The woman's voice trembled slightly upon hearing his voice. When she turned around, her eyes darted back and forth, her face a mixture of shyness and anger, "When did you wake up?"
Chen Guochao's gaze also faltered slightly upon seeing her eyes.
Her eyes, at first glance, appeared calm and detached, but within them was a delicate shyness and charm. Her black sweater hung loosely on her frame, and as she turned, her movement was a little too large, revealing half of her shoulder.
Chen Guochao quickly averted his gaze. Recalling the strange words she had spoken, he frowned and replied, "When you said 'what a pity'."
Chen Li's expression softened, and she pushed herself up from the bed.
Her movement drew Chen Guochao's attention again.
She was very weak, unable to walk steadily. After getting out of bed, she didn't put on her shoes, walking barefoot towards him.
Fortunately, the beds were not far apart, and she reached his bedside in two steps.
"What do you want?" Chen Guochao instinctively became alert, his eyes becoming fierce and deep.
Chen Li reached out and pressed the bell by his bedside.
Due to her extreme weakness, she stumbled and fell beside him, pressing down on his oxygen tube. Chen Guochao's breath hitched. Chen Li quickly stood up, "I'm sorry, I just came to press the bell for you."
Disregarding Chen Guochao's gaze, she moved back to her own bed. "I'm used to this. Every critical patient who wakes up needs to notify the nurse."
Chen Guochao suppressed the questions in his heart and nodded his thanks.
The nurse arrived quickly. After inquiring about his condition, she asked for his opinion, "Comrade, the situation is as follows: your condition is currently stable. The laboratory will soon provide us with a new batch of medication. Would you be able to wait?"
They had been quite strained these past few days. Once the medication's effective period passed, the patient's condition would gradually worsen, and several critical patients were in dire need…
"Alright, prioritize the emergencies." Chen Guochao felt as if his insides were being tossed in a washing machine, but given the doctors' and nurses' assessment that he was in a relatively good condition, he decided to endure a little longer.
As the nurse left, Chen Li hugged her blanket, her gaze falling on his pale face. "You're not in pain? The medicine will help a lot."
"Give it to those who need it most. I can wait," he said, then couldn't help but cough again.
The phone on his bedside table rang. Chen Guochao reached for it with difficulty, his body utterly weak, and the phone's position awkward for his hand, making it a strenuous effort.
Chen Li, still barefoot, got out of bed again and shuffled to his bedside to retrieve his phone for him.
As she handed the phone to Chen Guochao, she caught a glimpse of the video call contact.
【Huo Rou's Sister】
The successful development of the laboratory medication seemed to be credited to a newly arrived "Teacher Huo." Chen Li returned to her bed, hugged her blanket, and quietly watched her phone.
The call connected, and Chen Guochao smiled as he spoke, "Teacher Huo is well-informed!"
Huo Rou couldn't help but roll her eyes at his teasing. A sigh of relief escaped her. "You can still laugh, so you're not going to die."
He coughed violently. Chen Li reached out and pushed the water cup on the small table towards him, whispering, "You haven't drunk this yet."
Chen Guochao accepted her kindness and drank some water, which eased his condition. "Then I must live."
"An An has sent medicine for you. Remember to take it later," Huo Rou reminded him.
Chen Guochao shook his head, saying he had already taken his medicine at the hospital.
Huo Rou rolled her eyes again. "Who do you think you're fooling?"
Shen Wuyou had discovered the efficacy of pine and chrysanthemum in this viral infection and was experimenting with various combinations. They were all busy purifying another herb. It turned out the medication was already being produced slowly.
"Hang in there, there is hope now." Huo Rou had heard the female voice beside him, so some things were not easy to say directly. She hung up the phone after this single sentence.
Chen Guochao looked at the message Huo Rou had sent, inquiring about the condition of the patient who had been speaking to him earlier. He lowered his gaze and replied: Anomalous, investigation pending.
While he was typically dull and taciturn, he wasn't entirely stupid at times. What he had said to Chen Li wasn't entirely wrong; he had indeed woken up when she said "what a pity," but it was the first part of her statement he had heard.
Therefore, he had heard every word of the nurses' conversation, and all of Chen Li's words.
After some thought, he sent a message to Qin Ningyi.
It didn't matter if he didn't understand; Qin Ningyi would handle it.
And so, as Chen Li was chatting with him about current events, Qin Ningyi arrived with the medicine.