Chapter 137: Chapter 130: Aren’t You Going to Kiss Me?
Xiao Lin saw Hua Muyun asking like this, and smiled slightly sheepishly, "There are too many things in this world that I can’t do but Uncle Hua can. Uncle Hua, the day after tomorrow is the 80th birthday of the Xia Family’s old master, you must have received the invitation, right? I wonder if Uncle Hua intends to go?"
"The Xia Family? Xia Yusheng’s father is having a birthday?" Hua Muyun looked at Xiao Lin. He still had an impression of Xia Yusheng. Although the Xia Family wasn’t as prominent as the four major families in Yanjing, it was still a notable family in Yanjing. Especially Xia Yusheng, who was a genius in business. In just twenty years, he brought a third-tier family business to the level of the Xia Group today. Xia Yusheng deserves much credit. How could Hua Muyun not remember such a person?
Of course, an impression is just an impression. If the Xia Family’s development speed was placed a hundred years ago, at the early stages of Huaxia’s development, the Xia Family might have become another major family in Yanjing. But now, such achievements really didn’t stand out in Hua Muyun’s eyes.
"Yes, they did send an invitation. Usually, these kinds of matters are handled by Xiao Luo!" Hua Muyun looked at Xiao Lin with interest. As the secretary of the Yanjing Municipal Committee, one of the four directly governed municipalities in Huaxia, attending a birthday banquet for the old master of a business group, especially with no personal connections, would certainly provoke speculation.
"Alright, there’s no issue then!" Xiao Lin smiled faintly. Since Secretary Luo could go, it would be fine. Secretary Luo should be able to handle the scene; after all, he was representing Hua Muyun, and the title of the First Secretary of Yanjing was not for nothing.
"Do you need me to personally make a trip?" Hua Muyun looked at Xiao Lin, speculating in his heart about the relationship between the Xia Family and Xiao Lin, given that Xiao Lin even bothered to ask.
"If Uncle Hua’s schedule allows, it would be best to go!" Xiao Lin spoke directly without beating around the bush.
"Alright, if I have the time, I’ll definitely go!" Hua Muyun smiled faintly. In reality, he already planned to go, but maintained his composure, as promising to attend an unrelated household’s celebration might appear too unprofessional, especially as the secretary of one of Huaxia’s four directly governed municipalities. Hua Muyun was very curious about the relationship between the Xia Family and Xiao Lin, although Xiao Lin hadn’t explained and Hua Muyun was too embarrassed to ask.
As for what was on Hua Muyun’s mind, Xiao Lin didn’t want to know, nor did he have the interest. The two continued to play two more games of chess, finding themselves as equals, both equally terrible, yet thoroughly enjoying the match.
By nearly three o’clock in the afternoon, Xiao Lin finally bid farewell and returned to Yan University.
Upon arriving at the university hospital, Xiao Lin headed straight for the payment window. Along the way, naturally, many doctors and nurses greeted Xiao Lin. He had become quite the celebrity at the hospital, with the dean praising the new emergency department Dr. Xiao Lin at meetings. Moreover, Xiao Lin had previously given up his position to Li Jingyi, making his reputation spread throughout the entire hospital in just a few days.
"Uh, I’m here to pay the hospital fee for that little girl named Niu Niu." Xiao Lin smiled at the young lady at the payment window.
Seeing Xiao Lin, the young lady at the payment window beamed and said, "Oh, it’s Dr. Xiao. You’re talking about the Niu Niu in the VIP ward, right? The dean has already instructed that all medical expenses for Niu Niu are waived. So, Dr. Xiao doesn’t need to pay for little Niu Niu!"
Hearing the sweet young lady’s words, the anger in Xiao Lin’s heart gradually dissipated. It seemed that only a certain portion of people had lowered their moral standards. He seldom smiled at the young lady, "You’re very pretty today!" he said, then turned and left.
The young lady was quite delighted, thinking she might not sleep tonight, having received Dr. Xiao’s compliment. But then she murmured, wondering if she wasn’t pretty before.
Xiao Lin didn’t know there were so-called VIP wards at the university hospital, nor that there wasn’t anyone unfamiliar with him in the hospital. He could ask any nurse and find out.
By this time, Niu Niu’s situation had already spread throughout the entire hospital. Almost all the nurses voluntarily went to the VIP ward to visit Niu Niu. Although the doctors didn’t go to visit Niu Niu personally, they voluntarily donated money to her. No one forced them, and the hospital didn’t issue any notice.
So when Xiao Lin appeared in Niu Niu’s ward, he was stunned by the room full of gifts. Toys and fruits almost occupied a third of the ward space, a third was taken up by the equipment in the ward, and the remaining third was occupied by those compassionate nurses.
"Don’t you all have work to do?" Xiao Lin looked speechlessly at the doctors and nurses, all gathered around Niu Niu. After a nap, Niu Niu was now in high spirits, especially with the True Qi and ample blood provided by Xiao Lin, her potential was greatly stimulated. Her slightly chubby baby face looked rosy, with her big bright eyes charmingly captivating, making everyone want to give her a kiss.
"Oh, Dr. Xiao is back!" Xiao Mei giggled as she looked at Xiao Lin, and the other nurses greeted him. Clearly, Dr. Xiao’s charm was not low.
"Big Brother, you’re back, thank you!" Niu Niu’s voice was crisp and clear, completely unlike the weakness of the morning.
Faced with Niu Niu, Xiao Lin didn’t have the heart to reprimand the nurses, and simply said, "Niu Niu needs to rest, go back to whatever you were doing!" However, he was quite relieved, estimating that during Niu Niu’s hospitalization, she wouldn’t have to worry about her daily needs. Looking at the bottles of cooked soup and dishes on the table, they probably couldn’t finish them in three days.
Although some nurses mentioned that Niu Niu just got up, how could she need to rest and wanted to stay a little longer, Xiao Lin then said, "Alright, since you all want to stay here, I’ll report to the director tomorrow that you really like working in the emergency department. I find it quite gratifying!"
This statement was evidently much more impactful. Recently, the workload in the emergency department was more than three times that of other departments, and sometimes they had to work overtime due to staff shortages. Upon hearing this, the nurses chuckled and scattered like birds and beasts, not leaving without each giving Niu Niu a kiss. Were they all lilies? Niu Niu’s face was covered with the saliva of various nurse sisters, but she seemed quite happy to have so many older sisters being so nice to her.
After these nurses left, only Xiao Ning, Xiao Lin, and Niu Niu were left in the ward. At this time, Niu Niu blinked her big eyes and said, "Big Brother, where did you go just now? You must be hungry, right? The big sisters brought a lot of delicious food, you should eat!" With that, she reached out to take a thermos box from the table.
"Big Brother is not hungry, is Niu Niu feeling better?" Xiao Lin quickly stopped Niu Niu and gently asked. His voice, which he never even used with Xia Xue, was so soft, fearing that a louder tone would frighten this poor little Niu Niu.
"Thank you, Big Brother, Niu Niu is much better!" Niu Niu replied crisply.
Xiao Lin took Niu Niu’s right hand and checked her pulse. Fortunately, it was steady, showing no abnormalities. The injury on her head seemed alright as well, her consciousness and speech were clear, indicating no harm, which was indeed a blessing in disguise.
"Big Brother, I gave all my money to that beautiful big sister. When my mom comes, I’ll give you the money, okay?" Niu Niu treated the concept of money with great importance. Over the past two years, the weight of the household fell on this seven or eight-year-old girl. Her yearning for money might be stronger than for most, a truly admirable quality of Niu Niu.
Xiao Lin’s heart was stabbed hard by her words again. Didn’t Niu Niu realize how her words could be so saddening? Yet she said it so innocently, with big wide eyes.
"Well, Niu Niu is really commendable, knowing how to express gratitude at such a young age—much better than some people!" Listening to Niu Niu’s words, Xiao Lin recalled a story he heard from classmates about a certain granny event. Living to such an old age was like living like a dog, not even measuring up to a seven or eight-year-old girl.
At this moment, Xiao Ning came in with a towel to help Niu Niu wipe her face, cleaning off the nurses’ saliva on Niu Niu’s face. Then she said to Xiao Lin, "Dr. Xiao, Dr. Xia has been away for over four hours. According to Niu Niu, even if taking public transport from downtown Yanjing City to Jiangling Shuikou Town, it should be no more than an hour and a half. Even if Niu Niu’s home is in a village, they should be returning by now, right?"
"Dr. Xia has been gone for over four hours?" Xiao Lin was surprised. Though not familiar with Jiangling, he had been there a few times, back when Hu Zi hadn’t joined Dragon Soul. It was almost four years ago.
"Yes, would you like to make a phone call to check?" Xiao Ning suggested.
"Nothing should happen in broad daylight, right?" Xiao Lin, though slightly worried, thought it wouldn’t be possible for anything serious to occur during the day. Besides, if something happened, wouldn’t Xia Xue have called him?
Just as Xiao Lin thought of this, they seemed to be on the same wavelength, and his phone rang at that very moment. Seeing it was a call from Xia Xue, Xiao Lin picked up, and Xia Xue’s anxious and angry voice came from the other end.
"Xiao Ning, take good care of Niu Niu, I need to go to Jiangling!" After ending the call, Xiao Lin’s face looked grim, even intimidating Xiao Ning a bit.
"Big Brother, are you leaving again?" Niu Niu wasn’t afraid of Xiao Lin, nor did she find his expression particularly off-putting.
Whenever Xiao Lin faced Niu Niu, he was always gentle. Hearing Niu Niu’s words, he said, "Niu Niu, listen to Sister Xiao Ning, remember to take your medicine and get your injections! Big Brother will probably come back tonight!"
"Hmm, Big Brother, won’t you give Niu Niu a kiss before you leave?" Niu Niu asked as she saw Xiao Lin about to leave.
(Continued. If you like this work, feel free to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on , your support is my greatest motivation.)