Governing the country, enriching the people, an unparalleled imperial tutor

The lights in the ward were blindingly white, but they couldn't dispel the gloom that had lingered for over a decade.

Lin Yanzhou leaned against the pillows on the hospital bed, remaining silent for a long time. His fingertips trembled slightly, not from weakness after his illness, but from the silent collapse in his heart.

Haozi's words kept echoing in his mind: Xiaoya found out she was pregnant with your child after going abroad... studying abroad alone, pregnant and giving birth alone, raising the child alone...

He opened his mouth, his voice a little hoarse: "Xiao Zhou... Lin Xiao Zhou, did you name her?"

Lin Xiaoya stood by the bed, her eyes red-rimmed, but she held back her tears. She nodded: "At that time, I thought that although she had the surname Lin, she didn't have a father by her side. I chose the character 'Zhou' (舟, meaning boat) in her name, hoping that one day you could cross the sea and find her."

They came across the sea.

Lin Yanzhou closed his eyes, a lump forming in his throat.

In his life, he spent half his life wandering, witnessing too much scheming and experiencing too much betrayal. His ex-wife's lies deceived him for more than a decade. He thought he was all alone and without any ties, but it turned out that someone had already borne the burden for him and continued his bloodline into the world.

"Where is she?" He opened his eyes, looked at Lin Xiaoya, and said in a steady voice, "I want to see her."

Lin Xiaoya was silent for a few moments, then gently shook her head: "Not now."

Why?

"She doesn't know you." Lin Xiaoya's tone was calm, but a hint of bitterness lingered in her eyes. "From childhood to adulthood, I only told her that her father was an astronaut who worked on the moon, and that they could only meet when she grew up. She asked you three times, and each time I made up an excuse. After that, she never asked again."

Lin Yanzhou's heart tightened.

"This child is precocious and much more sensitive than her peers," Lin Xiaoya said. "You just woke up from a coma after being seriously injured, and then you suddenly appeared and told her that you were the 'father on the moon.' It was too much of a shock for her. I didn't want you to scare her."

Haozi scratched his head and interjected, "Xiaoya has a point. Xiaozhou is a very determined girl. How about I arrange a 'chance encounter' for you two? Just take a look from afar, don't rush to acknowledge each other."

Lin Yanzhou pondered for a moment, then nodded: "Okay. Let's take a look from afar."

Patience is the one thing he has never lacked in his life. He's missed more than a decade already, so what's a little more time? But he can't bring himself to completely disappear.

Seeing the barely concealed concern in his eyes, Lin Xiaoya finally relented: "I'll arrange it. But you have to promise me—you won't take the initiative to acknowledge her, you won't reveal your identity, you'll just take a look. Once you've fully recovered, we'll sit down and talk to her properly."

"I agree," Lin Yanzhou said.

As night deepened, Haozi went out to buy food, leaving only Lin Yanzhou and Lin Xiaoya in the ward.

The air conditioner hummed, and outside the window, the hazy neon lights of the city stretched out. Lin Yanzhou leaned against the headboard, watching Lin Xiaoya tidy up the scattered medicine boxes on his bedside table. Her movements were delicate and practiced, as if she had done it countless times.

"You said you came all the way from Kyoto for this consultation," Lin Yanzhou said, his voice low. "After the consultation, are you planning to go back?"

Lin Xiaoya paused for a moment, but did not turn around.

"I'm not going back."

Lin Yanzhou watched her retreating figure, waiting for her to continue.

She neatly arranged the medicine boxes, turned around, and sat down on the bedside chair, placing her hands folded on her knees, like someone who had made a major decision and then calmed down.

"I resigned yesterday," she said. "I've rented out my apartment in Kyoto through an agency, and Xiaozhou's transfer to another school is all done."

Lin Yanzhou looked at her without saying a word.

"The city hospital gave me an appointment letter, as vice president and director of neurosurgery." Lin Xiaoya's voice was calm, as if she were stating something that had already been settled. "The conditions they offered were good: a 160-square-meter temporary apartment, fully furnished and ready to move in, a five-minute walk from the hospital. Xiaozhou's enrollment was also coordinated by the hospital yesterday, at the city's No. 1 Middle School, just across the street from where we live."

She paused for a moment, then said, "My salary is half of what it used to be, but it's enough. I don't need that much."

Lin Yanzhou's throat moved, as if he wanted to ask something, but he didn't say it.

Lin Xiaoya seemed to see right through him and continued, "When I came to consult with you, the hospital leaders didn't know about my plans. I was only officially hired after I arrived. The house keys they prepared were already in my hands yesterday."

She took a key out of her bag and placed it on the bedside table; the silver metal reflected a faint light.

"160 square meters, three bedrooms and two living rooms. One room is for me, one is for Xiaozhou, and the last one—" She looked up at him, her gaze calm and resolute, "is for you. You can come and stay whenever you want."

Lin Yanzhou looked at the key, then looked into her eyes.

"Why did you come back?" he finally asked.

Lin Xiaoya did not answer immediately. She lowered her head, her fingertips gently stroking the fabric of her white coat on her knees, as if she were choosing her words.

"You're all alone here," she said. "No family, no ties, not even anyone to sign the consent form for your hospital stay. I left back then because I was scammed, not because you were bad. Now I know everything, and I can't leave you alone again."

"I can compete for a position in Kyoto again later. But if I miss out on a person, it's truly gone."

She raised her head, her eyes calm, but her tone carried an unwavering certainty: "Xiao Zhou's father is here, so we should be here too."

Lin Yanzhou closed his eyes, a lump forming in his throat for a long time.

When he opened his eyes again, he reached out and took the key from the bedside table into his palm. The cool metal felt heavy against his skin.

"Okay," he said. "I'll go see him after I'm discharged from the hospital."

Lin Xiaoya smiled slightly but didn't say anything.

The next day, when the attending physician pushed open the door, he was holding a stack of test reports in his hand, and his expression was as if he had seen a ghost.

"Mr. Lin, you are the fastest recovering critically ill patient I have seen in my twenty years of practice." The doctor placed the report on the bedside table, his tone filled with undisguised bewilderment. "Yesterday's brain CT scan showed slight edema, but this morning's follow-up showed it was completely absorbed. Blood tests, liver and kidney function tests, and electrocardiogram are all normal. To be honest, your condition is better than most healthy people."

Lin Yanzhou remained calm, knowing in his heart that it was the effect of the mineral crystal in his brain.

"Can I be discharged now?"

"Okay... but are you sure you don't want to observe for another day?"

"Today."

The procedures only took ten minutes.

Lin Xiaoya waited for him downstairs. The morning light fell on her shoulders. She had changed into casual clothes and was holding the brown paper envelope in her hand, which contained the discharge summary and follow-up instructions.

"I've written the prescription. It's for regulating your qi and blood. Go to the pharmacy later, get it, and brew it to drink." She handed him the envelope. "Take the house keys; you can come anytime."

Lin Yanzhou took the envelope and looked at her: "Have you finished your onboarding procedures?"

"All done. I'll officially start seeing patients next week."

"Where's Xiaozhou?"

"School starts tomorrow." She paused. "If you want to come see her, tell me in advance."

"Um."

Haozi's car stopped at the entrance and honked once. Lin Yanzhou opened the car door, glanced back at Lin Xiaoya, who stood still, the morning light casting a warm golden glow on her silhouette.

"Go ahead," she said. "I have to go to the hospital this afternoon to familiarize myself with the departments; I didn't come specifically to drop you off."

Lin Yanzhou smiled and got into the car.

As the car drove out of the hospital gate, he saw Lin Xiaoya still standing in the same spot in the rearview mirror. Her figure gradually shrank and blended into the light and shadow of the street corner.

Haozi muttered as he drove, "Your recovery speed is outrageous. I was even prepared to stay up for you for three nights, and you were discharged in just one day."

"He's tough." Lin Yanzhou leaned against the passenger seat, rolled down the window a crack, and let the early autumn wind in. "Let's not go home first, let's go to the antique street. I'm going to sell that jade from last time."

Haozi glanced at him sideways: "So fast? What's the origin of that jade of yours?"

"It's an heirloom," Lin Yanzhou said without changing his expression.