"Qiqi, why did you get out of bed?"
His voice was a little hoarse as he struggled to sit up, "Don't cry... I'm okay..."
"Nothing? You're lying!"
Zhou Qiqi pointed at the thick gauze and cried even harder.
"You're all bandaged up like this, how come you're alright? Did you hit your head? How serious is it?"
Shen Huaichuan smiled helplessly, raising his hand to wipe away her tears, but the movement aggravated his wound, causing him to hiss softly.
"It's really nothing, just a small scrape on the side of my head. It looks scary, but it's really nothing serious."
"I don't believe it!"
Zhou Qiqi stubbornly shook her head, "Can a scrape be bandaged like this?"
"Cough cough..."
A slightly amused voice came from behind.
When Zhou Qiqi turned around, she saw it was Director Ding, who had treated Shen Huaichuan last time.
"Huaichuan really didn't lie to you,"
Director Ding walked to the bedside and handed Zhou Qiqi a diagnosis report.
"He just has a scalp abrasion and minor contusions, just like the abrasions on your arm. It's really nothing serious."
He pointed to the gauze on Shen Huaichuan's head and explained,
"The bandage looks exaggerated mainly because the wound was difficult to secure with gauze. Our original nurse was transferred, and the new nurse is inexperienced, so she bandaged it a bit thicker."
Director Ding paused for a moment, then continued,
"Also, he was too tired. He had been watching over you and wouldn't close his eyes. I only forced him to sleep here not long ago."
The diagnosis was pretty much what Director Ding had said. Zhou Qiqi looked at it carefully, and only then did she feel completely relieved.
Seeing Shen Huaichuan's helpless yet slightly amused gaze, she wiped away her tears with a bit of embarrassment and smiled through her tears.
She didn't know what was wrong with her, why she was being so sentimental.
Seeing Zhou Qiqi's teary-eyed and nervous appearance, Shen Huaichuan felt both amused and heartbroken.
He raised his hand and gently wiped away the undried tear stains on her cheek with his fingertips, then tidied the stray strands of hair at her temples, his movements as tender as if he were handling a rare treasure.
"Alright, alright, stop crying. Look at you, your eyes are swollen like walnuts. Let Director Ding give you a proper check-up right away, okay?"
When he said that, everyone else in the ward nodded in agreement.
Even little Zhouzhou, who had been quietly staying to the side, couldn't speak, but she tilted her little face up and nodded her little head vigorously. Her serious little appearance melted Zhou Qiqi's heart.
The curtain beside the hospital bed was drawn, and Director Ding gave Zhou Qiqi a thorough examination before finally letting out a sigh of relief.
"It's not a big problem, just a bit chilled and a little exhausted. These scrapes and abrasions look scary, but they'll heal with rest. You'll be observed in the hospital for a day, and if everything's fine tomorrow, you can be discharged."
He paused, then added with amusement, "It's similar to your Commander Shen's head; both are superficial wounds, just not very aesthetically pleasing."
At Zhou Qiqi's insistence, Director Ding examined Shen Huaichuan's head injury again.
Shen Huaichuan had a short buzz cut, making the abrasions on his head particularly noticeable.
Director Ding confirmed again: "It's really nothing, don't worry."
Zhou Qiqi finally felt completely relieved.
Once she recovered and her mind cleared, she suddenly remembered something more important and hurriedly asked Director Ding:
"By the way, Dr. Ding, what about that old man Liang? How is he doing?"
Director Ding's expression became more serious:
"The elderly person isn't in mortal danger, but the situation isn't optimistic. Given their age and the impact and shock, they're still unconscious and under observation in the intensive care unit in the emergency room. When they'll wake up depends on further developments..."
Zhou Qiqi's heart clenched again, and she struggled to get out of bed. "I have to go and see."
Shen Huaichuan gently pressed her down.
“Zhao Damei and Zhang Guoqiang are both over there keeping watch. They haven’t woken up yet. You won’t be able to help if you go now; you’ll only make things worse. Listen to me, get some rest first, and I’ll go with you tomorrow morning.”
Zhou Qiqi looked at his determined eyes, then at the deep darkness outside the window, and looked down to realize that it was already past three in the morning.
She looked around and saw that Zhu Yingying and Deng Cuixiang looked exhausted. Battalion Commander Jiang and Regiment Commander Wang could even fall asleep against the wall. Even Qin Lei was struggling to stay awake with dark circles under his eyes.
Looking at everyone, they were covered in mud and dust, clearly having worked hard and been exhausted the night before.
She quickly told Battalion Commander Jiang and Regiment Commander Wang to go back and rest, and then said to Deng Cuixiang and Zhu Yingying:
"Sister Cuixiang, Yingying, you're both exhausted. Hurry up and take Zhouzhou home. We'll have to trouble you with Zhouzhou tonight, Yingying. Ask her to take the day off tomorrow so she can get some more sleep."
Although the little girl was reluctant to part with Qiqi, she was very sensible. She nodded and walked away with Zhu Yingying, looking back every few steps.
Finally, only she and Shen Huaichuan remained in the ward.
Zhou Qiqi nestled into Shen Huaichuan's warm embrace, inhaling the reassuring scent emanating from him.
Shen Huaichuan gently embraced her and briefly recounted what had happened that evening.
It turned out that Zhao Damei and Deng Cuixiang were extremely anxious when they discovered she was missing. Their first thought was to go back to the village to find someone to help them. Unexpectedly, they ran into Shen Huaichuan, who was also rushing over in a panic, just as they arrived at the village entrance.
When Shen Huaichuan saw that Zhou Qiqi hadn't come home so late, he had a bad feeling and rushed over immediately.
He told Deng Cuixiang to quickly contact Battalion Commander Jiang and his men for reinforcements, while he went up the mountain to search first.
"Thanks to that piece of red scarf you left hanging on the dead tree,"
Shen Huaichuan's voice carried a hint of lingering fear and relief.
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