B5SB -Chapter 159 Gratitude

The next morning at the Military District Hospital, Qiao Shuhui opened her eyes and looked around, realizing she was lying on a hospital bed.

She reached under the blanket to touch her belly. Her heart skipped—where was her baby?

Just as she propped herself up to sit, Nurse Cao on duty pressed her back down and patiently explained, “Comrade Qiao, you’ve just undergone a C-section.”

Only then did Qiao Shuhui feel the pain from her abdominal wound. It hurt so badly that she grimaced.

She grabbed Nurse Cao’s arm and weakly asked, “Nurse, where’s my baby? Is it a boy or a girl?”

A trace of pity flashed in Nurse Cao’s eyes as she looked at Qiao Shuhui’s swollen, pale face.
“The girl is very healthy. As for the boy…”

“The girl is very beautiful,” Lin Yifei cut in before she could finish.

Nurse Cao glanced at him and was startled by the threatening look in his eyes.

After seeing Lin Yifei, Qiao Shuhui stopped asking about the child. Her eyes reddened as she choked out, “Yifei, Du Xiao harmed our child.”

Lin Yifei didn’t respond. He simply placed the soup he was carrying on the bedside table.

“Focus on recovering. Your child is being watched by her grandmother.”

Without waiting for her reply, he walked straight out of the ward.

Qiao Shuhui stared at his departing back, furious.

Outside the ward, Nurse Cao saw Lin Yifei standing there silently with a cold expression.

She asked cautiously, “Commander Lin, do you have any instructions?”

He hummed and said threateningly, “Don’t tell Comrade Qiao that the boy didn’t make it.”

Nurse Cao hurriedly nodded. “Don’t worry, Commander Lin. I promise I won’t say anything.”

Satisfied, Lin Yifei turned and left.

Several young nurses gathered together and whispered.

“Have you seen that Comrade Qiao Shuhui?”

“I have. She’s really ugly. Who knew Doctor Shen had such bad taste?”

“Leaving the military hospital for someone like her—was he out of his mind?”

Another nurse clicked her tongue. “Serves her right. She had twins, but the boy didn’t survive.”

Doctor Wei happened to overhear their conversation on his way back from rounds. After listening for a moment, he walked toward the obstetrics ward.

Creak.

The ward door opened.

Hearing the sound, Nurse Cao turned her head. When she saw Doctor Wei enter, her hand holding the spoon paused, nearly spilling the soup.

“Are you blind? Don’t you know how to help a patient drink soup properly?”

Lying on the bed, enduring the pain, Qiao Shuhui was extremely irritated and vented her anger on Nurse Cao.

Doctor Wei looked at her sharp-tongued, unreasonable face. A trace of disgust flashed in his eyes.

It was this plain-looking woman who had ruined his student.

“What a heartless mother. Her own son didn’t survive, yet she shows no sadness at all and still bullies others without batting an eye.”

After saying this, Doctor Wei turned and slammed the door.

By the time Qiao Shuhui understood what he meant, he was already gone.

Her chest heaved with rage. She knocked the soup bowl out of Nurse Cao’s hand.

With bloodshot eyes, she demanded, “What did he mean? Where’s my son? Give me back my son!”

Nurse Cao looked down at the bowl spinning on the floor, then glanced at Qiao Shuhui’s crazed face. All her sympathy vanished.

“Are you mute? You wretch! Ah… Call Lin Yifei here!”

Nurse Cao picked up the bowl and put it on the cabinet, ignoring her shouting. She had just had surgery and wouldn’t dare hurt herself.

Meanwhile, at the Textile Factory Accounting Office, Gu Yihan watched Sister Min and Su Yonghong chatting like inseparable friends and felt puzzled.

She only knew that after lunch, they went out for a while, and when they came back, they were laughing together.

Lowering her head to check the accounts, she was glad she had never gotten involved between them.

Sister Min smiled at Su Yonghong. “Good people really do get rewarded.”

“Your Zhang Xia has always been honest and kind since she was little.”

Su Yonghong didn’t respond. Instead, she smiled and asked Gu Yihan, “Xiao Han, does the army arrange jobs for military wives quickly?”

Gu Yihan glanced at her. “I don’t know.”

Su Yonghong’s smile stiffened. She felt Gu Yihan was deliberately hiding it. “Then why was your job arranged so quickly?”

With a snap, Gu Yihan closed the ledger and looked at her coldly. “Who told you my job was arranged?”

Su Yonghong didn’t know that Gu Yihan had been transferred from another factory. She had always thought Gu Yihan benefited from being a military wife.

A hint of satisfaction flashed in Sister Min’s eyes. Though they had reconciled, the rift remained.

Otherwise, Su Yonghong wouldn’t have acted aloof just because her daughter married well.

Sister Min looked at her in surprise. “Don’t you know, Sister Su? Xiao Han graduated from technical school. She didn’t need job allocation at all.”

Su Yonghong’s face darkened. She clenched her teeth and said, “I didn’t know.”

Gu Yihan ignored them and waited for the end of the workday.

When it was time to get off work, Zhao Ju called out, “Xiao Han!”

Gu Yihan picked up her bag and walked over, blinking at Zhao Ju and saying, “Let’s go.”

After getting their bicycles, they rode toward the residential compound together.

Zhao Ju whispered mysteriously, “I heard Qiao Shuhui gave birth.”

Gu Yihan rolled her eyes. Of course she knew—after yesterday, it would’ve been strange if she hadn’t.

Zhao Ju asked again, “Do you think it’s a boy or a girl?”

Gu Yihan glanced at her and smiled. “A girl.”

Zhao Ju stared in surprise. “How did you guess?”

Gu Yihan replied, “Other than a boy or a girl, what else could she give birth to?”

Zhao Ju: “…”

She had no comeback. It really was a fifty-fifty guess.

After returning to the compound, they each went home.

Gu Yihan parked her bike and saw Lin Yifei standing at the courtyard gate with a net bag of goods.

“Commander Lin, what’s this?”

Lin Yifei walked over, put the bag into her bike basket, and said gratefully, “Thank you for finding someone to help Qiao Shuhui. Otherwise, none of the children might have survived.”

Gu Yihan froze for a moment. So it had been a multiple pregnancy—no wonder her belly was so big.

She took the bag out and handed it back. “Commander Lin, there’s no need. I didn’t really help much. You should take this back.”

Lin Yifei stepped back and said seriously, “If you don’t take it, won’t that mean I owe you a favor? Or do you think it’s too little?”

Gu Yihan: “…”

He knew she wasn’t someone who liked taking advantage of others. If he didn’t say it this way, she wouldn’t accept it.

He checked the time and smiled. “I need to take care of the kids at home. I’ll be going now.”

Gu Yihan watched his hurried figure and could tell he truly loved children.