Morning.
Nine o'clock.
Drip, drip. The IV needle in Dong Xuebin's wrist hurt so much that he bared his teeth. Seeing that there was nothing urgent here for the moment, Qu Yunxuan gave him a few instructions, took the keys from him, and went home to fetch his things. Towels, a washbasin, underwear, socks—she had to prepare all of that. The dress pants and shirt they had bought at YanSha Shopping City that day had also been burned, along with his shoes, so she needed to bring him a new set.
As soon as Qu Yunxuan left, the young nurse administering his IV smiled. "Your aunt is really beautiful."
The elderly man with the fracture beside him also said, "That girl's quite wonderful. So virtuous, too."
Dong Xuebin practically glowed, as though they had been praising him instead.
Before eleven, Qu Yunxuan came back, panting as she pulled a suitcase behind her. She put away the clothes, toothbrush, detergent, lunchbox, and everything else in the cabinet one by one. Then Aunt Xuan wiped the fine beads of sweat from her face. Without even taking a break, she lifted Dong Xuebin's blanket, pulled off the dirty socks on his feet, gently held his foot as she put on a fresh pair for him, then took a plastic basin and soap into the restroom. Squatting on the floor, she diligently washed his socks.
Dong Xuebin was deeply moved. "Aunt Xuan, take a rest."
With her hands covered in soap suds, Qu Yunxuan turned back and smiled. "I'm not tired. Don't move around, all right? You're on an IV."
"Okay, okay, got it."
Looking at the smooth, fair stretch of lower back exposed beneath Aunt Xuan's clothes as she crouched there, Dong Xuebin's eyes were drawn over despite himself. Maybe it was because