Chapter 76

Chen Wulin's surgery was scheduled for Friday afternoon. When Jiang Wan rushed to the hospital after class, Chen Wulin was already wheeled into the operating room. Jiang Wan waited in the ward for over two hours before Chen Wulin was finally wheeled back out.

The anesthetic effect had just worn off, but he still didn't seem very clear-headed. When he saw Jiang Wan appear, he moved his mouth to speak. Jiang Wan blocked him with her hand, meaning that he should have a good rest, but unexpectedly, he took the opportunity to hold her hand and refused to let go.

Chen Wulin's grip was a bit tight. A medical staff member nearby was explaining precautions. Jiang Wan listened, struggling a bit but failing to break free. He took a chair and sat down beside the bed. Only when Chen Wulin fell asleep again and the tension in his hand gradually eased did Jiang Wan finally pull his hand free.

She grabbed the phone from the bedside table and wanted to make a call outside. Turning around, she saw the woman in the next bed looking at her lovingly. "Are you here to see the doctor with your boyfriend?"

Jiang Wan shook his head: "He is my brother, to be more precise, he is my future stepmother's biological son."

This string of awkward explanations kind of burned out Auntie's CPU. It wasn't until Jiang Wan left the ward that she realized what was going on: "Oh, could this be the legendary half-brother and half-sister?"

It was just past eight o'clock, and there were still quite a few people walking around in the hospital corridor. Jiang Wan walked to the end of the corridor with his phone and called Jiang Huainan: "Chen Wulin's surgery is done. Have you guys left yet?"

"I didn't want to trouble you, but I have an important exam to review for in the next few days and I can't take care of him, so I thought about it and called you over."

Jiang Huainan said something on the other end of the phone again, and a few female voices interrupted him halfway.

"Jiang Wan, is Wu Lin okay?"

"This kid, why didn't you tell me about such a big thing as surgery!"

Jiang Wan was a little surprised that Chen Hong was still with Jiang Huainan at this point: "He probably didn't want to worry you. It's a minor operation, and he's already done it. The doctor said all he needs to do is rest well."

Then Chen Hong said a few more words before reluctantly hanging up the phone.

Jiang Wan stayed in the hospital all night, barely sleeping. The next day, when the nurse arrived, Chen Wulin was already awake. Jiang Wan thought she must have looked terrible, otherwise Chen Wulin wouldn't have looked so apologetic.

Jiang Wan felt that the other party was a patient and should not be burdened with any more psychological burden: "I haven't slept well recently because of the quarrel with Lu Jiyu, so my face looks bad. It has nothing to do with you, don't worry."

Chen Wulin: ...

"There's one more thing I want to apologize to you for. I told your mother yesterday about your surgery. She should be able to arrive at the hospital this morning."

Chen Wulin nodded as if not surprised: "I understand. Thank you for your hard work."

Jiang Wan had a class that morning. She took a taxi back to her dorm, quickly washed her face, packed her books, and rushed to the classroom, but she was still five minutes late. The back door was locked, so she had to enter through the front. In full view of everyone, she found an empty seat in the third row and sat down. Fortunately, the professor didn't give her any trouble. After a quick glance, he turned back to writing formulas on the blackboard.

The other three girls from her dormitory sat on the other side of the classroom. As soon as Jiang Wan sat down, she received a WeChat message from Zhang Yang.

Yangyang Zizai: Jiang Wan, where were you yesterday? I'm telling you, it was really unlucky. I checked the room yesterday and you weren't there.

Jiang Wan glanced at the WeChat message and replied after a while: "It's okay."

Cao Huan also sent her a message from the other end: "Don't listen to Zhang Yang's panic. I told the teacher on rounds that you went to the hospital. Just explain the situation when the time comes."

Jiang Wan replied, "Thank you."

There's a dinner party for the External Relations Department this afternoon. Perhaps Song Huaian got a taste of success from Lu Jiyu last time he was soliciting sponsorship, so he's been bombarding Lu Jiyu with text messages almost daily, inviting him to join the department. But Lu Jiyu remains unmoved. So, today, he's asked Fang Cheng to call him out under the guise of a dinner party.

When Lu Jiyu arrived at the dining area and saw the people sitting in the box, he immediately realized that today's meal was not the dormitory gathering that Fang Cheng had mentioned.

"Interesting?" He glanced at Cheng Fang who was standing next to him.

Fang Cheng knew he was guilty: "My senior forced me to do this. I promise it will only be this time."

When Song Huaian saw them coming, he immediately stood up and came over to greet them, saying half-jokingly, half-seriously, "It's really not easy to treat my junior brother to a meal."

Lu Jiyu looked at him, nodded slightly, and walked straight in.

Song Huaian's face immediately turned ugly.

Fang Cheng saw this and immediately made excuses for him: "He's been in a bad mood recently. It seems he had a fight with his girlfriend. He's been leaving early and coming back late."

Song Huaian smiled immediately: "I understand, I understand, I understand everything."

Most of those eating today were members of the External Relations Department, and Zhang Yang was naturally there. After all, school had just started, and halfway through the meal, everyone started to change the subject and start chatting about gossip.

Someone mentioned, "Zhang Yang, the beauty in the School of Economics and Management is from your dormitory, right?"

Zhang Yang was pouring a drink for Song Huaian next to him. When he heard what he said, the smile on his face suddenly became a little strange: "Oh, you mean Jiang Wan."

"What? Do you want to pursue me?" She spoke in a deliberately playful tone, but unexpectedly met a pair of scrutinizing eyes across from her.

The people who had been wandering around the outside of the field suddenly stared at her with an indifferent and vigilant look.

Zhang Yang's heart skipped a beat. Did he say or do something wrong to make this handsome guy look so unhappy?

Song Huaian put down the wine glass in his hand and turned his head to look at her, as if he was also conveying his disapproval.

The vague resentment that Zhang Yang had been holding back for the past few days suddenly seemed to get out of control: "She already has a boyfriend. You guys don't stand a chance."

Another girl on the field asked, "Does Jiang Wan have a boyfriend? I haven't heard her say that."

"She might be more low-key and want to keep it secret."

"Do you know why she was late for class today? Because she didn't even go back to the dormitory yesterday."

"Huh? Where did she go?"

"He said he went to the hospital with a friend, a male friend."

"Now that we've come to this, what's the relationship between Jiang Wan and him?" Zhang Yang said with a look of regret on his face. "Well, you guys can just listen to it, but don't tell anyone else."

"Then what do you mean by saying it?"

As Lu Jiyu put down the glass in his hand, a short-haired girl two people away from him spoke before he could. She continued, "Zhang Yang, is it really okay for you to gossip about your roommate behind his back like this?"

Zhang Yang's expression changed immediately. "What do you mean by gossip? What I said was all true, and I didn't make it up. Why don't you say that you, the listeners, are imagining things?"

"Are we imagining things?" The girl sneered, "If you really think you're innocent, I'll call Jiang Wan over now. If you have the guts, say it again in front of everyone! Why are you pulling me in? I just don't mind people being so rude!"

"Alright, alright." Song Huaian came out to smooth things over: "I think we've almost finished our meal, why don't we just go home first."

Zhang Yang looked up at him, hesitant to speak: "Senior..."

Song Huaian just gave her a bored look.

Jiang Huainan and Chen Hong arrived at the hospital at noon.

After class, Jiang Wan originally planned to go to the library to prepare for the exam, but he was too sleepy, so he had to go back to the dormitory for a nap. When he woke up, he was still woken up by Jiang Huainan's phone call.

"Jiang Wan."

Jiang Huainan's voice on the other end of the phone sounded a little tired.

"Are you free tonight? Let's have dinner together."

"It's just the two of us, father and daughter." As if afraid that Jiang Wan would mind, he added.

Jiang Wan put down his phone and looked at the time on the screen. It was already six o'clock in the evening.

"Okay, are you still in the hospital? I'll come find you."

"I'm looking for a restaurant near the hospital. I'll send you the address and you can come directly to me when the time comes."

The restaurant Jiang Huainan found was also a copper furnace hotpot restaurant. Jiang Wan was a little surprised by this coincidence, but did not say it out loud.

When she arrived, the dishes on the table were already on the table. Jiang Huainan saw Jiang Wan coming and quickly called the waiter over to start cooking: "Why are you so thin?"

After not seeing each other for a month, Jiang Huainan looked at Jiang Wan from beginning to end, wishing he could see flowers.

"The workload is heavy." Jiang Wan sighed and sat down in front of him.

Jiang Huainan picked up the menu on the table and handed it to her: "Is it really because of studying?"

He seemed to doubt the credibility of Jiang Wan's words: "What else? Why do you think I'm trapped by love?"

Jiang Huainan was stunned for a moment: "What?"

Jiang Wan sat there calmly flipping through the menu: "It's nothing, what did you order? I'm fine with it, I'll just eat what you ordered." She pushed the menu back.

The whole meal was a bit strange. Jiang Huainan looked as if he wanted to say something but hesitated. But if he didn't say anything, Jiang Wan wouldn't ask any more questions.

After dinner, Jiang Wan originally planned to go back to the dormitory directly, but Jiang Huainan made an excuse that his luggage was still in the hospital ward. He asked Jiang Wan to go upstairs to get it, and he would wait for her in the car downstairs.

The ward where Chen Wulin was staying was a triple room. After Jiang Wan took the elevator upstairs and entered the room, she found that the ward was empty. Fortunately, she saw the black luggage bag at the end of the bed at a glance.

Jiang Wan found her luggage bag but was not in a hurry to leave. She had just drunk too much water while eating hot pot. She went to the bathroom in the ward to use the toilet before leaving. As soon as she closed the door, Chen Hong's voice came from the door of the ward.

"Be careful."

"Wulin, does Jiang Wan know about that?"

"You probably don't know yet." This was said by Chen Wulin.

"I heard from Lao Jiang that Lu Jiyu is breaking up with her?"

"Okay, Mom, can you please stop talking about this?" Chen Wulin's voice sounded a little impatient.

Chen Hong still wanted to say, "Do you think it will be so simple? Jiang Wan will find out about this sooner or later, and then it will be hard for everyone."

The sound of their conversation gradually faded away. After the sound of Chen Wulin rolling onto the bed, he whispered, "You're worried that Jiang Wan will find out and your marriage to Jiang Huainan won't be possible."

"Chen Wulin! You—" Chen Hong was about to explode when the bathroom door suddenly opened. Both mother and son looked in the direction of the sound, but Chen Hong was the first to react and called out, "Jiang Wan—, why are you here?"

Jiang Wan's face was emotionless. She walked to the bedside, not looking at Chen Hong, but only at Chen Wulin lying on the bed. She said straight to the point, "During the time since Lu Jiyu suddenly broke up with me, I've always felt that my dad was acting strangely. So, is there really some connection between the two?"

"Chen Wulin, now that things have come to this, aren't you going to tell me?" Jiang Wan looked at him with cold eyes.

Chen Wulin lay on the pillow, his lips pale. He closed his eyes and remained silent for a moment. Jiang Wan didn't rush him, but just stood there waiting. Chen Hong was still feeling guilty, so she came out to smooth things over: "Jiang Wan, Wulin just had surgery not long ago and is still weak. Can we talk about it another day?"

"Okay." Jiang Wan agreed readily.

"If he can't say it, you can say it."

Chen Hong's expression flashed with embarrassment: "I—what did I say?"

"Auntie, although I usually behave politely and restrained, and I have tried my best to express my blessings for you and my father's remarriage, you should not have forgotten that I have never been a gentle and easy-going person."

Jiang Wan has grown up, and the years have filtered out many of her desires to talk and communicate with others, but even so, she has never compromised and erased the reckless and vigorous energy in her character.

At this time, Chen Wulin, who was lying on the hospital bed, finally spoke: "Jiang Wan, I don't think you want to know."

“Or maybe it’s better if we don’t know some things.”

Jiang Wan was puzzled by Chen Wulin's reckless judgment: "Do you think I am you?"

"I am not you, Chen Wulin."

"Really?" Chen Wulin suddenly became excited. He almost wanted to sit up from the hospital bed, but because he accidentally pulled the wound on his back, his whole face was almost deformed by the pain.

Chen Hong rushed over to calm him down: "What are you doing? Lie down!" After settling Chen Wulin, Chen Hong quickly turned her head to look at Jiang Wan: "If they don't say it, I'll tell you."

"mom!"

"Lu Jiyu broke up with you not because of anything else, but because his aunt is your uncle's ex-girlfriend."

"Can you understand, Jiang Wan?"

Of course Jiang Wan understood and reacted quickly.

"So you're against me being with him?"

"Why?" she asked with a frown.

"What on earth do you have the right to do that?"

…

"Because I'm your father!"

A loud and powerful scolding.

Jiang Wan turned her head and saw Jiang Huainan appeared at the door of the ward at some point, his face flushed red with excitement.

"Jiang Wan."

He walked into the ward, his lips trembling slightly, revealing his disbelief at the moment, or perhaps a sense of disappointment: "With his aunt involved, how can you still think of being with him?"

"You really disappoint Dad!"