Free Web NovelChapter 118: Chapter 118: Childhood Friend
"Wifey~"
Wen Ci rolled her eyes at him again. Seeing as the exasperating man was an injured patient, she thought, ’I’ll help him this one time, but there will be absolutely no next time.’
Wen Ci reached out to unbuckle the man’s belt, asking casually, "Don’t you have a childhood friend named Xu Jinghe?"
"Yeah, why?"
Xu Jinghe was his best friend when they were young. Later, their families were separated due to work transfers, but he and Xu Jinghe still managed to get together once a year.
"He has a sister?"
At her words, Huo Jingyuan’s brow furrowed slightly. He turned to look at Wen Ci and asked in disbelief, "How did you know that? Did Xu Jinghe call you?"
Xu Jinghe knew he was married and had even seen a photo of Wen Ci. He had also said he would personally come to the Northwest during the New Year to meet her.
"Sort of."
"’Sort of’? What’s that supposed to mean?"
Wen Ci didn’t speak. She waited for Huo Jingyuan to finish in the bathroom, get back in bed, and rehang the IV drip bag before she explained unhurriedly, "Didn’t I tell you I found a child? His parents are dead, and he was abducted from an orphanage by human traffickers."
"Mm-hm."
’He knew all this.’
Wen Ci continued, "Yesterday, Captain Xu from the military base said the traffickers have been caught..."
"Is this related to Xu Jinghe?"
Wen Ci moved closer to the man, pinching his firm cheek, her voice gentle. "Do you just have to interrupt? Do you really think a kidnapping case would have anything to do with Xu Jinghe?"
"No."
"Then why are you interrupting."
Suddenly, Wen Ci gasped.
’If Huo Jingyuan and Xu Jinghe were childhood friends, wouldn’t that mean Huo Jingyuan also knew Xiao Chuan’s birth mother?’ A hint of sadness was hidden in her gaze as she looked at him.
Before Wen Ci could speak, Huo Jingyuan realized something. He put all the pieces of the story together and, tilting his head, asked, "The child you found... is actually Xu Jinghe’s nephew?!"
Wen Ci nodded. "Yes. He called our landline last night and said you two were childhood friends. I thought I’d come and confirm it with you."
Huo Jingyuan’s eyes narrowed, and the face and smile of Sister Xu seemed to appear before him. "Sister Xu... back when she got married, Xu Jinghe and I even went to go ’steal the bride’ as part of the celebrations."
"’Steal the bride’?"
"Yeah. Sister Xu was a full zodiac cycle older than Jinghe and me. She went against her parents’ objections and married a poor boy whose grandfather’s generation had a traitor, so she cut ties with her family."
Wen Ci’s eyes widened.
’A traitor in the grandfather’s generation... that was a very serious issue. Since the Huo and Xu Families knew each other, they had probably served in the military too.’
’No wonder she cut ties with her family.’
’If this had happened in a family with a military background...’
’It would be an absolute disgrace.’
"Can you bring Xiao Chuan here again tomorrow?"
"I can."
Huo Jingyuan held Wen Ci’s hand. ’Marrying her was the luckiest thing that’s ever happened to me. If Wen Ci hadn’t found Xiao Chuan, the boy might still be wandering the streets.’
’He might have been found by the traffickers and taken somewhere else.’
Just then, the attending physician pushed the door open and came in, followed by several nurses. He asked with a broad smile, "Mr. Huo, when would you like to have your stitches removed?"
"I get to decide?" Huo Jingyuan asked.
"Your wound is healing very well. After the stitches are out, you can rest for half a year and then resume high-intensity training."
"Can we take them out now?"
The attending physician’s smile became strained. He tried his best to hide his speechlessness. "We can take them out now, but we’re out of anesthesia. If we do it the day after tomorrow, we’ll have anesthesia."
He was trying to use the lack of anesthesia as an excuse to make Mr. Huo give up on the idea of removing his stitches today.
"Then I don’t need anesthesia."
The attending physician: "..."
Huo Jingyuan looked at the doctor. "Can’t we?"
’I was unconscious right after I was injured, but my wound needed emergency treatment on the way here. There was no anesthesia on the plane, so they had to stitch me up raw.’
’Even though I was unconscious, the pain had still woken me up.’
Before the doctor could answer, Wen Ci glared at Huo Jingyuan and said seriously, "No. We’ll wait until there’s anesthesia to remove the stitches."
"I want to go home."
"So I can wait on you at home?"
The few nurses standing behind the attending physician couldn’t help but chuckle. They usually administered Mr. Huo’s IV and changed his dressings, but his cold expression always made them nervous.
They never expected...
...Mr. Huo to be like this in front of his wife.
Huo Jingyuan shut his mouth.
·
After the visit, Wen Ci returned home to find the courtyard gate wide open. The door to the inner room was also ajar.
Wen Ci’s brow furrowed, and she hurried inside.
Wen Yaozu was in the living room comforting Xiao Chuan, waving his fists around. "If that mean lady comes back, I’ll fight her off for you."
Xiao Chuan’s body trembled, his eyes glistening as he choked out, "Thank you, boss."
Wen Yaozu patted his head.
Wen Ci, who had just walked in, heard Yaozu’s words and asked, "Did someone come to the house?"
Hearing his sister’s voice, Wen Yaozu stood up from the sofa and tattled, "Some weird lady just barged into the house for no reason and scared Xiao Chuan."
Xiao Chuan said in his soft, timid voice, "I’ve seen that lady before, in the other house."
In that instant, Wen Ci knew who had come.
’I never would have thought... for Ms. Su, my own biological mother, to confront me after hearing a few rumors was bad enough, but to actually barge into my house?’
A chilling glint flashed in Wen Ci’s eyes.
’If Huo Jingyuan hadn’t been injured, I wouldn’t want to have any contact with the Jiang Family whatsoever.’
After some comforting, Xiao Chuan calmed down.
Wen Ci reached out and gently ruffled Xiao Chuan’s hair, then sat on the sofa and asked softly, "Xiao Chuan, do you remember the uncle lying in the hospital room?"
Xiao Chuan nodded. "I remember."
"That uncle and your uncle go way back."
"Go way back?"
Wen Ci blinked, then put it another way. "It just means they’re really good friends."
Just then, the landline rang again. When Wen Ci answered, Xu Jinghe’s voice came through. "So, do you believe I’m Jingyuan’s childhood friend now?"
"I believe you."
Xu Jinghe had a warm and gentle voice, smooth as polished jade.
"Is it okay if I call you Sister-in-law?"
Wen Ci: "..."
’Back in the Northwest, Huo Jingyuan’s subordinates also called me Sister-in-law.’
’Why did his childhood friend have to call me that too?’
"Are you younger than Huo Jingyuan?" Wen Ci asked curiously.
"I am."
Hearing this, Wen Ci was speechless.
’Among men, whoever is older gets to be the ’big brother’.’
Xiao Chuan looked at the landline. "Sister, is that my uncle on the phone?"
"It is," Wen Ci replied, looking at Xiao Chuan.
Xu Jinghe: "Sister-in-law, I need to ask you for a favor. Something’s come up on my end, and I can’t get away for the time being. I was wondering if you could help bring Xiao Chuan back."
Wen Ci’s eyelids lowered slightly.
’At the hospital, Huo Jingyuan had mentioned that Xu Jinghe was in the trade business now, and that coming to Beijing to pick up Xiao Chuan in person meant he had to push a lot of things aside.’
"I can book a plane ticket for you, Sister-in-law. You can fly back the same day."
The Capital had flight connections to many provincial capitals, with two round trips per day. For an urgent trip, one could leave Beijing in the morning and return in the afternoon.
