60. The Baby Is Safe

Erhu rushed back from the nurses’ station with a borrowed wheelchair. He helped Jiang Yan sit in it and was about to push him out, acting as anxious as if he were the one about to see his wife.

Jiang Yan grabbed the doorframe, barely steadying himself. “Wait, help me change my clothes first, and then get a basin of water for me to wash my face.”

“What time is it, Brother Jiang? And you’re still thinking about your appearance,” Erhu exclaimed dramatically, unable to understand.

He had been on standby at the hospital twenty-four hours a day, practically providing ‘personal’ care, and had clearly witnessed another side of Captain Jiang beyond his usual calm and composure. Although shocked, he could understand. His wife of just one year had been abducted by inhumane drug traffickers and was missing. The kidnappers had sent provocative and threatening videos, yet he himself couldn’t move, stuck in a hospital bed waiting for news. Who wouldn’t be anxious?

Now that she was found, Captain Jiang should be even more urgent. Why was he still thinking about changing clothes?

“She’ll be sad if she sees me like this.”

Jiang Yan’s leg was in a cast, and the bloodshot in his eyes was alarming. His injuries couldn’t be hidden at all, but at least he could be clean.

Hearing him say that, Erhu felt a strange pang of sadness. He quickly helped Jiang Yan shave and change clothes.

There was a distance between the inpatient department and the outpatient building. The wheelchair wheels rolled over the gravel, making a faint, crunching sound. Patients and doctors came and went. Erhu was saying something behind him, but Jiang Yan seemed not to hear, his brows tightly furrowed, his knuckles white as he gripped the wheelchair armrests.

Finally, they reached the doctor’s office. They had already contacted them in advance. All the police comrades who had escorted Lin Xingzi to the hospital were in the corridor. Erhu knew Jiang Yan was anxious. After steadying the wheelchair, he greeted them and stepped forward to knock on the door.

Almost as soon as his hand touched the doorknob, the door opened from within, and a figure rushed into his embrace.

Erhu stumbled backward half a step from the impact, his waist tightly hugged.

The air seemed to still.

Two of the police officers nearby were the ones who had come to Jiang Yan earlier to register information. Their gazes darted between the three people, growing more confused as they watched, wondering, Whose wife is this, exactly?

“...”

Erhu shivered. He didn’t dare move, his hands rigidly at his sides, subtly feeling two cold, scrutinizing gazes from behind him.

Brother Jiang, I’m innocent. Your wife really made the first move!

“Sister-in-law... I, I’m Erhu.”

“Brother Jiang is behind you...”

Lin Xingzi looked up into Erhu’s embarrassed gaze, momentarily dazed for a few seconds. Once Erhu had his freedom, he quickly moved aside, and only then did she see Jiang Yan, who had been completely blocked by Erhu.

Until this moment, she truly felt the relief of surviving a calamity.

“Well... I’m going to the pharmacy to get medicine,” Erhu quickly slipped away.

The police comrades needed Lin Xingzi’s cooperation for the statement, but only if her physical condition was stable. After safely handing her over to her family and the doctor, they temporarily left.

Lin Xingzi had several bloody scratches on her face, and the mud around her mouth was dry and cracked. Her exposed wrists were bruised and swollen, and there were clear ligature marks on her neck. Two bits of dried grass were tangled in her messy hair, and she had lost one shoe; the slippers the police temporarily found for her were much too big.

The doctor in the office had been called away, leaving only Jiang Yan in the corridor.

When there were outsiders, she didn’t care, but now that they were alone, she became flustered. She stood at the door, staring unblinkingly at his legs covered by a blanket, her eyes slowly reddening.

“Don’t be afraid, it’s not serious. It’s similar to when you fractured your bone cycling before. A bit more rest, and you’ll be able to walk again,” Jiang Yan gently comforted her, opening his arms.

Afraid she wouldn’t believe him, he forced a smile, though his heart was shattered.

Lin Xingzi buried her head in his embrace, her voice choked. “You’re lying.”

“Really,” Jiang Yan didn’t know where else her body hurt besides the superficial wounds. He gently stroked her hair, not daring to apply force, not even breathing too heavily. “You had one leg fractured back then; you could barely walk with a crutch. I have two legs, so I can only use a wheelchair temporarily. I’m not lying.”

She knelt on the ground.

“Jiang Jiang.”

“Hmm?”

“Stand up, the floor is cold. Let the doctor treat your wounds first. Tomorrow...”

She didn’t know she was pregnant.

And Jiang Yan didn’t know if the small life connecting her and him in her belly was still alive.

“Tomorrow, we’ll get a thorough check-up after we return to Haishi.”

Lin Xingzi was a little nervous. “What about you?”

She looked up, and Jiang Yan saw her tear-filled eyes, shimmering in the light, silently and unreservedly peeling away her soft, vulnerable side from the dry grass.

“Of course, I’m going back with you.”

Receiving a definite answer, Lin Xingzi finally sighed in relief but still clutched Jiang Yan’s clothes tightly.

Jiang Yan leaned down and whispered something in her ear. His dry hand turned to hold hers, placing it inside his clothes to warm it.

Before Jiang Yan arrived, the doctor had already disinfected the cut on Lin Xingzi’s wrist from the razor blade. Compared to other areas, the wrist injury was the most severe; a slight deviation would have cut a blood vessel. During the disinfection, she seemed not to feel any pain, and the doctor silently marveled at how strong the young girl was. However, now, when treating lighter wounds in other places, if he applied even a little more force, she would cry out in pain, her tears never stopping. The doctor broke into a cold sweat, almost thinking the male patient next to them was about to tip over the wheelchair.

Though the conditions were poor, basic equipment was available.

“Captain Jiang, the baby is safe. However, your wife was extremely frightened, caught a cold, and experienced some physical harm, so her condition is not ideal... But, it’s a blessing that the baby is safe. You don’t need to worry too much. Your wife’s health foundation isn’t as bad as you think. After you return, take good care of her...”

“Thank you, doctor.”

The sky was faintly blue. There was no heating in the room. Erhu went to the shop and bought a hot water bottle, filled it with hot water, and put it under the covers. Lin Xingzi, after relaxing, fell into a deep sleep. Jiang Yan held her hand, repeatedly kissing it to his lips. The emotions he had so desperately restrained and endured when he first saw her seemed to have burst open like a floodgate, surging and roaring like waves.

It turned out that all his past misfortunes were accumulating good fortune for her.

Erhu returned after buying dinner. The scene in the ward looked warm, yet it brought tears to his eyes.

The doctor helped add a bed to Jiang Yan’s room. Both of them were on IVs. Lin Xingzi had a small bottle of nutrient solution, which finished first. When the nurse removed the needle, she woke up, opening her eyes to fall into Jiang Yan’s deep, silent gaze. It was as if he had been watching her like that for a long time.

Erhu specifically went to a small restaurant and asked the owner to boil a pot of chicken soup. It was packed in an insulated lunchbox and was still steaming hot when opened two hours later. Lin Xingzi had a poor appetite but managed to drink a bowl.

After eating, she called Li Qing. In Lin Xingzi’s memory, her strong mother had never cried, yet she was already sobbing uncontrollably when she heard her daughter’s voice.

Lin Xingzi buried her face in the pillow. Jiang Yan took the phone from her hand, patiently comforting Li Qing for over ten minutes. After the call, Lin Xingzi’s half-face was nestled in the bedding, revealing a pair of damp eyes, silently looking at him.

After a long moment, Jiang Yan sighed helplessly in a low voice, yielding to her. “Come here.”

“Okay,” Lin Xingzi had been waiting for these words. After moving onto Jiang Yan’s bed, she covered herself with the blanket. “I won’t move. I won’t press on you.”

The hospital was filled with the smell of disinfectant. A faint scent of medicine, mixed with traces of a familiar scent, reassured her. Under the covers, she quietly snuggled a little closer into the man’s embrace.

The hospital bed wasn’t big. She only took up a small space. A slightly larger movement when turning over might cause her to fall.

Jiang Yan was immobile. He placed one arm under her neck for her to rest on, then held her.

“I lost my ring,” she mumbled.

Not just her wedding ring, all her valuables were gone.

As long as she was safe, Jiang Yan would give anything in return. “I’ll save up and buy you a new one.”

“...How long will that take?”

“I don’t spend money recklessly, and my salary isn’t small. I’ll save a bit more, and it’ll be enough.”