deltrittennovels Chapter 143 Eyes as red as a rabbit
Chapter 143 Eyes as red as a rabbit
Another day has passed.
In the hospital ward, a few unknown wildflowers, yellow and purple, were stuck in an enamel mug on the windowsill. They were picked by Bai Rongbei from the edge of the Gobi Desert that morning.
Sunlight streamed in through the window, casting a warm glow on the white sheets.
Lin Weiwei was still lying face down, but the gauze on her back had been changed, making her look neater.
She seemed much better than yesterday, her eyes following the dust motes floating in the window light.
Bai Si'an is not in the ward.
The nurses came to urge him three or four times early in the morning before he finally agreed to change his dressing and have another X-ray.
Before leaving, he filled Lin Weiwei's water glass, peeled and cut the apple into small pieces and placed them on the lid of the lunchbox on the bedside table. He stared at Lin Weiwei for a full half minute, as if trying to etch her into his eyes.
Lin Weiwei felt a little uneasy under his gaze and waved her uninjured hand: "Hurry up, Technician Bai, if you don't go soon, the nurses will poke you with a needle."
Bai Si'an then adjusted his glasses and walked away, turning back every few steps.
The door closed, and the ward fell silent.
Su Wanwan sat on a chair by the bed, her head down sewing the cuff of Lin Weiwei's shirt that had a hole burned in it by a spark.
The stitches are fine and dense, one stitch at a time, neither too fast nor too slow.
Lin Weiwei turned her head to look at her: "Wanwan, you have dark circles under your eyes. Didn't you sleep well again last night?"
Su Wanwan looked up and smiled, "I'm fine. But you, are you in a lot of pain? Should we call the nurse to give you more painkillers?"
"No need," Lin Weiwei said. "It hurts, but I can bear it. It's just that lying down is too uncomfortable; my chest feels tight and my arms are numb."
As she spoke, she tried to move her uninjured left hand.
His fingers curled up and then relaxed.
Su Wanwan put down her needlework, reached out and took her hand, gently massaging her knuckles: "Let me massage them for you."
Lin Weiwei let her massage her, staring at the ceiling, and remained silent for a while.
After a long pause, she finally spoke, her voice soft: "Wanwan, yesterday... I was actually quite scared."
Su Wanwan paused in her movements.
Lin Weiwei continued, "When I rushed in, I didn't think too much. I just saw him in the thick smoke, unable to even stand. I only had one thought in my mind: he has bad legs and can't get out by himself. I have to get him out."
She paused, as if recalling the scene.
"Later, the bottles exploded, and shards flew over, burning my back like it was on fire. As I fell, I thought, 'That's it, I'm really going to die with him now.'" She said, then smiled to herself, but the smile quickly faded. "But then I thought, dying together is fine, it's better than him dying alone in there."
Su Wanwan gripped her hand tightly, her eyes slightly red: "Don't talk nonsense. Aren't you both doing just fine?"
"Yes, he's alright." Lin Weiwei breathed a sigh of relief, turning her head to look at Su Wanwan. "I just didn't expect him to be injured so badly. My immediate thought was, I have to get him out of here; he can't die. If he dies... what will I do?"
She spoke very softly, as if talking to herself.
Su Wanwan looked at her, her heart aching and tender.
The Lin Weiwei she knew was always carefree and fearless.
But now, lying in the hospital bed, Lin Weiwei has injuries on her face and a patch of hair shaved off. When she speaks these words, there is something in her eyes that she has never seen before.
"Weiwei," Su Wanwan said softly, "you really care about him."
Lin Weiwei did not deny it.
She looked at the wildflowers on the windowsill, and after a while said, "I don't know either. When I saw him there, it felt like my heart was being ripped open, and I couldn't breathe from the pain. I thought, no, I have to bring him out. He has to live."
She paused, her voice even softer: "Wanwan, I've never been this scared before. Even when I transmigrated into this book and knew I might have to go to a farm, I wasn't really scared. But yesterday, I was scared. I was scared that I couldn't save him, scared that he really wouldn't be able to get out."
Su Wanwan reached out and tucked a few stray hairs behind her ear: "You're not afraid now. He's practically staring you down to your core. When you change your dressing, he's all pleading, practically trying to kick me out too, like I'm stealing you if I even glance at you."
Lin Weiwei chuckled, then hissed as she pulled at the wound on her back.
"Serves you right," Su Wanwan said, while continuing to massage her fingers. "Serves you right for showing off."
"I can't just watch him die," Lin Weiwei said, her tone regaining its usual self-assurance. "He's my husband, even though he's lame, he's still mine. How could I not save him?"
Su Wanwan looked at her and smiled, "Yes, you're amazing."
As the two were talking, the ward door was pushed open.
Bai Rongbei walked in carrying a multi-layered lunchbox, followed by Bai Si'an, whose dressing had been changed.
As soon as Bai Si'an entered the room, his eyes immediately searched for Lin Weiwei. Seeing that she was still lying there peacefully, talking to Su Wanwan, his tense shoulders relaxed slightly.
"Brother," he called out, walking to Lin Weiwei's bedside and looking down at her, "Does your back still hurt?"
"It hurts," Lin Weiwei said. "Can you blow on it for me?"
Bai Si'an was stunned for a moment, her ears turned a little red, but she still bent down and gently blew a breath next to her uninjured shoulder.
Lin Wei smiled slightly: "You're really bragging, aren't you?"
Bai Si'an straightened up, adjusted his glasses, and said nothing, but his eyes softened.
Bai Rongbei placed the lunchbox on the bedside table and opened it layer by layer.
At the bottom is thick millet porridge, on top is stir-fried cabbage, two boiled eggs, and on top of that are several multigrain steamed buns.
"Homemade," Bai Rongbei said, "is cleaner than the cafeteria food."
Su Wanwan helped set things out. Bai Si'an picked up the bowl of millet porridge, stirred it with a spoon, tested the temperature, and then sat down on the edge of the bed, preparing to feed Lin Weiwei.
Lin Weiwei said, "I can drink it myself, and my left hand isn't injured."
"Don't move," said Bai Si'an, "it will hurt more if you pull on the wound on your back."
He scooped up a spoonful of porridge, blew on it, and brought it to her lips.
The movements were a little clumsy, but very careful.
Lin Weiwei glanced at him and opened her mouth to take it.
The porridge was cooked just right, neither too hot nor too cold, with a rich aroma of rice.
Bai Rongbei also served Su Wanwan a bowl: "You eat too."
The four of them ate lunch in the hospital room.
Lin Weiwei lay on her stomach as Bai Si'an fed her spoonful by spoonful. She ate slowly, pausing after swallowing.
Bai Si'an didn't urge him, but waited patiently.
Bai Rongbei and Su Wanwan sat in chairs by the window, eating their meal quietly.
Sunlight streamed in, falling warmly on the two of them.
Halfway through the meal, Lin Weiwei suddenly said, "Bai Si'an, have you shaved your beard?"
Bai Si'an paused for a moment and then hummed in agreement.
"It looks much better now," Lin Weiwei said. "Yesterday, it looked like people fleeing famine."
Bai Si'an didn't say anything, but scooped up another spoonful of porridge and handed it over.
After finishing their meal, Bai Si'an cleared away the dishes, while Bai Rongbei went to the water room to wash the lunchbox.
Su Wanwan wiped Lin Weiwei's mouth and adjusted her lying position.
"Wanwan," Lin Weiwei said, "you should go back and rest. Look at your eyes, they're so red, like a rabbit's."