Chapter 92: Cinderella and Trash Prince Episode 13

  The smaller the place, the more emphasis is placed on interpersonal relationships. In this city, whenever a friend or relative has a wedding, funeral, housewarming, business opening, or a child's full moon celebration or an elderly person's birthday, everyone will give a gift. Also, when someone in a relatively close relationship is hospitalized, people will go visit them. So, on the day that Da Bai asked for help in Suoluo, he mentioned this matter in the group chat and sought everyone's opinion. Of course, he wasn't so foolish as to choose a group that included Lin Chenghua, in order to avoid unnecessary trouble.

  Although Suoluo returned home and didn't spend much time with everyone, they all became quite close to her. They immediately shouted that they wanted to go see her grandmother, but were persuaded by Dabai, who said to wait until the grandmother's condition was more stable and Xiaogu wasn't so busy, so as not to add trouble for her to entertain them. Everyone thought this made sense, so the matter was put off.

  Finally able to walk on flat ground, everyone chose a weekend to visit the elderly.

  A group of people parked their cars and carried baskets of fresh flowers and various supplements, making a lively noise as they walked towards the inpatient department. Da Bai is off duty today, so he's leading the way for everyone.

  Everyone was chatting and laughing, but unexpectedly they bumped into someone - none other than Lin Chenghua, the urology department director who had just privately re-examined him.

  "Ah... Cheng Hua, what are you doing here?" Everyone was a bit flustered and embarrassed. Although there were reasons for keeping this from him, it wasn't as if they had done anything to betray him, but still, there was a hint of suspicion that they had abandoned him. In the past, they had always been together, but now they had left him behind to act on their own, which seemed somewhat unjustifiable.

  Lin Chenghua was even more nervous, he had been worried about the injury since he received it, not the child problem, after all, this was still a bit far away from him and didn't have much feeling. What he feared most was being known by others. For a man, no matter ancient or modern, Chinese or foreign, being injured in that aspect is an extremely shameful thing that can't be raised head, so he immediately changed the subject: "What about me? What are you all doing here?"

  "Take a look at the patient."

  "Who's looking at whom? You all know me in this city but I don't recognize any of you?"

  "Uh... a friend's grandmother, the old lady is ill, so we'll go take a look. Otherwise, you can go ahead and busy yourself first, and we'll come find you after we're done." Hurriedly wanting to call Lin Chenghua.

  "What's going on? So mysterious! Which friend is it? Tell me! Are you guys hiding something from me? If not, then I'll just follow along and see who it is!"

  "No! You're not suitable to go. Forget it, I'll tell you, it's Xiaogu, her grandmother had a cerebral hemorrhage and broke her leg recently, so I knew about it and told everyone, today is a good opportunity for everyone to visit her together." Da Bai explained, he was afraid that Lin Chenghuai would rashly go up and didn't know what would happen if he ran into the Ji family.

  "What did you say? Xiaogu, she's back?" Lin Chenghua grabbed Dawei's arm, and everyone didn't miss the look of wild joy that flashed across his face.

  "Uh, I've been busy taking care of my grandmother lately. Let's not talk about it now, let's go first and contact each other by phone later." Bai didn't show any expression as he furrowed his brow and pulled his arm out of Lin Chenghuai's hand. Although they were brothers, he still couldn't help but look down on Lin Chenghuai's behavior, especially after interacting with Xiaogu more often recently. He thought she was a great woman - not only beautiful, virtuous, filial, independent, thoughtful, and considerate. Chenghuai abandoning her was definitely his loss. Now, he was still like this, clearly having one foot in the door while keeping an eye on someone else, missing Xiaogu even more, which made him look down on him even more.

  "Yes, Xiaogu is back, what does it have to do with you? Who are you to her anyway? Why don't you go find your own Yang Ningning instead? Aren't you the one who loves her to death?" Chen Yaoyao sneered.

  "Ah...!" Lin Chenghua's face turned white with anger, but he couldn't retort. Everyone here knew that he had abandoned Xiāo Gǔ for Yáng Níng'niáng. In the past, he thought that was the love he wanted, but now... thinking of his own body, thinking of the doctor's words, thinking of his tearful parents at home, and all the good things about Xiāo Gǔ, he felt like he couldn't hold on anymore. If only he hadn't changed his heart back then, what would his life be like now? Would it be very happy? Perhaps this regret had been buried in his heart all along, but he just didn't want to admit it.

  "Shut up for a bit." Duan Xuan pulled back his wife, who still wanted to continue firing, "Cheng Huai, let's go upstairs first. I'll call you later and we can all get together tonight."

  A group of people left Lin Chenghua, who had lost his soul, and went upstairs.

  "Xiao Gu! You're so thoughtless, coming back without even telling us. Grandma and I came to see you, are you feeling a bit better?" Yao Yao's voice arrived before she did.

  "Much better, much better! You're all Xiaogu's friends, right? Hurry up and come in, sit down. It's a big weekend and you've all taken the trouble to visit this old lady, it's really kind of you." Grandma was delighted to see so many young people smiling, and after treatment and practice speaking, she had become more articulate too. She no longer worried about becoming senile, and her mood had improved greatly.

  "We are all Xiaogu's friends. You were hospitalized and didn't get much help, I should have come to see you earlier, but I was afraid that Xiaogu would be too busy, so I kept putting it off until today."

  "Lately, I've been troubling Xiaogu to take care of me, and this old body of mine is almost recovered. When you all have time, go find her to play with her more often, don't just come back once in a while only to accompany this old lady. You young people should have your own vibrant world."

  "Did you hear that, Xiaogu? Grandma wants you to play with us more!"

  "Grandma, are you disappointed in me?" Su Luo deliberately pretended to be wronged and teased the old lady.

  "You little scamp!"

  "Grandma, I'm giving you this flower, isn't it pretty? Let me put it in a vase for you."

  "Beautiful, really beautiful! At grandma's age, I didn't expect to receive flowers from a young man. Xiaogu, quickly bring me my phone, I want to take a WeChat moment."

  "Grandma, you have WeChat too? How trendy! I'll add you then."

  "Okay, okay, scan the QR code."

  ……

  These people are all sweet-talking, one by one calling her "grandma", making the old lady laugh so hard that the depression of being hospitalized for this period seems to have been swept away. I don't know who started the conversation, but they actually chatted with the old lady about mahjong, and the more they talked, the more they hit it off, if Su Luo hadn't stopped them, they almost set up a table in the hospital room to play, making her laugh and cry at the same time. Fortunately, the other bed was empty, so as not to disturb others.

  It's about time, Sulolo took out the lunch he had prepared for the old man.

  The lid of the thermos was lifted, and the whole house was instantly filled with the fresh and fragrant aroma of food, which instantly stirred up the appetite of everyone in the room.

  Grandma is fine, these days she eats different dishes every day, has seen her granddaughter's good craftsmanship, and has some resistance. Others can't help but be tempted, especially the foodies.

  "Grandma, what are you eating? It smells so good!"

  "This dish is too delicious, I'm about to drool!"

  "Grandma, how about you teach me a bowl of it, and I'll accompany you to play mahjong every day from now on!"

  Although the old lady also knew that everyone was comforting her with some exaggeration, she still felt a sense of pride and satisfaction: "Xiaogu makes these for me every day, changing flavors and styles, and they're all incredibly delicious! It's not just grandma bragging, but our Xiaogu is truly kind, beautiful, and talented in cooking. She designs lovely clothes and has a great personality. Whoever marries her will be very lucky. Unfortunately, she met the wrong person, that scoundrel, and now she's still single..."

  At this point, the old man took off his glasses and wiped away the red corners of his eyes. The atmosphere in the ward was also a bit awkward for a while.

  There was another person, Lin Chenghua, who had sneaked up and hidden outside the door, also reddened his eyes, and couldn't help but want to slap himself. Ah, Xiaogu is so good, how could I have changed my heart?!

  Everything now is God's punishment for me!

  Su Luo felt a bit uneasy seeing the old lady so distressed, and comforted her by patting her back: "Grandma, what's wrong? Let's not mention unhappy things. Look at me now, I'm living well, aren't I? If you're still worried, I'll find you a handsome and filial grandson-in-law, okay?"

  "Never mind, never mind, it's all in the past. As long as you're doing well, that's all that matters. Let everyone else laugh. But grandma isn't forcing you to find a partner either. If you think being single is more fun, grandma won't pressure you. Nowadays, isn't being single and childfree trending overseas? Grandma isn't an old-fashioned person. However, if you do meet someone suitable, bring them back home and grandma will help screen them for you. Whether they're handsome or not isn't the key point, what's important is that they treat you well. What do you all think?"

  "Grandma, you're the most open-minded and westernized elderly person I've ever met! I really admire you!" Yoyo started to crack jokes, trying to lighten up the atmosphere.

  "Grandma, don't worry. With Xiaogu's charm, she was the school belle who conquered all the young boys when we were in school, and now she's even more beautiful. Are you afraid that no one will pursue her?"

  "Yes, Grandma, if you're going to lack a grandson-in-law, I'll be the first to sign up. Just for Xiaogu's cooking skills, it's worth taking care of meals!"

  "Think you're beautiful? Get out of here! Xiaogu doesn't even look up to you!"

  “……”

  A group of people laughed and chatted, and the old lady's mood finally completely relaxed.

  After leaving the hospital, Duan Xuan still called Lin Chenghuai because of their previous agreement. Seeing that he was hung up on, everyone went home separately. Although they didn't gossip in the group chat again, they all had some resentment towards Lin Chenghuai in their hearts. The girls all warned their husbands or boyfriends not to be like Lin Chenghuai, and the boys also took him as a warning, telling themselves not to be promiscuous. There were also several men who secretly developed feelings for Su Luo, but they knew it wasn't suitable, so they chose to remain friends and buried those feelings in their hearts.

  Lin Chenghua had been hiding outside the door for a long time, and he didn't know how long he had stood there.