A White Cloud (GL ABO) - Chapter 51

The infusion hall of the internal medicine department was too noisy.

Tomb Cheng held Xu Yiyi’s hand, scanning the crowd but not finding anyone.

As she prepared to call and ask, a weak voice came from behind.

“Little Orange,” Xiao Zhiman said.

Su Jue supported Xiao Zhiman, just out from the restroom.

One hand held Xiao Zhiman’s arm over her shoulder, the other wrapped around her waist.

Xiao Zhiman, unsteady, leaned naturally against Su Jue.

Tomb Cheng looked at them, feeling odd.

Were they always this close?

Seeing someone arrive, Su Jue didn’t linger and gave Tomb Cheng instructions, saying, “She has a few more bottles of medicine. It won’t finish before noon. I’ll bring lunch for you later.”

She glanced at Xiao Zhiman’s flushed face, who met her gaze without avoidance.

Su Jue sighed inwardly, deciding to forgive her since she was a patient.

She said nothing about Xiao Zhiman deliberately calling her to cause a misunderstanding.

When Su Jue returned upstairs, Shen Zhiqing had just put on her white coat.

“Where were you? Just back?” Shen Zhiqing asked.

Shen Zhiqing wasn’t one to be late or leave early usually.

Shen Zhiqing tied her hair and pinned her doctor’s badge, saying, “I went to Zhiyi Pharma.”

“That Shen Mu kid again?”

Su Jue knew of Zhiyi Pharma and the Pei family’s eldest daughter, an Alpha, who managed it.

Shen Zhiqing adjusted her badge, giving a knowing look.

“That kid always drags you out for favors. What did you agree to this time?” Su Jue asked.

Shen Zhiqing took out an invitation, placed it on the table, and pondered whether to accept.

Su Jue tore the golden wax seal, pulled out the formal letter, and looked puzzled after two seconds, saying, “This?”

A charity gala wasn’t something Shen Zhiqing would typically accept.

“From Pei You,” Shen Zhiqing said.

She considered herself an ordinary doctor, not someone who’d receive such invitations, but Pei You’s offer was too tempting.

“That kid by your side, aren’t you curious?” Pei You had said, her eyes teasing, exuding confidence.

Her sudden words carried an eerie tone.

Shen Zhiqing took note and asked Shen Mu about the gala after returning to the hospital.

“It’s organized by the city. High-ranking officials and top businesspeople from each district will attend,” Shen Mu said.

Shen Mu covered the receiver, mumbled thanks to Li Yue for fruit, barely audible, saying, “Thanks, Mom.”

Shen Zhiqing ignored it and relayed Shen Mu’s words to Su Jue.

“Sis, are you going? Might run into Grandpa,” Shen Mu said casually, as if Fang Lianwen were his own grandfather.

Fang Lianwen was renowned in Huajing.

Shen Zhiqing wasn’t surprised but felt things weren’t so simple.

Pei You’s demeanor suggested she knew something.

From Su Jue, Shen Zhiqing learned Xiao Zhiman was in the hospital.

She didn’t visit immediately, sorting her thoughts after finishing department work.

Mu Mu wouldn’t reveal Xu Yiyi’s origins or her other mother.

From their last talk, Shen Zhiqing sensed Tomb Cheng seemed unfamiliar with Xu Yiyi’s mother.

Otherwise, how could someone so sentimental like Mu Mu bluntly mention the other’s death, as if she were puzzled herself?

Shen Zhiqing couldn’t figure it out.

If Mu Mu and the mother were strangers, where did Xu Yiyi come from? Or, was Xu Yiyi truly Mu Mu’s child, as she claimed?

She didn’t intend to pry, but Pei You’s words stirred her long-held confusion.

At noon, she and Su Jue went downstairs.

Xiao Zhiman’s complexion looked better, rosier than in the morning.

Su Jue noticed Xiao Zhiman had the best setup in the infusion hall.

April brought spring, but the busy area felt chilly with drafts.

A small blanket covered Xiao Zhiman’s legs, and she’d moved to a warm, sheltered spot.

A tiny hot water bottle wrapped her IV tube, warming the nutrient fluid just right.

The fever patch on her forehead wasn’t hospital-issued.

Quite the caretaker, Su Jue thought, noticing her junior sister’s expression freeze for a second.

Wow, a love triangle moment.

“Thanks, Doctor Su,” Tomb Cheng said, taking the lunch box.

She opened Xu Yiyi’s first, borrowing a small stool for her to sit and eat.

Standing up, something poked her lower back.

Turning, Tomb Cheng saw Shen Zhiqing’s pen cap pressing her waist dimple.

Omega deliberately dragged the pen tip mischievously along her lower back.

Su Jue unpacked lunch boxes, grumbling, “Since you might not have an appetite, drink porridge to fill your stomach. Eat normally tomorrow when you feel better. You’re my patient, but there’s no need to boost our hospital’s revenue like this.”

Xiao Zhiman smiled brightly, her lips regaining color.

She took a plastic spoon with her left hand, sipped warm porridge, tasting sweet, thick grains, warming her stomach, saying, “Sugar added?”

Her question made Su Jue realize.

She tilted her chin toward Shen Zhiqing, indicating it was her idea, as if afraid of misunderstanding.

“Thanks,” Xiao Zhiman said sincerely, unsurprised since it was Shen Zhiqing.

Shen Zhiqing had no chance to be alone with Tomb Cheng and returned to the office with Su Jue.

Before leaving, she asked Xiao Zhiman if she’d return to her place tonight.

Xiao Zhiman declined kindly, saying, “I’d love to, but I need to go back to the compound.”

Her mother called that morning, having heard about her recent events from someone, insisting she return.

Shen Zhiqing didn’t press, slipped car keys into Tomb Cheng’s hand, and suggested, “Drive her back. It’ll put my mind at ease.”

As they left, Tomb Cheng glanced back, meeting Xiao Zhiman’s complex gaze, tinged with curiosity.

Seeing Tomb Cheng’s bewildered, scratching-her-head look, Xiao Zhiman couldn’t help but chuckle, unlike the composed soldier from military school.

“Sister Xiao?” Tomb Cheng said, ears inexplicably warm, heart scratched by a cat.

Xiao Zhiman shook her head, pulled the blanket over Xu Yiyi, leaned back in the chair, and closed her eyes to rest.

After lunch, the little one basked in warm sunlight, eyes half-closed, head swaying. Xiao Zhiman’s IV had two bags left, likely finishing by afternoon.

Tomb Cheng pocketed the keys and sat beside them, watching Xu Yiyi’s head droop.

She laid flat, resting on her lap.

Rest time passed quickly.

The nurse removing the needle was extra cautious.

Tomb Cheng watched the thin needle slide from Xiao Zhiman’s hand, a tiny bl00d bead pressed under medical cotton before it spilled.

Much improved, Xiao Zhiman walked steadily.

At the car, she finally understood Shen Zhiqing’s actions.

She was subtly claiming her territory.