Chapter 356 Longevity Lock
The next morning, Yun Zheng suddenly woke up from a nightmare, with cold sweat soaking her back.
In the dream, the blood that kept gushing out of Ning Zhi's wrist was so red that it was blindingly bright, but no matter how she shouted, no one answered.
"No--!" she screamed, sitting up with her chest heaving violently.
A pair of warm arms immediately embraced her.
The familiar cold aura from Fu Linghe enveloped her.
He obviously hadn't slept all night, his silver hair was a little messy, and there was a faint blue tint under his eyes.
"Don't be afraid, I'm here." Fu Linghe gently stroked her sweaty temples, his voice hoarse from the morning, and his hands patted her back from time to time to soothe her emotions, "You had a nightmare."
Yun Zheng clutched the front of his pajamas, her fingertips trembling, "I dreamed about my mother..."
"Her vital signs have stabilized." Fu Linghe wiped the tears from her eyes with his fingertips. "Mo Shi'an and the others are taking turns guarding outside the ICU. They just called half an hour ago. Don't worry."
The morning light was dim outside the window, and Yun Zheng realized that she was on the bed in the hospital lounge.
She lifted the quilt and was about to get out of bed, but Fu Linghe held her shoulders.
"Eat something first." He brought a thermos of warm milk and a sandwich. "You didn't eat anything last night."
Yun Zheng shook her head, but compromised when she saw the worry in his eyes.
She ate her sandwich mechanically, which tasted like wax.
As soon as she finished drinking the milk, she rushed to the ICU ward impatiently.
In the corridor, Mo Shian was talking in a low voice with the doctor.
There was a dark circle under his eyes and his suit was wrinkled, obviously he had not slept all night.
When he saw Yun Zheng, a smile appeared on his tired face.
"You arrived just in time. The doctor said you can be transferred to a general ward."
Yun Zheng's heart finally settled down.
Through the glass window, she saw Ning Zhi had taken off her oxygen mask and was leaning against the head of the bed talking to Mo Chenfeng.
The sunlight filtering through the blinds cast fine shadows on her face, making her look much better.
"She woke up at five this morning." Mo Chenfeng pushed the door open and handed Yun Zheng a medical report. "All indicators are improving, but she needs to rest."
The diagnosis of "major depression with post-traumatic stress disorder" on the report card stung Yun Zheng's eyes. "I'll go in and see her."
Mo Shian nodded, his voice low, "Well, go ahead. She's been talking about you since she woke up."
Yun Zheng took a deep breath and gently pushed open the door of the ward.
Ning Zhi looked up when she heard the voice, and her pale face instantly lit up with radiance.
"Zheng Zheng..." She stretched out her hand eagerly, but was afraid that her actions would scare her, so she hesitated to retract her hand.
This call made Yun Zheng's nose sore.
She quickly stepped forward and held the thin hand, and found that there was new gauze on the wrist, which should be left by the indwelling needle during the rescue last night. The bruise was shocking.
"Does it still hurt?" She carefully touched the edge of the gauze.
Ning Zhi shook her head, her eyes greedily tracing her face. "Let me take a good look at you."
She suddenly started coughing violently. Yun Zheng hurriedly helped her drink some water, but she caught a glimpse of a medicine box on the bedside table. The label showed that it needed to be taken three times a day.
"Have you been taking these medicines all these years?" Yun Zheng's voice trembled.
Ning Zhi gently closed the medicine box, "I'm used to it."
She paused, then suddenly grabbed Yun Zheng's hand and said, "You won't leave again, right?"
The fragility in her eyes made Yun Zheng's heart ache.
She nodded solemnly. "I'm not going anywhere."
Mo Shian came in at the right time with breakfast, "Mom, you need to eat something first."
He handed the bowl of porridge to Yun Zheng with a silent pleading look in his eyes.
Yun Zheng understood, scooped up a spoonful of porridge and blew on it gently to cool it down. "I'll feed you."
Ning Zhi's eyes turned red instantly.
She opened her mouth obediently like a child who had received candy, but her tears fell into the porridge.
Yun Zheng used her thumb to wipe her tears, but her vision became blurred uncontrollably.
"Silly child, why are you still crying?" Ning Zhi burst into laughter and stroked Yun Zheng's face with trembling hands.
After finishing this small bowl of porridge, Ning Zhi seemed to have exhausted all her energy and her eyelids gradually became heavy.
Yun Zheng gently tucked the quilt in for her, watched her breathing gradually become steady, and then she tiptoed to close the door of the ward.
When she turned around, she saw Fu Linghe sitting on the bench outside the door waiting for her.
The morning light shone on him through the corridor window. His silver hair had a soft luster, his long legs were casually crossed, and there was no emotion in his eyes. He just waited quietly for Yun Zheng.
Hearing the noise, he looked up, her figure reflected in his deep eyes.
"Is she asleep?" Fu Linghe asked softly, his voice low and gentle.
Yun Zheng nodded, her eyes still a little red.
She walked over to Fu Linghe and sat down, leaning tiredly on his shoulder.
Fu Linghe naturally put his arm around her shoulders to make her feel more comfortable.
"Are you tired?" he asked in a low voice, gently combing her messy hair with his fingers.
Yun Zheng closed her eyes, feeling the warmth from his fingertips. "Yeah, but seeing her getting better, I feel much more at ease."
Fu Linghe didn't say much, just stayed with her quietly.
The corridor was quiet, with only the occasional whispered conversation and the ticking of instruments coming from the nurses' station in the distance.
After a long while, Yun Zheng finally spoke, "Fu Linghe..."
"Um?"
"Thank you." She raised her head and met his eyes. "Thank you for always being with me."
Fu Linghe's lips curled up slightly. He reached out and touched her cheek, his thumb gently rubbing the faint dark circles under her eyes. "Silly girl, you're still saying thank you to me?"
Yun Zheng couldn't help but smile, her smile was tired but also showed peace of mind.
She leaned back on his shoulder and whispered, "When I was feeding her porridge just now, she kept looking at me, as if she was afraid that I would suddenly disappear..."
Fu Linghe's arms tightened a little. "She's waited too long. She needs time to adapt to the fact that you're back."
"I know." Yun Zheng sighed, "I just feel bad for her, those medicines, and those scars on her hands..."
Fu Linghe lowered his head and kissed the top of her head. "With you here, she will slowly get better."
As he was speaking, Mo Shian came from the other end of the corridor with two cups of hot coffee in his hands.
Seeing them, he paused, then walked over and handed them a cup.
"Have some coffee to refresh yourself." His voice was still steady, but the fatigue in his eyes could not be concealed.
Yun Zheng took the coffee. The warm cup warmed her cold fingers. "Thank you."
Mo Shian looked at Yun Zheng with a much softer look in his eyes.
He sat down on the chair opposite and glanced at the closed ward door. "Is Mom asleep?"
"Yeah, I just fell asleep." Yun Zheng sipped the coffee, and the bitter liquid made her a little more awake.
Mo Shi'an's gaze lingered on Yun Zheng's tired face for a moment, and he suddenly pulled out a velvet box from his suit pocket. "This is what Mom always kept under her pillow. The nurse found it this morning when she was making the bed. I think...it's for you."
Yun Zheng took the exquisite little velvet box and opened it to find a small silver longevity lock inside. The word "Zheng" and her birthday were engraved on the back.
The small silver lock doesn't look very old, but the word "zheng" on it was obviously carved not long ago.
"This is..." Her voice choked.
"It seems that it was injected before you were born."
Mo Shi'an explained softly, "Mom always carries it with her. She said...she said she would put it on you personally when you come back."
"This longevity lock is yours. Mom kept it very carefully. No one has ever touched it."
The reason why Mo Shian explained was because he was afraid that Yun Zheng would misunderstand that Mo Xinrou had used it and would feel uncomfortable.
Yun Zheng's tears burst out again and dripped onto the longevity lock.
Fu Linghe's hand gently covered her trembling fingertips, wrapping the longevity lock and her hand in his palm.
The silver lock was warmed by her body temperature and shone with a warm luster in the morning light.
Yun Zheng stared at the longevity lock in her palm. The fine scratches on the silver lock surface recorded the traces of time.
She gently stroked the word "zheng", and every stroke seemed to be engraved on her heart.
"You two go and rest first. I'll go in and keep mom company." Mo Shi'an greeted the young couple before quietly opening the door and walking in.
Outside the ward, Yun Zheng looked at Mo Shian's back as he disappeared behind the door, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the patterns on the longevity lock.
Fu Linghe noticed her slightly trembling hands, gently put the coffee cup aside, and wrapped his hands around her cold fingers.
"Do you want to wear it?" he asked in a low voice, his fingertips stroking the edge of the silver lock that was rubbed to a shine.
Yun Zheng nodded, feeling like something was stuck in her throat.
She turned around and gathered her long hair to one side, revealing her slender neck.
Fu Linghe's movements were very light. The silver chain felt slightly cool when it brushed against his skin, but the pendant felt heavy and warm when it landed on his collarbone.
"It looks good." He fixed her hair and his fingertips rested on the silver chain for a moment.
In the morning light, the longevity lock rose and fell gently with her breathing, reflecting tiny spots of light.
They neither went back nor moved out. They returned together to the SVIP ward where they had stayed for the previous two days.
The hospital nurses didn't even have time to clean their beds before they were both admitted back.
Yun Zheng and Fu Linghe had just sat down when he heard Yun Zheng's voice reach his ears, "By the way, where's Mom?"
She was so nervous yesterday that she forgot that her mother-in-law boarded the plane alone.
Fu Linghe knew that the mother Yun Zheng was referring to was Ms. Shen Lanshu. "Mom went back yesterday. She told us to stay here and wait until things here are over before going back."
Yun Zheng breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, and her fingertips unconsciously touched the longevity lock on her chest.
The silver chain glowed softly under the light of the ward, and the fine scratches on the lock seemed to record countless sleepless nights.
"Mom asked me to tell you before she left," Fu Linghe unbuttoned the top button of his shirt, his silver hair spread out on the pillow like a snowy field under the moonlight, "There's no need to rush back. Let's finish this matter first."
He reached out and tucked the strands of hair behind Yun Zheng's ears. "We don't have to worry about things at home. She's here to take care of everything."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
