Chapter 25

That afternoon, An Luo went to the military hospital and was sent to the VIP ward that had been arranged in advance. The nurse in charge of An Luo's care was named Song Yuan. She was a lovely girl with quick hands and feet and was also quite diligent. When she smiled at An Luo, her face had two small dimples.

"Hello, my name is Song Yuan. Song, as in the Tang Song Yuan Ming Qing dynasties, and Yuan as in the Tang Song Yuan Ming Qing dynasties." The young woman smiled and held out her hand. Unlike the women who would wear bright nail polish on awful long nails, the nurse had clean fingers with neatly trimmed nails.

Maybe it was just a workplace requirement for medical workers. But An Luo didn't dislike such a pair of plain hands. He reached out and gave her hand a friendly shake. He looked up at her and said, "Hello, my name is An Luo."

Song Yuan laughed. "I know your name is An Luo. You're An Ze's most adored brother."

An Ze's cold eyes suddenly swept to her. "Song Yuan, don't talk nonsense."

Song Yuan stuck out her tongue and then shut her mouth.

An Luo looked at the two of them suspiciously, and stayed silent.

Song Yuan came over to insert the IV needle on the back of An Luo's hand and then carefully fixed it with adhesive tape. She said with a smile, "An Luo, I'll go get the medicine first, and then I'll give you the infusion in a bit."

An Luo nodded, "Alright."

After Song Yuan left, An Ze unpacked the clothes and other daily necessities he had brought one-by-one. Then he walked over to the wheelchair's side and whispered, "Would you like to get in bed and lie down?"

An Luo said, "Mm."

An Ze leaned over and gently picked An Luo up. He helped him into bed and covered him with the blanket. He whispered, "Gege, I'll go see Dr. Song. I'll be right back. You stay here, and if you need anything, ring the bell for Song Yuan so she can help."

"Mm, go ahead," An Luo said.

After An Ze turned and left, An Luo was bored alone in the ward. He took the remote control and turned on the TV.

The TV was airing entertainment news. The host and hostess were singing and talking fast like machine gun fire, with exaggerated expressions—

"The sequel of Endless City is about to be filmed, and the male lead An Yan unexpectedly abandoned the crew!"

"Recently, it's been rumored that that An Yan and Xu Shaoqian fell out because they were competing for the male lead's throne. Is it just a baseless claim?"

"They say that An Yan and Xu Shaoqian had a big fight on set when they were shooting the first Endless City movie..."

Gossip was all over. An Yan was truly a popular idol in the entertainment scene, if even the smallest news could be reported like this. They were even speculating about a love triangle.

An Luo leaned back in bed and watched the entertainment program with interest.

It was who knows how long before someone suddenly pushed the door behind him open.

The person who entered had a light step. It was a young woman in a nurse's uniform and mask. An Luo looked at her and asked, "Song Yuan, did you get the medicine?"

The other person didn't answer.

In the silent room, he could hear the sound of footsteps gradually approaching.

An Luo sensed something was wrong. He turned around and looked into a pair of dark and unclouded eyes.

"It's time for an injection, Mr. An," the nurse said softly. She reached out to put the syringe into the infusion tube.

Her figure and appearance was very similar to Song Yuan, but An Luo noticed her hands. They are as neat and clean as Song Yuan's. They were unornamented, without any accessories or nail polish, except for a light callus on the webbing between her thumb and index finger.

—That was where you held a gun.

An Luo knew something was off. He grabbed her wrist lightning-quick. He raised his head to look at her and asked in a deep voice, "Who are you?"

The woman didn't panic at all. He couldn't see her face clearly underneath the mask, but her eyes were calm. "Song Yuan went to the bathroom, so I gave her a hand with the medicine." She changed the subject. "Mr. An, the needle in your hand is loose." She leaned over and took An Luo's hand. She fixed the tape and then turned away with a smile.

An Luo watched her back disappear. He opened his hand. In the palm of his hand, there was now a piece of paper, folded into a square the size of a fingernail.

Suddenly, he could hear the door open again. An Luo quickly stuffed the note into his sleeve.

An Ze walked in and glanced at An Luo. He asked suspiciously, "Gege, was anyone in here just now?"

An Luo didn't deny it. He looked at An Ze calmly and said, "A nurse came by just now. I asked her to look at the IV in my hand. The needle seemed a little loose."

An Ze was silent for a moment. He finally said, "I just fought with the doctor over this. Except for Dr. Song and Song Yuan, there will not be any more outsiders allowed in. Gege, it's better to be careful."

"It's very difficult to sneak into a military hospital. Don't worry too much," An Luo told him.

An Ze walked over and said in a low voice, "It's nothing as long as my brother is okay." He took An Luo's right hand and examined it carefully. "The needle really is a bit loose. They should fix it."

An Luo quietly drew his hand back and changed the subject. "How was your talk with Dr. Song? When will I start treatment? "

"Your nerves were damaged when you were injured. Even though the operation was successful, your legs still have no sensation. Dr. Song will first use stimulation therapy to make your legs slowly regain consciousness, and then you'll learn to stand and walk," An Ze said. After a pause, he murmured comfortingly. "Don't worry, gege. Take your time."

An Luo nodded. "I see. If there's nothing for you to do, you should head back first."

"I'll stay here with you tonight," An Ze said.

An Ze said, "I'll be here with you tonight."

"Don't," An Luo told him.

An Ze was obstinate. "On the first day in the hospital, it's better for family members to stay. That way, any problems can be handled in time."

"..." Family members? Why did that word sound a little strange?

"I'll just sleep on the sofa. The sofa here can be used as a bed." An Ze pointed to the sofa by the wall, with a serious expression on his face.

This younger brother was so stubborn that An Luo was at his wit's end. He had no choice but to nod, "Well, whatever you want."

***

That evening, An Ze microwaved up the dragon bone soup he'd brought. While showering in the bathroom, An Luo took out the note from his sleeve and unfolded it to see the words on it.

—June 17.

Inexplicably, the only thing written on that note was a date. The handwriting was extremely neat. If someone discovered the note, it wouldn't reveal anything. The bottom righthand corner had an odd flower-like symbol.

An Luo had dealt with the police many times in his last life. Su Zihang, who had been an undercover agent back then, had used all kinds of code marks to communicate with the police. Although the mark on this note was unfamiliar, An Luo had a hunch: it must have something to do with the police.

If the woman just now wasn't a would-be assassin, there was another explanation. She was an informant or undercover police officer stationed in the military hospital.

An Luo frowned slightly. He took out his mobile phone and opened the calendar. Today was June 12. June 17 was that weekend. What was special about that day? An Luo was stumped. Without a better option, he flushed the note down the toilet.

***

When he came out of the shower, An Ze had already finished preparing dinner. The two of them ate silently in the ward. Halfway through the meal, An Luo suddenly looked up and asked, "An Ze, do you have time this weekend?"

An Ze was stunned and said, "Gege, what are you asking?"

"It's too boring to just stay here," An Luo said. "Take me outside for a walk."

"If you feel cooped up, I can push you around downstairs."

"I want to go out and buy some clothes. It's not suitable for me to wear your clothes all the time," An Luo said.

An Ze said indifferently, "I can buy clothing for gege. What size do you wear? I don't know."

An Luo frowned. "If you were in my situation, locked up like someone under house arrest, unable to go anywhere, every day opening your eyes and seeing the same place, would you be happy, An Ze?"

"There's no room for discussion on this issue. Gege doesn't need to use an analogy with me."

An Luo gave him a contemptuous look. He lowered his head to eat and ignored him.

An Ze looked at his brother's cold face and asked softly, "Gege, are you angry?"

An Luo did not reply.

An Ze was silent for a moment then said, "Gege, this weekend is actually Grandfather's 70th birthday. Not only will everyone in the family be present, but also many distant relatives and friends. Grandfather called me the day before yesterday to tell you about this. He wanted you to pick up, but I made an excuse and told him you were asleep so you couldn't talk."

An Luo was a bit shocked. He had just tried to probe An Ze a little, but he didn't expect that An Ze would really reveal this. What was even more shocking was that June 17th was the birthday of their grandfather, An Guangyao.

"Grandfather's 70th birthday? Shouldn't I be there to congratulate him on such an important day?" An Luo looked up at him.

An Ze frowned. "Grandfather's birthday is very grand this year. Many people have been invited to celebrate his 70th. The occasion will be very chaotic. You're still in a wheelchair, it won't be convenient for you to attend. I don't intend to take you."

An Luo was quiet for a second. "I want to go."

"Gege—"

An Luo interrupted him. "Unless you knock me out with sleeping pills, I'll find a way to attend his birthday party."

Seeing An Ze's silence continue, An Luo held out his hand to gently clasp An Ze's hand. "An Ze, I know you're worried something might happen to me, but gege promises you he'll be careful if it does."

"..."

"Furthermore, with so many friends and family at Grandpa's birthday party, even if someone wants to hurt him, they won't be stupid enough to do it in front of so many people."

"..."

Seeing that An Ze still had his head down in silence, An Luo knit his brow and asked, "Why aren't you saying anything?"

An Ze lifted his head and said with a light smile, "Since gege's already decided to do it, I don't have anything to add."

The real reason An Ze hadn't spoken for so long was naturally too embarrassing for An Ze to say. Just because gege had taken the initiative to grab his hand, and he could feel that familiar cool temperature of his brother's palm, An Ze's blood pressure had soared and his heart had raced.