Chapter 4

The next day, Ryan Hospital.

Doctor Tang came to inspect the ward as usual. Seeing Xia Ruirui staring blankly outside the ward, he glanced to the side.

"Where's that handsome guy from a few days ago? Why isn't he here today?"

Shen Yuqing has been in and out of the ward these past two days. He was there every time Dr. Tang came to check on him, so she had a good impression of this young man.

"......" Xia Ruirui felt a chill in her chrysanthemums as soon as she saw Dr. Tang, "He hasn't come yet."

Doctor Tang nodded, asked Xia Ruirui a few more routine questions, glanced at her wound, and praised her, "You're recovering well."

"..." Someone dug their toes into the ground, "Thank you, Dr. Tang."

Today is the third day after the operation.

Xia Ruirui's wound was no longer as painful as it was on the first day, so she didn't waste money on hiring a nurse and ordered takeout instead.

In the evening, the nurse came over to change the gauze: "Xia Ruirui, Doctor Tang said you can be discharged today."

She was a little surprised after hearing this: "Can't I be discharged from the hospital on Sunday?"

The nurse patiently explained, "Your hemorrhoids aren't that severe, and you're recovering well, so you'll be discharged early."

After so many days in the hospital, the nurse quite likes Xia Ruirui from Ward 13. She is pretty and has few things to do.

In addition, her handsome boyfriend, Shen Yuqing, ordered takeout for all the nurses when he asked her to pass the medicinal bath water to Xia Ruirui.

So when she asked questions, the nurse answered with a smile.

Xia Ruirui looked at the smiling nurse and raised her eyebrows. She found that the service in this private hospital was really excellent and the service attitude was amazing.

Seeing that she didn't ask any more questions, the nurse even gossiped: "Didn't your handsome boyfriend come to pick you up from the hospital?"

A handsome guy?

Oh...Shen Yuqing.

Xia Ruirui didn't know if her brain was going crazy or had a short circuit, so she just made up something, "He's not my boyfriend, he likes men."

He likes men.

He likes men.

"......" The nurse was also a little shocked when she heard this, and it took her a long time to digest this bombshell.

After Xia Ruirui left the ward, she couldn't wait to share the information with several sisters at her nurses' station.

At this time, Xia Ruirui didn't know how much trouble her unintentional joke would bring to Shen Yuqing.

How much will I pay for it?

If she knew, she would never have spoken so hastily...

*

Although she was told she could be discharged from the hospital, she was not discharged immediately.

After she packed her luggage, she lingered in the ward for a long time.

Although she didn't want to admit it, she was indeed waiting for Shen Yuqing, but he didn't show up for a whole day.

Xia Ruirui was worried that Shen Yuqing's trip on Sunday was in vain, and she had no contact information for him, so she couldn't tell him that he was discharged early.

His contact information was deleted during his senior year of high school.

She waited in the ward until 9 o'clock in the evening, but Shen Yuqing still didn't come. She guessed that he would not come either, so she left with her luggage.

When leaving, Xia Ruirui looked back at the ward. It was in that place that he fed her porridge one spoonful at a time.

Inexplicably, she felt a little sad, until she remembered the half-smile on Shen Yuqing's face, she sobered up a little.

"Wake up, it's been so many years, Shen Yuqing has long since stopped liking you."

Besides...it was me who first proposed breaking up the friendship.

Although I didn't want to drag him down, in his eyes, it was probably just betrayal.

How could Shen Yuqing, such a noble person, be willing to go back to his ex?

Perhaps after this time, the two of them will go their separate ways and never meet again.

Thinking of this, Xia Ruirui dragged her luggage and left without looking back.

After leaving the hospital, her anus still ached slightly. She was in so much pain that she didn't have the strength to walk. She stopped a taxi, told the driver her address, and then sat in the back seat, staring at the scenery outside.

Although it was already nine o'clock in the evening, there were still lights and people outside, and the snack street was crowded with people.

Such a big city, full of unfamiliar faces.

Xia Ruirui stared at the pedestrians on the street in a daze. There were young couples holding hands, children held in the arms of their parents, and drunkards.

But they all had companions, and she was alone.

Although she is from Xijing, she did not spend much time in Xijing. To be honest, she only spent three years in high school in Xijing.

Xia's father was a diplomat. When Xia Ruirui was a child, she lived abroad with her father and mother until she was in high school.

After graduating from high school, she went to Beiyi to attend university and rarely came back. This time she came back to Xijing, she just took advantage of the annual leave to visit the old house where she lived with Xia's father and mother.

Mother Xia and Father Xia were in love freely, but the love they had back then was consumed by the daily necessities of life and there was little left.

The two had been arguing since Xia Ruirui entered junior high school, and they divorced secretly without telling her until her senior year of high school.

Later, Xia's mother remarried and gave birth to a son. After her remarriage, Xia Ruirui rarely had contact with Xia's mother. This time she returned to Xijing to stay in the old house for two days.

She didn't want to stay in Xijing City for long, as her hospitalization for hemorrhoids was an accident.

Xia Ruirui didn't have time to think before they arrived at their destination. The driver stopped the car and looked into the rearview mirror, saying, "We're here. The fare is 46 yuan. Cash or card?"

She looked out the window numbly, took out her wallet, and handed the cash to the driver.

The driver was still counting the money, but Xia Ruirui was not in a hurry to get off the car. She even felt a little nervous about getting off.

She got off the car with her luggage and looked around. Everything looked the same as when she was in school.

The street lights in the community were on, and there were a few old men and women taking a walk to digest their food.

Finally seeing the familiar appearance in her memory, Xia Ruirui couldn't help but feel excited. She had just taken two steps when a child bumped into her calf.

She was about to help the child up when she heard a woman's apologetic voice behind her: "I'm sorry, I bumped into you, Xiaobao, apologize to your sister."

"Sister, I'm sorry." The little boy said in a baby voice.

After the woman finished speaking, she picked up the little boy and left apologetically, leaving Xia Ruirui frozen in place.

The street lights were dim and she couldn't see the woman's face clearly, but she recognized her just by her voice.

It’s mom.

Xia Ruirui looked at the back of Xia's mother holding the child not far away, feeling a little dazed.

'She seems to be doing well.'

After Xia's mother remarried, they rarely met, and the occasional contact was by phone.

Seeing that she was living well, Xia Ruirui was happy, but there was a faint sense of loss in a corner of her heart.

She couldn't explain it, but one thing was certain - she didn't want to go to their house at this time and see her having fun with her current husband and children.

Especially in the house where the three of them once lived.

Xia Ruirui turned around and found that the taxi was still there. She sat in the back seat again with her luggage. The driver was a little surprised to see her get in the car again.

"Go to xxx Hotel."

"......" The driver was puzzled, but he was the happiest person because he had a new job. "Okay."

By the time the driver dropped her off at the hotel again, it was already very late. Xia Ruirui was exhausted both physically and mentally, but she still held on and carried her luggage to the hotel front desk to check in a room.

She checked in quickly and threw herself onto the hotel bed.

A dreamless night.

*

Meanwhile, Ryan Hospital.

Several emergency patients came to the hospital today. It seemed that an accident happened on a road near Ryan Hospital, so they were sent to Ryan.

The director of the surgical department and the director of the cardiac surgery department were both performing surgery in the emergency room, which even alarmed the vice president.

Due to a shortage of nurses, the anorectal nurses were transferred to the emergency department to serve as temporary staff.

The surgical nurses helped in the emergency room, while the nurses from other departments stayed outside to help out.

It was the night shift, and the nurses were a little tired.

Suddenly, a nurse from the gastroenterology department seemed to remember some gossip and became a little excited: "Xiaomei, has Shen Yuqing registered with your anorectal department?"

This girl named Xiaomei is the nurse who is responsible for taking care of Xia Ruirui. When she was suddenly called out, she had a face full of question marks and looked a little confused.

Shen Yuqing?

Who is that?

The nurses nearby also echoed the sentiments upon seeing this.

"Yes, yes, I saw him too."

"It seems to be the family member of a patient in the anorectal department?"

"Chen Yuqing? Is he the game streamer called 'Lonely Wolf'?"

"What?? Shen Yuqing went to your department, why didn't anyone tell me!"

Nurse Xiaomei was still a little confused when she heard their conversation until her colleague next to her showed her an account on a certain platform. Looking at the number of followers on the account, she took a breath.

She exclaimed: "One zero, two zeros... Is this 10 million followers?"

Even she herself was a little unsure.

Seeing her reaction, the colleagues next to her also laughed out loud.

"You just found out?"

Xiaomei nodded blankly, as if she had thought of something, and she continued, "But he seems to like men."

The nurses' eyes widened when they heard this.

"What?"

"That's impossible! It's said that he has a lover named Bai Yueguang who he has been in love with for many years."

"Bullshit, he's single now, okay."

“…”

Xiaomei cleared her throat, her eyes firm: "The news is true, his friend told me secretly."

There was another wailing sound.

But what they didn't know was that not far away, a man wearing a mask was hearing their conversation clearly.

The man was an entertainment reporter. He had come to the hospital to visit a colleague, but he accidentally ran into Shen Yuqing who was visiting Xia Ruirui with a fruit basket.

As if he had smelled the scent of gossip, he squatted here for several days and secretly took a lot of photos of Shen Yuqing.

The only regret was that he only took a photo of the side face of the woman who was traveling with Shen Yuqing.

Combined with the gossip the nurses just told me, I think I can get away with it.

He didn't stay any longer and went straight to the company to write the manuscript overnight. He posted it on the entertainment website as soon as he finished drafting it.

The title is: "Thousands of bloggers meet beautiful women at night, but it turns out it's all a cover: the real sweetheart is him, not her!"

In an instant, the number of clicks exceeded 1,000, and the hot entries related to Shen Yuqing and 'lonely wolf' soared.

In less than an hour, it became a hot topic.

The most searched topic on Weibo: 'Lonely Wolf' meets a beautiful woman in the hospital late at night. Is she a male friend or the white moonlight in his heart?

The accompanying pictures are several candid photos of Shen Yuqing, as well as Xia Ruirui's profile when he was holding her.

The hot search is still fermenting and even tends to intensify.

*

At this time, Shen Yuqing knew nothing about this and was walking towards Xia Ruirui's ward.

He was busy with live streaming yesterday, and it was already evening when he finished, so he didn't go to the hospital.

Therefore, he did not know that Xia Ruirui had been discharged from the hospital.

Along the way, he felt that people were looking at him more and more. He didn't show it on his face, but took out a mask from his pocket and put it on.

When he arrived at Xia Ruirui's ward, there was someone else lying on the bed.

A man.

Thinking of a possibility, he subconsciously became a little stiff and did not rush in.

'Could the man on the hospital bed be her boyfriend?'

Just as he was hesitating, the young nurse whom he bribed with a lunch box came over to check on the ward and was a little surprised to see him standing at the door.

"Xia Ruirui from Ward 13 has been discharged. Didn't you know?" The nurse paused. "Didn't she tell you?"

“…”

Xia Ruirui was discharged from the hospital but didn't tell him.

This news actually made Shen Yuqing feel relieved.

I hope he's not her boyfriend.

He left the hospital in a daze, and was shocked to realize that he had never asked Xia Ruirui whether she was single now.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but laugh at himself. Where did his confidence come from? She had been separated from him for so many years, and she hadn't dated anyone else?

Xia Ruirui is no longer as obsessed with herself as she was in high school.

Even when she loved me the most, she could still be so cruel as to break up with me...

What’s more, it is today, many years later.

Chen Yuqing stood at the hospital entrance, watching the vehicles coming and going at the intersection. Thinking of Xia Ruirui who had secretly left the hospital and whose whereabouts were unknown, he felt indescribable.

"This little heartless guy."

Although he was cursing under his breath, his tone contained an indulgence that he himself was not aware of.

He took out the car keys from his trouser pocket, nodded to the side of the road, and got into the car.

I don’t know if it’s because we’re next to the hospital, but everyone is a little irritable.

The owner of a car in front seemed to have had a conflict with the security guard and kept honking his horn.

Shen Yuqing's emotions were also somewhat affected. He adjusted the seat back, took out a lighter, and lit a cigarette.

Soon, the car was filled with the smell of tobacco.

He looked at the noise outside and blew out a smoke ring silently.

The phone beside him kept ringing. Shen Yuqing frowned, looked at it for a while, and finally answered it.

It’s a video call from the assistant.

"Brother, this is bad. You're trending again."

......