Li Haochen took leave from the doctor, changed his clothes, and accompanied the two women to the city center. They went to the old town streets, which were as bustling as ever.
The old streets held as much attraction for the two women as the branded shops, especially the street food. They had rarely eaten it before and were full of curiosity, but they were also a little apprehensive about hygiene. However, after being persuaded by Li Haochen, they cast all their worries aside and ate heartily, forgetting their ladylike demeanor.
"This is too delicious. I never knew that great food could be found on the streets," Murong Yanran said, with her cheeks bulging from the egg waffles she had just stuffed into her mouth. Before she could swallow, she took another bite of a candied hawthorn.
Xie Baolian was much the same. Both women had their mouths full of food. They bought two portions of each snack but mostly only took one or two bites. Li Haochen ended up holding the rest. Along the few hundred meters of the old street, Li Haochen was carrying at least 30 portions of snacks.
The more Xie Baolian and Murong Yanran browsed, the more energetic they became. Perhaps it was because Li Haochen was in good spirits, but after the old street, they went to the shopping mall. They were delighted and excited by anything novel and unfamiliar. They shopped until past 7 PM.
Li Haochen felt like he had lost half his life; it was too torturous.
By the time they returned to the hospital from the city, it was past 8 PM. Li Haochen was laden with bags, hanging all over him. As soon as he entered the ward, Li Haochen looked at the hospital bed as if it were a savior and jumped onto it. "This is the first time I've ever felt that lying in a hospital bed is such a blissful thing."
"What's wrong? With two beautiful women accompanying you all day, what more do you want? Others would envy you. You're getting the benefits and still complaining. I'm heading back to the hotel. I'm exhausted," Xie Baolian glared at Li Haochen, stretched, put down her things, and turned to leave.
Murong Yanran, who had just returned from the restroom, asked confusedly, "Where's Aunt Lian?"
"She went back to the hotel."
"Ah, why didn't she wait for me?"
"Wait for you for what? You're not going back either."
"Who says I'm not going back? I'm sticky and smell bad, and I don't have any clean clothes. I'm not staying here." Murong Yanran made a funny face at Li Haochen, picked up her bag, and left.
Li Haochen smiled wryly, thinking that tonight he could embrace his wife beautifully... or rather, since she wasn't here, he'd have to wash up and rest. He was indeed tired today, more so than fishing all day. It just went to show how terrifying creatures like women could be.
After washing up, he still wasn't sleepy. Li Haochen took a chair and sat on the balcony, but he couldn't stay put for ten minutes. He was bored, without his phone, didn't smoke, and wasn't hungry. Although the night was beautiful, admiring it alone was pointless.
Lying in the hospital bed, he could only stare at the clock. As he watched, he unknowingly fell asleep.
Not long after, Li Haochen vaguely felt something moving beside him, but his eyelids were too heavy, and he fell asleep again.
The movement was, of course, Murong Yanran. After returning to the hotel and showering, she took a taxi back to the hospital. Seeing that Li Haochen was asleep, she tiptoed onto the bed, snuggled up to him, and slept sweetly.
The next morning, Li Haochen felt groggy, sensing a heavy weight on him, making it difficult to breathe. It felt like he was being pressed down by a ghost, and sweat beaded on his forehead.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes wide and saw a woman in white lying on him, her hair spread all over his chest. He was so startled that his hands trembled. He cried out, "Ah... Help! Don't crush me! Find someone else! I'm not married yet, and I haven't had kids..."
Murong Yanran was startled awake by Li Haochen's scream. She clawed at her hair frantically, "Ah, shut up! Can you let me sleep a little longer in the morning?"
"Uh, Yanran?" Li Haochen lifted Murong Yanran's hair doubtfully, saw her face clearly, and then breathed a sigh of relief.
"Who else? Have you ever seen such a beautiful female ghost? And a university student. You actually believe in sleep paralysis."
Li Haochen grinned, thinking that she should try being pressed down while asleep and see how she liked it.
"Didn't you go back to the hotel to sleep? How did you end up sleeping here?"
"Hmph. Someone is a big hero now. If I don't keep a close watch, who knows which nurse in uniform might barge in tonight? Then I'd be at a total loss. Hehe."
Li Haochen's expression darkened. "Your imagination is wasted if you don't write a novel."
"Of course. If I wrote it, it would probably be a huge hit."
"Aren't you going to get up? It's almost eight o'clock." Li Haochen said affectionately, ruffling Murong Yanran's head.
"No, let me lie here a bit longer." Murong Yanran turned her head and pressed against Li Haochen's chest, listening to his thumping heartbeat with a smile.
Knock, knock, knock~
Soon, there was a knock on the ward door. Li Haochen lightly patted Murong Yanran's backside, "Get up, someone's knocking."
"Who's so annoying?" Murong Yanran pouted, slightly annoyed.
"Alright, alright. I'll hug you every day when we get home, okay?"
"No way. When we get home, I want to hug my stuffed bear. Hehe!"
Li Haochen smiled helplessly and went to open the door. Seeing the uniformed official, Li Haochen guessed the reason. "Hello, may I ask who you're looking for?"
"May I ask if you are Mr. Li Haochen? I am Luo Rongjun, Captain of the Maritime Patrol team of the Maritime Affairs Bureau."
"Please come in. I am. May I ask what brings you here?"
"Mr. Li, your feat is truly admirable. We are extremely grateful that you saved three lives for Zhoushan City and saved a family." Luo Rongjun bowed sincerely to Li Haochen.
"Captain Luo, please sit down."
"I can't sit. I'll treat you to a drink next time, hahaha!"
"Okay, then I'll wait for that drink from you, Captain Luo. Heh heh!"
Li Haochen's words surprised Luo Rongjun for a moment, then he burst into hearty laughter. "Good, good, good, there will definitely be an opportunity. I came to see you today, Mr. Li, to inform you that your Xingchen号 has been towed back to Zhoushan Port. We have inspected it, and everything is undamaged. Rest assured."
"Really? That's great! Thank you so much, Captain Luo."
Luo Rongjun chatted with Li Haochen for a while, exchanged WeChat contact information, and then left, as his work in the system was busy.
"Why are you so happy?"
As soon as Luo Rongjun left, Xie Baolian came in carrying several bags of breakfast.
"Mom, Captain Luo from the Maritime Affairs Bureau just came and said my ship is undamaged and has been towed back to Zhoushan Port."
"Is that so? Even better. We'll handle the discharge procedures later, and then we'll set sail home, haha!"
"What? You're going back by ship? What about the car?"
"We didn't drive here. When we heard you were in the intensive care unit, we were so worried that we didn't dare to drive. We came by chartered car." Thinking back, Xie Baolian's eyes started to turn red again.
"Mom... I'm fine now. Let's be happy when we get home. Give me a kiss, hehe!" Li Haochen put his arm around Xie Baolian's shoulder and kissed her swiftly.
"I just put on my makeup. Are you asking for a beating, you brat?"
Xie Baolian said this, but her face was beaming, showing no sign of displeasure. She wished Li Haochen would kiss her more.