Our Boss Passed Out!

She couldn't point to anything he had clearly done wrong, but every word and action of his seemed calculated to make things a fait accompli!

Back in Gao Ping, Chen Yuting had put him into shock, yet he had still sent word in front of all those officials, doctors, and villagers that he wanted to use his military merits to offset her wrongdoing.

From what she now knew, Chen Yuting had only been pursuing him for a few days at that point, and he hadn't explicitly accepted her advances.

Yet his behavior seemed designed to create an impression, making everyone around him believe:

He and Chen Yuting were very close! He took good care of her!

But once he returned to the army, Lu Changqing's attitude had changed completely.

He categorically denied having feelings for Chen Yuting, immediately declared that he would honor his engagement, and kept giving his comrades the impression that he and his fiancée were deeply in love and would soon be discussing marriage.

He had never verbally pressured Song Ning to do anything, yet everything he did was designed to create a fait accompli!

And she still couldn't point to anything he had clearly done wrong.

Seeing Song Ning fall silent, Han Xiao's expression immediately changed.

"Hey, hey-I was just being honest with you! Don't let this affect your relationship!"

"Soon, there won't be any relationship between us at all!" Song Ning said.

Han Xiao looked at Song Ning and started scratching his head again. She hadn't expected him to understand anyway, so she prompted him:

"What did you come to see me about?"

Han Xiao was just about to speak when he abruptly stopped, pointed at someone approaching up ahead, and roared:

"Hey-you up there! Get over here! I'll beat the living daylights out of you!"

Song Ning looked up and saw a young man in uniform dart behind a pillar.

"Zhang Qianjin! Yes, you! I already saw you! Why are you still hiding?"

Han Xiao rolled up his sleeves and started forward in a fury.

But Song Ning grabbed him. "That's Zhang Qianjin? The one you assigned to look after Lu Changqing?"

"That's right! Him! He can't even handle such a simple assignment! Running around everywhere! Does he have any discipline at all..."

"Wait!"

"Tell him to come over, then don't say anything!" Song Ning said. "Let me question him!"

Zhang Qianjin was already inching toward them timidly, looking utterly miserable.

Song Ning pulled Han Xiao back a little and asked:

"Zhang Qianjin, my name is Song Ning! You know who I am, right?"

Zhang Qianjin nodded and gave her a smile that looked worse than crying.

"H-hello, sister-in-law!"

"Don't call me sister-in-law! I'm not!" Song Ning said. "You don't need to hide from me anymore. Just take good care of Lu Changqing. I'll come visit him as usual!"

Looking a little confused, Zhang Qianjin straightened up.

"Sister-in-law! Are-are you angry with Company Commander Lu? I-I didn't mean to hide..."

Sure enough, Zhang Qianjin hadn't had something to do. Lu Changqing had deliberately told him to stay out of sight.

"I told you, don't call me sister-in-law!" Song Ning said. "What's happening between him and me has nothing to do with you looking after him. There's no conflict! Just carry out your assignment properly! You don't need to deliberately avoid me!"

Zhang Qianjin looked a little embarrassed. "Understood! Sister-in... sis! Then... I'll call you Sister Ning! Don't worry, Sister Ning! I'll take good care of Company Commander Lu!"

But the moment he glanced at Han Xiao, he wilted again.

"Company Commander, I..."

Han Xiao commanded the Guard Company, and Zhang Qianjin was under his command.

"You can't blame him for this," Song Ning told Han Xiao. "He was only following orders! Let him go back!"

Han Xiao waved Zhang Qianjin away. "Go, go, go! Do your job properly!"

"Yes, sir!" Zhang Qianjin finally answered loudly, then raced off like the wind.

"Hey! What... what's going on? What are you two talking in riddles about?" Han Xiao asked.

"Lu Changqing... probably really wants me to look after him!" Song Ning said.

He said nothing to her face, yet had Zhang Qianjin avoid her, deliberately making it look as though no one was caring for him. Was he hoping she would notice and volunteer to look after him?

The man never did anything directly. He was far too calculating.

This time, Han Xiao kept quiet. The couple seemed to be having a little quarrel, and he couldn't offer an opinion on whether she should look after him.

"What did you come to see me about? If you don't tell me now, I'm leaving! I have things to do this afternoon!"

"Oh!" Only then did Han Xiao say, "Well... our boss passed out! He was brought to the hospital too!"

"Regimental Commander Gu passed out?!"

"You certainly took that calmly! You dragged this out until now before telling me!"

Song Ning glared at him.

"He's awake! He's been awake for ages! He's on an IV! That won't be finished anytime soon!" Han Xiao protested.

"It's just that the doctors couldn't say what was wrong with him, either. They want to keep him in for observation! So I thought, why not have you take a look? If Western medicine can't find the problem, maybe traditional Chinese medicine can! If nothing else, you could give him a few acupuncture needles, like you did for Elder Zhou! What if he passes out again?"

Whatever else might be said, Gu Zheng had been injured saving Song Ning.

She wasted no time talking to him. "Lead the way!"

Given Gu Zheng's rank, he was staying in the Senior Cadre Inpatient Ward at the back.

They had only just reached the door when they heard voices inside.

"You can't pull it out! Don't, boss! If you pull it out, they'll have to put it back in later..."

"Put what back in? Hospitalizing me over such a little injury! And giving me a nutrient infusion! People will laugh their heads off if they hear about this..."

When Song Ning entered, everyone inside stopped what they were doing and turned to look at her.

Gu Zheng was wearing hospital pajamas. One leg was already on the floor, and his other hand was about to pull the needle out of his hand.

Beside him, Chen Liang had his hands extended, wanting to stop him but not daring to, his face a picture of misery.

Seeing Song Ning, Gu Zheng looked a little embarrassed and pulled his leg back onto the bed.

"Comrade Song Ning! What brings you here?" Gu Zheng asked with a perfectly serious expression.

"Regimental Commander Gu! I heard you passed out, so I came to check on you!"

As she spoke, Song Ning glanced at the back of Gu Zheng's hand. Fortunately, the needle was still in place.

Gu Zheng couldn't very well keep acting out his "I'm pulling out the needle! Let me leave!" routine in front of a female comrade, so he had no choice but to lie back down.

I'll pull it out after she leaves!

"Regimental Commander Gu, did you have any further examinations after you left last time?"

"What is there to examine with such a little injury? They're making a fuss over nothing..."

Before Gu Zheng could finish, however, someone beside him silently held out an X-ray.

"They took this when he was brought in last night!" Chen Liang said.

Song Ning took the X-ray and couldn't help asking:

"You... passed out last night?"

She had eaten dinner in the regimental headquarters' mess hall last night, and she hadn't heard anything about Regimental Commander Gu passing out.

Gu Zheng looked up and shot Chen Liang a glare!

He had passed out while running on the training grounds last night!

A full-fledged regimental commander, passing out after a little run!

Go on! Say it if you dare! Give everyone a good laugh!

Chen Liang shrank back and said nothing more.

Song Ning examined the film closely.

The X-ray showed that the bones in Gu Zheng's head were in good condition, with no fractures or cracks.

Beyond that, it revealed nothing.

That was also a limitation of X-rays: they couldn't detect soft tissue injuries or bruising beneath the skin.

Honestly, the examination had been rather unnecessary. If Gu Zheng had suffered a skull fracture or crack, there was no way he could have made that trip to Capital City and back so easily.

But this was the only examination the hospital could perform at present.

Director Li of internal medicine had personally attended to Gu Zheng. Following conventional treatment, he had put Gu Zheng on a nutrient infusion and prescribed medication to improve cerebral circulation. Beyond that, all they could do was keep him in the hospital for observation.

After examining the film, Song Ning said to Gu Zheng:

"Regimental Commander Gu, your condition may be more serious than you think!"