Shen Yanming didn't argue with him, but silently opened his plastic bag and let him open his eyes wide and take a good look.
Inside lay two neatly folded transparent raincoats, their color and style clearly indicating they were meant for the couple.
Zhang Heping felt he had made a huge fool of himself, but he didn't really want to admit it.
He argued illogically, "Two raincoats are hardly enough. If you include the baby, you'll need at least two more. Besides, the baby is too small to wear them, and you might have to borrow an umbrella in the end."
Shen Yanming didn't respond to that, but just smiled and closed the bag.
Zhang Heping pursed his lips, somewhat unwilling, but he also knew that he had underestimated Shen Yanming. He followed silently behind, still feeling awkward even at the door of the ward.
Old Shen wasn't in the mood to comfort his fragile heart. He glanced at the door and asked, "Wife, are you done?"
Bi Qiaoan called out, "Wait a moment!" Then she put the baby in her arms next to her, straightened her clothes, and then pulled back the curtain, got out of bed, and opened the door for the two of them.
As soon as she opened the door, she saw two people whose clothes were mostly soaked. Without asking any questions, she stepped aside to let them in.
Shen Yanming put the bag on the ground and said to her, "It's okay. It's raining quite heavily outside. We didn't take proper precautions and got soaked. But it's warm outside, so you shouldn't catch a cold."
Bi Qiaoan nodded, returned to the hospital bed, drew the curtain and said, "You two should change your clothes quickly, otherwise even if you don't catch a cold, it will be uncomfortable to be all wet."
Shen Yanming hummed in agreement, opened his backpack, took out two sets of clean clothes, tossed one set to Zhang Heping, and kept the other for himself.
He casually took off his half-soaked short-sleeved shirt and trousers, and dried the water droplets from his arms and calves with a towel. Only after he was almost dry did he change into the outer garment he had just taken out.
Zhang Heping felt a little embarrassed, but also uncomfortable with the wet clothes sticking to his body. After struggling for a while, he grabbed his clothes and ran into the bathroom.
Shen Yanming hadn't expected him to have such a shy side. He smiled, shook his head, and went to wash the cooking utensils.
Because he was worried about bacteria and viruses on it, he washed it very carefully and even boiled a kettle of hot water to sterilize it.
So when Zhang Heping came out of the bathroom, he found him struggling with pots and pans.
Zhang Heping didn't say anything; after all, most doctors are a bit of a germaphobe.
After Lao Shen washed the small milk pot many times, he added cold water and put it on the induction cooker to heat it.
Then, he took out a bag of dried meat, a bag of dehydrated vegetables, two bags of noodles, and eight salted eggs from the black bag.
These are all packaged, so they won't get wet from the rain.
Shen Yanming glanced at Zhang Heping and said, "These are yours to cook yourself, is that alright?"
Zhang Heping: "..." Just now, judging from Lao Shen's posture, he thought he could get something for nothing!
"Sure!" Zhang Heping nodded under Old Shen's questioning gaze. Although his cooking skills weren't great, he could still manage to cook noodles.
Shen Yanming patted him on the shoulder and walked back to the bathroom.
Zhang Heping understood; Old Shen must have gone to deal with those two diapers. He felt deep sympathy, but also a pang of envy.
After he finished cooking the noodles, Shen Yanming still hadn't come out. Just as he was about to call out, Bi Qiaoan said, "You eat first, otherwise the noodles will get soggy and won't taste good. Old Shen can't hear you in the bathroom; he'll come out when he's done."
Zhang Heping thought about it and agreed, so he didn't stand on ceremony anymore. Actually, he was genuinely hungry.
The noodles tasted incredibly delicious the moment they entered my mouth.
He stared at Bi Qiaoan with wide eyes in surprise and asked, "Has my cooking improved, or are your ingredients just too good?"
Bi Qiaoan found it amusing, but still said seriously, "It's probably because you're hungry; everything tastes good!"
It was this clichéd lie that made Zhang Heping nod. Then, without saying a word, he started eating, picking at the rim of his bowl.
Zhang Heping's comment was just a slip of the tongue; he didn't care about the reason. As long as it tasted good, why think so much?
After finishing a bowl, he felt like he hadn't had enough, and he swallowed hard as he looked at the steaming noodles on the counter.
Bi Qiaoan saw all of this and said, "If you're not full, you can finish that bowl too. Old Shen can come out and have him cook some more."
Zhang Heping calculated that he had only taken less than ten minutes to cook the noodles. He figured he could just cook another pot for Lao Shen later, saving him the trouble of eating the mess. So he nodded and started eating.
However, when he was halfway through his meal, he heard the bathroom door open. He looked up and his eyes met Old Shen's, and he was instantly filled with embarrassment.
"Uh, Yanming, this noodle smelled so good, I just, I just..." He stammered for a long time, too embarrassed to say "I ate it all".
Shen Yanming hummed in agreement. "If you don't have enough, cook it yourself. We can't afford anything else, but noodles are fine."
When Zhang Heping heard that Comrade Shen hadn't criticized him, he became smug and began to excitedly recount his improved culinary skills.
She even wanted to roll up the leftover noodles in her bowl and let Shen Yanming taste them, so he could see if she had lied.
Shen Yanming was so startled by him that he almost fell over. Finally, he said in a harsh tone, "Eat your food properly!" which brought the gleeful man back to normal.
However, he was still somewhat excited. He ate his noodles, deliberately slurping them a few times, as if trying to attract Shen Yanming's attention, or perhaps showing off that he had something delicious to eat.
Shen Yanming rubbed his forehead, wondering if he had added too much spiritual spring water. But even if he had, it would only make the food taste better and give the person eating it more energy; it wouldn't make him act like a lunatic.
Perhaps Zhang Heping's way of venting his energy is through neuroticism?
Cough cough, I can't think about it too much, or I'll feel like I'm being assimilated by him.
Shen Yanming tidied up the things on the bar before cooking himself some noodles. Zhang Heping, who was about to wash the dishes after finishing his noodles, suddenly remembered something and asked, blushing, "Where's Qiao An? We can't both eat and then let Qiao An go hungry, can we?"
Shen Yanming didn't even look at him and said, "Her meals are a bit troublesome and take time to cook, so let's eat quickly to free up the cooking utensils so we can cook for her. But don't worry, I'll make her a cup of milk powder later, and she can have some bread to fill her stomach."
Zhang Heping simply said "oh" and didn't pursue the matter further. After all, she was Old Shen's wife; wouldn't her husband care more about her than he did?
After cleaning up the small saucepan, bowls, and chopsticks, Zhang Heping prepared to leave. Seeing that everything was running smoothly, he told Shen Yanming that he wouldn't be coming over at noon, but would come to see them again in the evening.
Shen Yanming nodded, indicating that he understood. Then he bent down, took out a small can of coffee powder from a black plastic bag, and handed it to Zhang Heping.
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