"No, no, it's my duty!" Qin Zhi quickly waved her hand. The other girls echoed her sentiment.
Su Jinning stroked the ball without saying a word. Although the girls had taken the ball back, it wasn't their fault. But Su Jinning was still a little annoyed. He turned slightly and said, "Alright, if there's nothing else, you can go now. He's going to sleep."
Several girls were puzzled, and even Shen Moyu stared blankly at the digital clock on the wall that showed 19:30.
"I..." Shen Moyu wanted to say that it was still early, but seeing Su Jinning's unhappy expression, she didn't say anything in the end. She turned her head and said apologetically, "The doctor told me to go to bed early, you guys go back first."
"Ah! Okay!" Qin Zhi quickly tugged at the girls next to her, signaling them to come out with her.
With everyone gone, the ward quieted down, and Shen Moyu, just as Su Jinning had said, felt a little sleepy.
However, looking at the boy smiling slightly as he held the ball under the moonlight streaming through the glass window, he didn't want to sleep anymore.
"Brother Ning?" Shen Moyu called his name softly.
"What's wrong?" Just as he wished, Su Jinning would turn around unconditionally whenever Shen Moyu called his name.
Shen Moyu squinted and smiled even more beautifully: "I'm hungry."
The boy put down the ball, patted his head helplessly, and said, "Okay, I'll go downstairs and buy you some food."
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Author's Note:
Good morning. Has school started yet?
Chapter 46 A New Story
When Su Jinning went downstairs to buy food, the food stalls on the nearby street were just starting to set up. A bustling crowd had gathered not far away, and under the dim streetlights, only a sea of heads could be seen. The aroma of food and the vendors' calls wafted over from time to time, giving it a touch of everyday life.
Su Jinning stared blankly at the food street in the distance, a flood of childhood memories washing over him. Back then, his father wasn't so busy, and his mother was still alive. She often brought him here to eat delicious food. His favorite was the hot pot tripe. On summer evenings, sitting under the roots of a tree, eating a few skewers of grilled tripe, and chatting with his parents was such a tender moment.
However, when I went to eat it recently, it didn't taste the same anymore.
"Here you go, young man! Your porridge." The restaurant owner poured the steaming hot vegetable porridge into a plastic bowl, packed it up, and handed it to Su Jinning.
"Ah..." Su Jinning was pulled back to his senses by the boss's call. He quickly turned around, took the porridge, and nodded and smiled.
The owner was very friendly. Seeing him constantly glancing at the food street, he chatted casually for a few minutes: "That area is more lively and crowded. It's a good place to eat."
Su Jinning smiled and nodded, her little tiger teeth showing, giving off a sunny and friendly vibe: "Yes, it's been quite a while since I've been there."
"This food street has been around for several years, and it still manages to stay so busy every day." The owner seemed a little envious, clicking his tongue as he fanned himself with a large palm-leaf fan.
Su Jinning smiled and nodded: "Yes, it's always been so good." Thinking about it carefully, she realized that she hadn't been to many of the places she loved to go when she was a child since her mother passed away.
I don't know if I lacked the courage to go, or if I was just too lonely.
——
When Su Jinning pushed open the door and came in, Shen Moyu was still staring blankly out the window, his gaze unfocused on the stars in the sky. He was so serious that he looked a little silly.
He chuckled softly, and, afraid of disturbing Shen Moyu, said gently, "Uncle Mo, the porridge is back."
Shen Moyu turned his head slightly and saw Su Jinning smiling softly in the entryway.
Shen Moyu couldn't do strenuous exercise, not even sit up, so Su Jinning had to feed him spoonful by spoonful. The porridge was a bit hot, so Su Jinning always had to blow on it before feeding it to Shen Moyu.
Shen Moyu was genuinely hungry, and he quickly finished more than half a bowl of porridge. Perhaps the fighting had taken a toll on his energy, and with a large group of people coming to "apologize" right after he woke up, he claimed to be hungry even though he wasn't.
"Brother Ning." Shen Moyu swallowed the porridge in his mouth and looked at Su Jinning.
Su Jinning gently scooped up the porridge in the bowl and blew on it: "What's wrong?" After saying that, he put the porridge he had blown on to Shen Moyu's mouth.
"Why did it take you so long to go downstairs to buy porridge? Did you sneak a bite behind my back?" Shen Moyu obediently drank it down, then questioned him with a "I see right through you" expression.
"No, how could I dare?" Su Jinning smiled helplessly. She scooped up the last mouthful of porridge and said, "There are a lot of people on that food street not far from the hospital. I watched it for a while when I bought you the porridge."
Shen Moyu rolled her eyes at him: "What's so interesting about crowds?"
Su Jinning pouted and tucked the blanket around him: "I didn't say I was looking at people, I'm just looking at that street." Seeing Shen Moyu's dissatisfied look, he started to coax the little guy again: "It's been a long time since I've been there, I just saw it and it brought back some memories, okay?"
"Oh." Shen Moyu rubbed his stomach.
Su Jinning finished tidying up the lunchbox and turned to look at him, letting out a soft sigh. Do all patients like to throw tantrums for no reason? It's just that he was a little late coming back from buying porridge?
He examined Shen Moyu carefully once more. Fine, he'd just admit he was wrong.
“I was thinking, after I’m discharged from the hospital, we can go there to eat together, right?” Shen Moyu suddenly spoke at the same time as him, blinking at him as if waiting for his agreement.
Su Jinning was taken aback, then lowered her head and chuckled softly, nodding: "Okay, I'll take you there to eat after you're discharged from the hospital."
It's "take you," not "with you," nor "invite you." It sounds more like talking to a child, with a touch of indulgence.
The subtle modifier warmed Shen Moyu's heart; he hadn't heard that word in a long time.
The snack street not far from the hospital was a place he and Gu Junxiao often went to eat when they were in No. 8 Middle School. It was crowded there, and he didn't like noise, so Gu Junxiao would go in, buy the food, and bring it to him. He would then sit under the roots of a tree to eat.
It was summer then, and everything seemed fine. But after the incident, he never went back.
Su Jinning sat down, looked at him who was lost in thought, and asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Shen Moyu snapped out of her thoughts and looked at him: "No, I was just thinking that I used to come here to eat often when I was in No. 8 Middle School, but I haven't been there in a long time."
No. 8 Middle School.
Su Jinning was stunned for a moment, then her hands, which were resting on her knees, suddenly tightened. Her eyes turned cold.
Shen Moyu also realized what was happening and turned to look at Su Jinning.
In an instant, the ward fell silent. The warm atmosphere that had just been there suddenly became somewhat somber.
Su Jinning couldn't help but look up at Shen Moyu's face. The light made him appear sickly pale, and he quietly looked up at the ceiling, looking somewhat melancholy.
He knew what Shen Moyu was thinking about, and why he was so downcast. He sighed and slumped back in his chair: "Ask away."
Shen Moyu didn't look at him, but her tone was a little cold: "How did you know about Gu Junxiao's matter?"