Chapter 66 Having recovered from this unrealistic feeling...
After recovering from the unsettling feeling, Shen Li moved out of Jiang Huaichuan's arms somewhat embarrassed. As soon as she moved, she was dazzled by the silvery white at the base of her left ring finger.
Shen Li froze on the spot for a moment.
Is this... a wedding ring?
Jiang Huaichuan kept a close eye on Shen Li's emotions. Seeing that Shen Li's pupils were trembling and he was looking at him cautiously, Jiang Huaichuan nodded.
"These are our wedding rings." Jiang Huaichuan gently kissed the corner of Shen Li's suddenly reddened eye and whispered, "Do you like them?"
“I like it…” An indescribable joy burst forth in Shen Li’s eyes. He held his hand up in front of his eyes, and the wave pattern flowed with the light and shadow. “I like it.”
Hearing this, Jiang Huaichuan finally breathed a sigh of relief. He took out another one from his pocket and placed it in Shen Li's palm: "If you like it, could you put it on me too?"
The ring in her palm was cool to the touch, but Shen Li examined it closely, her fingertips tracing the raised and recessed patterns on it.
Shen Li: "Is it a glacier?"
Jiang Huaichuan: "Yes, ocean waves and glaciers."
Where the sea meets the mountains, the waves forever gently kiss the glaciers.
Shen Li noticed the letters engraved on the inner band of the ring and asked curiously, "Does mine say J&S?"
Jiang Huaichuan laughed: "No, they're all S&J."
When did you make the decision?
"In City C, you were staring blankly at the ring on Tang Nian's hand. It was then that I suddenly realized I hadn't given you a wedding, and I hadn't even given you a ring." Jiang Huaichuan brushed a stray hair from Shen Li's forehead. His tone was earnest, but his eyes revealed obvious unease and apology. "Shen Li, I'm so sorry. Can you forgive me? If you can, please put the ring on my finger..."
Jiang Huaichuan's words came to an abrupt end.
Shen Li slipped the ring onto her finger.
Just kidding, at this point, are you going to put on a show of not forgiving me?
Jiang Huaichuan's gaze shifted from the two overlapping rings to Shen Li's smiling eyes.
Shen Li, he is really a good person.
——
Another week passed in the blink of an eye. Jiang Zhirong was under the close surveillance of the police, the Tang family, the Jiang family, and the Shen family, and was kept under strict control in the A City Mental Hospital.
As the surgery date approached, Jiang Huaichuan, though outwardly calm, grew increasingly worried each day. He put aside all his work and stayed in Shen Li's hospital room.
Shen Li noticed that there were more checkups recently. The checkups that used to be once every three days became once a day, and some medications that she had never taken before appeared in the medicine box.
When Shen Li asked Lu Mingxuan, the answer she received was—
Faced with Shen Li's sudden question, Lu Mingxuan paused in operating the instrument, and replied nonchalantly, "We've been using a new drug recently, so we need to check on its effectiveness. That's why the checks have been a bit more frequent. Don't worry, it's nothing serious."
Shen Li believed it.
Until this day, when Jiang Huaichuan was taking his mother home, Shen Li passed by Lu Mingxuan's office and saw a face through the crack in the open door.
Shen Li stood there, and all her doubts were answered.
Wenfeng.
A top expert in the field of interventional cardiac surgery, this name also appeared in Jiang Huaichuan's surgical plan, listed as the chief surgeon.
Shen Li pressed her body against the wall, listening to the conversation coming from inside.
"The surgery is the day after tomorrow, right?"
"Yes, everything is ready, but he really doesn't intend to explain things to anyone? This is no joke."
Lu Mingxuan closed the file and sighed helplessly: "He's acting like a coward, wishing he could inject two anesthetics, one into Xiao Li and one into himself."
Wen Feng did not reply. His gaze returned to the documents in front of him, which were filled with dense emergency plans.
Seeing this, Lu Mingxuan fell silent.
After a long while, he said in a low voice, "Uncle Wen, you must do your best. If this surgery fails, Jiang Huaichuan will definitely follow you there. You know he has everything arranged."
Shen Li stood outside the door, her hands and feet cold, the strong smell of disinfectant filling her nostrils.
Shen Li didn't want to understand what they were saying; he wanted to play dumb, but he knew perfectly well what they were talking about.
It felt as if a thorn had pierced my heart.
Jiang Huaichuan secretly arranged the surgery, which was scheduled for the day after tomorrow.
Everyone knew—Lu Mingxuan knew, his older brother Aci knew, and his parents knew—but he, the person directly involved, was kept completely in the dark.
Shen Li laughed self-deprecatingly, feeling that it was all absurd. Anyone would find it hard to accept if they suddenly found out that they might only have one day left to live.
For the first time, Shen Li disregarded etiquette and manners, pushing open the door and interrupting the conversation inside.
"Xiao Li?" Lu Mingxuan stood up in surprise. "What are you doing here? When did you arrive?"
Lu Mingxuan couldn't bring himself to ask the question; he saw Shen Li's trembling hand hanging by her side.
Shen Li gasped for breath, forcing out a sentence through gritted teeth: "Besides the surgery, what else has he been hiding from me?"
Seeing that Shen Li's breathing was not right, Lu Mingxuan quickly helped her to sit down on a stool next to him and deftly opened the oxygen tube and put it on her.
"Xiao Li, don't get excited, listen to me." As soon as Lu Mingxuan heard this, he knew something bad had happened. He had definitely overheard his conversation with Wen Feng. He quickly spilled everything out like beans.
"...The most important thing is this surgery, scheduled for the day after tomorrow. And also, if it fails, he wants me not to save him when he commits suicide with me. He has arranged everything. I promise, I only know these two things."
Wen Feng was stunned. He winked at Lu Mingxuan.
Wen Feng: You've told me everything??
Lu Mingxuan smiled wryly: How could I dare to hide this from you? If you're so capable, then you do it.
Wen Feng turned his head away, quietly shifted his position, and silently moved away. Anyway, it wasn't him who said it, so it had nothing to do with him.
"Really?" Shen Li suddenly smiled, stroking the ring on his ring finger, and asked curiously, "If the suicide attempt fails, what about the success? He forcibly put me on the operating table against my will. If I survive by chance, what does he plan to do?"
Lu Mingxuan choked, he hadn't expected Shen Li to be so perceptive.
Wen Feng couldn't stand it anymore. He was a doctor in charge of surgery, but for the past few months, it had been like he was in a spy movie, unable to be exposed to Shen Li.
Wen Feng picked up the documents, stood up, and ran off, thoughtfully closing the office door behind him as he left.
"I really don't know the specifics. Huai Chuan didn't tell me, but my sister mentioned it a few days ago, saying that Jiang's overseas company has started operating." After saying that, Lu Mingxuan carefully observed Shen Li's expression, afraid that he would get so angry that he would faint on the spot if he knew.
overseas?
Shen Li closed his eyes, and suddenly the personnel appointments and transfers of the Jiang family in recent months came to mind.
Surprisingly, it filled all the work arrangements in the country.
Jiang Huaichuan, you're doing great!
Shen Li removed the oxygen tube, stood up by supporting himself on the table, and said to Lu Mingxuan, "I know about this, but you don't need to tell him yet."
Jiang Huaichuan returned to the ward just over ten minutes later.
Jiang's mother did not return to the old house. For the past week, she has been staying at the Shen family's house, copying and reciting Buddhist scriptures with Shen's mother every day, praying that Shen Li can get through this ordeal safely.
Jiang Huaichuan took off his coat and walked to Shen Li's side.
Why are you sitting here?
"I'm watching someone build a snowman," Shen Li said.
Building a snowman? There's only a thin layer of snow, is it even possible to build a snowman?
Jiang Huaichuan followed Shen Li's gaze and saw two boys who looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old.
Jiang Huaichuan craned his neck: "Where's the snowman?"
Shen Li: "There's a very small one on their left."
Jiang Huaichuan squinted and then noticed the small, protruding sphere.
Shen Li gazed out the window, her long eyelashes drooping slightly, obscuring the expression in her eyes: "I heard there will be a heavy snowfall the day after tomorrow. That snowfall should be enough to build a big snowman. I want to see a big snowman."
As expected, Jiang Huaichuan avoided that question.
The light in Shen Li's eyes dimmed.
——
Shen Li noticed that Jiang Huaichuan was acting strangely that very night, or rather, he had been acting strangely for a long time but hadn't noticed it until now.
Because of what happened during the day, Shen Li had some unusual insomnia. He tossed and turned in bed until one o'clock in the morning before finally falling into a light sleep.
Before Shen Li could fall asleep, he felt Jiang Huaichuan move slightly, then quietly get out of bed, walk to the cabinet in the far corner, and open the drawer.
Shen Li slightly opened his eyes, and by the dim moonlight, he saw what Jiang Huaichuan had eaten.
The next day, while Jiang Huaichuan was washing up, Shen Li walked to the cabinet. Because there were many cabinets in the ward, he usually only used the two next to the bed. Shen Li had never noticed this small cabinet in the corner.
Open the drawer, and in the innermost corner, a small white and green box sits quietly inside.
Estazolam, a sleeping pill.
When did Jiang Huaichuan start relying on sleeping pills to fall asleep?
This is a prescription drug, and it goes without saying who Jiang Huaichuan will get it from.
[Chen Li: Brother Mingxuan, Jiang Huaichuan's insomnia has been quite severe lately. Could you prescribe another box of that medicine?]
[Lu Mingxuan: ?]
[Lu Mingxuan: That box was only opened less than a week ago, and it's already finished?]
Within ten seconds of receiving the two messages from Lu Mingxuan, he realized that Shen Li had tricked him into revealing information. Given Jiang Huaichuan's character, how could he possibly tell Shen Li about his severe insomnia and make him worry?
It could only be Shen Li who discovered it.
After yesterday's ordeal, Lu Mingxuan chose to confess on the spot and refused to hide anything.
[Lu Mingxuan: This is a long story. Huai Chuan asked me for his medication in late November last year. He said he couldn't sleep and asked me to prescribe sleeping pills for him, which I did. But he was taking them haphazardly!]
[Lu Mingxuan: That box of medicine usually lasts ten days, but he finished it in seven. I told him he couldn't take it like that, because it has side effects.]
[Lu Mingxuan: How many pills are left in that box?]
Shen Li opened the medicine box.
[Chen Li: 1 piece]
[Lu Mingxuan: Holy crap! Is this guy crazy? I only prescribed him five days' worth, and he only has one tablet left?! How is he doing now? I'm fucking speechless!]
When Jiang Huaichuan came out, he saw Lu Mingxuan standing at the door.
Jiang Huaichuan paused in his steps: "Why are you here?"
Lu Mingxuan didn't speak, but he gestured with his chin toward Shen Li.
Following his movements, Jiang Huaichuan saw the medicine box placed in front of Shen Li.
Jiang Huaichuan paused for a moment, then stepped forward and squatted down, blinking guiltily as he explained, "I've been having nightmares lately and haven't been sleeping well, so I got some medicine. Don't worry."
Shen Li looked at Jiang Huaichuan, her brown eyes filled with heartache.
This isn't Jiang Huaichuan's fault. Shen Li knew he was keeping it from her because he didn't want her to worry, but Shen Li just felt sorry for him. She felt sorry that Jiang Huaichuan used to have such good sleep quality, but now he's reduced to the point where he has to take sleeping pills to fall asleep.
Shen Li asked softly, "Your insomnia started after my medical checkup revealed a problem, right?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Huaichuan's eyes instantly reddened. He lowered his head in a disheveled manner, unwilling to let Shen Li see the helplessness and fear in his eyes.
Everything was clearly going well, and he had planned everything out: once Shen Li recovered, they would hold the wedding ceremony first, and then go to the beach for their honeymoon.
In the days to come, they can go to and from get off work together, take frozen pears out to sunbathe during holidays, go to the movies, go to the amusement park, and do many other things together.
All these wonderful dreams came to an end with that devastating medical report, and I haven't slept a wink since.
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