Volume One, Chapter Eight: The Modest Cousin

Other nurses wanted to retort, but at that moment, Lin Chen suddenly appeared sneakingly.

“What are you all talking about?”

“Ahh!!”

Several nurses screamed in fright upon seeing Lin Chen.

Think about it—gossiping about someone, and the very person suddenly shows up. How terrifying is that?

“Why are you back?” one young nurse asked, still clutching her chest.

“I suddenly remembered something I hadn’t told you, so I came back,” Lin Chen replied.

He placed eight cups of milk tea on the table.

“Uh... what’s this for?” the nurses looked at him in confusion.

“I have a favor to ask,” Lin Chen said with a smile, handing them the drinks. “Tomorrow, I start at the new company, so I probably won’t have time to come here during the day. But I’m worried about my wife, so I have to ask you to help look after her. I’ve slipped my phone number into each milk tea. If anything happens, you can contact me anytime. Please, please!”

He made a pleading gesture.

“Oh, it’s just this? That’s part of our job anyway!” the nurses nodded, not refusing.

“Alright then, thanks in advance.”

After giving his instructions, Lin Chen finally left the hospital with peace of mind.

No sooner had he left than someone gave the freckled nurse a knowing look.

“Didn’t you say there was no feeling between them? Do you think anyone would go to such lengths just for money?”

The freckled nurse wanted to protest but ultimately fell silent...

...

When Lin Chen returned to the dormitory, it was already ten at night.

As soon as he arrived, Jiang Yao interrogated him.

“Hey buddy, you’ve been nowhere to be seen all day. Where have you been?”

“Well...” Lin Chen hesitated, unsure how to explain.

Fortunately, Jiang Yao filled in the blanks himself.

“You’re dating someone, aren’t you? You seemed distracted at lunch. Who is it? The senior who’s chasing you or the baby-faced junior?”

“No way,” Lin Chen shook his head.

Though a few juniors had shown interest, he hadn’t accepted.

“Yeah, sure, I don’t buy it. Anyway, stop dodging and get some sleep. Tomorrow’s your first day at work—don’t be late.”

...

The next morning, Lin Chen and Jiang Yao arrived early at the company.

First, they went to Human Resources to complete their onboarding.

To their surprise, the person welcoming them was none other than the HR director, General Manager Xing Wei—a true company executive.

He was extremely friendly, almost like a breath of spring air.

Their starting salaries were raised from eight thousand to twelve thousand yuan.

They were even assigned a private office.

These perks stunned the other new hires, who might have thought the two were the company’s heirs.

Sitting at his desk, Lin Chen looked out the floor-to-ceiling window, surveying the bustling world below, feeling a surge of pride.

“Bro, your cousin’s amazing! Look at our treatment—HR director personally welcoming us, handling our onboarding... twelve thousand starting salary and a private office. Damn, we’ve hit the jackpot! Are we finally living the high life!?”

Jiang Yao smiled wryly.

“Lin Chen, to be honest, I’m confused too. I met my cousin this morning... his workstation isn’t as good as ours, and he told me straight up he’s no general manager; it’s just my aunt exaggerating.”

“Really?” Lin Chen was surprised. “So how does your cousin have such clout?”

“No way, he’s just a regular office worker. No way he has that much influence!”

“Then who else could it be? It must be your cousin. He’s just being modest. He’s a decent guy—we should thank him properly sometime.”

Jiang Yao hesitated but chose not to explain further.

What’s there to explain? It’s just too complicated!

...

Since many people joined at the same time, there was a one-week centralized pre-job training.

After the first day’s training, it was already seven in the evening.

Jiang Yao took the subway back to school.

Lin Chen, meanwhile, grabbed a shared bike and rushed to the hospital.

...

“I’m home, honey! Did you miss me?”

Lin Chen pushed open the door and called out loudly.

But upon seeing the scene inside, he immediately felt awkward.

It turned out that Mrs. Li Xiulan had come to visit, accompanied by cousin Ye Yun.

“Uh... Aunt Li, you’re here, and cousin Ye Yun too,” Lin Chen said sheepishly, blushing and unable to meet their eyes.

“Xiao Chen, don’t be shy. You and Tang Tang are married now. Just be yourselves. I’m not old-fashioned. Besides, the better your relationship, the better it might help her recovery.”

“I... I understand,” Lin Chen nodded but still felt too embarrassed to raise his head.

“I’m feeling better today, so Ye Yun brought me to see Tang Tang. She’s much improved from a few days ago.”

“She’s a lot better,” Lin Chen said, feeling less awkward mentioning Xu Mi. “She even cried yesterday.”

“Cried?” Mrs. Li looked surprised.

“I sang her a song, and she cried... but Dr. Zhang said it’s a good sign—it means her subconscious is starting to respond to the outside world. Plus, she’s moving her fingers more and more. These are all positive signs. Maybe she’ll wake up soon.”

“That’s wonderful!” Mrs. Li nodded repeatedly. “It’s all thanks to you. If Tang Tang wakes up, you’ll have done the most.”

“Auntie, I’m just doing what I should. I’m Tang Tang’s husband now, and I’ve already taken ten thousand yuan from you. No matter what, I have to do my best. But...”

“But what?” Mrs. Li looked up.

“I might not be able to come during the day. I found a job, so I’ll only have time after work.”

“That’s fine,” Mrs. Li nodded calmly, showing no surprise at his job news.

“Just come when you can. I have something tonight anyway. Ye Yun, let’s go and give the young couple some space.”

“Okay, Auntie.”

...

After seeing them off, Lin Chen returned to the ward.

Looking at Xu Mi lying in bed, he began to pour out his frustrations.

“Wife, that was so awkward just now. If someone’s here, why didn’t you warn me?”

“It was so embarrassing!”

As he spoke, Lin Chen started massaging Xu Mi’s body.

A vegetative patient’s muscles need regular massage to stay relaxed.

Otherwise, stiffness makes waking up even harder...

While massaging, he complained.

“Wife, should I stop calling you ‘wife’ from now on?”