Storms and Tranquility

The ward was filled with a faint smell of disinfectant, and the midday sun shone through the gaps in the curtains, casting spots of light and shadow on the ground.

"Dudu..." Jiang Wenqing curled up in the blue and white striped sheets, half-closed his eyes and reached out to grab his daughter's white coat.

"Hey!" Shu Xia was startled by the force and cried out softly, "Dad, are you awake? Can you call my name in the hospital?"

"Shuxia, the doctors and nurses in this hospital all call me 'Mr. Jiang,' but when they come here it becomes 'Hello'?"

Shuxia was unscrewing the thermos. She pushed the white porcelain bowl of millet porridge toward the bedside table and tapped the IV needle on the back of her father's hand with her fingertips. "Are you being a spoiled brat or protesting?"

Jiang Wenqing immediately retracted his hand into the quilt and hid it. His Adam's apple rolled before he put on a serious look: "Doctor Jiang, when can I be discharged from the hospital?" He deliberately pronounced the three words "Doctor Jiang" clearly.

Shu Xia was stirring the wolfberries in the porridge with a spoon. When he heard this, he looked up with a smile in his eyes: "We have to wait for the attending doctor to give his approval."

"Isn't that your boyfriend?" Jiang Wenqing suddenly raised his voice, the IV tube swaying. "Call him over, I'll talk to him—just tell him his father-in-law ordered him to sign. Does he dare to disobey?"

"Dad!" Shu Xia put the spoon on the edge of the bowl and deliberately frowned, "You're becoming more and more unreasonable. Before, you said you'd observe her for three years, and now you're admitting her as your relative?"

"Your mother wouldn't say that to me." He looked at the IV stand on the ceiling, his voice lowering an octave. "I want to go home."

After a few seconds of silence, he suddenly turned his head, a cunning glint in his eyes: "If you don't come home, your mother will unite with your brothers to remove me as the family COO."

Shuxia was wiping her hands with a tissue when she heard this and couldn't help laughing. "That's an important matter." She sat down on the edge of the bed. "Mom said yesterday that she had given the box of Pu'er tea you hid in the study to Grandpa."

"What?!" Jiang Wenqing sat up suddenly, the needle almost slipping out of his vein. "That's the ancient iceberg I've been saving for ten years!" He paused, then suddenly grabbed his daughter's hand. "So you have to stand on Daddy's side. Your brothers have all been bribed by your mom. None of them are reliable."

Shu Xia's hand itched from being pinched by him, and when she pulled her hand back, her shoulders trembled with laughter: "I can go and persuade Third Brother to rebel."

"That still doesn't give us the advantage in numbers..." He dragged out the words, pretending to be lost in thought. Suddenly, his eyes rolled and he slapped his thigh. "Forget it, it's safer to just hold on to your mother." Just as he finished speaking, he suddenly shouted towards the door, "Comrade Jiang Shuxia, call that brat over here to complete the discharge procedures with my father-in-law!"

Shu Xia was holding a bowl of porridge to feed him. Hearing this, he paused, and the smile in his eyes slowly turned into seriousness: "Dad, we haven't found out the type of virus you are infected with yet, and the hearing in your left ear hasn't recovered. It's too risky to be discharged from the hospital at this time."

"If you don't let me leave the hospital, let your mother come to accompany me."

"Didn't she come here yesterday?"

"You know it was yesterday," Jiang Wenqing snorted. He suddenly leaned closer to his daughter and said mysteriously in a low voice, "Grandpa didn't tell you? My illness is called 'dizziness when I can't see my wife' syndrome,' and the only effective medicine is your mother."

Shu Xia picked up the phone and stood up. When he turned around, his voice softened: "Be good, I'll call your wife..."

Xiaofeng's hand was still on the cold door handle, and the tip of her nose was first hit by a familiar sweet orange scent.

"Walk slowly, the floor tiles are slippery." The man's voice drifted down from above, hoarse from just waking up. Xiaofeng was wrapped in his arms and spun around, her back hitting a warm chest. Only then did she realize that he had moved behind the door at some point, the collar of his hospital gown still askew.

She raised her hand and pressed his hand around his waist: "Dudu said you were angry again..." Xiaofeng deliberately dragged out the ending tone, but her fingertips gently scratched his palm.

Wenqing tightened his arms around her and nuzzled her neck, his stubble tickling her. "If you'd stayed with me, I wouldn't have made a scene," he argued in a muffled voice.

When Xiaofeng turned around, she saw the flattering look in his eyes. Wenqing's left ear was still stuffed with cotton balls, and the auricle was red from being pressed. She reached out to remove the cotton balls, but her wrist was held down. "I just got an injection. Just blow on it for me."

Xiaofeng was amused by him and pulled the thermos from her bag. As soon as she unscrewed the lid, a rich, meaty aroma wafted out—braised pork simmered in rock sugar until it glistened, with fat swaying and trembling in the amber broth. "Dad went to the market at five this morning to pick out the pork belly. He said you liked it with the skin on."

Wen Qing rested his chin on the top of her head, his gaze over her shoulder to the bowl of braised pork, his Adam's apple moving noticeably. "You still understand me the best," he sighed suddenly. "That girl Shuxia only knows how to force me to drink millet porridge, saying it's light and good for the stomach. I think she's just trying to make me ravenous to death."

Xiaofeng raised her hand and patted his back: "Xiao Zhang is worried that your blood sugar will be high, so you can only eat two pieces to satisfy your craving." Wenqing staggered two steps after being pushed, but took the opportunity to grab her hand and bring it to his mouth, leaving a wet kiss on the back of her hand.

"Then we have to pinky promise." He held up his little finger.

As soon as she hooked her little finger, he held it tightly.

Wen Qing was spooning braised pork with a spoon, not even noticing the sauce on the corner of his mouth. Xiao Feng pulled out a tissue and handed it to him, and he took it and pressed it to his lips. "If you stay with me, I'll be obedient and drink my millet porridge on time and get my hearing tested on time."

Xiao Feng gently broke free and fixed the crooked collar of his hospital gown for him: "Okay, I'll stay with you."

Wenqing scooped up a piece of braised pork and held it to her mouth, the oil glistening in the sunlight. "You should eat it too," he said, his eyes crinkling with laughter. "The doctor said that if we eat together, we'll get better faster."

"Dad, Mom..." "Uncle, Aunt..."

Xiaofeng stood up from the hospital bed and straightened her clothes. Wenqing reached out and pulled her back to sit on the bed.

Silence is like a net, slowly spreading out.

"Uncle, I'll have a hearing check tomorrow morning and then be discharged, okay?" Zhang Muyang's voice was filled with a nervousness that he had never had during his thesis defense.

"Dad..." Shuxia was also anxious.

"My hearing is not good..." Wenqing glanced at Xiaofeng, and Xiaofeng took over: "Okay, thank you for your help!"

"It's not a problem, Auntie. After you're discharged from the hospital, you'll need to inject nerve growth factor every day for a three-week course of treatment. This medicine needs to be refrigerated."

"What should we do?"

"I've made an agreement with the department director. I'll be working the day shift lately. I'll bring medicine and give my uncle an injection after get off work every day."

Wenqing's eyes widened: "Shuxia can beat me..."

"The obstetrics department can't change shifts..."

Xiao Feng quickly interrupted: "Okay, thank you for your hard work! Come home after get off work for dinner and try your uncle's cooking."

After they left, Xiao Feng frowned and asked, "Don't you like Xiao Zhang?"

"Your father beat me up the first time he met me. I was very polite not to hit him."

Xiaofeng woke up as if from a dream: "Oh, so this is why. Mr. Jiang, are you holding a grudge?" She gently stroked her lover's cheek.

"Do you know what Uncle Da Zhou likes to say the most?"

Wenqing was stunned, not knowing why his wife suddenly asked this.

Xiaofeng revealed the secret with a smile: "My boyfriend is very good at fighting..." Upon hearing this, Wenqing's eyes showed a hint of embarrassment.

The days dragged on with regular injections and checkups. Every day when Zhang Muyang arrived at the door with his refrigerated medicine box, Wenqing would pretend to be watching TV or checking her phone, but would secretly follow him out of the corner of her eye.

Xiaofeng cleared out the dining table in the living room to use as an operating table, and Zhang Muyang skillfully disinfected and prepared medicines. Wenqing stiffened his neck and said nothing at first, but later he took the initiative to roll up his sleeves, muttering, "Young people's techniques are just not as steady as those of old nurses."

"Dad, how was your hearing test today?" Shuxia asked as soon as he entered the door after getting home from get off work.

Wen Qing crossed his legs and said, "Still recovering..."

"That's all thanks to the rehabilitation training audios Zhang Muyang found for you." Xiaofeng came over with some fruit. "He specially asked a classmate to bring you the materials from abroad."

At dinner that day, Zhang Muyang had just put down his chopsticks when Wen Qing suddenly asked, "Are you free next Saturday?"

Zhang Muyang was stunned: "Yes, yes."

"Invite your parents over for dinner," Wen Qing said, taking a sip of tea. "...and set a date for the wedding."

Shu Xia dropped the spoon into the bowl with a clang. Zhang Muyang stood up abruptly, nearly knocking over his chair. "Uncle, are you serious?"

"When have I ever lied to you?" Wen Qing glanced at him sideways, but the corners of his mouth rose slightly.

At night, Wenqing rubbed Xiaofeng's shoulders. The moonlight outside the window sprinkled on the floor like a layer of gauze.

"Time flies." Xiaofeng's voice was soft.

Wenqing held her hand and placed it against his cheek: "I hope I can stay with you for a few more years..." He paused, looking at the melancholy in Xiaofeng's eyes, and said with a pout: "We've made an appointment for the next life."

Xiao Feng was amused by him and laughed. She traced the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes with her fingertips: "You are seventy years old and still act like a spoiled child."

"It's not shameful to act like a spoiled child in front of you." Wen Qing held her close to him. "I used to think I was checking on Shu Xia and carefully examining that boy, but now I understand..."

Shu Xia and Zhang Muyang could be heard laughing in the living room, presumably discussing wedding details. The aroma of roasted sweet potatoes drifted from the kitchen, and the wall clock ticked. Everything felt perfectly settled and tranquil.

Wenqing lowered his head and kissed the top of Xiaofeng's head. His voice was so gentle that it seemed to be bathed in moonlight: "Now, this is the best ending."