Chapter 382

Chapter 382

Trouble Brews

"I'll ask Ah Si to come over..." Lu Heng had just started speaking when Lin Nannan refused, "Don’t keep bothering Ah Si. He's busy too. I can handle things here. I'll get lunch from the cafeteria at noon, so you don’t have to run back and forth."

"A Heng, Nan Nan is right. You can’t keep burning the candle at both ends like this. There are doctors and nurses here, so don’t worry. Besides, it’s so close—if anything happens, we can just call out." Lin Kangnian said it casually, not realizing how prophetic his words would be.

Seeing how confident both of them were, Lu Heng didn’t insist and went back to rest.

Watching over a patient was mind-numbingly boring, especially when the atmosphere between them was awkward. Lin Kangnian didn’t know what to say, worried he’d bring up something that’d rub Nan Nan the wrong way, so he felt uneasy.

"Get some shut-eye. If family comes in the afternoon, you’ll at least have some energy," Lin Nannan said softly.

Lin Kangnian nodded. He realized that this injury had really knocked him out—he felt exhausted after just a short while of being awake.

Looking at Lin Kangnian’s pale face, Lin Nannan sighed inwardly, unsure how to address the situation.

Her mind was racing, realizing that she was well and truly trapped.

Even if she didn’t want to get close to the Lin family, she couldn’t bear to see them in danger.

No decent person could just stand there and watch, let alone someone with blood ties.

The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to distance herself from them, afraid she might bring them trouble.

While lost in her thoughts, a nurse appeared at the door and said, "Ma’am, Dr. Lu needs to see you. He said he has something to discuss!"

"Alright!" Seeing that Lin Kangnian was asleep, Lin Nannan nodded in agreement.

She stood up, glanced at him, then turned and left, closing the door behind her.

Lin Nannan headed straight for Lu Jianan’s office. Seeing him hunched over his desk, she knocked and asked, "May I come in?"

Lu Jianan looked up and smiled. "Come in!"

"What did you want to talk about?" she asked.

"It’s like this," Lu Jianan explained. "Earlier, we were wondering how the news of your injury got leaked. We got word from Beijing—it seems that when my senior colleague was chatting with Mr. Lin, someone might have overheard. At the time, they brushed it off, but now it seems suspicious. They’d probably had him in their sights from the start, which led to what happened later."

Lin Nannan thought it over carefully and realized it could very well be the case. Since they couldn’t find her, they had to keep an eye on the Lin family. Her injury played right into their hands.

"I understand. Tell your senior colleague that we won’t wrongly accuse anyone, so he doesn’t need to worry."

Lu Jianan nodded. "Alright, that’s all. Now scram—I’ve got work!"

Lin Nannan was both baffled and annoyed as she was all but kicked out. Lost in thought, she made her way back to the ward...

When she reached the ward, she caught a glimpse of someone rounding the corner but paid it no mind and entered.

Seeing Lin Kangnian still asleep, she assumed he hadn’t slept well the night before and didn’t think much of it. She sat back down, wondering if she should prepare anything for when the Lin family came to pick him up. Before she could decide, hurried footsteps approached, and the door was pushed open—revealing Lin Kangjian and Lin Kangsheng standing outside.

"Why are you two here?" She’d figured his wife would show up.

The two brothers stepped inside, their faces tight with worry as they looked at Lin Kangnian lying in bed.

"When news of Eldest Brother’s crash got back, Mom and Dad nearly lost it. The grandparents were so shaken they took to their beds. They wanted to come, but we had to stop them. The wife’s holding down the fort at home, so we came instead," Lin Kangjian explained.

Lin Nannan’s expression wavered, struggling to decide if an apology was owed.

"This matter has nothing to do with you. When the family asked big brother to come, they didn’t inform you either. Mom and Dad said they don’t blame you, so don’t dwell on it," Lin Kangjian explained first, seeing her conflicted expression and knowing what was on her mind.

"But he came here because of me!" Lin Nannan said with bitterness. "And he was targeted because he got caught up in my troubles!"

"Big brother won’t blame you. Those people had ill intentions—how could it be your fault?" Lin Kangjian said earnestly.

Lin Kangsheng added, "Yeah, don’t worry about it. Once big brother’s condition stabilizes and the doctor gives the okay for discharge, we’ll take him home."

"Leave the care to us. Don’t worry."

The two of them took turns speaking, leaving Lin Nannan no room to interject before everything was decided for her.

Even after leaving the hospital, she felt dazed, finding the whole thing ridiculous.

Did they really think she wouldn’t notice just because she stayed silent? They clearly thought she couldn't handle caregiving and had sent her away because of it.

When she got home, she bumped into Lu Hang, who was just heading out. He looked surprised. "Why are you back?"

Lin Nannan replied, "Lin Kangnian and Lin Kangsheng came. They didn't want me there and sent me away."

Lu Hang chuckled. "They were just worried about you, afraid you’d exhaust yourself."

"Humph!" Lin Nannan snorted haughtily before asking, "Are you going to the hospital?"

"No, I still had work to do. I’ll go after I’m done."

"Oh, then go ahead. I’ll wait for you at home."

"Alright."

After Lu Hang left, Lin Nannan went inside to lie down.

The appearance of the Lin family had still affected her mood, especially with the two brothers constantly defending her, making it impossible for her to stay indifferent.

Exhausted, she decided the best course of action was to sleep—once she woke up, all her troubles would be gone.

Lin Nannan thought the day would pass uneventfully, but just as she fell asleep, someone started banging loudly on the door. Startled awake, she was still groggy, wondering who could be being so noisy, until she heard someone shout outside, "Sister-in-law, it’s Ah Si! Are you home?"

The moment she recognized Ah Si’s voice, Lin Nannan jumped up to open the door. "What’s wrong?"

Ah Si was panting, likely from sprinting over. Seeing her, he gasped, "That man at the hospital—something happened! Commander Lu rushed over as soon as he heard and sent me to get you."

"How could something happen?" Lin Nannan was shocked. Dr. Lu had clearly said Lin Kangnian just needed to rest and recover. And when she left, he had been fine—no signs of trouble at all. How could things go wrong just hours after she returned?

"Not sure, but they said it’s serious!" Ah Si shook his head.

Hearing this, Lin Nannan feared Lin Kangnian’s condition had taken a turn for the worse. Without waiting for Ah Si, she dashed off ahead.

Ah Si watched her disappearing figure, wondering what he was doing with his life.

By the time Lin Nannan reached the hospital, the ward was empty. She quickly asked around and learned Lin Kangnian’s situation was even more critical than she’d imagined—he was already in the emergency room.