Yu Minglang was well-prepared.
But then Xiao Qianâs teacher fell ill.
The guest room was canceled.
The cleaning lady pushed her cleaning cart in, and seeing the marks on the window, she shook her head and sighed, âSuch a tall, handsome young man, how come⦠only 5 minutes?â
No wonder when they left, the girl had an angry look on her face. The cleaning lady, who had seen many such things, was used to itâ¦
Yu Minglang and Xiao Qian arrived at the hospital and went to the emergency room, where Liu Li was pacing anxiously.
âHow is the teacher?â
Xiao Qian asked eagerly.
âStill being rescuedâ¦â Liu Liâs face was filled with helplessness and anxiety, his usual brightness replaced by tension.
âHow did she get sick?!â Xiao Qian remembered that her teacher had heart disease, but it wasnât serious. At least in the years she had been with her teacher, she had never seen her fall ill.
âI argued with her today, itâs all my fault, I shouldnât have argued with herâ¦â
Liu Li said regretfully.
When Professor Liu found the hospital papers he had hidden in his room, she questioned him about what he was going to do. Liu Li, realizing he couldnât keep it from her any longer, finally told her the truth.
Professor Liu strongly opposed the idea, and the mother and son argued. As they clashed, Liu Li brought up his eldest brotherâs situation. As a result, Professor Liu lost consciousness, panicking Liu Li, who quickly called his father for help. However, his father was out of town and couldnât make it in time.
It was then that he thought of seeking help from Ming Lang.
Professor Liuâs heart condition was triggered by emotional agitation, and after the emergency treatment, she was out of immediate danger and transferred to a ward for observation.
Xiao Qian and Yu Minglang handled the hospital admission procedures for her. When they returned, they saw Liu Li standing outside the ward, pacing back and forth, not daring to go in.
âWhy donât you go in?â Xiao Qian asked.
âIâm afraid my mom will get angry when she sees meâ¦â Liu Li was feeling extremely regretful and remorseful about his triggering words and the situation they had caused.
âTrue, you should go back then, Iâll stay here with Yu Minglang tonight.â
âI wonât go back, Iâll stay here.â
Seeing his insistence, Xiao Qian didnât force him and went into the ward with Yu Minglang, who gently patted Liu Liâs shoulder and tried to comfort him.
âDonât be too hard on yourself. The older generationâs ideas are different from ours. Communicate more with your mom, thereâs no overnight feud between mother and son.â He often got into trouble when he was a kid and had many disagreements with his parents. Compared to him, Liu Li wasnât particularly bad off.
Liu Li recognized Yu Minglang as his brotherâs friend and asked admiringly, âDo you know my brother?â
âYour brother was my senior and also a very good friend of mine.â Yu Minglang also had a good impression of this younger brother.
A good friendâs brother is family too.
âI also want to be like my brother. Who wants to be an urban management officer?â Liu Li complained.
After failing the university entrance exam, Liu Li was assigned to the Urban Management Department, officially hired, but he didnât like this job at all. He felt no sense of accomplishment doing the same monotonous work every day.
âYour brother was an exceptional man and a hero of our unit. Even if you donât become a soldier, you can still make a difference in ordinary positions. Jobs are neither high nor low, only the responsibilities are different.â
Yu Minglang sincerely advised, having heard from Xiao Qian on the way over that Liu Li had argued with Professor Liu over wanting to give up his stable job to become a soldier. To be honest, he didnât want Liu Liâs life to be too full of ups and downs either. He was the Lone Wolfâs brother and Uncle Liuâs only descendant.
âWhy donât you find an easy job then?â Liu Li retorted unconvinced.
In his memory, his elder brother was a towering hero, and he wanted to be like him too. When he was young, his parents always asked him to learn from his brother, but once he grew up and wanted to follow his path, his mother vehemently opposed it.
âWhether itâs an easy job or a hard one, they are just titles given by others. If everyone pursued an extraordinary life and no one served as urban management, maintaining the cityâs appearance, what would the city become? Everyone contributes to maintaining the cityâs peace and stability equally. Thereâs no high or low in jobs, only whether it suits oneself or not.â
Yu Minglang earnestly advised with words from the bottom of his heart, but Liu Li could not take it in.
âItâs easy for you to say they are the same because you have everything. Itâs like rich people not knowing the hunger of the poor.â
Seeing his determined attitude, Yu Minglang stopped advising and just patted his shoulder, then went into the ward.
Inside the ward, the now awake Professor Liu lay silently in bed. Xiao Qian held a cotton swab, carefully dipping it in water to moisten her dry lips.
Her movements were gentle, and there was none of her usual domineering manner. She was patient with the people she respected.
This side of her revealed a different kind of tenderness.
âLetâ¦â
The professor spoke, and Xiao Qian hurriedly leaned in to hear her weak, complete sentence: âLet Liu Li⦠get lost!â
With so much effort, she managed to say just that. One had to admire her determination.
Pff! Xiao Qian thought she should be serious at the moment, but she couldnât help but want to laugh.
Her teacher could be like a child sometimes.
She patted the teacher soothingly, âAlright, Iâll ask him to leave right now. You focus on recovering. If you still feel annoyed, Iâll ask Yu Minglang to hit him â Yu Minglangâs punches could break a brick, Iâll make him bleed for upsetting you.â
Professor Liu widened her eyes and grabbed Xiao Qianâs sleeve in shock. Xiao Qian burst into laughter, âIâm teasing you, donât worry, everythingâs fine!â
Yu Minglang silently watched on the side, afraid that Qian Bao would provoke her teacher into another heart attack.
Xiao Qian actually understood Professor Liu well. She treaded carefully on the professorâs psychological boundaries.
After waking up, Professor Liu had been lying there in silence all along, not saying a word. Xiao Qian peeled an apple for her, using a fruit knife to cut it into small pieces in a careful and patient way. Yu Minglang gave Xiao Qian a look and walked out to continue chatting with Liu Li.
Liu Li was a young man with passion and rebellion in his heart. He was unhappy with the stable job his mother had arranged for him, but he was also very filial. Like all children his age, he yearned to break free from his parentsâ control but still felt connected to them in love.
Yu Minglang accompanied him and talked, mainly listening to Liu Li while trying to figure out the young manâs own psychological turning point. After a while, Liu Li suddenly asked Yu Minglang.