Chapter 62: Let’s Get Married
Su Zhaozhao was surprised to see Xie Huaizheng had come as well. "Aren’t you resting at noon?"
’She’d had plenty of sleep, seeing as she didn’t get out of bed until noon.’
’But for someone like Xie Huaizheng, who gets up at the crack of dawn to train, wouldn’t he collapse during afternoon training if he didn’t take a nap?’
"It’s fine," Xie Huaizheng said. "I’m just skipping my nap."
’Su Zhaozhao couldn’t help but admire Xie Huaizheng. He was just a person with incredibly high energy.’
’It would be nice if she were like Xie Huaizheng. In reality, she could be like that when she was busy, but when things were slow, she’d sleep for as long as she possibly could.’
After lunch, they went to Jiang Shulan’s hospital room.
Su Zhaozhao took two apples out of her bag.
"I even brought him some fruit."
’The apples from her space, aside from being fresh, had another property: eating one could stabilize a person’s emotions and inexplicably cheer them up a bit.’
’Su Zhaozhao had tested this herself. While the effect wasn’t huge, even a little bit of help was enough.’
’She had to pull Jiang Shulan out of this depressive state as quickly as possible.’
Xie Huaizheng glanced at the apples in Su Zhaozhao’s hand and frowned. "Where did you get these apples?"
"I bought them at a roadside stall. They’re very fresh."
After she spoke, something clicked. Su Zhaozhao looked up at Xie Huaizheng. While his expression seemed normal, she could clearly see the aversion in his eyes.
’Sure enough, just as Zhou Xiaoyun said, Xie Huaizheng hated apples.’
’But he was quite stoic about it, not letting it show on his face at all.’
"What’s with that expression? Don’t you eat apples?" Su Zhaozhao asked, feigning casualness.
"Mhm," Xie Huaizheng said. "Can I sit in the room and observe while you talk to Shu Lang?"
"You can, but you can’t make a sound. Just sit in the corner," Su Zhaozhao said.
’She knew the environment was crucial for therapy.’
’Especially for someone like Jiang Shulan.’
"Okay," Xie Huaizheng said.
The two entered the room, and Xie Huaizheng sat in the corner. He watched as Su Zhaozhao’s entire demeanor shifted in an instant.
"Shu Lang, I brought you an apple today. Why don’t you try it? It was just picked from the tree. I washed it, and it’s very fresh."
As she spoke, Su Zhaozhao handed the apple to Jiang Shulan.
When Jiang Shulan didn’t take it, Su Zhaozhao gently took his hand and placed the apple in his palm.
Then, she smiled. "See? Isn’t it a nice, big apple? So fresh and plump. Now, give it a sniff. What do you think of the fragrance?"
She held the apple up close to Jiang Shulan’s face.
’No one could resist an apple this fresh and fragrant—unless they were like Xie Huaizheng, who hated them.’
’And most people don’t hate apples.’
As Jiang Shulan inhaled the apple’s scent, he couldn’t help but say, "That smells wonderful."
Su Zhaozhao’s eyes crinkled into a smile. "Then go on, have a taste. Is it good?"
Jiang Shulan took a bite of the apple, and Su Zhaozhao knew she had achieved her goal.
Sure enough, after one bite, Jiang Shulan’s eyes lit up. "It’s delicious."
"Then go ahead and finish it."
This was, in fact, a therapeutic technique: divert the patient’s attention so they have no time to dwell on their trauma, and instead focus on something pleasant in the here and now.
Meanwhile, Xie Huaizheng watched Su Zhaozhao from the side, his dark eyes narrowed slightly.
The light from the window fell on Su Zhaozhao, shadows and highlights dancing over her and creating a soft halo around her.
’She was as beautiful as an angel.’
’He wasn’t superstitious, but at this very moment, he felt Su Zhaozhao was incredibly close to what people might call divine.’
’Gentle, and filled with compassion for all things.’
After finishing the apple, Jiang Shulan felt his mood improve significantly under Su Zhaozhao’s soothing presence.
"Shu Lang, how are you feeling today?"
"Pretty good," Jiang Shulan said.
"See? Heh," Su Zhaozhao chuckled. "Have you been secretly crying?"
Xie Huaizheng was taken aback. He never expected Su Zhaozhao to tease Jiang Shulan.
’He’d heard that Jiang Shulan was the quiet, taciturn type even on a good day. After something this traumatic, the blow was so great that he’d become even more unwilling to speak.’
’And yet, Su Zhaozhao actually dared to speak to him like this!’
But to everyone’s surprise, Jiang Shulan actually laughed. "Yeah, I cried. But what can I do about it? You were right—whether I get better is all up to me."
"That’s okay. If you want to cry, just cry. Don’t feel bad about it. You can do whatever you want right now."
Xie Huaizheng froze for a moment, listening to Su Zhaozhao comfort Jiang Shulan in such an unconventional way.
’He was suddenly reminded of his past self from long ago.’
’Back then, how long had it been since he’d enlisted?’
’A year? Or maybe only eight or nine months... he couldn’t quite remember.’
’After what happened, he had returned and remained frighteningly calm. Everyone admired him for it.’
’But only he knew that during that period, he had barely slept at all.’
’The moment he closed his eyes, the scenes would play back. But he constantly told himself to be strong. He was a man. He couldn’t be afraid.’
’If someone like Su Zhaozhao had been there to comfort him back then, would he have moved on by now, after all these years?’
’But he hadn’t moved on...’
「In the blink of an eye, an hour was over.」
Jiang Shulan now trusted Su Zhaozhao completely. He had even told her about his family, including what his parents did for work, their ages, and where they lived.
In turn, Su Zhaozhao told Jiang Shulan about some of the fun things she had encountered.
Once the therapy session was over, she relaxed and spoke with Jiang Shulan as a friend.
"I’ll come see you again tomorrow," Su Zhaozhao said to Jiang Shulan with a smile.
"Okay."
Su Zhaozhao walked out of the hospital room with Xie Huaizheng following behind her.
Su Zhaozhao walked ahead of Xie Huaizheng, saying over her shoulder, "Camp Commander Xie, it’s getting late. Shouldn’t you be heading back? I still have to go help the other patients."
’The others weren’t in as bad a state as Jiang Shulan. Three or four days of treatment should be enough for them to emerge from the shadow of their trauma.’
However, in the next moment, Su Zhaozhao was suddenly pulled back.
Xie Huaizheng had pulled her completely into his embrace.
This was the intensive care ward of the military hospital. With no one around, they didn’t have to worry about being seen.
At this moment, Xie Huaizheng simply held Su Zhaozhao quietly.
His tall frame almost completely enveloped her.
This wasn’t the first time Xie Huaizheng had held her, but it still made her heart race.
"What’s wrong?" Su Zhaozhao could feel a strange aura emanating from Xie Huaizheng; it wasn’t happiness.
But it wasn’t exactly sadness, either.
It was just a quiet sorrow, a fleeting pang of grief that she managed to catch.
’She knew he was definitely hiding some heavy secrets.’
He remained silent, quietly inhaling the scent of jasmine from her. It was a pleasant smell, one that put him at ease.
After a long moment, Xie Huaizheng released her. He said to Su Zhaozhao, "Su Zhaozhao, let’s get married."