Her brother was fine, Wang Bide was fine too; of the three, only He Yunqin’s injury was the most serious.

To avoid delaying too long and risking infection, Dr. Cheng stood ready to perform surgery on He Yunqin at any moment, waiting patiently nearby for a while. Seeing the couple growing “shamelessly” affectionate, he finally had to give a tactful reminder. “It’s time to head to the hospital.”

Hongdou and He Yunqin exchanged a glance — he was going into surgery, and she naturally meant to stay by his side. Rising, she said gently, “I’m coming too.”

He Yunqin hesitated for a moment, his gaze dropping to her belly.

He himself didn’t want to be apart from her for even a moment, but since this was his first time becoming a father, he wasn’t yet sure whether a pregnant woman needed more rest. Worried the back-and-forth journey might tire her out, wanting her to rest at home, he deliberately furrowed his brow and said gently, “Wait for me at home. I’ll be back in a few hours at most.”

After the upheavals of these past few days, Hongdou now feared nothing more than hearing the word “wait.” She looked up at him and said with a smile, “No.”

He Yunqin’s ears grew warm. If the two of them had been alone, he might well have heard her, the next moment, coaxing him in that spoiled tone of hers — just imagining her saying something like “I insist on staying with you” in that willful voice made his heart go soft and warm all over. He looked down at her, saying nothing for a long while.

He Mengmei and Mrs. He immediately understood what was going on. These past few days, everyone had seen for themselves just how worried their daughter-in-law had been. Now that their younger son was finally back, as elders, they naturally wouldn’t intrude on their son and daughter-in-law’s moment.

As it happened, Wang Bide and the Yu mother and son were also headed to the hospital, so Mrs. He smilingly had Steward Yu prepare the cars. He Ningzheng also wanted to accompany his younger brother to surgery, and had just asked a few concerned questions, when he was suddenly called upstairs because Duan Mingyi had an urgent matter to discuss with him.

Hongdou instructed a servant to fetch coats for herself and He Yunqin from their room. Only after rising did she realize her hand had been held in He Yunqin’s the whole time. The corner of her mouth curved slightly; she looked down at him. He, clearly aware of her gaze, deliberately avoided looking back at her, resting one arm behind his head, feigning ease as he chatted with He Zhuyun.

The wound on his leg had already stopped bleeding, but she knew he must be in a great deal of pain right now — fine beads of sweat had gathered at his temples and forehead, his arm tense as well. Yet to set everyone’s mind at ease, despite hurting this badly, he still kept up his lighthearted banter.

Hongdou had never before been afraid to look at anyone’s wounds, but this time, on He Yunqin’s body, catching a glimpse of that dark red shadow from the corner of her eye, her heart felt as though pierced by a sharp thorn — a sudden, sharp ache she couldn’t bear to look at closely.

Now that He Yunqin was back, He Mengmei resolutely made a decision: if his post-surgery condition allowed, they would fly to Chongqing tomorrow. Before departing, he’d have Dr. Cheng contact the best hospital and doctors there, and once they arrived in Chongqing, they could recuperate at leisure.

Hongdou exchanged a slightly surprised glance with her mother and brother — the situation couldn’t get much worse, so an early move was indeed wise. Fortunately, preparations had already been made in advance; though the date had been set rather urgently, they could leave at any time.

Once everyone had finished packing, they reached the gate of the He mansion. Before they could get into the car, He Ningzheng and his wife came out from the house. Duan Mingyi’s face was pale, and He Ningzheng’s brow was tightly furrowed as well. The two of them walked straight up to He Mengmei and Mrs. He, saying apologetically, “Something’s happened to Mingyi’s two brothers — they’ve already been taken to the hospital. I’ll take Mingyi there now; I’ll come back to be with Second Brother shortly.”

He Mengmei and Mrs. He exchanged a glance, asking in surprise, “What on earth happened?”

He Ningzheng shook his head. “I heard they were accidentally hit by stray bullets while in the International Settlement.”

“Stray bullets?” Both of them were utterly astonished. “Why on earth would they go to the International Settlement?”

Duan Mingyi could only explain a few more words.

As she spoke, her gaze inadvertently swept toward He Yunqin, only to find him watching her coldly — on closer inspection, it wasn’t just scrutiny, but something clearly tinged with distaste.

She had never seen such a look on He Yunqin’s face before. Though he quickly looked away, she still felt a jolt of unease. With the Duan family’s reputation at stake, the more critical the moment, the less she could afford to lose her composure — as long as there was no evidence, no one could suspect them. With this thought, she steadied herself, maintaining her poise, standing proudly beside her husband.

Having finished speaking with his parents, He Ningzheng nodded to his younger brother and sister-in-law, and without further delay, took Duan Mingyi to the other car, driving off quickly.

Hongdou had already noticed the unusual coldness in He Yunqin’s gaze toward Duan Mingyi. Riding with him to the hospital, she couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong?”

He Yunqin squeezed her palm and said, “Too many people coming and going to discuss it properly right now. When I’m in surgery, if there’s anything you want to know, feel free to ask Wang Bide.” Sure enough, several doctors and nurses arrived just then, and with outsiders present, there was naturally no way to continue that topic.

The surgery lasted over three hours, from morning into the afternoon.

Since no one could guarantee the surgery would go smoothly, Hongdou’s heart remained suspended the entire three hours. Yet having already endured far worse, even this waiting, compared to the hellish torment of the past two days, now carried a sense of security, simply because she knew He Yunqin was right there with her.

To distract herself, she spent the time questioning Wang Bide and Yu Chongyi about what had happened the past two nights. With the He family present, they could only speak vaguely in bits and pieces. From what Wang Bide told her, she gathered roughly that, when it came down to the gold, her earlier suspicions had indeed been thoroughly confirmed — but as for the specific details, with so many people coming and going through the ward, they couldn’t go into it any further.

Fortunately, the surgery went smoothly, and the moment He Yunqin was wheeled out, everyone rushed forward.

Dr. Cheng said, “Though the wound was large and there was significant blood loss, fortunately there was no fracture. As long as the wound doesn’t get infected, he’ll be able to get up and move around in a month. For the surgery, we used spinal anesthesia, so Second Young Master’s consciousness is clear — it’s just that the numbness in his lower body will take seven or eight hours to fully wear off. He’ll need to be observed in the ward for a few hours; if there’s no problem, he can return to the He mansion, and a nurse will accompany him back. If anything comes up tonight, be sure to notify the nurse right away. For these two days, someone must stay by his side at all times.”

Everyone breathed a great sigh of relief. Earlier they had only worried that He Yunqin’s leg injury might leave him permanently disabled — now their hearts were finally at ease. They hurriedly said, “Understood.”

Once in the ward, He Yunqin was moved onto the bed. Seeing how deeply worried Hongdou and his mother and the others still looked, he said self-deprecatingly, “In all my years, I’ve never once been in a hospital. It’s really nothing more than a flesh wound, yet it’s caused all this fuss.”

Mrs. He scolded him. “Don’t you dare say things like that.”

He Mengmei, having been told by Dr. Cheng not to smoke his pipe, simply sat down by the bed and unfolded a newspaper a servant had brought. “Hm, still in the mood to joke around at a time like this — that just goes to show the injury really isn’t that serious.”

Mrs. Yu laughed. “Yunqin’s always been considerate of others — he’s just worried about troubling his in-laws. It’s just — why is his face so pale? He really should eat something nourishing. Too bad he can’t even drink water for the past few hours, or a bowl of soup would have done him good.”

He Yunqin said, “Mother-in-law, I’m perfectly fine now, please don’t worry. While there’s time, let me have Steward Yu accompany you and Eldest Brother home, to pack your bags and get a good night’s rest — we leave for Chongqing tomorrow.”

Mrs. Yu was taken aback for a moment, then laughed, saying to Mrs. He, “This child — even at a time like this, so thoughtful of everything. Don’t worry, we already sorted all that out earlier.”

Hongdou took out a handkerchief to wipe He Yunqin’s sweat, asking gently, “Does the wound hurt a lot?”

He Yunqin gazed at her, neither confirming nor denying the pain.

Mrs. He and Mrs. Yu exchanged a glance, and both, citing matters to attend to, rose and left one after the other. He Mengmei, being a busy man himself, was soon called away by a servant needing instructions. The rest, including Wang Bide, who had wanted to stay and chat a while longer, tactfully took their leave as well upon seeing this.

In the blink of an eye, the spacious ward held only He Yunqin and Hongdou.

He Yunqin looked Hongdou up and down, his gaze suddenly softening. Bracing himself on his arms as if to sit up, Hongdou startled and hastily said, “Don’t move, whatever you need I’ll get it for you — does the wound hurt?”

He Yunqin raised his brows. “I want you. You’re too far away, I can’t reach you whenever I want. Hongdou, I’m a patient right now — you’d better bring yourself over here quickly.”

Hongdou covered her mouth, laughing, and got up from the sofa at once, sitting down beside his shoulder. “Never seen a patient with so many demands. Fine, here I am.”

He Yunqin took Hongdou’s hand from his forehead and pressed it to his lips. Though his heart was full of things to say, when it came to his throat, the words caught. Worried about upsetting her, he thought it over, then let go of her hand, slowly turning onto his side with the strength of his right arm, studying her belly earnestly for a moment, before leaning in to kiss it. “I wonder if the little one in here is a boy or a girl.”

He’d meant to give just one kiss and let go, but this one kiss proved addictive — arm around her waist, he kissed her again and again, unable to get enough. Hongdou looked down at him, her heart filled with joy at his actions, pouting as she said, “Never seen a patient with so many demands — fine, here I am for you.” Dr. Cheng says he’s about fifty days along now. I flipped through your Western medical books that day — he’s probably about the size of a bean sprout now. How would we even know if it’s a boy or girl?”