Chapter 318
He patted his mother's shoulder, comforting her, "Mom, I'm fine."
"How did you get here?"
"Your father said you went missing in the uninhabited zone. You really scared me to death! If something happened to you, how could I go on living!" Fu's mother cried, tears and mucus streaming down her face, completely losing her usual ladylike demeanor.
Fu Yang's voice was gentle, "There's no mission without danger. I'm fine now, aren't I? Don't cry anymore."
His change surprised both mother and daughter.
Fu Qianqian never knew her brother could be so gentle.
She was momentarily stunned: "Brother, what's wrong with you? You weren't like this before."
Fu Yang still maintained his calm tone, "Me before?"
Fu Qianqian nodded emphatically, "Yes, your face used to be meaner than shit."
Fu Yang: "..."
Zhou Yueshen had a fractured leg. No matter how tough a man is, at a time like this, he could only lie still obediently.
Si Nian arrived at the hospital carrying bone soup and heard a familiar voice from the next room.
At first, she thought she misheard.
Otherwise, why would she hear Fu Qianqian's voice here?
So, she instinctively and curiously peeked her head towards the room and glanced inside.
Just in time to hear Fu Qianqian say, "Yes, your face used to be meaner than shit."
Si Nian: "..."
She knew Fu Yang was staying in the hospital but hadn't paid attention to exactly where.
Fu Yang was narcissistic enough on his own, and to prevent him from getting the wrong idea, Si Nian had deliberately kept to herself, focusing only on her own affairs.
She hadn't mentioned him to Zhou Yueshen either.
But she never expected him to be just on the other side of the wall.
Thinking about how Zhou Yueshen had been whispering sweet nothings to her in the room these past few days...
She thought it was because they hadn't seen each other for too long.
But now: Hah...
This secretly sentimental old man.
Si Nian didn't look further, withdrew her gaze, and entered the room.
The injuries on Zhou Yueshen's upper body were healing quickly. Apart from the wounds on his waist and abdomen, bandages had been removed from many places after just a few days, though the scars were still quite shocking.
After a few days of rest, coupled with having his wife and children by his side, the old man's complexion didn't look like someone who often stayed up late at all. He looked very well, clearly someone in robust health.
He was currently sitting by the bed, holding a small handkerchief and wiping the face of a drowsy Yaoyao.
Si Nian found it troublesome to bring the children back and forth, so she usually went home alone, leaving the kids for Zhou Yueshen to look after.
Fortunately, there was another bed in the ward, where the Eldest Child, the Second Child, and Yaoyao slept at night.
During the day, Yaoyao also napped a lot. She would fall asleep on Zhou Yueshen after playing until she was tired. She had just woken up from her nap and was sitting on the bed, rubbing her eyes with her chubby little hands.
The Eldest Child and the Second Child were sitting nearby doing their homework, one serious, the other daydreaming.
Seeing Si Nian arrive, Xiao Han was the first to dash over, very thoughtfully helping Si Nian carry the lunchbox.
"Mom, Mom, I've finished all my homework. I can write from one to one hundred now. If you don't believe me, ask Dad."
Zhou Yueshen finished wiping his daughter's face, heard this, and looked at Si Nian.
"Xiao Han is doing much better than before."
Praised by his dad, Xiao Han unconsciously puffed out his chest, his nose practically pointing to the sky.
Si Nian ruffled the little one's head, "I stewed some bone soup. Drink it while it's hot." She took out bowls and chopsticks for everyone, then asked Zhou Yueshen, "Did the doctor say when you can be discharged?"
Zhou Yueshen nodded, "In a couple more days. Can't wait to leave?"
Staying in the hospital room every day wasn't ideal.
Si Nian shook her head. Hearing Zhou Yueshen say he could be discharged early, she thought it better to wait until he recovered a bit more.
Just as they were all drinking the rich and fragrant bone soup, Wang Jianguo walked in, one arm in a sling, tall and burly like a bear.
He was even a few inches taller than Zhou Yueshen.
He lumbered in, his nose twitching, "I knew it! I smelled meat from way down the hall. I was wondering when the cafeteria started cooking such delicious food. So it's you, sneaking a feast all by yourself!"
As soon as he entered, the entire room felt cramped.
Si Nian turned to look at him. He seemed quite injured as well. He was very tall and large. She considered herself not very short, but at this moment, she still felt he was like a giant.
The Second Child had already exaggeratedly opened his mouth into an 'O' shape.
He thought the tallest, biggest man he had ever seen was his dad.
He never imagined there could be someone even taller and burlier than Dad.
He was stunned. So cool!
Could he become this tall and mighty in the future?
"Is this your wife and your three kids?" Wang Jianguo, upon entering, met the gazes of the children and Si Nian. He stopped in his tracks, scratching his buzz cut.
Zhou Yueshen gave a slight nod, seemingly already accustomed to his familiar tone.
He didn't pay him much mind, instead introducing him to Si Nian beside him, "Nian Nian, this is Wang Jianguo, my former comrade-in-arms. He's not a good guy, don't bother with him."
Wang Jianguo: "... Over a decade of good brotherhood, and that's how you introduce me?"
Si Nian couldn't help but laugh. She didn't expect Zhou Yueshen to have such a love-hate friend in the military.
Although Zhou Yueshen said not to bother with him, if he truly disliked the man, he wouldn't have bothered saying so much.
It seemed their relationship must be very good indeed.
Seeing the other man was also injured, he was probably one of the personnel involved in this mission.
Si Nian pulled over a stool, "Comrade Wang, please have a seat."
"Now that's what I call gracious!" Wang Jianguo snorted, pulling the stool and sitting down. The two of them were quite a pair—one with a broken leg, the other with a broken arm.
Si Nian got a bowl and served him some soup. Although it was bone soup, it also contained trotters, stewed until soft and glutinous, melting in the mouth.
Wang Jianguo had already been salivating. These past few days injured, he'd been eating steamed buns and cabbage.
Now his mouth was practically watering. He didn't stand on ceremony, thanked her, and took it.
He drank it down in two gulps, then chewed on the meat, smacking his lips, "Hiss~ This meat is stewed so tender. I've never had such delicious pig's trotters. Where did you buy them, sister?"
Si Nian said, "I stewed them myself. I thought since Yueshen hurt his bones, I should nourish him."
Wang Jianguo wanted another bowl but felt too embarrassed to ask. He could only stare at Zhou Yueshen with envy and jealousy, "Old Zhou, you're living the good life, no wonder you wouldn't come back even when we asked."
Wang Jianguo thought to himself, if it were me, I wouldn't come back either.
Even though they weren't his biological children, the fact that three kids traveled all this way to visit him showed how important he was in their hearts.
Not to mention having such a beautiful, young wife.
These past few days, although lying in his own ward, he had heard about Zhou Yueshen's wife and children visiting. They said Battalion Commander Zhou seemed like a changed man, revolving around his wife and sons every day, coaxing his daughter to sleep, coaxing his wife to sleep... It sounded downright unbelievable.
He refused to believe it, which is why he came over.
And got proven wrong.
Wang Jianguo was genuinely envious.
He was unmarried at his age. It wasn't that he had no interest in women, just that the person he liked didn't like him back.
And he didn't want to just marry anyone to make do. That wouldn't be fair to himself or the other person.
And so, time passed, and he was already in his thirties.
Seeing that former bachelor, who had once been even more single than himself, now settled with a wife, child, and a warm home, he couldn't help but feel a pang of envy.
It seemed that married life wasn't as difficult as he had imagined.
Meanwhile, Zhang Cuimei and Liu Dongdong had also arrived just outside the military compound.