He was a disabled military officer who doted on his research work in the Northwest.

Wang Xiulian gripped Shen Tang's hand tightly, her eyes instantly reddening. She and Zhao Dahai had been married for almost eight years, and she had tried everything to conceive—folk remedies, incense ash water, even consulting a shaman to perform a ritual. The military hospital said there was nothing wrong with her, but she just couldn't get pregnant. Her in-laws had long been complaining, sending letters every few days urging her to conceive.

This pressure is driving her crazy.

"I believe you!" Wang Xiulian gripped Shen Tang's hand tightly, her voice trembling. "Sister, you saved my life in the car. You're the person I trust most in my life! Whatever treatment you say, I'll do it. I'll listen to you completely!"

Zhao Dahai nodded vigorously beside him, his dark face filled with earnestness: "Sister Shen, my husband and I are counting on you!"

Shen Tang patted Wang Xiulian's hand, already having a complete treatment plan in mind.

She calmly gave a few instructions—today, induce vomiting with warm water to expel any remaining poison; eat a light diet for the next few days and avoid cold foods. She would begin the formal acupuncture treatment once she was free in a couple of days.

After settling Wang Xiulian in, Shen Tang picked up the now-cold insulated lunchbox again and hurried upstairs to the second floor.

Before I even reached the door, a sweet, cloying woman's voice suddenly came from the crack in the half-open door of the ward.

"Commander Mu, your wound needs a dressing change. Don't move, let me roll up your trouser leg for you..."

The voice sounded familiar.

Shen Tang raised an eyebrow and looked inside through the glass in the door.

Inside the ward, Mu Qinghan sat leaning against the hospital bed, her face as cold as ice.

The nurse standing by the hospital bed was none other than Bai Wei, the half-baked nurse who had been publicly humiliated by Shen Tang on the bus that day.

At this moment, Bai Wei showed absolutely no professional demeanor as a nurse. She wasn't wearing a nurse's cap, and a few strands of her short, ear-length hair were deliberately left loose beside her cheeks. The top button of her snow-white nurse's uniform was undone with a hint of reluctance.

She was leaning over, almost pressed against Mu Qinghan, and slowly rolled up his trouser leg. A strong, pungent smell of cheap face cream filled the air.

"Commander Mu, look how stiff your muscles are. I'll give you a good massage in a bit. I'll be very gentle, I promise it will make you feel comfortable~" Bai Wei blinked her lightly made-up eyes, giving him a flirtatious look.

Mu Qinghan's long, handsome eyebrows were now furrowed into a tight knot.

He was already extremely sensitive to smells, and his stomach was already nauseous. The cheap perfume made his stomach cramp. What disgusted him even more was the woman's undisguised and repulsive scheming and seduction.

Just as his adjutant Chen Zhiyuan said, even if he was injured, he was still the eldest grandson of the Mu family in the capital. As long as he didn't die, he would still enjoy a life of wealth and luxury, even if he was bedridden. He knew better than anyone what this nurse was after.

"Get out." Mu Qinghan's thin lips parted slightly, his voice as cold as ice.

Bai Wei's charming smile froze abruptly, seemingly not expecting that even after she had been so humble, this man wouldn't give her any face at all. She bit her lip in resentment, lowering her body even further: "Commander Mu, please don't be angry, I really did it for your leg's sake..."

"boom--"

The door to the ward was pushed open without any politeness, making a muffled sound.

"Excuse me, may I bother you?"

A clear, melodious voice, tinged with a hint of amusement, rang out from the doorway.

The two people in the ward turned their heads at the same time.

Shen Tang leaned against the door frame, carrying an aluminum insulated lunchbox. Today she was wearing a faded floral shirt, her long hair casually tied into a braid that hung down in front of her chest. Although her attire was simple, her bright face and composed demeanor instantly made Bai Wei, who was heavily made up, look like a clown.

The moment Bai Wei recognized the person, her pupils constricted sharply. That face—

On the bus! It was that country bumpkin who embarrassed her in public!

What's she doing here?! And carrying a lunchbox?! Is she bringing food to Commander Mu?!

Bai Wei's mind went blank for a moment, a surge of shock and anger rushing in like two torrents. She instinctively took a half-step back, then realized she was feigning weakness. Her voice instantly rose eight octaves, sharp as scraping glass:

"You—what are you doing here! How did someone from the countryside like you get into the hospital!"

Shen Tang walked in slowly and deliberately, placing the lunchbox steadily on the bedside table. She keenly noticed that Mu Qinghan on the hospital bed was staring at her with a scrutinizing gaze—this man didn't acknowledge the childhood betrothal at all, and she couldn't very well tell Bai Wei that she was his fiancée.

With a quick glance, she offered a plausible identity without batting an eye.

"Does your family own the military hospital? Why can't I go in?" Shen Tang glanced at Bai Wei indifferently, her tone as calm as if she were stating the weather. "I'm a distant cousin of Commander Mu, here specifically to take care of him. What, is there a problem?"

"Bullshit!" Bai Wei jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, pointing at Shen Tang's nose and cursing, "Commander Mu is from a prestigious family in Beijing! How could he have a relative like you, a country bumpkin covered in dirt! Stop trying to curry favor with us! What were you acting all high and mighty about in the car last time, and now you're coming to the hospital to fawn over me—get your lousy lunchbox and get out of here!"

"I told you to get out, can't you understand human language?"

Mu Qinghan's cold voice, like an ice blade in the dead of winter, slammed heavily onto Bai Wei's head.

Bai Wei's outstretched hand froze in mid-air as she looked at the man on the hospital bed in disbelief. Her eyes instantly reddened, and her voice trembled: "Commander Mu, I'm doing this for your own good! She's just a country woman of unknown origin, who knows if she's...?"

"From now on, without the attending physician's orders, you are not allowed to step into my ward." Mu Qinghan didn't bother to utter a single extra word, her eyes filled with undisguised disgust. "Get out."

Bai Wei's face instantly turned a deep purplish-red. She bit her lip hard, glared fiercely at Shen Tang, covered her face, and ran out of the ward crying.

The ward was finally quiet, but the cheap and pungent smell of face cream still lingered in the air. Shen Tang casually opened the window to air it out, and when she turned around, she met Mu Qinghan's cold gaze.

"Who sent you?"

He said the engagement was invalid, but she didn't make a scene. Instead, she suddenly came to the hospital to bring him food, which was too abrupt and overly attentive.

"Deputy Regiment Commander Chen and Squad Leader Wang contacted me." Shen Tang, without flinching, deftly unscrewed the lid of the insulated lunchbox, her tone frank and natural. "They said your stomach problem flared up and you hadn't eaten for two days, so they asked me to make some light meals for patients. I was just killing time anyway, so I figured it was just to pay the rent for my room in the east wing."

As soon as the words were spoken, an aroma mingled with the fragrance of dried tangerine peel and the rich scent of rice oil instantly and forcefully filled the entire room. The porridge, cooked with spiritual spring water, seemed to possess a strange soothing power, and Mu Qinghan's stomach, which had been spasming intermittently, miraculously calmed down.

He glanced at the bowl of thick, soft millet and yam porridge, sprinkled with bright green vegetable leaves, and without refusing, reached out and took the spoon.

The ward fell silent, save for the soft sound of a spoon touching the rim of a bowl.

Shen Tang stood by the bed, her gaze subtly moving from his pale face down to his legs, which were covered by a thin blanket. After this period of bed rest, his calf muscles had shown slight atrophy and stiffness.

In fact, with her expertise in acupuncture and massage, a little intervention could definitely double Mu Qinghan's recovery speed. However, since the two had only just met, it seemed a bit too hasty to go up and touch the man's leg.

As she hesitated, she suddenly caught a glimpse out of the corner of her eye that Mu Qinghan was a beat slower in drinking his porridge.

Following his gaze—Mu Qinghan was looking down at her left wrist, which was resting on the edge of the bed. On it, the mutton-fat jade bracelet was gleaming with a warm luster.

Shen Tang's heart skipped a beat, and alarm bells went off.