Chapter 45 Dining Together and Passwords

Song Jingmo opened the thermal container. Inside, two sets of bowls and chopsticks were neatly arranged, and the portions were clearly meant for two people.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Lu Er staring at him eagerly. He immediately understood what was going on, but pretended not to.

Lu Er watched as Song Jingmo ate slowly and calmly, with no intention of inviting him to join.

Finally, he couldn’t hold back anymore. “There’s so much food—can you finish it all?”

Song Jingmo picked up a piece of rib. “I think so.”

Lu Er swallowed, his eyes darting around as he searched for another excuse. “Is the rib soup good? Aunt Wang simmered it for three hours.”

“It tastes good.” Song Jingmo ladled another spoonful of soup, deliberately drinking it slowly.

Lu Er was starving, his stomach practically glued to his back. Watching Song Jingmo eat so enjoyably, he spoke up for the third time: “Is the winter melon tasty? Aunt Wang said it’s homegrown…”

Song Jingmo finally put down his chopsticks. “You haven’t eaten?”

Lu Er’s eyes lit up like a puppy finally getting attention. Looking pitiful, he said, “No… I’ve been busy till now, haven’t had a single bite…”

In truth, he had deliberately skipped eating just so he could share a meal with Song Jingmo.

Seeing his miserable expression, Song Jingmo felt amused, though his face remained indifferent. “Then hurry up and eat.”

With permission granted, Lu Er immediately grabbed the bowl Song Jingmo had just been using and shoveled a big mouthful of rice into his mouth.

Song Jingmo froze. “That’s the one I was using.”

With his mouth stuffed full, Lu Er mumbled, “I’m too hungry, can’t wait. Just get yourself another bowl.”

He lowered his head and kept eating, secretly delighted.

He wanted to use Song Jingmo’s bowl—this counted as an indirect kiss. If you rounded it up, it was basically intimate contact.

Watching him devour the food, Song Jingmo’s gaze softened for a brief moment before returning to normal. He took another bowl and served himself rice, and the two of them quietly finished the meal together.

It was something they used to do often, yet Lu Er felt inexplicably happy this time.

After the meal, Lu Er diligently cleaned up the dishes, while Song Jingmo opened his laptop and started revising a graduate thesis.

Lu Er wandered around out of boredom, then grabbed a medical book from the shelf and pretended to read.

But after only a few pages, his eyelids started drooping.

“If you can’t focus, don’t force yourself,” Song Jingmo said without looking up. “You can play on your phone.”

“My phone’s in the car. Too lazy to go to the garage to get it.” Lu Er yawned and slumped into the chair like a boneless cat.

Song Jingmo paused his typing and gestured toward the bedside table. “My phone’s there. Take it.”

Lu Er instantly perked up and jumped to grab it. “Really?”

After getting a nod, he happily picked up the phone. He was about to ask for the password, but suddenly had an idea—he tried Song Jingmo’s old password.

Unlocked.

Suppressing the flutter in his chest, Lu Er pretended to casually scroll through the phone.

To his surprise, Song Jingmo actually had apps like Weibo and Douyin installed.

“You use Weibo and Douyin too?” Lu Er asked curiously. “Did you download them because of the recent medical dispute incident?”

Song Jingmo, still editing the thesis, replied casually, “Mm.”

Lu Er remembered Wang Bingsheng’s clarification video—it would be a good time to check how it was doing.

Testing the waters, he asked, “Can I look around freely?”

“As long as you don’t do anything illegal,” Song Jingmo said calmly, eyes still fixed on the screen. “The payment password is the same as before.”

Lu Er’s heartbeat completely spiraled out of control.

Staring blankly at Song Jingmo’s profile, he suddenly felt that the six years of distance between them might not be as impossible to overcome as he had imagined.

Suppressing his overwhelming joy, he opened Weibo. Sure enough, Wang Bingsheng’s clarification video had already shot up to the trending list.

The comment section was full of apologies and support for Song Jingmo.

Like presenting a treasure, Lu Er held the phone out to him. “Everyone’s apologizing to you!”

Song Jingmo glanced at it, his expression unchanged. “I’ve seen it.”

“Can’t you be a little happier?” Lu Er muttered unhappily. “I almost got disfigured because of this.”

As he spoke, he deliberately touched the bandage on his forehead.

Song Jingmo finally stopped typing and turned to look at him. “Does it still hurt?”

“It does!” Lu Er exaggerated, frowning. “It hurts a lot. How about you blow on it? If you blow on it, it won’t hurt anymore.”

He had actually wanted to say this earlier, but didn’t dare.

Song Jingmo turned back expressionlessly and continued working. “Good.”

If it hurt, he’d remember the lesson.

Lu Er pouted.

Just then, the ward door was pushed open.

Liao Xubai walked in holding a file. “Jingmo, take a look at this case—”

But when he saw the phone in Lu Er’s hand, his voice abruptly stopped, and his expression turned complicated.

Holding the phone, Lu Er smugly gave up the desk. “I’ll scroll Weibo on the sofa so I don’t disturb your work.”

With that, he leisurely sat down on the sofa, looking every bit like the owner of the room.

Seeing his childish display, Song Jingmo shook his head helplessly.

Taking the file from Liao Xubai, he began reading it carefully. “The situation isn’t very good. It’s most likely bone cancer—we need further tests to confirm.”

Liao Xubai’s gaze shifted between the two of them before settling on Song Jingmo.

His tone was a bit stiff. “The patient’s family isn’t well off. They’ve already been to many hospitals and done all kinds of tests. Now they’re quite resistant to further examinations.”

“See if we can apply for a special case review.”

Although Lu Er appeared to be playing on his phone, his ears were perked up, closely following their conversation.

When Liao Xubai left shortly after, Lu Er couldn’t help making a small victory gesture in his heart.

Song Jingmo turned to look at the person on the sofa. “Don’t you have work to do?”

Was he being told to leave?

Lu Er’s smile instantly disappeared.