"Mom, thank you!"
These three short words, like a massive force crushing his chest, made Xie Baolian's breathing quicken. Tears welled up in her eyes without any signal from her brain, and streamed down her face.
After a while, Xie Baolian's thoughts finally caught up. Her body trembled as she bit her lip tightly. Slowly, she raised her hands, tightly embracing Li Haochen, and then began to jump excitedly in place with him in her arms, letting out whimpers of joy.
They jumped for a full three minutes, nearly suffocating Li Haochen.
Xie Baolian cupped Li Haochen's cheeks. Ignoring her tears and snot, she said, "Say... say it again."
Due to her excitement, Li Haochen's face was almost squashed flat, his mouth puckered like a fish.
"Mom..."
"Say it again."
"Mom..."
Xie Baolian giggled, her face streaked with tears and snot. She hugged Li Haochen and kissed his face, more than ten times.
"Mom, are you using my face as a rag?" Li Haochen felt his entire right cheek was wet and sticky, finding it both amusing and exasperating.
"I like it, what are you going to do about it? You don't like me anymore, do you?"
"Alright, alright, if you're happy, then I'm happy. We still have this side left, want some more?" Li Haochen offered his left cheek with a smile.
"You're so unserious." Xie Baolian smiled, taking out a tissue and gently wiping the tears and snot from Li Haochen's face.
"Son."
"Yes, what is it?"
"Nothing, just wanted to call you that, hehe."
"Mom."
"Yes, what is it?"
"Nothing, just wanted to call you that, hehe."
Xie Baolian looked at Li Haochen very seriously, scrutinizing him from head to toe. She reached out and pinched his cheek hard.
"Ow, that hurts..."
"Mmm, I'm not dreaming, hehe!" Xie Baolian smiled with satisfaction.
Li Haochen's face darkened. He mused that all women were the same; why did they always have to pinch him to check if he was real?
Xie Baolian walked to the hospital bed and stroked Murong Yanran's gaunt cheek. "Son, Yanran has been crying herself to the brink of collapse these past few days. You better treat her well, or I'll beat you to death if she loses even a single hair."
"Alright, I'm going back to the hotel to sleep. I'm exhausted; I haven't slept for three days and three nights."
Li Haochen walked over and hugged Xie Baolian, his eyes red. "Mom..."
Xie Baolian hugged Li Haochen tightly, her voice choked with emotion. "From now on, I am your mother, for a lifetime."
"Yes, from now on, I am your son, for a lifetime."
After Xie Baolian left, Li Haochen covered Murong Yanran with the blanket again. He walked out to the balcony and gazed at the distant night sky for a long time. "Dad, Mom, please don't worry up there. Your son is very happy now. I have another mother, and the person I love. I'm truly so happy..."
Li Haochen stood on the balcony for a long time before returning to the room. Murong Yanran had pulled the blanket off again.
Li Haochen gently lay down on the hospital bed, looking at the sleeping Murong Yanran. He pinched her nose. "You always kick off the blankets when you sleep. I'll turn into a national treasure if you keep doing that, hehe."
He kissed Murong Yanran's forehead, pulled the blanket back over her, and they fell asleep in each other's arms.
The next morning, Murong Yanran had already woken up. Seeing Li Haochen still sleeping beside her, she smiled. "This guy, he still drools even at his age."
Murong Yanran didn't get up. She lay on her side, reaching out to caress Li Haochen's face and watching him.
"Awake?"
"Mmm, I'm awake."
Murong Yanran smiled, her hair resting on Li Haochen's chest, half her body leaning on him. "Let's lie here a little longer."
They lay there quietly, without any thoughts, just wanting to hold each other and feel each other's warmth.
"Feeling any better?" Murong Yanran asked after a few minutes.
"Much better, my arm is just a little numb."
"Then let it stay numb for a while longer."
"For how long?"
"How about a lifetime?"
"That's not good."
"Say that again." Murong Yanran glared at Li Haochen angrily, her fingers already poised to tickle his waist.
Li Haochen suddenly lowered his head and kissed Murong Yanran briefly, just a few seconds. "A lifetime is too short. I want a hundred, a thousand lifetimes."
"Pfft! Are you reading a cultivation novel? I don't want that. You snore and drool when you sleep, and you talk in your sleep. One lifetime is enough to make me suffer, hehe!"
"Tsk, you have no idea what you're like when you sleep. You toss and turn, kick off the blankets, and your hands are always restless, fumbling around..."
"Mmm..."
Li Haochen was about to say more, but he was intimidated by Murong Yanran's emperor-like gaze and swallowed his words.
"Hmph, I sleep very peacefully. It's you who's restless. Keep hugging me."
"How can I hug you if my arm is numb?"
"Hug me with one arm."
"I..." Li Haochen let out a bitter laugh. He thought to himself, he was the patient, why was he being treated like this?
Shortly after, Xie Baolian entered with several bags of breakfast. "The sun's already high in the sky, and you're still sleeping?"
Murong Yanran blushed and moved away from Li Haochen's chest. "Aunt Lian, I'll help you."
"It's alright, I've got this. You two go wash up first. The breakfast will get cold."
Li Haochen's injuries were not serious. After waking up yesterday, he felt much better after a night's rest. His arm was only numb and couldn't move, which was why Murong Yanran had helped him up.
"Still numb?"
"Try having your arm used as a pillow all night, and you'll know." Of course, he only thought this, not daring to say it aloud for fear of being tickled.
"Yes, it's very numb, half my body is numb. How about you carry me?" Li Haochen said with a sly smile.
"Okay, if you don't mind the risk of further injury." Murong Yanran said with a smile.
Li Haochen shivered. "I'd better not. It would break my heart to hurt my wife."
Murong Yanran walked over and put her arm around Li Haochen's waist. "Put your arm on my shoulder."
"I'm fine, I can do it myself..."
Murong Yanran's sharp gaze made Li Haochen quickly stop talking and let her drag him to the bathroom...
"Why is brushing your teeth taking so long? Come and eat quickly, or it'll get cold."
"Coming..." Li Haochen looked at the large table full of breakfast and his expression darkened. He felt a desire to escape.
Murong Yanran beside him glanced at Li Haochen with a smile and tightly held his arm.
Li Haochen lowered his head and whispered into Murong Yanran's ear, "Wife, you'll have to help me later."
"Okay... it'll be hard, hehe!" Saying that, Murong Yanran quickly walked over and began helping to set out the breakfast.
The breakfast was indeed sumptuous, so sumptuous that Li Haochen groaned in misery. There was simply too much—shrimp dumplings, steamed dumplings, siu mai, etc. Li Haochen ate with whimpers and groans. He couldn't help it; the two sharp gazes occasionally swept over him, leaving him no room for wishful thinking.
After Li Haochen had finished all the breakfast on the table, those sharp gazes immediately softened. She then poured him water and gave him a massage.