quite low. I'll go make you some brown sugar ginger soup." Ji Wei said, then fled to the kitchen as if she were escaping.

Watching her almost fleeing figure, Gu Zhiyuan felt a strange sense of pleasure. It turned out his composure earlier was all an act. The smell of alcohol on his shirt made him frown. He casually took off his shirt and went upstairs to change, shirtless. However, her retreating figure reminded him that there was more than just him and Chen An at home now; this couldn't happen again. Thinking this, Gu Zhiyuan pinched the bridge of his nose. Although he wasn't drunk tonight, the alcohol had still affected him, making him forget that his wife and daughter were home. This was very inappropriate of him.

Ji Wei felt a thumping sound in her chest, the sound of her heart racing. She couldn't help but despise herself in her heart. "Ji Wei, you're so pathetic. You're so nervous just because you saw someone shirtless. Is that even acceptable?" But Gu Zhiyuan's physique was indeed quite good, at least better than the pictures she had seen online in her later life.

Although her mind was a jumbled mess, Ji Wei's hands moved with practiced ease. She chopped ginger into small pieces, added it to boiling water, then added brown sugar and simmered for three to five minutes. As the brown sugar ginger soup boiled, Ji Wei calmed down and ladled the soup into a bowl.

Gu Zhiyuan changed his clothes upstairs before coming down. By then, he had dried his hair with a towel. Although it was still wet, at least it wasn't dripping anymore. He changed into a clean shirt, the same style as before. Ji Wei placed the bowl in front of him: "Drink it while it's hot."

"Mom, what is this? Why does only Dad have it?" Gu Chen'an pointed to the bowl in front of him.

"Hangover soup? Did you drink alcohol too?" Ji Wei asked deliberately.

"Why does it smell like brown sugar ginger water?" Gu Chen'an said, sniffing the air twice more. Regardless, this was something his mother had specially prepared for his father, and he wanted to drink it too.

"Gu Chen'an, I think you're asking for trouble. Lulu, come here, Mommy will take you to take a bath and go to bed." Ji Wei waved to Lulu.

"Okay, then I won't drink it. Mom, you can't be biased next time," Gu Chen'an said, revealing his true thoughts.

"Okay, I got it. You should also take a shower and go to bed early. Do you still want to feed the pigeons tomorrow?" Ji Wei reminded her.

"Yes, yes, Dad, drink it quickly, then mix it with hot water for my bath," Gu Chen'an urged.

Gu Zhiyuan didn't speak. His gaze fell on the ginger soup in front of him. Was this her concern? Or was he afraid that if he caught a cold, he wouldn't be able to take Chen'an and the others to the city to feed the pigeons tomorrow, and that they would be disappointed? Gu Zhiyuan didn't expect that he would be so conflicted about whether this was her concern for him or her action of being afraid that the children would be disappointed.

"Dad, what are you thinking about? I've called you several times." Gu Chen'an gave him a reproachful look. Didn't he hear her?

"What?" After a long while, Gu Zhiyuan finally found his voice, and the steam from the ginger soup in the bowl in front of him had dissipated considerably.

"I said I was going to take a shower, did you boil water for me?" Gu Chen'an repeated what he had just done.

"No rush, we'll go later." Gu Zhiyuan slowly reached out and picked up the bowl of ginger soup, sipping it slowly. It was the first time he had ever tasted ginger soup so delicious.

Ji Wei carried Lulu, who had just finished her bath, upstairs, helped her change her clothes, kissed Lulu's forehead, and gently said to her, "Lulu, you stay here obediently, Mommy will take a shower and come up soon."

Sleepy Lulu nodded somewhat absentmindedly: "Wait for Mom."

"Good girl." Ji Wei covered her with the blanket and then took the clothes she would change into and went downstairs. To avoid a repeat of the embarrassing incident, she deliberately made noise while taking a shower.

"Mom, why aren't you asleep yet?" Gu Chen'an asked her, somewhat puzzled.

"I'll go to sleep after I take a shower." She had been busy in the kitchen for so long tonight, and she was completely covered in the smell of cooking oil. She still had to wash her hair too.

"Oh, then you wash first, and I'll wash after you're done." Gu Chen'an said, then went back to watching TV. The man who had just finished drinking brown sugar ginger water deliberately asked, "Weren't you going to check on the hot water? Why did you come back here?"

"I'll wash after Mom finishes. Oh, right, Dad, what did Song mean when he said I'll have another little brother soon?" Gu Chen'an suddenly remembered what Lu Song had said.

Gu Zhiyuan's brow twitched. He and Ji Wei were both aware of the situation regarding the child, but he hadn't expected that Brother Lü and the others would worry about it first. Under Gu Chen'an's gaze, he shook his head: "He's probably talking nonsense. You and Lulu are enough at home."

"Actually, having a younger brother is quite nice." Gu Zhiyuan thought about it seriously. His younger sister needed protection, and his younger brother could play with him.

"This is a bit difficult, let's try something else." Gu Zhiyuan directly cut off his unrealistic ideas.

"Okay, anyway, I have a younger sister now." Many of his classmates don't have younger sisters, and thinking about this made Gu Chen'an happy again.

Children's emotions come and go quickly, but Gu Zhiyuan was lost in thought because of this issue. He hesitated, wondering if he should have an open and honest talk with Ji Wei about it. That night, Gu Zhiyuan couldn't sleep because of this issue, and he was woken up early the next morning by an excited Gu Chen'an: "Dad, get up quickly, we should go to the station."

"Okay, you can go downstairs first." Gu Zhiyuan rubbed his aching head and got off the bed after a while.

Because Gu Zhiyuan woke up late, the family of four had to eat breakfast out. The two little ones remembered KFC from last time and insisted on going to the city center for breakfast, which they naturally agreed to. On the way to the station, Gu Zhiyuan kept yawning, which surprised Ji Wei: "Didn't you sleep well last night?"

“A little.” Gu Zhiyuan nodded.

"Then you can take a nap in the car later." Ji Wei yawned after saying that. If it weren't for the plan to go to the city, she would probably be catching up on sleep right now.

The bus finally swayed and rattled into the city. Having learned from their previous experience, this time they went straight to KFC without taking a taxi. Gu Zhiyuan wasn't interested in the breakfast there, so he opted for the steamed buns next door. Ji Wei ate breakfast with the two little ones. It was then that she noticed Gu Chen'an and Lulu each had two yuan in their hands. She was somewhat surprised: "You didn't use them all?"

The allowance system started on Wednesday, but it seems they each spent half on Sunday and are now planning to spend the remaining two dollars in the city.

"We want to come to the city to buy things," Gu Chen'an said, clutching the two yuan in his hand.

“Okay, we can just buy whatever we want when we see it. Let’s go see if your dad has finished eating.” Ji Wei held one of their hands.

When they came out of KFC, Gu Zhiyuan also came out of the steamed bun shop. After the four of them met up, they headed straight for the park. The park did not require an entrance fee, but feeding the pigeons required buying feed at a designated place. Along the way, the two little ones were very excited, and Ji Wei smiled as well.

As soon as they entered the park, Gu Chen'an saw the pigeons over there. He excitedly waved Lulu's hand and said, "Lulu, look over there, there are so many pigeons."

The pigeons in the park are artificially fed, and even when they fly, they only fly within a small area of ​​the park. The place where a flock of pigeons gathered should be the pigeon feeding area, and the two little ones almost ran there.

Artificially fed pigeons are very friendly. Gu Chen'an saw someone put feed in their hand and open their palm. The pigeons pecked at the feed in his hand. He was tempted and wanted to try it too. Although Lulu liked it, she was scared when the pigeons flew near her and held Ji Wei's arm tightly with both hands.

Gu Zhiyuan handed the purchased feed to the two of them. Gu Chen'an boldly followed the example of the people next to him and let the pigeons come to his palm to feed. Lulu was scared and only dared to scatter them on the ground. Occasionally, greedy pigeons would fly close to her, and she would retreat in fright. Ji Wei smiled and comforted her: "Don't be afraid, they just want to eat the feed in your hand."

With Ji Wei by her side, Lulu gradually grew bolder. She grabbed some feed from the bag and scattered it little by little at her feet. Soon, pigeons came over. This time, Lulu didn't back down; she even reached out and touched one of the pigeons' feathers. The pigeons were used to the tourists' affection and didn't seem to care about the little hand that suddenly appeared on them. They continued to forage for food. Lulu, on the other hand, laughed happily because she had touched the pigeon.

"Lulu, try this, they're so well-behaved, they won't peck at you." Gu Chen'an, who was next to her, tried to teach her to open her palm and let the pigeons into her hand.

Just then, someone with a camera came over and asked, "Would you like to take a picture as a souvenir?"

Upon hearing about taking photos, Gu Chen'an and Lulu both thought of the fake background in their home photos, and their eyes clearly showed their excitement. They both looked at Ji Wei, who was always unable to resist such gazes. Under their nervous stares, Ji Wei nodded and said, "Okay, let's take the photos."

Photos of these scenic spots are readily available, so the price is about two or three times higher than usual. Although Ji Wei felt a little pained, childhood is priceless, so both of them got an extra photo of their lives, especially Lulu, who was caught on camera when a pigeon flew onto her hand and she was so scared that she cried.

"See, it didn't peck you. If you're scared, we can just feed it to you like we did before," Ji Wei comforted her.

Lulu's eyes were still brimming with tears. She wanted to get close to the pigeon, but when the pigeon actually flew onto her hand, she started to feel scared. So the little one kept hesitating and pushing away the pigeon until she finished feeding it.

Ji Wei was amused by her. She was probably what people called "amateurish and playful." Gu Zhiyuan, who was next to her, squatted down and comforted her, "Does Lulu still need to be fed? Don't be afraid of it, we're all here with you."

Lulu looked up at him: "You sounded a little surprised. Is that okay?"

"Of course," Gu Zhiyuan said, taking the little guy's hand as they continued to buy feed.

Ji Wei was somewhat helpless. She had only brought them here to experience the fun of feeding pigeons. If they were to actually feed them according to their wishes, they would probably have to stay here all day. When the two returned, they had two more bags of feed. Lulu gave one bag to Gu Chen'an and then started trying to reach out again. This time, with Gu Zhiyuan by her side, she was a little bolder than before. When the pigeons stopped in mid-air to eat the feed in her palm, Lulu excitedly called out "Mommy!" Perhaps her voice was too high-pitched, because the pigeons flew away. Her excited little face quickly fell. She didn't know what Gu Zhiyuan said to her, but Lulu quickly became happy again.

Ji Wei didn't go over, but stood there watching Gu Zhiyuan take care of the two children. He was more patient than she had imagined, whether with Gu Chen'an or Lulu. This time, Lulu's feed was almost gone, and she didn't pester them to buy more. Instead, she ran over, looked up at Ji Wei, and said with undisguised pride, "Mom, did you see that just now?"

"I see, Lulu is getting braver and braver." Ji Wei said, touching Lulu's little face with her hand.

"Dad said he would stand by my side to protect me and that I didn't need to be afraid." After Lulu finished speaking, she quickly glanced at Gu Zhiyuan next to her, and then pursed her lips.

"That's brave too. Go check if your brother has finished feeding you." Ji Wei knew she was shy.

"Okay." Lulu quickly ran off to find Gu Chen'an like a gust of wind. Ji Wei looked at the person next to her and asked softly, "Should we go to the hospital now?"

"Hmm, let's go ask first." Gu Chen'an's mental health is clearly more important than playing.

The two looked completely satisfied after feeding the pigeons. There were some play equipment in the park, and Ji Wei had just told them that if they fed the pigeons this time, they could play on the play equipment next time they came. The two readily agreed. Now the two little ones were huddled together, chattering about something. Before Ji Wei could ask, Gu Chen'an ran towards them first: "Mom, wait for us."

After they had run far away, Ji Wei realized that the two had gone to a vendor not far away to buy candy. The candy was made by stirring it together with two small sticks, and the children called it "stirred candy." The two little ones came back quickly, and in addition to what they were eating, they even bought some for her and Gu Zhiyuan as well. Looking at the candy they handed her, Ji Wei smiled and accepted it: "Wow, thank you."

Compared to her readily accepting, Gu Zhiyuan next to her was in a bit of a dilemma. He hadn't eaten these things in a long time, and in his opinion, as an adult, eating this would only invite ridicule. But looking at Lulu's expectant face, he couldn't bring himself to refuse. So the candy in his hand became a sweet burden. He took a sip and quickly ate all the candy on top.

"Mom, where are we going now?" With candy still in his mouth, Gu Chen'an's words were a little unclear.

"We need to go to the hospital now," Ji Wei said gently.

"Are you sick? Where do you feel unwell?" Gu Chen'an asked anxiously. Even Lulu, who was playing with a candy candy, looked up at her abruptly: "Mommy, are you sick?"

"No, you can come to the hospital for checkups as well as when you're sick." Ji Wei didn't directly say that she brought Gu Chen'an to see a doctor.

"Is that so?" The two little ones were a bit confused about what she meant by "physical examination".

The park and the hospital were quite far apart, so this time they chose to take the bus. The city was always crowded on Sundays, and there were no seats left on the bus, so they had to stand. Ji Wei held Lulu's hand and found a place to lean against so that Lulu could hug her legs.

In just one stop, the train became increasingly crowded. Ji Wei felt that her good spot was being squeezed in again. Just as someone was about to push their way in, a figure suddenly appeared in front of her, and she could smell a familiar scent. She looked up and met Gu Zhiyuan's dark eyes. He asked them in a low voice, "Are you alright?"

"It's okay." Ji Wei shook her head. They were too close. Because of the crowded bus, the two of them were too close. Especially when the driver stopped, someone rushed over from behind. If Gu Zhiyuan hadn't been bracing himself with his hand, the two of them would have bumped into each other. Ji Wei looked down at Lulu's head. Gu Zhiyuan's breath felt like it was hitting her head. For the first time, Ji Wei felt that time was passing so slowly. She didn't know how much time had passed, but they finally arrived at their destination. When Gu Zhiyuan let go of her hand and stepped back, she also breathed a sigh of relief.

This was the best hospital in the city. Ji Wei was holding the two children's hands, while Gu Zhiyuan went to the information desk to inquire about matters related to the psychology department. Fortunately, there was psychological counseling available, although the conditions and environment seemed rather ordinary. Perhaps because not many people paid attention to mental health issues at this time, the entire department was very quiet. Originally, Gu Zhiyuan had accompanied Gu Chen'an into the doctor's office, but he was quickly ushered out by the doctor, leaving Gu Chen'an alone inside.

Lulu looked at him as he came out and immediately became a little nervous: "What's wrong with my brother?"

"Brother is fine, the doctor is testing him right now," Ji Wei said gently, trying to comfort him. She remembered that Lulu had also had psychological problems in her previous life, and that was the first time she realized that what she thought was for the good of her child was just wishful thinking.

"Exam?" The little guy seemed a bit confused about the connection between doctors and exams.

“Yes, we can just wait here for our brother to come out.” After saying that, Ji Wei coaxed Lulu to recite the ancient poems she had learned earlier to pass the time. After a while, Gu Zhiyuan said, “Why don’t you take Lulu out for a walk first? I’ll just wait here. We don’t know how long it will take.”

“It’s okay, let’s wait for him together, that way he’ll see us as soon as he comes out.” Ji Wei shook her head, and Lulu in her arms also looked determined: “I’m going to wait for my brother here.”

Almost an hour passed before Gu Chen'an came out. After that, Gu Zhiyuan went to his office. Ji Wei subtly observed Gu Chen'an; his eyes seemed a little red, and she wondered if he had been crying inside. Just as she was about to say something to distract him, Lulu spoke first: "Brother, how did your exam go?"

Gu Chen'an was taken aback for a moment, but quickly understood what Lulu meant and said with a smile, "Brother has already finished the exam."

"Should I take the test?" Lulu asked somewhat anxiously. Ji Wei couldn't help but chuckle; it turned out that this was her real purpose.

"The doctor said Lulu is a good child and doesn't need to take the exam." Gu Chen'an said, patting her head. He didn't understand many of the things the doctor said, but he did understand one thing: the doctor said that his parents valued him very much, which was why they brought him here, and that the doctor inside was very gentle.

Seeing Lulu's happy face, Ji Wei's smile deepened. She glanced at the time and realized it was already past midnight: "You must be hungry. We'll go eat when Dad comes out."

"I'm a little hungry." Lulu touched her flat stomach.

"Hang in there a little longer, we'll be able to eat soon." As soon as he finished speaking, the office door opened. Gu Zhiyuan's expression wasn't too good, but he quickly adjusted his expression after seeing them.

"Let's go eat first!" This is clearly not the time to ask questions.

"Okay, let's go eat first. What would you like to eat?" Gu Zhiyuan asked the two of them.

"Can we still eat KFC?" Gu Chen'an's eyes lit up.

"No, that won't do. Maybe next time," Ji Wei refused directly.

"Okay, let's eat rice then. I want to eat braised pork." Gu Chen'an suddenly wanted to eat braised pork. When the doctor was chatting with him earlier, he suddenly remembered that the woman had made braised pork before, but she had given it all to that man and left him no piece. So he was really craving braised pork right now.

"Okay, then let's have braised pork for lunch today." That's how one of the lunch dishes was decided.

Based on Ji Wei's experience, the restaurants near the hospital were generally not very good, so they didn't choose any nearby restaurants. Instead, they went to the restaurant they had been to last time. In addition to braised pork, they also ordered a vegetable dish and a soup. While waiting for the food to be served, Gu Chen'an asked curiously, "Are we going to go straight back after we eat?"

"Do you want to play a little longer?" Ji Wei was a little unsure of his intentions.

"Is it okay?" Gu Chen'an did not deny it.

“Of course we can, but we have to go to school tomorrow, so we have to be back by 3 p.m. at the latest,” Ji Wei said.

“Sure.” Gu Chen’an calculated that even if they went back at three o’clock, they could still play for at least two more hours.

Because Gu Chen'an was there, Ji Wei didn't feel comfortable asking the doctor about the diagnosis. Thinking of Gu Zhiyuan's expression when he left the consultation room, she couldn't help but worry. Then she thought that at least it hadn't reached the point where medication was needed, so it should be alright.

Before leaving, Gu Zhiyuan suddenly said he was going to buy something. When he returned, he had a cake in his hand. Ji Wei was a little surprised: "Is someone having a birthday?"

"Did you forget that today is Lulu's birthday?" Gu Zhiyuan said, glancing at Lulu as he spoke.

"Lulu's birthday?" Ji Wei looked at him with some confusion.

That look made Gu Zhiyuan a little uncertain: "I saw that the date written on her household registration book is this day."

"When we registered Lulu's birth, they gave us the wrong date. Lulu's birthday is in ten days, but thank you for your thoughtfulness." Lulu was still in her postpartum period when she was registered. Xie Fei suddenly had something to do that day, so he asked Lulu's grandfather to handle it. As a result, they remembered the wrong date.

"It was my oversight; I should have asked you first." He had ordered the cake in advance by phone.

"I should be thanking you. Besides, who says you can only eat cake on your birthday?"

"Wow, a birthday cake! Is it ours?" Lulu stared at the cake in Gu Zhiyuan's hand, her little face full of joy.

“Yes, this is our family’s, to celebrate Lulu starting kindergarten and Chen’an’s bravery today,” Ji Wei explained to them.

"Wow, that's amazing!" Gu Chen'an was surprised to find that he was also included.

With the cake as a temptation, the two little ones couldn't wait to go home. While they were discussing the plan, Ji Wei finally had a chance to ask Gu Zhiyuan about Gu Chen'an's situation.

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Author's Note: [Stand-up Ear Rabbit Head] 20 random small red envelopes