CHAPTER 54: 054: COME UP, GO HOME

Inside the hospital’s emergency room.

Cen Jin looked at the wound that had already been treated and bandaged, along with the white gauze on her ankle. She was about to put her foot down to walk, but as soon as she touched the floor, a sharp stabbing pain shot up her foot, making her instinctively retract it.

After the nurse had tidied up, she noticed her movement and spoke up: "Don’t let the wound on your leg get wet, and remember to come back for a dressing change in a couple of days. You’ve sprained your ankle; is there no family member to help you? Walking back alone might worsen the injury to your ankle."

"Thanks, someone will come to pick me up later," Cen Jin smiled faintly, her mind replaying the words Jiang Baizhou had just shouted at her.

He usually spoke briefly and was indifferent and cold, never showing much emotion. It was rare that you could tell whether he was happy or angry, even by his tone. Knowing him all these years, he had never lost his temper like that before.

"Your leg shouldn’t touch the ground now; it’s best not to exert too much force either. Let me push you outside to wait!" The nurse put down the items in her hands, looked around, and saw a wheelchair in the corner. She walked over, grabbed the wheelchair, and helped Cen Jin from the hospital bed into the wheelchair.

"Thank you for your trouble," Cen Jin offered a shy smile as she was helped into the wheelchair.

This was also the first time in her life she had sat in a wheelchair, and she felt somewhat strange about it.

After the nurse pushed her to the edge of the corridor, some other patients called for her: "Why don’t you wait here? If you need anything, feel free to call us. I’m going to get busy now."

"Okay, thank you."

Cen Jin held her phone while sitting in the wheelchair, patiently waiting for Jiang Baizhou to arrive. After about ten minutes, the emergency room corridor echoed with urgent, somewhat panicked footsteps. Cen Jin instinctively looked up and saw a familiar figure pacing through the emergency room. She raised her hand and waved: "Jiang Baizhou, over here."

Hearing the quiet female voice, Jiang Baizhou’s deep eyes immediately turned her way. Seeing her sitting in a wheelchair with gauze wrapped around her leg, his eyebrows furrowed sharply as he strode over and coldly questioned, "What’s going on? Explain."

"Uh... I just accidentally bumped into something. It’s not serious."

"Not serious, yet you’re in a wheelchair?"

"You can’t just look at the surface! Calm down, I only sprained my ankle and can’t walk right now. It’ll be fine after a couple of days." Seeing the anger flaring in his dark eyes, Cen Jin quickly spoke to soothe him.

"Did you hurt anywhere else?"

"No."

"Have you been checked?"

"Yes, everything’s been checked."

"Why did you get bumped? Didn’t I tell you to wait where you were?" Jiang Baizhou looked at the gauze on her leg, which had traces of red seeping through, his typically calm and aloof demeanor now clearly overshadowed by anger and dissatisfaction.

Cen Jin awkwardly smiled, feeling unaccustomed to Jiang Baizhou’s unusual display of emotion today: "That stretch doesn’t allow parking or turning. I was thinking of waiting for you in front by the intersection, but when I finished our call and sent the location, I didn’t pay attention ahead, so..."

Jiang Baizhou squinted at her with his unreadable eyes but did not reply, making Cen Jin feel somewhat intimidated.

"Can we go home?" After a long pause, Jiang Baizhou finally eased his expression, slowly squatting down to ask.

"Yes," Cen Jin nodded heavily.

Jiang Baizhou glanced at her, turned around, and extended his hands backward. His cold tone carried a hint of dominance and command, leaving no room for her to refuse: "Get on, let’s go home."