TFEDLAM 74

Chapter 74

The nurse was completely dumbfounded. Send her off?
(⊙o⊙) Huh? What’s going on?

“I have something I’d like to ask you and the doctor to help with.”

Before the nurse could even react, Lu Tingchuan had already stepped out. She had no choice but to follow.

Dr. Su’s office.

After the nurse reported Xia Shi’s condition—everything was normal—Dr. Su finally relaxed and said with a smile, “Mr. Lu, you can rest assured now. Mrs. Lu simply experienced a stress-induced physical response due to sudden stimulation. There’s nothing serious. With proper rest, she can be discharged in a couple of days. As for your injury, it’s just a superficial abrasion. We’ve already cleaned the wound. Just be careful not to get it wet for a while, and avoid spicy or irritating food.”

Lu Tingchuan acknowledged everything and thanked him, then got straight to the point.
“There’s something I’d like to ask you to help with. You see, your hospital is the best in the city and emphasizes humane, people-oriented management, right?”

So…?
Dr. Su was full of question marks and turned to look at the nurse, who shook her head as well.

“Well, being ‘humane’ surely doesn’t mean forcibly separating a loving couple, does it?”

Nonsense!
What do you mean forcibly separating a loving couple? Where did that come from?

Dr. Su and the nurse were both utterly confused ×2.

“Xiaxia is pregnant,” Lu Tingchuan continued. “Doctor Su, you said it yourself—women tend to be emotionally sensitive during pregnancy, and special attention should be paid to their mood. But look at this: you’ve arranged for Xiaxia and me to stay in different rooms. Separated by distance like this, how could she not overthink things?”

Only then did the doctor and nurse finally understand his intention. Black lines instantly appeared over their heads.

The nurse screamed internally:
Hey, hey, hey—idol, don’t you feel guilty saying that?!
What do you mean ‘separated by distance’? There’s literally just one wall between your rooms! They’re right next door!

Dr. Su coughed lightly. “Well, Mr. Lu, you’re here for an external injury, while Mrs. Lu is pregnant. Under normal circumstances, you wouldn’t even be in the same department. It’s only because our hospital is the best private hospital in the city and has a special VIP unit that—”

Before he could finish, Lu Tingchuan seized the advantage.
“Exactly! You said it yourself—we’re VIPs. Doesn’t that mean our reasonable requests can be accommodated? Is my request really that unreasonable?”

Dr. Su gave a bitter smile. The nurse was speechless.
“Mr. Lu, you and Mrs. Lu are separated by one wall. It takes two or three steps to get there. Is that really necessary?”

Lu Tingchuan glanced at her.
“Didn’t you say you were my fan before? I even signed an autograph and took photos with you. And this is how you treat me? Can you really bear to watch me spend night after night alone, guarding an empty room?”

Pfft!

Dr. Su couldn’t help laughing out loud.

He wasn’t unfamiliar with Lu Tingchuan. Since the VIP department was established, they’d treated many celebrities. Over the years, Lu Tingchuan and his father’s checkups had all been handled by him. Even Lu Jingshan’s heart disease and hypertension—though managed with joint consultations—had him as the primary physician.

Despite years of interaction, Dr. Su had never realized Lu Tingchuan could be this shameless.

Suppressing his amusement with great effort, he heard a string of strange coughs behind him.

The nurse felt as if ten thousand wild horses were galloping through her heart.
Everyone knew the male god was shameless in front of the goddess, but this wasn’t just shameless—it was outright rogue behavior! And the way he could spout utter nonsense with a perfectly straight face… truly eye-opening.

What do you mean “alone every night”? And “guarding an empty room”?!

Dr. Su covered his forehead to hide his grin.
“Cough. Don’t worry, Mr. Lu. I’ll discuss it with the head nurse and arrange to move your bed over.”

“No need to trouble you like that,” Lu Tingchuan said quickly. “The VIP room sofa is spacious enough. I’ll sleep on the sofa.”

He was extremely pleased with himself. Once this was settled with the doctors and nurses, no one would keep reminding him to return to his own room anymore.

Though he knew they meant well—after all, he was injured too—after what had just happened, he didn’t want to leave Xia Shi for even a moment.

When he stayed in his own room, he couldn’t sit still. The moment he closed his eyes, scenes from his past life—Xia Shi’s death—and from this life—the kidnapping—kept replaying in his mind.

He didn’t need to do anything. He just wanted to watch her. Only by seeing her with his own eyes could his heart finally calm down.

After Lu Tingchuan left, Dr. Su couldn’t help asking the nurse, puzzled,
“Come to think of it, he used to be perfectly normal when he came for checkups—alone or with Professor Lu. Why does he seem so different this time? Did he take the wrong medicine? I didn’t prescribe anything incorrectly, did I?”

The nurse shook her head.

“Aren’t you his fan?”

“He was never like this before. Ever since the news about his marriage and child came out, whether online or during checkups, it’s like he’s become a different person. At first, I even thought he’d been replaced!”

The nurse clicked her tongue in amazement.
They say women change men—and it’s true. Everyone knows the male god is especially clingy in front of the goddess, but today she finally saw it for real. That level of clinginess! Especially remembering what happened in the ward earlier… no wonder the goddess joked that sometimes it felt like she was raising two sons.

Little Lu Xuan looked pitiful as he stood by the bed, tightly holding Xia Shi’s hand.
“Mom, you and Dad are both okay, right? You won’t leave me, will you?”

Though Xia Shi and Lu Tingchuan had hidden things from him and even sent him to stay with Lu Jingshan, the incident was too big for Lu Xuan to sense nothing at all.

The news had been overwhelming the night before, and Lu Jingshan had nearly suffered a heart attack because of it. Fortunately, Lu Tingchuan had prepared in advance, warned Wang Qin, and arranged for Ye Zheng’s family to keep him company.

Seeing Lu Xuan’s eyes full of hope yet unable to hide his fear—teary and misty—Xia Shi’s heart ached.
“Yes. Daddy and Mommy are both fine. We won’t leave you. We’ll stay with you as you grow up.”

She shifted inward on the bed.
“Did Xuanxuan come straight here after school? Are you tired? Come, take off your shoes and lie down.”

When Lu Tingchuan returned from the doctor’s office and entered the room, he saw this scene.

Damn it.
He had schemed endlessly just to stay in the same room as Xia Shi, and this little guy had climbed onto the bed without any effort at all!

Lu Tingchuan looked utterly aggrieved.
“He’s sleeping here—where am I supposed to sleep?”

Xia Shi didn’t even raise her eyelids.
“Don’t think I don’t know what you were up to just now. What did you say to the doctors and nurses? Trying to move your bed over? Since you already have your own bed, go sleep in it.”

Lu Xuan, however, was delighted to see him. His eyes lit up as he climbed off the bed and jumped into Lu Tingchuan’s arms.
“Daddy!”

Lu Tingchuan hissed in pain. Lu Xuan clung tightly around his neck, and guessing his son’s fear, Lu Tingchuan endured the pain and supported him with his uninjured arm.

Xia Shi was startled.
“Xuanxuan, come here—come to Mommy! Daddy’s injured. Don’t touch his wound. Daddy can’t hold you right now.”

Lu Xuan froze, kneeling on the bed, tightly clutching Lu Tingchuan’s sleeve. His voice trembled.
“Daddy… are you hurt?”

Lu Tingchuan’s heart softened. He rubbed his son’s head.
“Daddy’s fine. I just fell during training. I’ll be better in a few days. Don’t worry.”

“Really?”

The atmosphere at home over the past few days had been too strange. The little boy wasn’t so easily fooled.

“Yes! Remember when you scraped your knee after falling? Daddy’s just like that.”

Lu Xuan might not understand what a gunshot wound was—even if he knew, he couldn’t grasp how dangerous it was compared to an ordinary fall. But his sensitive heart still made instinctive judgments.

He stared at Lu Tingchuan, hands still clenched around his clothes, unwilling to let go.

Lu Tingchuan had no choice but to distract him another way.
“Xuanxuan, remember—you’re going to be a big brother now. You can’t jump around on the bed anymore. What if you hurt Mommy’s tummy and your little brother or sister?”

Lu Xuan froze, then quickly let go of Lu Tingchuan. His little face lit up with genuine joy as he burrowed back into Xia Shi’s arms, eyes sparkling.
“Mommy has a baby?”

“Yes! Xuanxuan’s going to be a big brother. Are you happy?”

Lu Xuan nodded vigorously.
“Happy! Mommy came to the hospital because of the baby, right?”

Xia Shi smiled.
“Yes. Mommy came to the hospital when she was pregnant with you, too. You’ve seen the photos, haven’t you? Mommy gave birth to you in a hospital.”

“Mm!”

Lu Xuan’s smile grew wider, eyes shining brightly. His whole body relaxed, the last bit of unease fading away.

Now that he’d found the reason for Xia Shi’s hospitalization, even Lu Tingchuan’s “minor injury” seemed believable.

Watching their son like this, Lu Tingchuan couldn’t bring himself to carry him away. He tucked the blanket around him and sat beside the bed.

“Xuanxuan, Daddy wants to discuss something with you. We haven’t recorded the show for two weeks now, and we have to do it this week. Daddy might not be able to go. Would you be willing to go alone with Uncle Ye?”

Lu Xuan looked up at him, curious and excited.
“Is Daddy staying to look after Mommy and the baby?”

Uh… his focus seemed a little off.

Before Lu Tingchuan could answer, the boy had already figured it out himself.
“Daddy, don’t worry! You take care of Mommy and the baby. I can do it! Yuanyuan did it last time too!”

Then he frowned, thinking again.
“But Fangfang won’t be there this time. Fangfang gets angry if I stay at Uncle Ye’s house…”

Suddenly he shook his head.
“I can tell Fangfang I have my own baby brother or sister now. Then he won’t always be mad at me because of Yuanyuan. And if he’s still angry, I’ll go to Uncle Yu’s or Uncle Yang’s house! Betty invited me to her house last time too!”

Xia Shi and Lu Tingchuan exchanged a glance.

How were they supposed to tell him that Fangfang’s problem wasn’t something a baby brother or sister could solve? And why did it sound like their precious child had suddenly become an unwanted little orphan being passed around?

A deep sense of guilt surged in Lu Tingchuan’s heart.

Wang Qin walked in with a bowl of chicken soup, arranging the dishes as she spoke.
“Tingchuan, you’re back. I reheated the soup—it’s ready. What did the doctor say?”

Lu Tingchuan hurried over to help.
“The doctor said everything’s fine. My injury’s nothing serious, and Xiaxia’s doing well. Auntie, you’ve worked hard. The VIP ward delivers meals daily according to our needs—nutritious and doctor-approved. There’s really no need to go through all this trouble. And Wu Jie is at home too.”

Wang Qin sighed.
“It’s your father. He was jumping up and down insisting on coming to see you. It took a lot of effort to persuade him to let me come instead.”

Lu Tingchuan laughed helplessly.
“Didn’t we already call him and do a video chat?”

“You know what your father’s like.”

Lu Tingchuan fell silent, memories of his father lying paralyzed in bed in his previous life flooding back, his emotions complicated.
“How’s Dad’s health now?”

“He was just anxious. Now that you’re fine, he’s relieved—and he’s better.”

Lu Tingchuan finally relaxed.
“Thank you for your hard work, Auntie. If anything happens, call me right away.”

Wang Qin nodded, reminding them to drink the soup, then waved to Lu Xuan.
“Xuanxuan, come—go home with Grandma.”