As soon as Xie Jingcheng opened the ward door, Chaochao immediately slipped in like a puppy waiting for its meal, took off her mask, and pounced on Pei Yushen's wheelchair.

Xie Jingcheng, who entered the room later, saw Pei Yushen sitting by the window.

The boy, who was three or four years younger than him, still had skin that was pale to the point of being sickly. The difference was that now it looked as if something had been ignited under his skin, leaving behind the business left by a wildfire.

It does look much better than its previous half-dead state.

As Xie Jingcheng observed him, Pei Yushen also looked up at him, his dark eyes showing no surprise.

The two nodded to each other slightly, and then did not exchange any further words.

Shu Han was pleasantly surprised to see Chaochao. Not only had Ashen watched the variety show live a couple of days ago, but she and Lao Pei had also been watching it. The woman leaned down and asked with a smile, "Auntie saw it all. Chaochao had a lot of fun on the Inner Mongolian grasslands with her brother. The little sheep and calves all really liked Chaochao."

"Have a seat for a while, Auntie will cut some fruit for you."

Shu Han finished speaking with a smile. Just then, Pei Luying came out of the lounge and looked at the bag of fruit in her hand with a slight puzzlement: "How come I remember buying fruit this morning?"

Is Ah Shen no longer satisfied with just peeling apples?

Shu Han immediately guessed what her husband was thinking, and quickly waved her hand and said with a smile, "Yesterday I helped a girl who almost fell, and she thanked me by buying me fruit today."

She couldn't refuse, so she accepted it.

Pei's father immediately breathed a sigh of relief. If what he thought was true, one stomach really wouldn't be enough to feed them all.

The whispering couple walked away carrying their fruit.

The enthusiastic Chaochao pulled Xie Jingcheng, who was standing to the side, to help the two, who had only met once, get to know each other better. However, both of them were aloof and didn't talk much. After briefly introducing themselves and their schools, they didn't say anything more.

The only sound in the large ward was the rustling of plastic boxes – Chaochao tiptoeing to find milk curds in the bag on the bedside table.

Chaochao also sent Pei Yushen's farm specialties, but at Huo Qin's suggestion, she replaced the vegetables with various special small stones that she had picked up in the grassland, since it was not convenient to cook in the hospital.

Now it sits on another bedside table, the spot closest to the patient occupied by a certain dumpling's specialty products.

Having successfully found one and torn open the packaging, Chaochao turned around contentedly, only to find her two older brothers staring at her. Then, she heard Pei Yushen say hesitantly, "Chaochao, this bag of mine..."

However, after only five words, the little dumpling reflexively interrupted, "Brother Yushen, your bag has the most milk curds."

She stared wide-eyed nervously, even extending her classic Er Kang hand gesture.

"I see..."

Pei Yushen was caught off guard by this unexpected quick answer, and responded with a puzzled but cooperative reply. What he really wanted to say was that he could eat as many of the Chaochao in his bag as he wanted…

Then the little dumpling immediately comforted Xie Jingcheng, saying, "Brother Jingcheng gave you the bag of nut-flavored yogurt with the most fillings."

Xie Jingcheng: "...Hmm."

Thank you, I didn't even notice that until you pointed it out.

Seeing that she had perfectly resolved a crisis with her quick reflexes, Chaochao let out a long sigh of relief.

Fortunately, after her brother asked the question, she racked her brains and came up with this strategy. You see, each brother got a very "equal" share, with each brother getting more than the others.

Chaochao, pleased with her own cleverness, happily took a bite of the milky-flavored dumpling and chatted casually with her two older brothers.

Xie Jingcheng's original intention was to take Chaochao to the hospital to see someone. He left the ward shortly afterward and took a call from his company downstairs.

Xie Jingcheng held his phone and calmly issued two decisions. At the same time, he raised his other hand and tapped the electronic screen of the vending machine with his fingertips. His slightly lowered phoenix eyes were focused on the box of strawberry milk in the glass.

It was the brand of milk that Xie Jingcheng bought at the convenience store when Chaochao first went to Yingchuan.

Suddenly his gaze sharpened slightly, sweeping across the reflective glass surface before he turned around.

Just now, a gaze fell on him.

But it's gone now.

"Hello? Mr. Xie, what's wrong?"

The marketing director on the other end of the phone noticed a sudden pause and checked his receiver in confusion.

Xie Jingcheng looked away, bent down to take out the strawberry milk from the dispenser, and said calmly, "It's nothing."

——

After Xie Jingcheng left temporarily, only Chaochao and Pei Yushen remained in the ward. At this time, Chaochao occupied one-third of the only hospital bed. The round little bundle sat cross-legged next to Pei Yushen, skillfully forking a piece of fruit and putting it in her mouth, while her big eyes were intently watching the legal education program on TV.

Sometimes they even forget to chew the fruit in their mouths.

This is even more exciting than a TV series.

Pei Yushen, who was next to Xiaotuanzi, had a thick professional book on his lap covered with a thin blanket. When Pei Yushen first took it out, Chaochao was interested and went over to take a look. However, after discovering that it was full of dense Chinese characters, letters and strange lines, she kept her distance and started chewing on a pear.

But the pages of the book remained untouched for a long time, and the book on his lap was not picked up.

A commercial break was playing on TV. After chewing on an empty apple for a minute, Chaochao slowly lowered her head. Just as she was about to pick up another piece of apple with her fork, a very beautiful hand suddenly appeared in front of her.

Those slender, white fingers were holding a lifelike little rabbit.