The next day.
A little after seven in the morning.
Daylight had already flooded the room, and warm sunlight streamed in.
Dong Xuebin woke up, rubbed his eyes, and dragged his injured arm around as he searched for cigarettes. Someone had apparently hidden them from him; after searching for ages and finding none, he helplessly smacked his forehead. He endured the craving and simply decided not to smoke. Using one hand, he grabbed his phone and made five or six calls to reassure his family. If he did not call, he was afraid they would come looking for him at a hospital in the Capital City, and then his secret would be exposed.
Xu Yan...
Luan Xiaoping...
Xie Huilan...
Qu Yunxuan...
After fussing around for more than half an hour, he finally finished the calls.
Dong Xuebin yawned and prepared to get out of bed and wash up, but just as he lifted the blanket, someone knocked on the door from outside.
Knock, knock.
"Come in," Dong Xuebin said.
Shen Xiaoyan entered. "You're awake?"
"Yeah, I just got up. I was about to go wash my face."
"Then don't move." After saying that, Shen Xiaoyan turned toward the door and called out, "Sister, bring in two hot towels." A reply came from outside.
"Hey, no need for that."
"It's fine. You're injured, so don't get up."
"I feel bad about that. I can still move, really."
"Stop being so polite. We were told to take good care of you."
Dong Xuebin felt it was inappropriate and wanted to do it himself, but he had taken off his clothes before sleeping last night. With a woman in the room, he could not get out of bed either.
A minute later.
Shen Xiaomei entered the room with two hot towels in her