Chapter 709

Chapter 709

The Proposal

As expected, when it was time to part, the little girl was crying her eyes out, clinging to her grandpa’s leg and sobbing loudly, making the three departing adults tear up.

In the end, Lu Hang followed Lin Nannan’s suggestion and brought the child along for the send-off, which temporarily calmed her down.

Lin Nannan did not join them, and the Lu couple along with Zhou Cuiwei understood, not wanting her going out to attract unwanted attention.

As for delivering the medicine, when they woke up in the morning, both Lin Nannan and Lu Hang felt it was an important matter that couldn’t be entrusted to anyone else, in case something went wrong. So, Lin Nannan decided to go to the hospital herself.

When she arrived, Political Commissar Chen, who had stayed up all night caring for his wife, emerged looking worn out and happened to run into Lin Nannan.

“How is Auntie doing?” Lin Nannan asked.

Political Commissar Chen, upon seeing her, shook his head grimly and said, “She’s been pushing herself for too long, and her health is poor. The doctor said if this continues, it might become life-threatening.”

This was similar to what Lu Hang had said the day before. Seeing how worn out and worried Political Commissar Chen was, Lin Nannan suggested, “Political Commissar Chen, why don’t you go home and rest for a bit? Otherwise, you won’t be able to hold up either. I’ll watch over things here.”

“I appreciate this. I’ll first make a call to the children,” Political Commissar Chen replied, realizing he hadn’t yet had the chance to discuss things with his family. Since someone needed to stay at the hospital, he didn’t refuse the offer.

“No need to thank me. Otherwise, I’d feel too embarrassed to let Du Du bother you in the future,” Lin Nannan said.

Feeling grateful, Political Commissar Chen didn’t dwell on formalities and said directly, “I’ll go get some food and bring it over later.”

“Alright!” Lin Nannan nodded. After finding the hospital room, she pushed the door open and walked in, seeing Hu Zhaoxia lying on the sickbed.

Illness hits hard. The once energetic and passionate woman now lay pale and drained on the hospital bed.

Hearing the noise, Hu Zhaoxia thought her husband had forgotten something and returned. She opened her eyes, about to say something, but upon seeing it was Nan Nan, she immediately tried to sit up, only to be stopped by Lin Nannan.

“Why are you here?” Hu Zhaoxia asked, leaning on Lin Nannan for support as she sat up. “I specifically said not to let you know. How did you find out?”

Lin Nannan said unhappily, “Why shouldn’t I know? Do you think I'm too clumsy and don't know how to take care of you?”

“What are you talking about? I didn't want to frighten Du Du!” Hu Zhaoxia sighed.

“She wasn’t scared, just worried. It was because of her that we found out about your health issues,” Lin Nannan explained before asking, “Aunt Hu, why didn’t you tell Political Commissar Chen that you weren’t feeling well?”

Hu Zhaoxia hesitated, her lips trembling. After a long pause, unable to avoid Lin Nannan’s insistence, she explained, “I thought it was just an old ailment and didn’t want to worry him. I never expected it to be this serious!”

“You should've at least gotten checked out at the hospital. You wouldn’t have had to suffer like this!”

She could have avoided this ordeal, but now she even needed surgery.

“Yeah, if I had known, I wouldn’t have toughd it out like this.” But now, regret was useless.

Since coming to the military base, Lin Nannan hadn’t formed many close friendships, but Hu Zhaoxia was one she truly respected. Seeing her now, pale and dispirited as if hit hard, Lin Nannan knew it was all due to the illness and remembered the purpose of her visit.

Hu Zhaoxia had already been examined, and her condition was clear. She needed recovery time before surgery could be performed, which would delay treatment. However, if Lin Nannan provided her medicine, it would essentially cure her right away, which would raise suspicions. Given that she and Hu Zhaoxia were acquainted, people would undoubtedly suspect her. But she couldn’t just stand by without helping. Finally, she thought of a solution.

“Aunt Hu,” she said with seriousness, causing Hu Zhaoxia to instinctively respond and look at her questioningly. “What is it?”

“You know about my skills in medicine. The medicine I have can help with your current weakness, but since you’ve already been examined here, if you suddenly recover, it will raise suspicions. So, would you be able to switch hospitals for the surgery?” Lin Nannan asked.

Hu Zhaoxia was aware of some of Lin Nannan’s abilities but hadn’t expected this from her. She immediately shook her head and said, “No, your situation, although my family hasn't said much, I’ve guessed some of it. If I suddenly recover, people will definitely suspect you. It might even put you in danger here at the base.”

She hadn’t forgotten the trouble caused by Zhang Yao, which nearly destroyed their family. She didn’t want to put Lin Nannan in danger.

Seeing her agitation, Lin Nannan immediately reassured her, "Auntie, please, try to stay calm. That's exactly why I think you should transfer to another hospital. Political Commissar Chen can’t take care of you here. If you leave, no one will suspect anything or investigate further. That way, it won’t lead back to me, and your health can improve."

Hu Zhaoxia was still hesitating, so Lin Nannan added, "Even if you don’t think about yourself, think about Political Commissar Chen. Just from yesterday to today, he's aged years overnight from worrying. If something worse happens to your health, how could you bear to leave him?"

Lin Nannan knew that Hu Zhaoxia and Political Commissar Chen had known each other since their youth. After marrying, they had endured countless hardships. The health problems she's dealing with were a result of past struggles, and if it wasn’t properly treated, she might not be able to grow old with Political Commissar Chen.

These words made Hu Zhaoxia waver.

She was well aware of her husband’s concerns. His haggard appearance pained her, but illness was something no one could control, and her anxiety only made her condition worse.

Now, hearing Nan Nan’s words, she hesitated and asked uncertainly, "Are you sure it won’t implicate you?"

If it were to bring trouble to Lin Nannan, even if she recovered, she wouldn’t feel at ease.

"Exactly!" Lin Nannan nodded. "You should talk this over with Political Commissar Chen and see if arrangements can be made for you to leave."

Seeing how confident she sounded, Hu Zhaoxia hesitated for a moment before saying, "Alright, we’ll talk it over and let you know."

Political Commissar Chen returned with some congee and, seeing that his wife seemed in better spirits with Lin Nannan’s company, was happy to see it.

"Have some congee first…" he began, but Hu Zhaoxia frowned slightly and said, "The doctor said that if I don’t eat something nutritious and easily digestible, I might not be strong enough for surgery…"

This took Political Commissar Chen by surprise. In all their years of marriage, his wife had never made such a request. Even if the doctor had advised her to eat well, she would never have indulged herself. Her words now felt somewhat abrupt.

It wasn’t that he was unwilling—he had gone late, and the cafeteria had run out of most food, so he could only bring congee. He was also worried she might not have an appetite and thought some congee would at least settle her stomach.

"Political Commissar, Auntie is right. Congee is fine ordinarily, but when you’re sick, it really isn’t nourishing enough," Lin Nannan added.