Yi Roujing returned to the Food Factory Workers’ Hospital early on the ninth, after ending the National Day holiday and taking an extra day off. This time she went to Jing City without keeping it a secret, so she brought some local specialties for her colleagues, mainly pastries, three kinds, one box each.

For those she was closer to, Yi Roujing also brought a small piece of roasted duck. Guo Xiangxiang received one, and naturally, the leader had to get one piece too, so Fan Yuanrong also received a small piece of roasted duck.

"Roujing, did you go to Tiantan? Did you see the Yuanming Garden? The Great Wall..."

"How silly, Roujing is pregnant, how can she visit so many places."

"Roujing, your in-laws are really open-minded, but since they all went, it’s not ideal for you to stay here alone either."

"Roujing, the whole family going to Jing City, this trip must have cost a lot in money and tickets, right?"

"Hey, why ask about the money and tickets, you’re not the one paying for it. It’s not polite to pry into such things, is it?"

...

After a burst of playful banter, the group dispersed when Fan Yuanrong appeared.

Guo Xiangxiang hardly spoke the whole time. Once people left, she finally let out a sigh of relief, "I’m really not up for handling these situations."

"Same here, my face feels frozen from smiling so much." Yi Roujing could relate, making Guo Xiangxiang laugh.

"Roujing, go to the outpatient clinic to pick up this month’s supplies, and Xiangxiang, you go along to help carry things."

"Yes, Nurse Chief." Yi Roujing and Guo Xiangxiang left the inpatient department and headed to the outpatient building.

"Nurse Chief Fan always makes you run errands, running around is not easy, right?" Guo Xiangxiang had noticed Yi Roujing was sent on many outside errands, and spoke with a hint of sympathy. The nurses in the operating room were all aiming to spend more time in surgeries; there were plenty of positions for just running errands if that’s what they were after.

"Nurse Chief Fan is just trying to take care of me a bit, after all, once the outside errand is done, my day’s work is over." Yi Roujing replied with a smile.

"It’s also because you’re pregnant. Luckily, you have a strong foundation in knowledge, so you won’t fall behind after giving birth." Guo Xiangxiang said.

The two just entered the outpatient entrance when someone came out with medicine. They happened to be in a blind spot, neither party saw each other, and just as they were about to collide, the man quickly stepped back, although the medicine box in his hand fell to the ground.

Guo Xiangxiang was startled, then turned her head to check on Yi Roujing, "Roujing, are you okay, were you scared?"

"I, I’m fine."

"Are you alright?" Guo Xiangxiang looked at the man two steps away from them. He was wearing a patched-up outfit, with a scruffy beard and a hat on his head. Guo Xiangxiang asked with concern, taking a step closer without hesitation. Seeing that he was fine, she squatted down to help pick up the medicine and handed it back to the man.

Yi Roujing watched their interaction without moving, scrutinizing the man. Perhaps because she had heard Xu Ancheng’s words, she paid more attention to unusually dressed people who came to the hospital. This man was about 1.7 meters tall, and he was holding anti-inflammatory medicine. His instinctive retreat just now showed quick reflexes.

The man thanked Guo Xiangxiang and walked past the two, exiting the outpatient entrance.

As he passed by, a very faint scent of osmanthus drifted into Yi Roujing’s nose.

"Xiangxiang, did you smell osmanthus?" Yi Roujing asked.

Guo Xiangxiang shook her head, then murmured, "I don’t know whose family member he is, but he doesn’t seem to care about his family at all."

Yi Roujing’s eyes lit up and she told Guo Xiangxiang to go ahead and collect the items while she made an excuse to visit the restroom, but actually went to the pharmacy window to inquire. She remembered that the man’s medicine was penicillin, and once she described the man’s attire and the medicine, the pharmacy remembered him and handed her the doctor’s prescription slip.

The name was Lu Cong, the brother of Lu Ming, a workshop worker.

After confirming, Yi Roujing caught up with Guo Xiangxiang, and they collected the items and returned.

With thoughts on her mind, Yi Roujing left work a bit early. Xu Ancheng was not home, and Li Hongying was busy in the kitchen. Seeing Yi Roujing return, Li Hongying quickly started cooking.

Xu Ancheng didn’t come home for lunch. Before going to work in the afternoon, Yi Roujing went to Huaixi County Hospital and headed straight to the inpatient department. She didn’t inquire about Zhao Guang, just said she was visiting a family elder. She was planning to check room by room, but when she saw policemen guarding the last ward door, she knew it was that room.

Yi Roujing took a few steps intending to walk over, when suddenly a figure brushed past her, and an extremely faint scent of osmanthus instantly wafted into her nose, but then quickly disappeared.

Yi Roujing paused, seeing the person who passed her was a man dressed in clean, green work clothes. His profile was very clean, but he had the same osmanthus scent as Lu Cong, which made Yi Roujing furrow her brows.

The osmanthus scent was richly fragrant, and the term "ten miles of fragrance" conveys its strong aroma. To make it barely detectable like this was no easy feat.

Yi Roujing thought that if she wasn’t pregnant, she might not have noticed it. So, what was it, and what was this person’s connection to Lu Cong?

Yi Roujing believed this person wasn’t Lu Cong because their heights were different. This person was at least 1.75 meters tall. Watching him enter the ward being guarded by policemen, Yi Roujing quickly followed him and entered the adjacent ward.

This room had eight patients in total. Yi Roujing saw the man in green work clothes sitting by the bed closest to the window, wiping the hands of an elderly woman who was asleep.

"Young man, you’re here again. You’re really very filial. Alas, but your grandma doesn’t recognize people anymore. Even if you come every day, she won’t recognize you, just like me. She recognized me today, but tomorrow she’ll forget again." 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

The patients in the ward praised the man with smiles on their faces.

After hearing this, Yi Roujing turned to leave.

"Hey, young lady, young lady, why are you leaving without coming in?"

Yi Roujing turned back, puzzled. A patient near the door called out to her.

"Hello Auntie, I was just checking the room number. My aunt said my grandma is in 208, but I didn’t see her after looking around. I thought maybe I got the wrong room." Yi Roujing said with a smile.

"It’s 208, maybe your aunt got the room wrong."

Yi Roujing smiled and greeted everyone before leaving the ward, then checked room by room.

The man in green work clothes came out of the ward with a kettle, noticed Yi Roujing checking each room one by one and relaxed a bit. When Yi Roujing finally called out "grandma!" and entered a ward closer to the corridor, the man went downstairs to fetch hot water. But as he passed the corridor, he glanced inside, seeing Yi Roujing holding an old lady’s hand, and then went straight downstairs.

Yi Roujing broke out in a cold sweat.

"Young lady, who are you looking for?" The old lady looked at Yi Roujing with unfamiliarity in her eyes.

"Grandma, you don’t recognize me anymore. My aunt said you held me when I was little. Knowing you’re hospitalized, I came specifically to see you." Yi Roujing handed the old lady a box of peach pastries. Although the old lady didn’t recognize her, her tone changed.

"Oh, you’re too polite. My eyesight is not good, I really couldn’t recognize you at first." The old lady said embarrassedly, assuming someone bringing peach pastries must know her, though she couldn’t remember who.