Regardless of whether Shen Qingqing was willing, she was brought to the hospital.
She underwent an X-ray examination.
Inside the doctor's office, Jiang Zhixun sat upright beside Shen Qingqing.
After the doctor reviewed the scan, he proactively asked, "Her arm hurts badly. Did it injure the bone?"
Although Shen Qingqing neither cried nor complained.
From the stiffness in her right hand, Jiang Zhixun could tell that the issue was indeed serious.
"No damage to the bone."
The doctor first gave them a reassuring answer.
Then added, "But Mister Shen's ligament tissue is seriously strained. Be sure to take medication on time and get proper rest during this period."
Jiang Zhixun's eyes flashed with contemplation—how could a strain happen under normal circumstances?
He knew exactly how much strength he used himself; it shouldn't have hurt Shen Qingqing.
Could it be that trouble occurred on the way here?
He wanted to ask for clarification, but the situation was inappropriate, so he had to suppress his doubts.
The examination results were roughly consistent with Shen Qingqing's own judgment; the issue wasn't severe and could be healed with time.
After thanking the doctor, she left the office ahead without as much as a glance at the man beside her.
Jiang Zhixun frowned and followed her out.
He saw her holding the form and walking over to pay and pick up medication.
With his long strides, he caught up to Shen Qingqing and snatched the form from her hand.
"I'll handle it."
Shen Qingqing didn't want to bicker with him over trivial matters. She cast a faint glance at Jiang Zhixun and sat down on the long bench next to the hallway.
Her right hand rested on her leg, and her left hand absent-mindedly fiddled with the buttons of her coat.
She lowered her head, lost in thought, not knowing what was on her mind.
When they came to the hospital earlier, she resisted strongly. Now she suddenly seemed deflated, which startled Jiang Zhixun.
He took a closer look at Shen Qingqing and only then noticed her complexion wasn't quite normal.
Her cheeks had a flush, and her breathing sounded labored.
Jiang Zhixun's grip on the form tightened as his eyes reflected a conflicted expression.
In the end, he squatted down in front of Shen Qingqing to feel her forehead for temperature.
Shen Qingqing, in her dazed state, failed to dodge in time.
Not until a pair of warm, dry hands touched her forehead did she realize what Jiang Zhixun had done.
In the past, if Jiang Zhixun treated her like this, Shen Qingqing would be so overjoyed she wouldn't know what to do.
But now, she felt suffocated.
It was precisely because Jiang Zhixun had treated her too well before that she developed thoughts she shouldn't have had.
Over these three years, she dared not go to the Northwest to find Jiang Zhixun and live a proper life with him.
Nor did she dare bring up divorce and walk away.
She was terrified that their relationship would truly crumble with no chance of repair.
Shen Qingqing leaned back, dodging the hand that was still on her forehead.
Tears inexplicably streamed down from her eyes.
"Can you stop bothering me?"
Her voice was still somewhat hoarse, making her words of rejection lose their intensity.
Earlier in the cafeteria, Jiang Zhixun hadn't thought too much about it. He only assumed it was because they hadn't seen each other for three years and the weather was overly cold that her voice had changed.
His sharp gaze fell on the damp trail of tears.
Her eyes were red, and so was the tip of her nose.
She looked pitifully fragile.
Jiang Zhixun told himself that she was sick and injured; it was normal for her to have a bad temper.
There's no need to take it personally.
"Does anything else hurt?"
Shen Qingqing felt like a clown jumping around in vain. She had vented her emotions, yet Jiang Zhixun remained indifferent.
His mouth was asking caring questions, but his eyes were utterly calm.
In Jiang Zhixun's eyes, she was no different from a passerby.
She couldn't stir his emotions at all!
After waiting for three seconds without a reply from Shen Qingqing.
"Not answering, huh?"
Jiang Zhixun's patience ran out. "Then let the doctor examine you again."
This time, he didn't pull Shen Qingqing along; Jiang Zhixun directly carried her in his arms.
He re-registered and carried Shen Qingqing to the appropriate department.
Shen Qingqing was burning with fever. Though she had rested at the guesthouse and improved slightly, it hadn't fully subsided.
She went outside and exerted herself, which triggered a recurrence of fever.
The fever was quite severe, so they kept her in the hospital for an IV drip.
Jiang Zhixun ran back and forth, managing the payments and getting the medication.
In the end, he even bought Shen Qingqing two steamed buns—just because she didn't finish her meal at the cafeteria…
The better Jiang Zhixun treated her, the more suffocated Shen Qingqing felt.
Especially since the other patients in the room were looking at her with envy, making her feel like she was ungrateful.
Jiang Zhixun had already given her everything.
Marriage.
Money.
Everything he could give, he did—only he didn't come home.
For her to still suggest divorce—if that wasn't ungrateful, then what was?
Seeing her tears fall unexpectedly yet again, Jiang Zhixun frowned.
"Does somewhere hurt?"
Compared to the cold distance when they first met, he could now be considered gentle.
Shen Qingqing shook her head.
Coming to the Northwest and seeing Jiang Zhixun this time, she felt increasingly unlike herself.
Throwing tantrums and crying at the tiniest impulse—even she herself began to find it infuriating.
She closed her eyes, pretending to sleep, though the moisture from her tears continued to flow steadily from the corners of her eyes.
Jiang Zhixun didn't know what was wrong with her.
He stood with tightly pursed lips beside the hospital bed, staring silently at Shen Qingqing.
The woman on the neighboring bed eventually spoke up, unable to contain herself. "Your wife is probably feeling really sick—you should comfort her."
The word "wife" made Jiang Zhixun uncomfortable.
He and Shen Qingqing were married, but they hadn't spent a single day together as husband and wife.
Other than the marriage certificate, there was nothing to this marriage.
During the first few years Shen Qingqing lived with the Jiang Family, he had played the role of an older brother.
But being a husband was an entirely different matter.
Jiang Zhixun had no idea how to comfort Shen Qingqing.
When the woman in the neighboring bed, Sister Li, urged him again, he responded stiffly, "Once she feels better, she'll naturally stop crying."
Sister Li: "..."
She had heard before that Captain Jiang was excellent at flying planes but was cold as ice, like a block of frozen stone.
She had thought it was an exaggeration, but now it seemed he was as cold and unapproachable as described.
His wife was sick and tearful, looking so pitiful, yet he could simply stand there and watch.
Was he the epitome of a clueless wooden-headed man?
She glanced at the lunchbox on the table, which contained two plump, white steamed buns.
The woman hadn't touched them.
Sister Li figured that a sweet tongue wasn't enough—buying food alone wouldn't do.
Once the woman recovered, she would likely only remember his lack of concern and not those steamed buns.
When she looked again at Shen Qingqing's closed eyes, as though unwilling to look at Jiang Zhixun, Sister Li became even more certain of her thoughts.
"Captain Jiang, a wife needs comforting. Look at your wife—she's fair-skinned and good-shaped, such a beautiful lady, and you can bear to watch her cry?"
Jiang Zhixun was silent for a moment, and his long, slender fingers bent slightly, using his knuckles to brush against the corner of Shen Qingqing's eye.
He touched a moist sensation.
As if shocked by electricity, Jiang Zhixun immediately withdrew his hand.
His heart surged with a chaotic and indescribable emotion, one he deeply resisted.
Jiang Zhixun thought, he should make sure Shen Qingqing returned to Beijing as soon as possible!