Chapter 24: Give Me Another Smile~
Chapter 24: Give Me Another Smile~
Chapter 24: Give Me Another Smile~
Seeing Yu Wanrou's expression grow solemn, the captain knew he had successfully communicated his point. However, he still decided to give another reminder, saying, "Your daughter is still very young, so you must pay attention to her safety. You, too, should be careful, Ma'am."
"I understand." Yu Wanrou nodded. "Thank you for the reminder. I will be careful."
After the exchange ended, the two walked back the way they came from. Tang Yu, hiding in a dark corner, hurriedly pretended to shake water off her hands, acting as if she had just come out of the restroom. Then, she returned to the corridor outside the operating room alongside Yu Wanrou.
When they returned to the operating room, two nurses just so happened to be pushing Tang Zhengyang out of the operating room and to the intensive care ward nearby. The soldiers outside the operating room tried to follow the nurses when they saw this, but the captain stopped them before they could do so. Then, the captain shook his head and sternly said, "Our bodies are filthy. We'll come back tomorrow once we get cleaned."
The soldiers looked at each other for a moment. Then, they obediently returned to their positions and awaited further orders from the captain.
"We'll be taking our leave first, Ma'am. We'll come back tomorrow to see Old Tang," the captain said before leaving the hospital with his team members.
...
Yu Wanrou looked at her unconscious husband through the intensive care ward's window, the tips of her fingers leaving faint marks on the window as they weakly slid down. After letting out an anguished chuckle, Yu Wanrou turned around and pulled out her phone to make a call.
"Tang-Tang!"
Yin Zhao-an darted to Tang Yu's side and hugged Tang Yu's waist, a sobbing expression on her face as she said, "Tang-Tang... I waited for you for a long time after class but never saw you... I thought you didn't want to care about me anymore..."
Several patients and nurses passing by turned their heads around when they heard Yin Zhao-an's cry.
Tang Yu felt embarrassed by Yin Zhao-an's antics, and she hurriedly gestured for Yin Zhao-an to keep quiet.
Probably realizing that she had just made a fool out of herself, Yin Zhao-an decided to simply bury her head into Tang Yu's chest and rubbed her head against it, her actions ruffling up her short hair.
"How is Old Tang?" Yin Changcheng, standing next to Yu Wanrou, asked as he looked at Tang Zhengyang lying unconscious on a hospital bed in the intensive care ward.
"The doctor says he can move to the normal ward tomorrow," Yu Wanrou answered. Then, she turned to look at the two hugging children, a hint of affection appearing in her eyes as she said, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to trouble you with Little Yu, Brother Yin. Old Tang needs my care."
After a soft sigh, Yin Changcheng patted Yu Wanrou on the shoulder and said, "Everything will be fine, so don't worry too much. You can count on us to take care of Little Yu."
"Thank you."
Tang Yu didn't dare to push Yin Zhao-an away. It'd be terrible if Yin Zhao-an tripped and got injured. So, she could only put up with this situation and put her hands on her sides to have as little physical contact with Yin Zhao-an as possible.
Tang Yu had listened to every word exchanged between the two adults. From their words, she could roughly guess where she would stay for the foreseeable future.
After Yu Wanrou and Yin Changcheng exchanged a few more words, Yin Changcheng approached Tang Yu and crouched down to meet her eyes. Then, he smiled gently and said, "Little Yu, let's go to Uncle's house later, okay? I'll have An-An keep you company."
Although Tang Yu knew she couldn't avoid staying over at the Yin family's house, she still turned to Yu Wanrou first to seek her mother's opinion. After all, she was a good child. It wasn't in her personality to take the initiative to play with others.
After seeing Yu Wanrou giving her a gentle nod, Tang Yu obediently responded to Yin Changcheng, "Okay."
Yin Zhao-an, still unaware of the adults' plans for her bedroom, remained clinging to Tang Yu. Despite being much taller than Tang Yu, she didn't behave like she was the taller of the two at all. When Yin Changcheng saw Yin Zhao-an's behavior, he couldn't help but give his daughter a soft kick in the foot out of disgust.
While Yu Wanrou returned home to pack the things she needed to stay at the hospital, Yin Changcheng brought the two girls to the hospital's canteen for a quick meal. Then, they sat by the entrance of the intensive care unit and waited.
Yin Changcheng recalled the past as he leaned back against the chair, these distant memories filling his heart with various emotions. There was a time when he, too, laid in an intensive care ward.
Perhaps, at the time, Wang Zhen had also been waiting outside the ward. Without knowing what had happened, she had probably dashed to the hospital after receiving a call about his encounter and anxiously waited for the doctor to bring her sad or happy news about his surgery. Despite being used to seeing death, Wang Zhen broke into tears that day.
Fortunately, he survived the ordeal. Though due to how severe the injuries he suffered to his leg ligaments, it was highly likely he would suffer from sequelae, which turned out to be true as he was now prone to joint pain whenever it started to rain.
Yin Changcheng let out a helpless sigh. It would have been great if his child was a boy. His child could have stepped onto the battlefield to defend the country and punish evil. Unfortunately...
Yin Zhao-an, who rested her head on Tang Yu's shoulder, suffered another kick to her food. Taking full advantage of the opportunity, she feigned surprise and looked at Tang Yu with aggrieved eyes while crying to Tang Yu for a hug.
It was already nearing the afternoon when Yu Wanrou returned. Looking at Yin Zhao-an apologetically, Yu Wanrou said, "Have I kept An-An from her class?"
"She's fine," Yin Changcheng said, waving his hand. "Little Yu also has to go to class, right? I'll send them to school first and bring Little Yu straight to my place in the evening."
Yu Wanrou gave Yin Changcheng a look of gratitude. Then, she gently stroked Tang Yu's head and said, "Little Yu, be a good girl and don't give Uncle Yin any trouble, okay?"
"I'll be good, Mommy. I won't make trouble for Uncle Yin," Tang Yu said, curving her lips and revealing a bright smile, the smile soothing Yu Wanrou's anxious heart.
Yin Zhao-an's eyes widened in disbelief when she saw this smile. It was as if she had just discovered a new continent.
...
On the way back to school...
"Tang-Tang~ Tang-Tang~ Give me another smile~"
Tang Yu desperately pushed Yin Zhao-an away from her while rubbing the goosebumps covering her arms, very close to shouting, "Get the hell away from me."
Yin Changcheng, on the other hand, didn't find anything wrong with this scene. On the contrary, he felt that the two children were quite close.