Chapter 24 Long Wind "What do you know?"
The fluffy head rubbed against his chest, and Rong Chengzhou's breathing became a little heavier.
Even with his strength of 180 pounds, he couldn't muster any strength against Jiang Mingxue's supple body.
The person in his arms, however, was completely unaware of this, her arms draped around his neck, as if waiting for him to pick her up.
How could Rong Chengzhou dare to hug him now?
Last night was already enough to torment him.
Tonight I originally planned to give in to her wishes and keep a certain distance from her.
But I never expected that his wife, who usually pretended to be calm and mature, would look like this when she was asleep.
He was happy to see a new side of her, but it came at a high price.
The action remained still for a full two minutes. He restrained himself, closed his eyes, took two deep breaths, and then slowly pulled Jiang Mingxue's arm off, took out the blanket from under her, laid her flat on the bed, and covered her with the quilt.
After completing this series of actions, he was no longer sleepy, so he grabbed a towel and went to the bathroom to take a shower.
The sound of rushing water continued unabated. Jiang Mingxue was fast asleep in bed, completely unaware that in the bathroom just a wall away, Rong Chengzhou was experiencing the torment of both ice and fire.
......
The next morning, Jiang Mingxue woke up naturally, all the fatigue from the previous day disappearing in her sleep.
She washed up and changed her clothes, feeling refreshed, and then went to the restaurant.
Rong Chengzhou had finished his run and showered as usual, and was now sitting in his seat.
Jiang Mingxue sat down in a lighthearted tone and greeted her, "Good morning."
The man lowered his eyes and replied indifferently, "Mm."
His voice sounded a little hoarse. Jiang Mingxue looked over curiously and found two shadows in his eyes.
I couldn't help but ask, "Didn't you sleep well last night?"
Rong Chengzhou's reply was brief: "I slept well."
Jiang Mingxue asked in confusion, "Then why do you still have dark circles under your eyes?"
He had never done this before.
Rong Chengzhou was silent for two seconds: "...It appeared on its own."
"Oh, I didn't know that was possible." Jiang Mingxue nodded, took a sip of milk, and said with concern in an elder's tone, "Then you should rest well these few days, because if your dark circles don't go away for a long time, they won't disappear."
Rong Chengzhou's face was tense, and his lips were pressed straight down:
Thank you for your concern.
--
Rong Chengzhou drove Jiang Mingxue to the clinic, and just as he was about to get out of the car, he suddenly called out to her.
Jiang Mingxue had just opened the door halfway when she turned around and asked, "What's wrong?"
Rong Chengzhou gripped the steering wheel with one hand, his gaze lingering on her face: "I can pick you up for meals anytime for the next two months."
Jiang Mingxue paused for a moment and said, "But my time to get off work every night is not fixed. Sometimes I have to work until eight or nine o'clock."
When she lived with the Jiang family, whenever she came home late, the whole family would wait for her to eat alone. Her parents were fine, but her grandfather was getting old, and they were worried that his health wouldn't be able to handle it, so they rarely came home for dinner.
If Rong Chengzhou had to wait for her to eat together, he would often go hungry.
The man's tone was calm and solemn: "It's alright, I'll wait for you."
His gaze was calm and serene, as if he took this matter very seriously.
Jiang Mingxue stared intently into his eyes, momentarily lost in thought.
Over the years, she has gotten used to eating boxed lunches alone in the clinic and spending busy nights alone in the small consultation room.
Mechanical, fulfilling, and exhausting.
If it weren't for passion, these would become torture.
A girl who has to shoulder the responsibility of carrying on the family tradition is destined to put in more effort than a girl of the opposite sex.
For the past twenty-eight years, she has been devoted to medicine and rarely even goes home.
She even forgot that it was a very happy thing for someone to be willing to wait for her to have dinner together.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Jiang Mingxue suddenly felt a sense of "living life".
No longer making excuses, she nodded gently: "Then I'll tell you the time in advance."
It's a new week again, and Jiang Mingxue, as usual, arrives at the clinic half an hour early to brew tea and practice Baduanjin (Eight Pieces of Brocade).
Around eight o'clock, almost all the apprentices had arrived.
Jiang Mingxue tidied up her medical gown and said to Xu Yan, "Ayan, you don't need to bring me dinner anymore these days. I'll eat at home."
Xu Yan thought it was the Jiang family: "Your home is so far away, won't it be too late to go back?"
Jiang Mingxue smiled and said, "No, my new home is in Songyunting."
She smiled gently, a tenderness she herself didn't even realize appeared in her eyes.
Xu Yan: "!!"
She smiled meaningfully, her eyes crinkling into slits: "So you're going back to your and your brother-in-law's bridal suite!"
The volume unconsciously increased, and even the apprentices in the pharmacy heard it and looked in their direction.
Ever since Rong Chengzhou came to pick her up last Friday and Xiao Liang saw it, everyone in the clinic knows that she is married.
"The curator is moving into the bridal chamber! When is the wedding? We're waiting for the wedding candy!"
"The houses in Songyunting aren't cheap; the boss's father is really powerful!"
Jiang Mingxue frowned: "What's 'boss dad'?"
Xu Yan: "This is the code name we gave my brother-in-law. In other families, he's called the boss's wife, so naturally, he's called the boss's father."
"......"
Jiang Mingxue was taken aback at first, then laughed, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
If Rong Chengzhou knew he had such a nickname, he would probably laugh speechlessly.
Thinking of Rong Chengzhou, she took out her phone, opened WeChat, scrolled to his name, and long-pressed to select "pin to top".
Last night I saw that I was the only one pinned to his chat list, and I was planning to pin him to my chat list before going to bed, but I accidentally forgot because I was busy.
However, she has quite a few pinned accounts, including the family group, the Yuanhe Medical Center main group, the Beicheng branch group, Rong Chengzhou, and the file transfer assistant.
While they were chatting animatedly, in the men's changing room on the other side, Yan Ze paused halfway through changing his clothes, his slender, white fingers clenching tightly, turning noticeably white.
Even though he knew she was already someone else's wife, he couldn't let go of her and couldn't bear to leave her.
This was another kind of torment for him.
Sister, why can't you look at me?
......
With many doctors on Mondays, Jiang Mingxue's work was much easier, and she could leave work at six o'clock in the evening.
She had messaged Rong Chengzhou beforehand, and when she picked up her bag and went out, he was already waiting for her in his car at the door.
After she fastened her seatbelt, Rong Chengzhou started the car and turned it around.
Realizing it wasn't the direction of their marital home, Jiang Mingxue asked in confusion, "Aren't we going home?"
The man gripped the steering wheel and said calmly, "I'll take you out to eat tonight."
"Oh," Jiang Mingxue replied knowingly, then asked, "What are we going to eat?"
Rong Chengzhou glanced sideways and said in a low voice, "Lychee-roasted fish."
Jiang Mingxue blinked: "What is lychee grilled fish? Why do we eat lychee grilled fish?"
Just then, they stopped the car at a red light. Rong Chengzhou, his eyes deep and unfathomable, turned to look at her:
"You don't remember anything?"
Jiang Mingxue was completely confused: "Remember what?"
She didn't even know what lychee-grilled fish was.
"......"
The air inside the car remained silent for several seconds.
After slowly exhaling, Rong Chengzhou finally spoke:
"It's nothing. I heard that grilled fish with lychee is delicious. I'll take you to try it."
Jiang Mingxue gave him a strange look, finding him rather inexplicable today.
Rong Chengzhou took her to a grilled fish restaurant and ordered a lychee-flavored grilled fish.
The restaurant is small and doesn't have private rooms, but it's already considered one of the more upscale grilled fish restaurants in the northern part of the city.
All the fish were freshly picked and killed on the spot. After the two of them chose their side dishes, they sat in the hall and waited for a while before the food was served.
The lychee-baked fish, freshly served, still sizzled in the glistening grill. The fish was roasted to a golden-brown crisp, its edges slightly curled, glistening with an amber sheen. A dozen or so pitted, split lychees were laid on top of the fish, their translucent flesh gleaming like honey.
Jiang Mingxue was seeing grilled fish prepared this way for the first time and exclaimed in surprise, "So this is lychee grilled fish! How did you find this restaurant?"
Rong Chengzhou was picking bones out of a fish when he heard this and paused in his actions.
He had never heard of this dish before last night.
I thought she wanted to eat this dish, which is why she was thinking about it all night, so I specifically asked my friend during the day and recommended this restaurant to him.
But to her surprise, she herself didn't know what it was.
He looked up and glanced at her indifferently: "Someone appeared in my dream last night."
Jiang Mingxue was skeptical: "Your dream is quite amazing. Next time you don't know what to eat, just take a nap."
Rong Chengzhou: "......"
After a moment of silence, he placed the fish meat into her bowl: "There are no bones left, eat it."
The sweet aroma of lychee mingled with the freshness of the fish, the smoky fragrance of charcoal, and the slight spiciness of the sauce, creating an enticing flavor in the steam. Jiang Mingxue thoroughly enjoyed her grilled fish.
Friday arrived in the blink of an eye, and Jiang Mingxue and Rong Chengzhou went to the military compound as scheduled.
Friday night is rush hour in the north of the city, and Jiang Mingxue was worried that Rong Chengzhou would have too much trouble getting around due to traffic, so she sent him a message:
Send me the address, I'll drive there myself.
Rong Chengzhou was already on his way and returned two minutes later.
【CZ】: Cannot be found on the map.
Jiang Mingxue frowned and opened the navigation software to search.
No, there really isn't.
[Jiang Mingxue]: Okay.
Rong Chengzhou arrived early and there was no traffic jam on the road, but when he picked up Jiang Mingxue and took her back to the military compound, it took more than half an hour of traffic. By the time he arrived at Rong's house, it was already past six o'clock in the evening.
As I approached the villa's entrance, my pace unconsciously slowed.
She had met the Rong family before, and she wasn't as nervous as she had been the first time they met.
I had long heard of General Rong's numerous military achievements and seen his photos, but I only remembered that his face was more dignified than Rong Chengzhou's.
Rong Chengzhou was already quite intimidating when he wasn't smiling, so she couldn't imagine how serious the old general would be.
Seemingly sensing her nervousness, Rong Chengzhou tightened his grip on her hand.
"Don't be afraid, they are just like your family."
His warm palms enveloped hers tightly, the heat traveling from his hands along his veins to her limbs, making Jiang Mingxue feel much more at ease: "Mmm, okay."
Inside the villa, the butler reminded Old Master Rong, "General, this is Miss Jiang's first time visiting our home, so you must smile later."
General Rong glared at him, the upward curve of his eyes instantly fading: "Haven't I laughed yet?!"
Ever since he found out his granddaughter-in-law would be coming this week, he's been practicing in front of the mirror for days!
The butler's lips twitched slightly. The old man had always kept a straight face, and this matter was indeed a bit difficult for him.
General Rong stood in front of the full-length mirror in the living room, leaning on his cane, trying to make his smile obvious. However, the big smile on his stern face looked a little strange: "Don't worry, even if I don't give my grandson a good look, I certainly won't neglect my granddaughter-in-law."
Just then, Aunt Liu's voice came from outside: "They're here! Miss Jiang and the Colonel are back!"
General Rong turned around hastily, his habitual sternness preventing his smile from keeping up: "Mingxue has arrived."
Jiang Mingxue happened to see him laughing the whole time she entered the room, and the comical scene made all the tension in her heart disappear.
Rong Chengzhou's family is quite lovely, but the fiercest-looking one is actually her youngest husband.
"Hello, Dad, Mom, Grandpa." Jiang Mingxue greeted them one by one.
"Mingxue's here! You must be exhausted after a long day at work. Come and sit here with me." Madam Rong, sitting on the sofa, warmly invited her to sit down.
However, Rong Chengzhou still held her hand: "Sit next to me."
Madam Rong glared at him: "When can't you two sit down? I finally get to see Mingxue once in a while."
Rong Chengzhou did not refute, but silently insisted.
Jiang Mingxue turned her head: "It's okay, I'll go sit next to Mom and we'll sit together for dinner later."
She wasn't nervous when she first met General Rong, and she had no fear of the kind Madam Rong either.
Rong Chengzhou then released his grip.
Before the meal was even ready, General Rong and his wife chatted warmly with Jiang Mingxue for a while, with Rong Chengzhou's gaze never leaving her the entire time.
Dinner was served at 6:30. At the table, Rong Chengzhou served Jiang Mingxue food throughout the meal, while several elders watched with satisfaction.
Unexpectedly, Rong Chengzhou, who was usually cold and aloof, changed his personality after marriage.
The meal prepared by the Rong family was much more lavish than the last time the Jiang family entertained Rong Chengzhou, and in the end, they couldn't finish it all and there was still a lot left over.
The Rong family elders were always frugal, but they were never stingy when it came to Jiang Mingxue.
At the dinner table, Madam Rong said that she would take her to try on wedding dresses tomorrow, and they would stay in the military compound for the next two days.
After dinner, Jiang Mingxue went to the bathroom in Rong Chengzhou's bedroom to take a shower, then used a hairdryer to dry her hair and applied the face mask and skincare products that Madam Rong had prepared for her.
She had only been wearing the face mask for two minutes when Madam Rong suddenly knocked on the door and called her to the living room.
Jiang Mingxue took out a tissue to wipe her hands clean and went upstairs to the living room with her.
With a face mask still on, she sat down next to Madam Rong and asked, "What's wrong, Mom?"
When Ren Rushuang knocked on the door, she glanced into the bathroom and saw that Rong Chengzhou was still taking a shower before she felt relieved and called Jiang Mingxue out.
"It's nothing, I just have something I wanted to ask you." Ren Rushuang's voice was very low.
"Please speak," Jiang Mingxue sat up straight and asked seriously.
"It's just..." Ren Rushuang hesitated, wanting to say something but stopping herself.
She has been tossing and turning these past few days, constantly thinking about this matter.
Although she had guessed most of it, she thought that her daughter-in-law, being a medical student, must know about Chengzhou's situation.
Seeing that she had been living with Chengzhou for a week and hadn't thought about divorce, Ren Rushuang couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope.
Is it possible that her son might be quite healthy?
So she wanted to sound out her daughter-in-law's opinion.
It was a bit embarrassing to talk about, but for her son's health, she felt she needed to discuss it with Jiang Mingxue.
Ren Rushuang hesitated for a moment before speaking with difficulty: "I wanted to ask you if you know anything about the situation in Chengzhou, it's just that..."
As soon as she said that, Jiang Mingxue guessed what she meant.
Before she could finish speaking, Jiang Mingxue said confidently:
"I know."
Madam Rong was shocked and unconsciously raised her voice: "You knew all this?!"
Jiang Mingxue held Madam Rong's hand, her eyes filled with certainty:
"Yes, I already knew that."
Sigh, it seems it's all true.
After receiving the diagnosis from her daughter-in-law, a professional TCM doctor, Ren Rushuang felt utterly hopeless and let out a long sigh.
The last glimmer of hope was also extinguished.
Ren Rushuang resigned herself to her fate and was about to ask her how to resolve the situation when...
The door to Rong Chengzhou's bedroom was suddenly pushed open.
He was wearing black loungewear, holding a towel in his hand, and water droplets were still dripping from his hair.
With a slight furrow in his brow and a taut jawline, the man slowly walked out of the room.
"What do you know?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
