Only after receiving permission did Mingzhao reach out and carefully take the small donut.
The parchment paper felt warm to the touch, and a little bit of icing clung to my fingertips, making them sticky.
She imitated the children she saw at the supply and marketing cooperative, bringing the donut to her mouth and tentatively taking a small bite.
"Snap!"
The crispy outer shell crumbles between your teeth, and the sweet aroma of frosting instantly fills the air!
Next comes the soft yet chewy dough inside, which has the aroma of fermented wheat!
Its sweetness is more direct and assertive than that of sponge cake, bringing a primal and delightful sense of satisfaction!
Mingzhao's eyes widened instantly! Her cheeks bulged slightly from chewing, and her clear eyes once again shone with that pure and immense light of surprise!
Delicious! Sweeter, crispier, and with a richer texture than sponge cake!
She was completely immersed in the flavor storm brought by the donuts, eating them in small, focused bites, as if performing a sacred ritual.
That contented and happy little expression eased the heavy atmosphere of sadness in the ward and softened the lingering indifference on her face.
Minglang watched as Mingzhao focused intently on munching on a donut like a little squirrel, and a genuine smile, tinged with tears, finally appeared on his face.
Howard breathed a sigh of relief, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up.
Gong Zhu looked at the strange yet heartwarming scene before her: a strong soldier with red eyes watched his younger sister eat a donut, a silent genius girl was completely conquered by the simple sweets, and standing beside her was a tall, guardian-like man with eyes full of tenderness.
She gently shook her head, a slight smile appearing on her lips, and quietly slipped out with the dressing tray, leaving them alone.
Mingzhao finished the last bite of the donut and licked his fingertips, which were still covered in frosting, with a lingering sense of satisfaction.
She looked up at Minglang on the hospital bed. Perhaps it was the stimulation of the sugar, or perhaps the focused eating had relaxed her a little, but she tried to move her facial muscles and manage a smile for Minglang.
The smile was faint and indistinct, with the corners of the mouth curving upwards only slightly, even appearing somewhat stiff and unnatural, completely different from the sweet smile described by Howard, whose "eyes curved like crescent moons."
It's more like a social emoji that has been meticulously calculated and painstakingly imitated.
But this awkward, almost non-smiling curve, when seen by Minglang, was like the first ray of sunlight piercing through the thick gloom! It instantly illuminated his gloomy heart!
His Zhaozhao... was smiling at him!
Although it was so unfamiliar and so stiff!
But she's trying! She's responding!
Overwhelming ecstasy instantly drowned out the clarity!
He was so excited he almost jumped out of bed. He didn't care about the pain from his wound, he just grinned like a fool at Mingzhao, and tears welled up in his eyes again, this time tears of joy.
"Oh! Good! Good! Zhao Zhao smiled! Zhao Zhao ate a donut! That's great!" Minglang said incoherently, his voice choked with emotion.
What a silly look!
Howard looked at Minglang's excited and helpless appearance, and then at Mingzhao's profile, which still carried a hint of confusion but was trying hard to maintain that stiff curve. He was filled with mixed feelings.
He quietly reached out and gently squeezed Mingzhao's cold fingers from behind.
Mingzhao felt the warmth and pressure from her fingertips, and the tense arch of her neck slowly relaxed, returning to her usual calm.
But the look in her eyes as she gazed at Minglang no longer seemed as completely unfamiliar and empty as when she first entered.
A faint warmth, so subtle that she herself was unaware of it, like a glimmer of light thrown into a deep pool, quietly melted some of the ice.
In the ward, the lingering sweet aroma of donuts, mixed with the smell of disinfectant, created a peculiar atmosphere of "reunion" and "hope".
Minglang was still rambling on and on, with Howard occasionally chiming in, while Mingzhao listened quietly, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the remaining frosting.
As dusk deepened outside the window, the city lights began to come on.
This small hospital room, isolated from the storms and suspicions of the outside world, only held the warmth of blood ties being reconnected, and an interstellar genius whose taste buds were ignited by donuts, clumsily learning how to be his cheerful cousin "Mingzhao" again.
The door to the ward closed gently behind Howard, shutting out the light and sound from the corridor.
Inside the door, the warmth that had briefly risen because of the donuts and that awkward smile vanished like a burst bubble, leaving only the lingering cold smell of disinfectant and a deathly heavy silence.
Minglang sat back on the hospital bed, the joy and excitement on his face receding quickly like the tide, leaving only a bottomless silence.
He stopped looking at the doorway and stared blankly into the deep twilight outside the window.
His tightly clenched fist loosened weakly and rested on the clean white sheet. The blood that had seeped from the back of his hand from the exertion spread like glaring red plum blossoms on the white cotton cloth, but he was completely unaware of it.
When Gongzhu quietly pushed open the door with the medicine tray in hand, this was the scene she saw.
The usually cheerful and energetic battalion commander now seemed to have lost all his spirit. His shoulders slumped, the lines of his profile were taut, and his jawline appeared particularly sharp due to his clenched teeth.
A silent sorrow and suppressed anger filled the air.
Thinking of what happened to Mingzhao, Gongzhu's heart sank.
She sighed silently, walked to the bedside, and gently placed the medicine tray down.
Instead of immediately treating the wound on the back of his hand, she picked up a clean gauze, held it with tweezers, moistened it with warm water, and carefully wiped away the congealed blood and traces of tears she had shed earlier.
The warm touch made Minglang's body tremble slightly.
He slowly turned his head, his bloodshot eyes looking at Gong Zhu, his gaze churning with too many things: heart-wrenching pain, raging anger, bottomless self-blame, and... confusion.
“Dr. Gong…” His voice was hoarse, like sandpaper scraping, carrying a weariness on the verge of collapse, “You saw it all… her… my Zhaozhao… how could she have become like this?”
His voice choked, and he couldn't say anything more. He just closed his eyes in pain, as if that would shut out the heart-wrenching scene.
Gong Zhu continued wiping gently, her voice low and soothing: "I saw her. She... is very quiet, and very special. Commander Huo has taken good care of her; her new clothes fit her well, and she looks better than when she first arrived."
She avoided using heavy adjectives and simply stated the objective facts.
"Taked good care?" Minglang suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze filled with barely suppressed pain and anger. "No matter how good the care, can it make up for all the suffering she's endured over the years? Dr. Gong, look at that scar on her forehead! Look at her eyes! They're so empty it's unsettling! She's only seventeen! Seventeen! When she was little... when she was little..."
He speaks very fluently, and he smiles and calls out "brother" for a hug...
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