Chapter 7: Unenlightened

Regardless of whether Qingqing Shen was willing or not, she was taken to the hospital.

An X-ray examination was done.

In the doctor's office, Zhixun Jiang sat upright beside Qingqing Shen.

After reviewing the images, the doctor took the initiative to ask about the situation. “Her arm is in severe pain. Is there any bone injury?”

Although Qingqing Shen neither cried nor complained, from the stiffness of her right hand, Zhixun Jiang could tell the problem was serious.

“No bone was broken,” the doctor first offered them reassurance.

Then he added, “But Comrade Shen has a severe ligament strain. She needs to take her medication on time and rest well during this period.”

A thoughtful look flashed in Zhixun Jiang’s eyes. How could she have a strain when there was no apparent reason? He knew exactly how much force he had used; it shouldn’t have caused injury to Qingqing Shen.

Could something have happened on the way here?

He wanted to ask for clarity but the setting was inappropriate, so he suppressed his doubts for the time being.

The diagnosis was similar to Qingqing Shen’s own assessment: the injury wasn’t severe and would heal with rest.

After thanking the doctor, Qingqing Shen left the office first, not even glancing at the man beside her.

Zhixun Jiang frowned and followed behind her.

He saw her holding the slip to pay and collect medicine.

With long strides, he caught up and snatched the slip from her hand.

“I’ll go.”

Qingqing Shen didn’t want to argue over such trivial matters. She cast a cool glance at Zhixun Jiang and sat down on a bench by the corridor.

Her right hand rested on her lap, the left unconsciously fiddling with the buttons of her coat.

Head bowed, lost in thought.

She had resisted persistently when coming to the hospital but now seemed suddenly subdued, which surprised Zhixun Jiang.

Looking at her again, he noticed her complexion was off.

Her cheeks were flushed, breathing heavy.

Her grip on the slip tightened, and an expression of inner conflict appeared in Zhixun Jiang’s eyes.

Finally, he squatted before Qingqing Shen and reached out to feel her forehead.

She was dazed and didn’t pull away in time.

Only when warm, dry hands touched her forehead did she realize what Zhixun Jiang was doing.

If this had been before, she would have been delighted by such an action.

But now, she felt suffocated.

It was precisely because Zhixun Jiang had once been so good to her that she developed feelings she shouldn’t have.

Over these three years, she neither dared to go to the northwest to find Zhixun Jiang and live properly with him, nor dared to mention divorce and walk away freely.

She feared their relationship would truly fall apart beyond repair.

Qingqing Shen leaned back to avoid his hand on her forehead.

Tears inexplicably welled and streamed down her face.

“Can you stop bothering me?”

Her voice was still hoarse, which weakened the force of her rejection.

At the cafeteria earlier, Zhixun Jiang hadn’t thought much of it, assuming the three years apart and the cold weather had affected her voice.

His sharp gaze landed on the damp trail of tears.

Her eyes were red, the tip of her nose too.

She looked pitiful and fragile.

Zhixun Jiang told himself she was ill, injured, and that it was normal for her to be irritable.

He shouldn’t take it personally.

“Where else hurts?”

Qingqing Shen felt like a clown. She vented her emotions, but Zhixun Jiang remained indifferent.

He asked caring questions, yet his eyes were calm.

To him, she was no different from a stranger.

She could not stir his emotions at all!

After waiting three seconds without a word from Qingqing Shen, Zhixun Jiang lost patience.

“Not going to say? Then let the doctor check again.”

This time, he didn’t try to lead her by the hand. Instead, he lifted her up horizontally.

He re-registered and carried Qingqing Shen to the appropriate department.

She had a fever, and although resting at the guesthouse had helped somewhat, she was not fully recovered.

After the trip outside, her fever returned.

It was quite severe, so she was admitted for intravenous treatment.

Zhixun Jiang ran around, paying fees and fetching medicine.

In the end, he even bought her two steamed buns, simply because she hadn’t finished her meal earlier.

The better Zhixun Jiang treated her, the more suffocated Qingqing Shen felt.

Especially when others in the ward looked at her with envy, making her feel ungrateful.

Zhixun Jiang had given her everything.

Marriage.

Money.

He gave all he could, except coming home.

Yet she still talked about divorce. If that wasn’t ungrateful, what was?

Seeing her suddenly cry again without warning, Zhixun Jiang frowned.

“Does something hurt?”

Compared to his coldness when they first met, he was now relatively gentle.

Qingqing Shen shook her head.

Since arriving in the northwest to see Zhixun Jiang, she had become less and less like herself.

Crying at the slightest provocation, not only Zhixun Jiang but even she herself found it annoying.

Closing her eyes to pretend to sleep, moist tears continued to flow unceasingly from the corners.

Zhixun Jiang didn’t know what was wrong with her.

He pursed his lips and stood silently by her bed, staring at her.

The woman in the next bed couldn’t bear it and spoke up.

“Your wife must be uncomfortable. You should comfort her.”

The word “wife” made Zhixun Jiang uneasy.

He was married to Qingqing Shen but hadn’t spent a single day with her after the wedding.

Apart from the marriage certificate, their marriage was... nothing.

In the first few years after she came to the Jiang family, he had played the role of an older brother.

But being a husband was an entirely different matter.

Zhixun Jiang didn’t know how to comfort Qingqing Shen.

When the woman next door urged him again, he stiffly replied, “Once she feels better, she’ll stop crying naturally.”

The woman was speechless.

She had heard before that Captain Jiang flew planes excellently, but he was cold as ice.

She had thought it exaggerated, but seeing it now, it was true.

His wife was sick and crying pitifully, yet he could just stand there watching.

She must be a blockhead.

Glancing at the lunchbox on the table, she saw two plump white steamed buns inside.

The woman hadn’t eaten a single bite.

The woman thought, if you can’t sweet-talk someone, buying food is useless.

When Qingqing Shen recovered, she’d probably only remember that he didn’t comfort her, not the two steamed buns.

Looking at Qingqing Shen’s closed eyes and unwillingness to look at Zhixun Jiang, the woman was even more convinced.

“Captain Jiang, your wife needs to be comforted. Look at her—fair-skinned, well-figured, such a beautiful woman. Can you bear to see her cry?”

Zhixun Jiang was silent for a moment.

His long fingers curled slightly and he touched the corner of Qingqing Shen’s eye with his knuckle.

He felt the wetness.

Like an electric shock, Zhixun Jiang immediately withdrew his hand.

A wave of indescribable emotions surged in his heart, and he hated the feeling.

Zhixun Jiang thought: Qingqing Shen must return to Beijing as soon as possible!