Chapter 2 Stunning

  Lying on the bed in the hotel room, Cong Ye thought and thought, and suddenly fell asleep. When he woke up, it was already dusk on a summer day. So he got out of bed, washed his face simply, and went to the street to ask passersby about the location of Ri Zhai Xiang, and strolled over.

  When he was in the army, he had occasionally heard his squad leader, Zhi Xiaokang, mention that his sister's clinic was located on Rizhao Alley, but he didn't know the name of the clinic. After arriving at Rizhao Alley, Congye walked along the narrow alleyway, observing the shops on either side while guessing what the clinic might look like. About halfway down the alley, he finally spotted a clinic with a sign above the door that read "Qingcheng Medical Hall" in four large gold characters on a black background. Congye didn't understand why it was called this name - was it because his sister-in-law was too beautiful, or for some other reason?

  Standing across from the Qīng Chéng Medical Clinic, Cong Ye observed carefully for a while. The clinic was very small, only about ten square meters, with one table and two chairs inside. Against the back wall, there was a small bed similar to a military cot, with an iron frame welded at the head of the bed that seemed to be prepared for patients receiving intravenous fluids. There were no patients in the clinic at this time, only a doctor wearing a white coat sitting behind the table, constantly looking down at a book on the desk. Judging from the long hair tied back behind her head, she should be a young woman. Cong Ye wondered if it might be Zhì Xiǎo Kāng's widow?

  After a long time, seeing someone approaching the clinic, the young woman who had been lowering her head to read finally raised it. In an instant, under the bright light of the clinic, Cong Ye's eyes were stunned. Is there such a beautiful woman in the world? Could she be the one that Long has been pining for, his own sister-in-law?

  Cong Ye stood under the wall opposite the clinic, staring intently at the scene unfolding inside. The young female doctor saw someone enter and immediately stood up, seemingly asking a question to the person who entered, but Cong Ye couldn't hear her voice from where he was standing. However, he caught sight of the light blue sweater with a greyish-white collar peeking out from under the white coat's neckline. A flawless face shone brightly in the light, with a milky glow. The slender neck, supported by the light blue sweater, stood out even more prominently. Her long hair was tied back and slanted to one side, resting on her left shoulder, with the ends just touching her full chest. Not only did the young woman have an impeccable appearance and figure, but she also exuded a unique aura in every gesture, which made Cong Ye's heart beat faster even from across the street.

  Cong Ye, who had been a scout, couldn't see the doctor's lower body blocked by the table, but he could still guess his height, which should be between 1.65 and 1.7 meters. At this time, Cong Ye also saw clearly the appearance of the man who entered the clinic. He was a refined and courteous middle-aged man, about 40 years old, wearing glasses, with short hair that was slightly curly. His hands were crossed on his abdomen, his eyes fixed on the doctor opposite him, and he kept talking.

  At first, the female doctor's face was still full of harmony, but as the man continued to speak, her expression gradually sank, until she impatiently raised her hand and interrupted his speech. She then made a gesture asking the man to leave, and Cong Ye couldn't help but wonder if that beautiful and elegant young woman was really the leader's lover? And why did she show impatience towards the man who had just entered?

  Congye couldn't bear it anymore, and he rushed to the clinic. The street was less than five meters wide, and Congye had only taken two steps when he arrived at the center of the street. Suddenly, four agile figures darted out from a dark alley on the east side, rushing past Congye and bursting into the clinic. As soon as the four people entered the clinic, they started fighting without saying a word. Chairs, tables, and even the small bed by the wall were all overturned in an instant. Congye noticed that the young and beautiful female doctor simply pointed at the five people in front of her, but didn't say a single word.

  Congye didn't have time to distinguish whether the female doctor was his late wife or not, he rushed into the clinic in a few steps and shouted:

  "Halt!"

  "Who do you think you are? Get out of here."

  Four people who rushed in later heard the words of the middle-aged man who entered first, and immediately surrounded Congye. Although he had been a scout for three years and had practiced hand-to-hand combat, it was clear that two fists were no match for four hands. Congye used all his skills, but he was not a match for the four men. Intuitively, Congye knew that the four people were well-trained and not ordinary gangsters. Although it had not been confirmed, Congye had already determined that the young female doctor in front of him should be the leader's lover, because there could not be another Qincheng Clinic in the entire Rizhao Alley. For this reason, Congye did not retreat and fought with the four men.

  It was clear that the five people who had entered the clinic earlier were also afraid of making a big deal, to the point where they would call the police. Under the command of the middle-aged man who had arrived first, they launched a fierce attack on Cong Ye. Cong Ye, who no longer had the strength to fight back, clearly heard the voice of his acknowledged sister-in-law in his ear:

  "How can you be like this? Five of you ganging up on one person, don't you have any shame?"

  In that case, it was completely useless for the group of people facing Cong Ye. This was also the last sentence Cong Ye heard that night, because immediately afterwards, a chair wielded by one of them struck him heavily on the back of his head, and Cong Ye instantly lost consciousness.

  Congye woke up on the second morning, and as soon as he opened his eyes, he saw the woman he recognized as his sister-in-law sitting beside him. Congye took a look around the room and found that he was in a hospital ward. Just as he wanted to sit up, his head suddenly spun and he fell back onto the pillow.

  "Don't move, you suffered a brainstem injury yesterday, which is the cerebellum, so you temporarily lost control over your body balance."

  Cong Ye's heart skipped a beat, losing control of his body balance. Wasn't that saying he was already a useless person?

  "Are you Cong Ye? Zhi Xiaokang's comrade?"

  "Are you really my sister-in-law?"

  "Did you come here just to see me?"

  "Yes, sister-in-law. Because I didn't know if that was your clinic or not, I just observed from outside for a while and didn't expect to encounter such a thing. Sister-in-law, am I already a useless person?"

  "Don't worry, it's just a temporary loss of control over bodily balance, and it can be recovered."

  Congye stopped talking and closed her eyes. In her heart, she thought that she had originally come to protect her sister-in-law, but instead became a burden on her sister-in-law. No matter what, she must think of a way to leave and absolutely cannot drag her sister-in-law down.

  "I saw your ID in your pocket yesterday and found out that you're Cong Ye. Xiao Zhi mentioned you many times in his letters, so I remembered your name. Don't lose heart, as long as you actively cooperate with the treatment, you can recover as soon as possible."

  "Sister-in-law, my luggage is all in the hotel room and the money is also in the luggage. I'll go get it back soon, so as not to trouble you anymore. You still have a clinic to take care of, and Auntie also needs you."

  "I'll get your luggage later, you can't walk on your own yet. Mom passed away a year ago. The clinic is closed for two days, it's okay."

  "What?!"

  "Originally, my mother's body was weak. When the news of Xiaozhi's sacrifice came, she was hospitalized in the ICU that day and after more than three months of rescue, the old man finally passed away."

  Suddenly, the atmosphere in the ward became silent. After a long time, Cong Ye asked:

  "How is your younger sister?"

  "It's all right, just one more year and I'll be graduating from university."

  Although Cong Ye didn't dare to look directly at his sister-in-law sitting on the bed, the corner of his eye still allowed him to see her clearly. His sister-in-law was still wearing the light blue sweater with a grayish-white small collar that he had seen last night, but her long hair, which had been tied back behind her head, was now loose and scattered down her back. She wore a pair of pale white seven-eighth pants on her lower body, and a pair of dark red leather sandals on her bare feet. As she breathed, the medicinal smell in the hospital room was mixed with a faint, sweet fragrance like orchid or musk, Cong Ye knew that it must be coming from his sister-in-law's body.

  What made Cong Ye most embarrassed was that when eating, Cong Ye's hand holding the steamed bun couldn't accurately find his own mouth. He could only be guided by his sister-in-law, who fed him mouthful by mouthful.

  "Sister-in-law, I can go."

  "Don't be stubborn, you're completely unable to take care of yourself right now and need someone to look after you. I'm a doctor, I understand this much better than you."

  Sister-in-law said in an unquestionable tone. Congye had no choice but to listen obediently, and now he really couldn't even do simple things like eating. However, the depression in Congye's heart was understandable. It's really that nine out of ten things in life don't go as planned, and the object of care and being cared for suddenly turned around, which is something that Congye's inner self cannot accept. If he had known it would be like this, he might as well not have come at all.

  "Sister-in-law, since it's a brain stem injury and staying in the hospital won't make much of a difference, I'll just go to the hotel instead."

  Congye knew that the little money he had on him would probably not be enough to cover two weeks of medical expenses. It was already a great trouble to ask his sister-in-law to take care of him, and if she had to pay for his medical expenses as well, Congye wouldn't be able to rest easy at all.

  "We haven't processed your hospitalization yet, this is the emergency room of the hospital. After the doctor comes on duty later, we will conduct a thorough examination again. If there's nothing unusual, you can temporarily stay in the clinic for now."