Chapter Six: A Narrow Escape

  Like the old chief, elderly people who have gone through wars and seen through all kinds of hardships tend to be more calm and carefree in their attitude towards life, and as they get older, their temperament becomes more like that of a child.

  So often, Su Nianqing would coax Grandpa like a little kid, and the old man wouldn't mind, happily enjoying his good fortune with his children and grandchildren.

  "Girl, Grandpa doesn't know how much longer he can live. If he gets through this time, let's get your marriage settled, okay?" In the quiet ward, the sound of instruments could be heard from time to time. Su Nianqing was wiping the old man's dry lips with a cotton swab dipped in water, and when she heard these words, her hand holding the cotton swab obviously trembled slightly.

  "Your father passed away early, and your grandmother entrusted you to me. If Grandfather hadn't seen you get married, he would have died without a face to see her." The old man raised his amber-colored eyes to look at the ceiling, and let out a faint sigh.

  "Grandpa! Don't say that, the doctor said the surgery will be fine!" She was too sensitive to the word "death", and the bloody scene in her memory still made her shudder.

  "Don't change the subject, just agree with Grandpa. I think that young man from the Chu family is quite good, he has a good character, a good family background, and is young and promising. If you marry him, Grandpa will be at ease." The old chief patted her hand, his face full of satisfaction with the future grandson-in-law and anticipation for the union between the two families.

  When mentioning Chu Si Han, Su Nian Qing unconsciously softened her expression, and a hint of shyness appeared on her delicate face. After thinking for a moment, she nodded, "Grandfather, let's talk about this after you've finished your surgery, okay? At that time, I'll mention it to Si Han, after all, marriage is a big deal, and the parents of both sides should be in charge."

  "Alright, alright..." The old chief nodded reassuringly and didn't say anything more.

  After coaxing Old Master to sleep, Su Nianqing came out of the sickroom, leaned against the wall, and let out a soft sigh.

  As for the issue of marriage, she wasn't someone who hadn't thought about it, but in recent years, she had been busy with her career and Chu Sihan hadn't brought it up either. Even excessive romance and tenderness hadn't occurred between them, so she didn't know if he also had such thoughts.

  "Brother, if I were to marry Chu Si Han, would you agree?" Turning her head, Su Nian Qing looked at the figure walking towards them and asked softly.

  Stop in her tracks, Su Shaochen handed over the hot cocoa in his hand to her. A hint of hesitation flashed across the bottom of his eyes, and he finally let out a soft sigh and sat down beside her. "No matter who you choose, as long as you're happy, I have no opinion."

  Holding the fragrant coffee in his hand, Su Shaochen said lightly: "What Mom said today, don't take it to heart. As a military wife, she can't remarry, and she's also a pitiful woman."

  With her head hung low, Su Nianqing tightly grasped the paper cup, and due to excessive force, the cup was somewhat deformed. The scorching feeling burned in her palm but couldn't warm up those icy hands.

  After a while, she took a deep breath, forced a smile and pretended to be nonchalant: "I know, I won't take it to heart."

  Dividing line

  The bustling capital welcomes the "two sessions" at this time, and Su's family quietly waits outside the operating room for the result.

  It wasn't until the chief surgeon told her that the operation was a success that Su Nianqing finally let out a sigh of relief, and her hanging heart was finally put at ease.

  It happened to be the time of the "Two Sessions" in Southern Jiangsu, and Su Nanfeng was about to attend a meeting. After the surgery, he hurriedly rushed to the Great Hall, while Jiang Yaqin found an excuse to leave. Mei Junru, however, never came back to the hospital again, and according to Su Shaocun, she had been elected as a delegate to attend the People's Congress.

  The old man didn't mind their "disobedience". After waking up from the operation, his condition was still stable. Besides Su Nianqin and Su Shaocen, there were also special nurses by his bedside. The old butler, Tong Bo, would deliver food to him on time every day, taking better care of him than anyone in the Su family.

  The TV in the ward was turned on, and what was being played was nothing but the theme of this period - "Two Sessions" progress, no matter which channel was tuned to, the news broadcast was all related to "Two Sessions". Su Nianqing looked at the excited host, blinked her eyes, lowered her head and quickly finished her lunch.

  After several days of recuperation, the old man was in much better spirits after his surgery. Watching TV reports, he would occasionally discuss with Su Nianqing about the "Two Sessions", although she wasn't interested in official affairs, seeing her grandfather so happy, she would also pay a little attention and add a few words.

  In the days following the tense "National People's Congress", Beijing's traffic was as expected, with the second and third ring roads almost completely jammed.

  On the ninth day, it was a rest day for the National People's Congress. Early in the morning, there were already many "NPC deputies" with red badges and people in military uniforms visiting the hospital room. Looking at the fruit baskets and gifts that filled an entire chair, Su Nianqing felt depressed about this visitation fuss being made like it was a New Year's visit!

  After seeing off a group of visitors who came to ask after his father's health, Su Nianqing rubbed his stiff face from smiling too much and saw Su Shaocen push open the door and come in. He quickly pulled him over and said, "Brother, you stay here and take care of Father for now, I'll go back and cook some chicken congee for Father."

  "Isn't Tong Bo going to bring food over?" Su Shaochen looked at her for a while, slightly narrowing his eyes: "Or, do you have something on your mind?"

  The old man shifted his gaze from the TV screen and glanced at Su Nianqing, chuckling softly without offering to explain. Only after Su Nianqing left did he take off his reading glasses and say with a smile: "Didn't you see that girl's face was frozen in a smile? She obviously doesn't like dealing with people in official circles, but she insists on going to A City to work herself to death. I heard her recent cases are all big projects from the government side, how can she not deal with people in official circles?"

  "This is the path she chose for herself, we agreed to respect her choice from the start. No matter how bitter or tiring it gets, she knows it in her heart." Back then, no matter how much they opposed her, it couldn't change her mind, such a stubborn temperament, there's no use saying more.

  ……

  Holding the thermos cup and going upstairs, Su Nianqing saw a light gray figure coming out of her grandfather's ward from afar. She stopped in her tracks, slightly stunned. The man slowly closed the door with his slender hand, put one hand in his pocket, and walked towards the stairwell at the end of the corridor with his back to her.

  A light gray business casual coat lined his slender and handsome figure, the light-colored system of the coat gave people a elegant visual effect, making people feel that even if they didn't see his appearance, they could still sense that refined and noble aristocratic aura.

  Having seen all sorts of men, in Su Nianqing's eyes, there were not many who could compare to Chu Sihan. The sons of aristocratic families who were handsome and also possessed a certain temperament were even fewer. The officials' and wealthy merchants' second-generation offspring she had met were either spoiled brats or playboys; truly admirable ones were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

  A silhouette that left a deep impression on her, apart from the "NPC delegate" who had a brief encounter at the airport, this is the second one... No! Upon closer inspection, why does this figure look so familiar?!

  When she wanted to take another look, the person had already disappeared around the corner. Standing at the door, Su Nianqing shook her head and chuckled, not thinking much of it, and pushed open the door to enter.

  Digression

  Thanks for your support, babies! Lwan will keep working hard!