Chapter 145 - 117: Visiting a Patient

Chapter 145: Chapter 117: Visiting a Patient

But... Zhou Qian rubbed his forehead, reflecting on the emotional roller coaster he’d been on over the past few days.

He had prepared himself for death, going so far as to figure out his will and his burial plot. He had calmly accepted his fate, only to wake up alive. He was brought to the hospital for treatment, and upon waking, remembered his leg had been amputated. Before he even had the time to agonize over his predicament, he had started worrying about whether Huai Yu would expose herself. He secretly speculated about what her abilities actually were and where she came from. The anxiety kept him awake, terrified that her secret would slip out and draw the covetous eyes of various factions... And only *then* did he realize his face was disfigured.

But since he had already survived and endured an amputation, the disfigurement hardly seemed worth mentioning in comparison. By the time Huai Yu arrived, he genuinely hadn’t had a single moment to wallow in messy emotions like sadness, self-pity, or feeling like a useless cripple.

Thinking about it now... He stared blankly for a moment before realizing there really wasn’t much point in dwelling on it. Instead, he simply stretched out his hand.

"What did you bring to eat?"

Mentioning the food made Huai Yu puff up with pride. She had put a lot of effort into preparing this hospital meal! She picked up the lunchbox she had set on the nightstand, turned to draw the curtains over the ward’s window, and then—acting as stealthy as a thief but as eager as someone presenting a priceless treasure—popped the lunchbox open.

"Look! Pea shoot porridge!"

Zhou Qian was speechless.

He had to admit, the porridge was cooked perfectly. The slightly yellowish grains of rice had bloomed beautifully, creating a thick, starchy texture. The tender pea shoots mixed in had darkened and yellowed a bit from being trapped in the heat during the commute, but their overall green hue remained bright. The lunchbox had been deliberately wrapped to retain heat, and despite it being early May, it was still warm to the touch.

"How is it? Smells good, right? I added a tiny bit of lard and a pinch of salt," Huai Yu said, her eyes shining with expectation.

The water she used for the porridge had been specially purified, as had the rice grains. She had even hurried to use her abilities to sprout the tender pea shoots. Cooking this single breakfast had left her sweating profusely. The moment it was done, she sprinted out the door and transferred between two buses to get to Flower City Hospital... all because she was terrified the porridge would get cold!

Fortunately, she had swaddled the bottom of the container in a scrap of an old cotton quilt. It still radiated warmth, and the faint, savory aroma of the rice porridge wafted through the air. Zhou Qian stared at the bowl, clearly catching the fresh, appetizing scent.

"What about the Mutant Value..."

Huai Yu honestly didn’t know. She had controlled the level of purification herself. It wasn’t completely purified, but the value should be quite low. Her only goal was to let Zhou Qian eat something good to nourish his recovering body.

"Don’t worry about that," she urged softly. "Just hurry up and eat. It’ll get cold if you wait any longer."

Zhou Qian couldn’t help but glance up at her. After all this time, her old habit hadn’t changed at all—the moment she wanted something, she would immediately adopt that soft, sweet-talking tone.

He didn’t press the issue, though. He picked up the spoon beside him and dug in. As the first spoonful entered his mouth, he fell silent. He didn’t utter another word, returning to his usual taciturn and composed self, but he scarfed the food down, taking one rapid spoonful after another.

Seeing his frantic pace, Huai Yu quickly pulled out another package wrapped in bamboo leaves. "Slow down, there’s also a flatbread here—it’s stuffed with pork cracklings, diced bamboo shoots, and minced pickled bracken!"

As she peeled back the bamboo leaves, a rich, fatty aroma wafted out. The scent was far more intense than the porridge, offering a completely different, mouth-watering flavor profile.

Zhou Qian involuntarily lowered his porridge bowl. Just as he reached out to take the flatbread, Huai Yu hesitated.

"I added some dried chilies when I pickled the bracken, but I only used a tiny bit to season the entire flatbread... Are you okay with spicy food?"

Zhou Qian let out a sigh. "Out of my entire body, my stomach is probably the only thing that’s still perfectly fine."

"Oh." Relieved, Huai Yu quickly handed the flatbread over. "Eat this first, or it’ll get cold. It’s made with lard, so it won’t taste good once it cools down."

She didn’t need to tell him twice; Zhou Qian had already taken a massive bite. He had intended to chew slowly and savor the taste, but the moment the food hit his tongue, his eyes lit up. In just two or three ravenous bites, he devoured more than half of the flatbread.

Huai Yu watched him in alarm, feeling a sudden wave of relief. She thought to herself, "Thank goodness I didn’t have such a massive appetite when I first woke up. Otherwise, the points I earned every day wouldn’t even cover my meals, let alone let me save up to build a household."

Zhou Qian ate at a blistering pace, inhaling his food like a whirlwind. In no time at all, both his bowl and his hands were empty.

Huai Yu handed him a towel to wipe his hands, not even daring to ask if he was full. She had assumed that a patient would be weak and have a small appetite, but judging by this display, he definitely hadn’t had enough. It was better not to ask. Even if she did, she couldn’t magically conjure up another bowl of food out of thin air. He would just have to supplement it with a hospital meal later.

However, seeing the towel jogged her memory. "Your medicinal baths ruined two of my towels..." she muttered.

Zhou Qian froze. However, he didn’t address the towels. Instead, his expression suddenly turned solemn—