Changing with the wind!

"Mom, Dad, Fatty and I came to see you."

"And introduce you to two new friends."

Lin Zhe smiled and greeted his parents as he walked in.

He hadn't noticed anything wrong with the atmosphere.

Hong Jinhua hadn't been admitted yet the last time he visited the hospital.

"Uncle Lin, Auntie Han, how's your recovery going? Just let me know when you're being discharged, and I'll drive over to pick you both up."

Dan Teng also greeted Lin Guodong and his wife with a cheerful, harmless-looking smile as he entered.

Hong Jingjing's heart lurched again when she heard what Dan Teng said.

She realized that she and her mother seemed to have offended someone important.

Just who were the couple in the neighboring beds?

Chairman Li's son was actually willing to act as their chauffeur?

"Hahaha, wonderful! Thank you, Dan. Our Lin Zhe is lucky to have such a good friend!"

Seeing his son instantly cleared away the frustration Hong Jinhua had caused Lin Guodong, leaving him in an especially good mood.

"Hello, Uncle and Auntie. We're Lin Zhe's friends."

"My name is Du Huan. You can call me Huanhuan."

"I'm Li Li. I hope you both recover and get discharged soon."

Du Huan and Li Li also smiled and waved to Lin Guodong and Han Li as they entered, introducing themselves.

"Oh, wonderful. Such lovely girls! There aren't any chairs here, so come sit on the bed."

"Please forgive us if we can't make you properly comfortable."

"Come sit down too, Dan. All of you, sit. We can chat sitting down."

Han Li warmly invited Li Li, Huanhuan, and Dan Teng over to the hospital beds.

She took an instant liking to the two pretty, polite young women.

She even found herself speculating that the girls looked rather well matched with her son and Dan. Didn't they look just like two couples?

"Hmph, new money showing off. Now I've seen everything-visiting patients with a shopping cart. That's a first."

A jarring, mood-killing voice broke into the room's cheerful chatter.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Seven pairs of eyes turned toward Hong Jinhua's rather fierce-looking old face at once.

One of those pairs belonged to her daughter, Hong Jingjing.

"Mom, what are you saying? Have you gone senile? Why are you suddenly talking nonsense?"

As she spoke, Hong Jingjing hurried to cover her mother's mouth, as though she were afraid something even worse might come out of it.

"What? Am I wrong? It's true! Oh, what are you doing, girl? Are you trying to suffocate your mother?"

Hong Jinhua didn't know who Dan Teng was, so she couldn't understand her daughter's strange behavior.

Her daughter had been on her side just a moment ago. Why had she suddenly turned against her?

"Mom, stop talking! Can you please keep quiet?"

Hong Jingjing anxiously scolded her mother, then turned toward Lin Zhe and the others with an ingratiating smile.

"I'm sorry, everyone. My mother's getting on in years and is a little confused. Please forgive her if she's offended you."

Hong Jingjing looked every bit as meek now as she had smug earlier. She really was a master at changing her tune.

"But, dear, you..."

"Oh, Mom! Come outside with me. I need to talk to you!"

"Sorry, everyone. Carry on, carry on. I'll take my mother outside for some fresh air so we don't disturb your conversation."

"She must have felt too cooped up in the ward, and that's why she's talking nonsense. Please bear with her. Sorry!"

Hong Jingjing bluntly cut her mother off, then apologized to Lin Zhe and the others while hauling her mother out of bed and toward the door without giving her a choice.

"What's gotten into you, dear? What's the rush? I haven't even put my shoes on!"

"Forget the shoes. They're a little too small. I'll buy you a pair that fits once we're outside!"

"How are they too small? Didn't you just buy them for me?"

"They're too small because I say they're too small!"

Mother and daughter hurried out, exchanging these strange remarks.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Lin Zhe and the others left in the room were utterly baffled by the pair's strange behavior.

Dan Teng looked toward the doorway with a thoughtful expression.

Honestly, he hadn't recognized Hong Jingjing when he first saw her.

But after hearing her voice, he vaguely remembered her.

Wasn't that ordinary-looking woman an employee at his family's company?

"Never mind them. Dan, girls, come sit down over here on our beds. Don't touch that family's things. They're difficult people."

Lin Guodong couldn't be bothered to figure out what had gotten into Hong Jinhua and her daughter. Once he recovered, he invited everyone to sit.

"Oh, you young people spend so freely. You could've just come to visit. Why buy so much? How much did all this cost?"

Han Li looked at the shopping cart piled high with goods. Although it wasn't her money, she still hated to think of how much the youngsters had spent.

"Auntie, it's our first time visiting you. These are just a few little gifts. We hope you like them."

"Exactly, just a small token. Nothing much at all. We're Lin Zhe's friends, after all!"

"Good girls, both of you. Come sit down."

Han Li invited them to sit once again.

Li Li and Huanhuan were both cheerful and outgoing. Although this was their first time meeting Han Li, they acted as though they had known her for ages.

They were as relaxed around Lin Guodong and Han Li as they would have been around their own elders, completely at ease and perfectly gracious.

They sat on either side of Han Li, and after only a little conversation, each had linked arms with her, becoming wonderfully close.

Watching from the side, Lin Zhe didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Did women always become friends this quickly?

Li Li and Huanhuan stayed at the hospital for a little over two hours before reluctantly saying goodbye to Han Li and her husband.

Dan Teng volunteered to be their guide and chauffeur, driving them to Rao City's busiest shopping street.

Lin Zhe stayed behind to chat with his parents. He could take a bus back to the scenic area later.

There was a direct bus from the city to the Mount Sanqing scenic area. The fare was twenty-seven yuan, so it was quite convenient.

With no outsiders in the room, the family of three could talk more intimately.

Watching his parents repeatedly open their mouths only to close them again, Lin Zhe couldn't help feeling both amused and exasperated.

He knew they wanted to ask how business at the inn was going. That was what concerned them most.

After all, they had poured so much of their effort into the Fortunate Inn, watching it grow bit by bit from nothing.

The Fortunate Inn was like their second child. How could they not care?

But they were afraid that asking would put more pressure on Lin Zhe, so they forced themselves to hold back.

"Mom, Dad, do you want to ask how the inn's doing?"

Lin Zhe openly addressed what was on their minds and said with a smile:

"Look at you two, agonizing over it. What's wrong with asking?

Even if you didn't ask, I was planning to tell you about it anyway."

Seeing their son's relaxed expression and hearing the confidence in his voice,

the couple exchanged a glance, feeling that he must have some good news to share.