Hospital
Apart from Gu Cijiang and the nurses, the people Shen Anyan had the most contact with during the past few days in the hospital were Jiang Nuan and Lin Lu.
Jiang Nuan is Teacher Jiang's only daughter. She is 26 years old and is the executive director of a large group. She is decisive and efficient at work, but she is very approachable in private.
Before deciding to get pregnant, she applied for maternity leave in advance, handed over her work to her juniors, and then went home to prepare for pregnancy with peace of mind.
Now she is eight months pregnant. For safety reasons, she was admitted to the hospital to ensure a smoother delivery.
Lin Lu was her good friend, a moderately famous painter. Coming from a well-off family, she would often take on commissions or hold exhibitions, leading a leisurely and carefree life.
The two have known each other since high school. They have similar personalities and interests. Even though they did not go to college together, and even after entering society and starting working, their relationship has never become distant.
As for Jiang Nuan's partner, he hadn't appeared since he was hospitalized. Shen Anyan was used to it, but this was nine years ago after all, and the nurses' favorite topic of conversation in their free time was Jiang Nuan and Lin Lu.
"Ah? No partner? That child..."
"I heard it was borrowed from a specialized institution."
"Oh, that's normal. Nowadays, many people advocate single parents having children. But I'm more curious about their relationship. Are they lesbians?"
"That's not it. I asked specifically about the friendship."
"What exactly is going on?"
Chen Anyan was surprised to hear this and interrupted, "It's a new type of family. It's not limited to sexual relationships. As long as two people get along well, they can form a family and raise children together."
Everyone was stunned.
"What is this, a new-style family?" someone asked.
"Oh, I seem to have heard of a form that has become popular in the past two years, which is similar to what this kid said. It no longer follows the normal family structure of opposite-sex couples forming a partnership and raising children with one mother and one father. Instead, as long as two people get along well, they can live together without the purpose of getting married. If they want to raise children, that's fine, one person can give birth or both can. It's quite free anyway, and everything depends on your own preferences. But it's still a niche market, and I haven't seen many people doing it." A young nurse explained.
Shen Anyan was a little confused. Although the other party's explanation was essentially the same as what he had said, some details were still different from the future.
In her time, this new-style family was already widespread. Marriage was no longer the vehicle for love, as it had been in the old days, but rather a medium for exchanging interests. Only large families seeking to strengthen ties or cultivate heirs would choose marriage. Ordinary families mostly embraced the new-style family or single-parent families. In the future, this one-mother-one-father family would no longer be called a normal family, but rather, in contrast to the new-style family, a traditional family.
But think about it, this is the past after all. Shen Anyan has read in history books that this period was also an era of drastic changes in society and ideas, so it is normal for the past to be different from the future.
"Wow, that feels so cool!"
"I originally planned to be single and have a child, but this new style of family is also good. I feel happy to be able to live with someone who shares the same ideals as me."
"But there's a problem, right? If I don't find a man, who will take care of the children? I can hire a housekeeper to do the housework, but what will happen to the children without family members to accompany them?"
"Oh, it seems like Ms. Jiang and her team are a great match. Ms. Jiang works for a large company and I heard she earns over a million dollars a year. And Ms. Lin works from home, so wouldn't that give her more time to spend with the children?"
"Well, you have to be rich to do that. If you don't have money, you'd better find a man to marry. Hiring a housekeeper is not cheap."
"But the child is Ms. Jiang's. Is Ms. Lin willing to raise a child who is not related to her by blood?" asked a male nurse.
This statement was met with a chorus of eye rolls.
"What era is this? Why are you still fussing over blood ties? You are of the bloodline of the Divine Dragon, so you must pass it on."
"After all, he is not your own child. What will you do if he only takes care of his biological mother in her old age and not his godmother?" the male nurse asked persistently.
An old nurse glanced at him and sneered, "What? You're having children just to support you in your old age? Oh, that's not entirely true. You can't have children yet. Even if it's for your old age, the most important thing is how you raise your children. If you raise them well, they'll be filial to you even if they're not related by blood. If you don't raise them well—aren't there many cases of people raising their own children to be ungrateful?"
The young nurse was not sensitive to this. Seeing that something was wrong, she hurriedly smiled and persuaded the two people to leave, saying that "it's time for rounds."
Seeing that everyone had dispersed, Shen Anyan also left the front desk.
It was morning, and no one was visiting. Bored in the ward, she'd gone out for a stroll. She'd been getting along well with the nurses on rounds these days, and seeing them chatting at the front desk, she'd joined in. Unexpectedly, this led to something like this.
Seeing that the conversation was not going to continue, she was too lazy to go back to the room. Since she had just talked about Jiang Lin and the other person, she simply went to visit their ward.
Shen Anyan's illness has been cured, and there is no need to worry about whether it is contagious, so there is no need to worry about visiting.
She knocked on the door, and after hearing "Come in", she pushed the door open and walked in.
"Hey, is Xiaoyan here?"
As soon as she entered the room, she heard a familiar voice. Shen Anyan looked up and saw four people in the ward. In addition to Jiang Nuan and Lin Lu, there was Teacher Jiang and a middle-aged woman in her fifties.
The greeting just now was from Teacher Jiang.
Shen Anyan smiled and said "I'm coming." Just as she was about to close the door, Jiang Nuan hurriedly stopped her: "Hey, Xiaoyan, there's no need to close it. Leave it open for a while to get some fresh air."
Shen Anyan opened the door, walked forward and greeted everyone, then said with a smile, "I was bored in the house, so I wanted to go out for a walk."
Jiang Nuan couldn't help but laugh. She agreed, "If it's not raining, it's just stuffy. If there wasn't someone to chat with, I wouldn't be able to sit still in the room."
Teacher Jiang smiled and said, "That's right. I was just saying that I would go to Xiaoyan's room to take a look, and it just so happened that I came here."
Lin Lu pulled over a chair and motioned for Shen Anyan to sit down.
The middle-aged woman looked at Shen Anyan carefully, then turned to Teacher Jiang and asked, "This is..."
Teacher Jiang smiled and introduced: "My student, Shengyan, fell ill a few days ago and is also staying here."
The middle-aged woman said "Oh" and laughed: "That's quite a coincidence."
She looked at Shen Anyan and said kindly, “My name is Xu Zhao, and I’m the attending physician in the obstetrics and gynecology department.”
Shen Anyan was slightly startled, feeling that the name sounded familiar, but he didn't show it on his face. He said obediently, "Hello, Doctor Xu."
After the pleasantries, Teacher Jiang brought up the previous topic: "Where were we talking about just now?"
Jiang Nuan smiled and said, "What name should you give the child?"
Teacher Jiang said, "That's right. Naming a child is a big deal, so you have to choose it well."
Lin Lu said, "A Nuan and I have already decided on the name Jiang Shuyun. Shu means comfortable and Yun means cloud."
Doctor Xu listened carefully, nodded, and praised: "What a good name."
Teacher Jiang, a Chinese teacher, also liked the name and praised it more carefully: "It's a good name. 'I have no intention of staying or leaving, just like the clouds rolling and unrolling in the sky', it's very grand."
Ding-bell rang out, and a nurse poked her head out of the door and called out, "Doctor Xu, someone's looking for you."
Doctor Xu sighed and apologized to the group, "You guys chat, I'll go over and take a look. Excuse me."
When Shen Anyan said goodbye to the three Jiang family members and left, Dr. Xu still hadn't returned. She went downstairs to go out for a walk and stretch her muscles, and happened to run into Dr. Xu who was still seeing patients.
Sitting opposite her was a pregnant woman with a slightly bulging belly, accompanied by two men.
This combination was a bit strange, and Shen Anyan looked at it a few more times.
The woman's face was sallow, her eyes puffy, her back slightly hunched, and she looked a bit cowering. The two men beside her—one who looked like her partner, the other who was probably her father—both had mean, menacing expressions. They huddled closely with the woman, the father-like man even placing his hand on her shoulder.
Doctor Xu's face didn't look very good. She reminded the men several times to stay away from the woman in labor, but after a while, the men would return to their old ways, as if they were afraid that the woman in labor would suddenly disappear.
The woman in labor lowered her head and stammered, "No...it's okay, it's okay..."
Shen Anyan frowned, feeling that this scene was a little unpleasant.
————
On the day Shen Anyan was discharged from the hospital, early in the morning, her room welcomed several unexpected visitors.
Lin Yue was the first to walk in. As soon as she pushed open the door, she smiled and cheered: "Dangdangdang—surprise!"
Shen Anyan hurriedly got off the bed, his expression unable to conceal his joy: "Why are you here?"
He Qingtian followed in from behind, holding a large bouquet of lilies in her arms, with some crystal dewdrops on them.
"We discussed this with Teacher Jiang yesterday. Knowing you were being discharged today, we took some time off to come visit you."
Shen Anyan said: "Thank you, but won't it delay your class?"
Chen Shan poked his head out and smiled, "No way. I just finished my exam yesterday, so I haven't had time to relax yet. Today is just for reviewing the papers, so it doesn't matter if I miss one. And since history and math are both in the afternoon, that's even better."
Lin Yue said: "You got sick at the perfect time. You just managed to avoid the midterm exam."
Shen Anyan joked: "Oh, this is not good, another chance to compete for the first place is missed."
He Qingtian raised his eyebrows: "Thank you, Xiaoyan, for giving me this opportunity."
Lin Yue lamented, "Banban, you said yesterday that you did just average on the test. Now you've been exposed, haven't you? You're already prepared to take first place."
Everyone laughed and joked as they helped Shen Anyan pack up his things, and then confirmed the follow-up precautions with the doctor before leaving the hospital together.
It was still early, and Lin Yue couldn't help but suggest: "How about... have a meal outside?"
This was exactly what Chen Shan wanted, and she was the first to respond: "Let's go, let's go. These past few days, I've been eating bread and water every day to get more time to review. My mouth is almost dry."
The two agreed with each other and looked at Shen and He who had not yet expressed their opinions.
Shen Anyan raised his eyebrows and smiled: "Oh - so visiting me was fake, and looking for an opportunity to eat out was real?"
Lin Yue smiled and put his arm around her shoulders: "Hey Xiaoyan, going to the restaurant is just a side job, the main reason is to pick you up."
Shen Anyan smiled and said, "Okay, I have no objection. I've just been eating light meals these past few days to recuperate, so it's time to make up for it."
He Qingtian said: "Then I'll find out what delicious food is nearby. Xiaoyan, you should also be careful. Your body is not in good condition. Don't eat raw, cold or spicy food."
Chen Shan said, "Oh no, if we don't eat raw, cold, or spicy food when we go out, what's the fun in that?"
Lin Yue patted Shen Anyan's shoulder: "It's okay, it's okay, just watch us eat."
Shen Anyan: ...
They went to a popular rotating hot pot restaurant in a nearby mall for dinner. The dishes were varied and delicious. While He Qingtian wasn't paying attention, Shen Anyan secretly ate a few pieces of iced lychees.
Lin Yue happily ate a handful of grilled skewers. Halfway through the meal, she sent Jiang Xiaosong a photo of them eating hot pot, which provoked Jiang Xiaosong to send a long list of complaints.
The little pine tree by the river: The villain succeeds! The villain succeeds!
Eager to try: Do you want to eat it?
Small pine tree by the river:[wink]
Little pine tree by the river: Mom, I want to eat~
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