Chapter 15: Handsome Is Truly Handsome

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Meng Shuyue hurriedly reached out to wipe the tears from her mother’s face, then wiped her own tears before pulling her mother inside. At this moment, the clinic’s pulse diagnosis hall was already locked. Only then did Meng Shuyue realize that her father had been traveling south alone for two days in search of her. Seeing her worried expression, Song’s mother quickly comforted her, assuring her that everything was fine. Every night, Meng’s father would call home, and at night she would share this good news with him.

Meng Shuyue finally exhaled deeply, embracing her mother as she poured out the grievances of the past year and more. She also recounted how she had helped deliver a baby for a pregnant woman on the way back. She had intended to mention how she had narrowly escaped disaster in the flood, but at the thought of the foolish things she and the soldier had done up in the tree, she quickly changed the subject to something else.

Song’s mother didn’t mind that her daughter hadn’t bathed for days and smelled sour; she joined in scolding the eldest son of the Song family, then praised her daughter’s skills, saying she had truly inherited the art of midwifery.

"Our Yueyue is a fine young woman, adept both in the hall and the kitchen. Your father even felt your pulse before and said you have a strong constitution. Any young man who marries you will be fortunate. That Song boy doesn’t know how to cherish you; he’s blind."

"Your father and I have already checked you out. I heard the second son of the Song family is a pilot in the military. If you marry him, you’ll be a military wife, which is far better than that eldest son’s glory. We’ll be furious at him; he’ll regret it someday!"

"In a few days, when your father returns, I’ll arrange for someone to come and introduce you to a match, alright, Yueyue..."

Song’s mother chattered on, but after traveling for several days, Meng Shuyue was utterly exhausted. The buzzing in her ears sounded like a lullaby, her eyelids fluttering in a struggle as if fighting sleep. She mumbled an absent “okay” and then curled up in her mother’s arms, falling into a deep slumber.

*

At the hospital.

The head nurse pushed her cart out from the ward, her face flushed. Several younger nurses hurried over, eagerly asking for gossip.

“Sis, tell us, is that Captain Shen handsome? Why did Dr. Chen, who was so arrogant and kept flicking her braid, come out of the ward looking as red-faced as a monkey’s bottom just now?”

“It can’t be that exaggerated. The men in their unit are all rough types—dark and burly. How handsome can they be?”

The nurses chattered excitedly. The head nurse raised her hands to calm the infatuated girls, her own face reddening even more. “I saw for myself. Handsome, yes, and fierce too. But I’ve long heard that Captain Shen is a cold, abstinent man who’s not interested in women. No woman has ever left an impression on him, so don’t get your hopes up!”

One young nurse with a striking appearance was not convinced. Tossing her braid behind her shoulder, fearless and bold, she said, “I don’t believe it. Have you heard of ‘cold on the outside, warm on the inside’? I think Captain Shen isn’t uninterested in women. Just wait—I’ll prove it to you!”

Her words sparked a burst of laughter among the other nurses.

As Song Shixuan and Song Shiyu passed down the corridor, they heard the fearless nurse’s declaration and couldn’t help but shake their heads in unison, already imagining the scene of that nurse covering her face and running away crying from Shen Jinxiao.

They had known for a long time just how popular their uncle was among the ladies.

There were probably more women fond of their uncle than there were soldiers in his unit.

But these women came and went in waves.

Because it was true that their uncle wasn’t interested in women; he simply regarded women as if they were men.

On one occasion, a female teacher who fancied him, with bright red lips and a shy smile, held a stack of books and deliberately swayed in front of him as if she might fall into his arms.

But their uncle immediately called her to attention with a firm “Stand at ease!”

He took the teacher’s books, asked her to remove her high-heeled plastic sandals, and then snapped off the heel of one shoe before handing it back to her.

The teacher was dumbfounded, but he seriously explained, “Without the heel, you won’t wobble when you walk!”

Then he returned the books to her without a hint of tenderness or chivalry.

Their uncle’s straightforwardness and cluelessness about women were countless. Sometimes, they wondered if he lacked feelings altogether, for no matter how many beautiful women surrounded him, he remained indifferent.

Even the daughter of Director Lin, who had pursued him for years, was a striking beauty and the youngest reporter at the newspaper, yet their uncle never even glanced her way.

This had worried their grandmother for years, afraid that she might never hold a great-grandson in her arms.

After the recent near-death experience in the flood in a neighboring city, the old lady was undoubtedly even more anxious.

When Song Shixuan and Song Shiyu heard early that morning about their uncle’s accident and hospitalization, they hurried over with apples as a visit.

By then, the ward was already crowded.

Listening to the doctor’s words, Song’s parents’ worried expressions finally eased somewhat.

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After seeing the doctor off, Song Shixuan and Song Shiyu placed the apples on the table and politely greeted Shen Jin, who was reading the newspaper.

Shen Jinxiao glanced at them indifferently and responded briefly before lowering his gaze back to the paper.

Song Shiyu was a bit restless. Remembering how Song’s mother had told him to go along to meet the Meng family girl for a match, he felt annoyed.

He had no intention of marrying yet—he wasn’t done having fun.

Besides, he had heard she was a dark-skinned, plain village girl!

So he took the initiative to ask Shen Jinxiao about Song Shijing’s situation, “Uncle, the newspaper reports about Big Brother and Sister Yanyan—was that girl from the Meng family behind it? I don’t think Big Brother is that kind of person…”

Before he finished, Song’s father gave him a sharp smack on the head and scolded him to “Shut up.”

Song’s mother then took her two sons aside and warned them softly.

“Your uncle got a fever after falling into the flood, and it seems his mind is confused. He can’t remember what happened over the past year. So don’t talk about anything that happened in the last year. If you upset him, it might trigger a headache again, and I won’t forgive you!”

Her slender eyebrows furrowed tightly, her eyes filled with worry.

But Song Shixuan and Song Shiyu exchanged glances, unable to suppress the smiles tugging at their lips.

As they left the hospital, Song Shiyu burst out laughing, “Brother, this is great! Uncle’s got amnesia, so that means I don’t have to repay the two hundred yuan I borrowed from him earlier this year!”

Song Shixuan’s refined and gentle face lit up with a big smile, “Mine’s even better. Now I don’t have to return that unique herbal medicine book I borrowed from Uncle!”

They high-fived and cheered.

One planned to use the money to treat a female classmate studying at the library to a meal; the other thought of giving the herbal medicine book as a gift to his goddess he had met at the library.

Unanimously, they headed to the library.

At the library entrance, the two huddled together again, greeting each other as they stepped forward.

Song Shixuan tilted his head, watching his younger brother climb the steps, but in a moment of distraction, he bumped into a small girl with dark hair and a modest appearance.

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