My Taoist nun girlfriend is from the Republic of China era, 1942.

Chapter 50 Patient Chen Xiaomiao

It was already four o'clock in the afternoon when Lu Yuan left the clinic. He parked the car in the community garage, turned off the engine, and glanced back at the passenger seat.

Chen Xiaomiao slumped in her seat, looking dejected.

Lu Yuan unbuckled his seatbelt and asked softly, "Can you still walk?"

"middle……"

Chen Xiaomiao seemed weak and listless, even pushing the car door was a slow and sluggish movement.

Lu Yuan didn't rush her. He got out of the car and went around to the passenger side. He waited for Chen Xiaomiao to stand steadily by holding onto the car door before reaching out to put his arm around her.

As soon as she opened the car door, Chen Xiaomiao felt like she had no bones, with most of her weight hanging on Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan simply bent down, reached his hand under her legs, and used his other hand to steadily support her back, lifting her up horizontally in his arms.

"Hey!"

Chen Xiaomiao gasped and instinctively hugged Lu Yuan's neck, her face turning bright red, burning from her cheeks to her ears, as if it were even hotter than when she had a fever earlier.

"Lu Yuan, what... what are you doing? Put me down right now, or someone will see us..."

"So what if you see her? Everyone in the neighborhood thinks you're my wife, so no one will gossip."

"Ugh...you're talking nonsense again!"

The person in his arms was incredibly light; Lu Yuan could barely feel any weight. Only the burning body temperature reminded him that he wasn't holding a ball of cotton.

The two idiots forgot about him in the car and were so anxious that he kept scratching at the car window, making a pitiful "woof" sound in his throat.

Lu Yuan didn't care about it at the moment and rushed into the elevator.

Upon opening the door upstairs, Lu Yuan carried Chen Xiaomiao straight into her room, gently placed her on the bed, and pulled the blanket over her.

"You...you haven't let the dog out yet." Chen Xiaomiao lay on the bed, still thinking about that stupid dog.

"It's okay, ignore it."

Lu Yuan turned around, poured a glass of warm water, took out the pills prescribed by the clinic, and handed them over along with the water glass: "Here you go, Xiao Miao, it's time to take your medicine."

"Is this medicine?"

"Yes, the doctor just prescribed it."

"Colorful... can you eat it?"

Chen Xiaomiao's eyes were full of confusion and wariness, as if she were looking at some kind of poisonous creature.

In her mind, medicine was a dark, murky decoction or powdered herbs; it never looked like a candy bean.

"Don't worry, how can I harm you?"

Lu Yuan patiently explained, "It's similar to the elixirs that you Taoists refine, but ours doesn't aim for immortality; it only treats illnesses."

Chen Xiaomiao obediently did as instructed, and the pill slid down her throat with warm water, creating an indescribable strange sensation.

"Go ahead and do your thing, I'll just lie down for a bit, I'll get up later to cook for you..."

"What are you cooking!"

Lu Yuan sat down beside her bed and reached out to touch her forehead; it was still burning hot.

"You stay in bed and don't do any work for the next few days, understand?"

"Oh...I know."

After leaving the room, Lu Yuan went downstairs first to release the idiot who was about to burst from the back seat.

Back upstairs, the idiot didn't run around the house like he usually does.

It went straight to Chen Xiaomiao's door, nudged the slightly ajar door with its nose, then lay down on the spot, rested its head on its front paws, and stood guard without moving.

"You stupid dog, at least you have some conscience."

Lu Yuan patted the dog's head, turned around and went to the balcony to take out his phone. He swiped his finger across the screen for a long time before finally dialing his grandmother's number.

"Hey? Grandson!"

"Grandma, I have a question for you."

"explain."

"Didn't you say before that you had a student who was the director of a certain private hospital...?"

"What's wrong?"

Sun Yumei's tone became somewhat wary: "If you have any problems, come directly to Wende Hospital to find me. Don't even think about bothering them."

"I was wondering if I could ask one of your students for a favor, to arrange a full medical check-up at his hospital."

After a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, Sun Yumei's voice suddenly became serious.

"Who are you getting a medical checkup for? Are you feeling unwell?"

"It wasn't me, it was... a friend of mine."

"Friend, male or female?"

"female."

Is it a seedling?

"Yes."

"Why would someone need a medical checkup out of the blue? What happened to the young woman?"

Sun Yumei's speech became noticeably faster, while Lu Yuan had already prepared his words.

"She came from her hometown to work. Her family was poor, and she had never had a proper medical check-up since she was a child. She had never been vaccinated."

She had a fever today, which scared me, so I thought I'd take her for a full checkup so I could be at ease.

So I was hoping you could use your connections to see if it was possible to bypass the hospital system and have the medical exam done without registering my identity…”

Public hospitals definitely couldn't handle this, and even if they could, his grandmother's meticulous nature would prevent her from doing it, so Lu Yuan had no choice but to settle for second best.

Why bypass the hospital system?

"Do you remember when I mentioned to you last time about my friend's unregistered status?"

"Is it a seedling?"

"..."

"Okay... I'll ask around for you."

"Thank you grandma."

Sun Yumei probably felt that such things couldn't be explained over the phone, so she didn't ask any more questions, gave a few final instructions, and then hung up.

Lu Yuan put away his phone and his gaze fell on the clothesline. The clothes that Chen Xiaomiao had hand-washed were still damp and swayed gently in the wind.

He sighed, turned around, and went back into the house.

The living room was a bit messy. A pair of slippers that had been chewed up by a fool lay forlornly under the sofa, and there was a pile of snack crumbs on the coffee table.

For the past month, Chen Xiaomiao has been taking care of everything at home, and Lu Yuan hasn't had to worry about it for a long time.

He rolled up his sleeves and cleaned up all the trash, then took out a broom and mop and swept the living room inside and out.

By the time we finished our work, it was already dark.

The lights were off inside, with only the neon lights of the city streaming in through the window casting long shadows on the floor.

Lu Yuan opened the food delivery app again, swiping his finger across the screen for a long time before finally placing an order.

Suddenly a phone call came in, and the number was unknown.

"Hey……"

"Hello Mr. Lu, this is Lin Ling."

The voice on the other end of the phone was as polite as ever.

"Didn't I say it..."

"I'm sorry to bother you, Mr. Lu Yuan."

Lin Ling quickly interrupted Lu Yuan: "Excuse me, are you planning to arrange a private medical examination for one of your female friends, where it's inconvenient to register her identity?"

Lu Yuan's mind went blank for a moment, and he became extremely vigilant.

"How do you know?"

"Please don't be nervous. We are not qualified, much less dare to monitor your life. It's just a coincidence! The private hospital that your grandmother, Dr. Sun, consulted earlier, has Mr. Chen Shu as one of its board members."

"so what?"

"I'm about to board a flight to Jiangcheng. Would it be convenient for us to meet?"

……

Inside the room, Chen Xiaomiao was taking the medicine and was fast asleep.

She sank into the soft bedding, feeling as if she had returned to her childhood, lying on the sun-drenched meadow behind the Taoist temple, feeling warm and comfortable all over.

In her dream, her master stroked his beard and preached, Chen Xiaoshu meditated with her eyes closed, Sister Xiaozhi combed her hair beside her, and Chen Xiaogu led the lost old mule, smiling憨憨地 at her...

"Clang-!"

A piercing metallic clang, like a stone being thrown into a calm lake, abruptly pulled her from her dream.

Chen Xiaomiao jolted awake and suddenly opened her eyes.

The room was dimly lit, with only a few rays of the city's sunset filtering through the gaps in the curtains.

She listened intently and heard another flurry of activity coming from the kitchen, accompanied by a few curses and complaints.

problem occurs?
Chen Xiaomiao's heart tightened, and she threw off the covers and got out of bed.

Her feet were still a little weak when they touched the ground, so she held onto the wall and slowly walked out of the room.

Erbaiwu was lying obediently at the door of her bedroom. When he saw her come out, he immediately got up and followed her to prevent her from accidentally falling.

Upon entering the kitchen, Chen Xiaomiao froze at first glance.

Song Jia arrived sometime later, wearing a floral apron, her back stiff as she stood in front of the stove, holding a spatula in one hand and a pot lid in the other, like a soldier preparing to go into battle.

Thick smoke was billowing from the wok, and a pungent, burnt smell was wafting out.

"Cough...cough cough!"

Song Jia was choked by the fumes and retreated repeatedly, frantically trying to turn on the range hood.

"Sister Song Jia..."

Chen Xiaomiao couldn't bear to watch any longer and weakly called out.

Song Jia turned around upon hearing the voice: "Why did you get up? Didn't Lu Yuan tell you to lie down and rest?"

"I heard a noise, and I was afraid something had happened..."

Seeing the appalling state of the stove, Chen Xiaomiao's brows furrowed slightly involuntarily: "You... are you cooking?"

"Hmm... I didn't wake you because you were sleeping so soundly."

Chen Xiaomiao looked at the ingredients in the pot that had been burned to a crisp and were no longer recognizable, and gave her advice very seriously.

"Sister Song Jia, you have to add oil first when cooking."

Song Jia: "..."

Chen Xiaomiao took two more steps forward, pointed to a plate of meat pieces cut into different sizes and shapes on the cutting board, and continued to give instructions.

"And this meat, how could you cut it like that? You have to cut it along the grain. If you chop it all over the place like that, it'll be impossible to chew when it's cooked."

"I was looking at your scallions... Oh dear! How could you cut the scallion roots in too? Those are bitter!"

"And that ginger, you have to smash it with a knife first, then the flavor will come out..."

Half an hour later, under Chen Xiaomiao's guidance, Song Jia served a bowl of tomato and egg soup that looked barely acceptable, and a dish that looked like stir-fried cabbage and meat.

She proudly presented the plate of stir-fried meat to Chen Xiaomiao, with a hint of anticipation.

"Here, have a taste of the hospital meal I made for you myself."

Chen Xiaomiao didn't rush to pick up her chopsticks, but instead asked Song Jia, "Sister Song Jia, why are you here to cook for me? Where is Lu Yuan?"

Song Jia replied, "He went out on something and asked me to look after you for a while. He probably won't be back until very late."

"Oh……"

Chen Xiaomiao didn't ask any more questions, and casually picked up her chopsticks, picked up a piece of meat, and put it in her mouth.

Song Jia stared intently at her, waiting for the verdict.

Chen Xiaomiao chewed very slowly and gently, her face expressionless, except that her brows furrowed more and more tightly.

Finally, she swallowed the piece of meat with difficulty, looked up and met Song Jia's expectant gaze, forcing out a smile that looked more like a grimace.

"Sister Song Jia..."

"Ok?"

"How about... I go and make you a bowl of noodles?"

(End of this chapter)