reignition

"Don't hang up!"

He heard a deep, familiar voice coming from the other end of the line, slightly hoarse, with a hint of urgency in its tone.

Jiang Mian's tone was calm at first, as if she didn't care much.

But when she heard those two simple syllables of a familiar voice on the other end of the phone, she silently and genuinely breathed a sigh of relief.

"Are you alright?" Jiang Mian asked after a few seconds of silence.

He kept saying "I'm fine" but Lu Bozhou suddenly remembered the contents of the message Qin Chu had sent earlier.

'You'd better take advantage of your injuries while they're still quite severe and use a self-inflicted injury tactic.'

The words "It's okay" were on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them back.

Lu Bozhou said in a low voice, "Not good."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Mian frowned slightly. After a moment's hesitation, she asked, "Where...are you?"

“After the incident, during the safe period, Song Xun sent me to another place.” Lu Bozhou’s voice was somewhat weak. “You shouldn’t have come.”

Jiang Mian's brows were still furrowed. "I'm worried that if you really die, I won't know how to tell the children."

That was quite a harsh statement, and the tone seemed to carry a clear sense of personal emotion.

But when Lu Bozhou heard the obvious personal emotion in those words, he felt as if his heart had relaxed.

"Don't worry, I won't die," Lu Bozhou said softly. "I haven't lived enough yet."

I used to think I'd had enough of life, and that I didn't care whether I lived or died.

They might have thought the same thing just a day ago, but just now, perhaps the instant they heard Jiang Mian's voice.

Lu Bozhou's thoughts changed. It seemed that he hadn't lived enough, and he wasn't so fearless of death.

“It’s not safe for you to be alone in Luocheng right now. Song Xun will arrange to pick you up.”

She had already said her refusal, but then she thought that even Lu Bozhou could be tricked, so for her own safety, she shouldn't stay in Luocheng alone. So she didn't refuse.

Not long after, someone came to pick her up.

Jiang Mian was taken aback when she saw who it was. "Why did you come in person?"

The person who arrived was Song Xun. He didn't bring a driver; he drove himself. As he got out of the car and opened the door for Jiang Mian, he said, "What you're saying... If he weren't unable to move, he would have come in person."

Song Xun's implication was that his trip was already a concession from Lu Bozhou's side.

Jiang Mian didn't say anything after hearing this and got into the car.

Song Xun started the car and drove very steadily.

Jiang Mian remained quiet throughout the journey, barely speaking. Her composure made Song Xun somewhat impatient.

While waiting at a red light, Song Xun turned to look at Jiang Mian and asked, "Aren't you going to ask him how he is?"

Jiang Mian glanced at her and asked, "How is he?"

"His injuries are currently stable, but his condition is so-so," Song Xun said. "You know how tough it is to have a broken rib."

Jiang Mian pursed her lips. Of course she knew that she had broken her ribs while saving her son, and the recovery process was extremely painful.

Every breath hurts; it's a real-life version of the pain of breathing.

But if the injury is well controlled, it will only hurt, so Jiang Mian breathed a slight sigh of relief when she heard Song Xun's words.

But it wasn't until they arrived at the hospital that they saw the man on the hospital bed, who was wrapped up quite tightly.

Jiang Mian frowned and glanced at Song Xun. She didn't speak, but the meaning in her eyes was self-evident—wasn't it said that only ribs were broken?

The man in the hospital bed was wrapped up like this, and he didn't look like he only had a broken rib.

Lu Bozhou lay on the hospital bed, his upper body naked, his chest, ribs and arms wrapped tightly in bandages.

Perhaps unable to lie down properly, the hospital bed began to rock. He half-lay, half-leaned on the bed, his eyes closed, seemingly asleep, but his tightly furrowed brows suggested that he might be enduring pain even in his sleep.

Song Xun raised his hand and gently knocked on the door. "Boss, the person has been brought over."

Upon hearing the knock, the person on the bed suddenly opened their eyes and looked towards the door.

Their eyes met silently in the air.

"They're here," Lu Bozhou said in a low voice.

It wasn't very clear on the phone before, but now, listening to it face to face, the hoarseness in Lu Bozhou's voice was even more obvious.

"Hmm." Jiang Mian walked in and smelled some scents in the air. They seemed strangely familiar, but she couldn't quite place what they were.

Jiang Mian: "Assistant Song said you only have a broken rib."

Lu Bozhou looked up and glanced at Song Xun.

Song Xun probably misunderstood Lu Bozhou's meaning, thinking that Lu Bozhou didn't want Jiang Mian to worry.

They had no idea that Lu Bozhou might be planning a self-inflicted injury.

As soon as Jiang Mian reached the bedside, Lu Bozhou pulled back the blanket. "His leg is broken, his ribs are broken, he has a pneumothorax, and there are still unknown injuries on his body. He's in excruciating pain."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Mian pursed her lips more tightly.

Song Xu was sitting on the sofa over there, and he walked over at that moment.

Jiang Mian asked, "Dr. Song, what kind of injury is causing him such excruciating pain?"

“Scalds,” Song Xu said. “His car rolled over due to an explosion, and then leaked oil and burst into flames. Although he was rescued in time, he was still affected. It’s not too serious, but even a first-degree burn is painful enough.”

Jiang Mian suddenly realized what that smell she had been smelling since she entered the ward was.

It smells like burn ointment, a strong sesame oil smell.

Song Xu seemed to have seen through Lu Bozhou's plan to use a self-inflicted injury as a ruse.

He continued, "He had broken ribs, and the pain from breathing and burns kept him from closing his eyes."

"Can't we give him some medicine to help him sleep for a while?" Jiang Mian asked.

Song Xu certainly wanted to give him the medicine, but the patient refused.

Song Xu glanced at Lu Bozhou, then turned to Jiang Mian and said, "He said there's no time to sleep now."

Jiang Mian looked at Lu Bozhou and felt that these were indeed words that Lu Bozhou would say.

Lu Bozhou frowned. Although he didn't say anything, he felt that Song Xu and Song Xun were about the same.

These two brothers are more likely to cause trouble than to accomplish anything.

Lu Bozhou looked at Jiang Mian, pondered for a moment, and said in a low voice, "I'll go to sleep in a bit."

Song Xun couldn't help but find this scene somewhat amazing.

It seems like they never acted like this during their marriage.

Why does the boss seem to be afraid of his wife now that they're divorced?

Song Xun moved a chair to the bedside for Jiang Mian, and Jiang Mian sat down.

The scene was quite awkward. To be honest, Song Xun and Song Xu didn't know how to interact with Lu Bozhou and his ex-wife in front of him.

It seems like it's going to be awkward no matter what.

After thinking for a moment, Song Xu stood up and said, "You guys chat first, Song Xun and I will go out for a walk."

The two brothers got up and left. Hopefully, the atmosphere in the ward wouldn't be so awkward after they left.

But little did they know that after they left, the atmosphere in the ward seemed to become even more awkward.