Reborn in the 70s: Pampered by Regiment Commander
Chapter 354 - 244: Chance Encounter

Chapter 354: Chapter 244: Chance Encounter

A new update, special thanks to the "Passionate Love" fan who has always been rewarding Nuan~.

-----------------------------------------

"Xiao Ru? Li Xiaoru?"

Hiding in the corner and crying, Xiao Ru, hearing her name being called, quickly wiped the tears from her face, took a deep breath, turned around, and saw her former neighbor’s brother, Cheng Guo, smiling standing across from her, with a pretty girl by his side.

Straining to muster a smile, Li Xiaoru walked up to greet Cheng Guo: "Brother Guozi."

Joy filled Cheng Guo’s eyes: "I thought you looked familiar, but I didn’t expect it to really be you..." Then his expression became serious, "Who’s sick?"

"No one," Li Xiaoru forced a smile, "No one is sick."

"Little girl..." Cheng Guo said with a smile as he patted her head, "You’re still being formal with Brother Guozi? If no one’s sick, why are you hiding here crying? Tell me the truth, and quickly."

"Cheng Guo, I’m going back to the office now." Standing next to Cheng Guo was Wu Jingbo, who had replaced Chuxia as Jing Zhe’s apprentice.

"Could you take this back for me?" Cheng Guo handed a notebook to Wu Jingbo, "If the teacher comes, I’ll trouble you to tell him that I ran into a friend and will be back soon."

"Okay." Wu Jingbo nodded and walked away.

"Thank you." Cheng Guo called out to the retreating figure of Wu Jingbo.

"Brother Guozi..." Li Xiaoru’s gaze traveled over Wu Jingbo’s back before turning back to Cheng Guo, "Is she, your colleague?"

Cheng Guo nodded, "Yes, she is now studying under Director Jing with me. Don’t change the subject, answer my earlier question."

Li Xiaoru took a long breath, trying to calm herself before speaking: "I was arranged by Director Xiao to accompany his son in the hospital... if..." She bit her lip, paused for a moment and continued, "If I had refused, my father’s past... his past deeds would have been exposed."

"That’s outrageous!" Cheng Guo punched the wall, his forehead veins bulging, "Xiao Ru, did that bastard misbehave towards you?"

"Um..." Li Xiaoru looked around, seeing people passing by, then pleaded pitifully, "Brother Guozi, can we talk somewhere else?"

These days, she had been bottling up all her troubles, forced to maintain a happy facade; she was on the verge of collapsing. Now, encountering the neighbor’s big brother she trusted most since childhood, was like grasping a lifeline. Even if he couldn’t help, just having him listen would be good.

"Alright." Cheng Guo remembered this little sister as always smiling, but now her smile was so strained. Having encountered her, he naturally couldn’t ignore her plight.

"Brother Guozi, the female doctor you are interning with, is she very talented?" Li Xiaoru asked.

"Why do you ask?"

"Seeing the way Brother Guozi just treated her, so courteous..." Li Xiaoru shyly smiled, "Do you like her?"

"Little thinker, what wild thoughts are you having?" Cheng Guo said indulgently as he tousled her hair, "It’s been more than three years since we last met, right? Xiao Ru has grown into a young lady."

"Three years, one month, and ten days."

"Eh?" Cheng Guo was taken aback and then realized, "Xiao Ru remembers it very clearly."

Li Xiaoru pouted, "When Brother Guozi moved away, you promised to visit me every month. I’ve been counting the days, but until now, I haven’t seen you. Did you forget about us? Da Bao and Fourth Daughter still talk about you."

"I’m sorry..." Cheng Guo’s eyes dimmed, "It was all my fault, I just really couldn’t come to see you. Later, when my parents were vindicated, too much time had passed and I didn’t know how to face you... or more like, I was afraid to face it, so it was delayed until today."

"We never blamed Uncle Cheng and Aunt Cheng; my parents even tried to find out where you all had moved to, but never got any certain news.

Ultimately, it’s because Brother Guozi didn’t care enough about us, didn’t miss us. We’ve always stayed in the same house, always lived there."

"Okay, okay, it’s all my fault, I thought too much." Cheng Guo hurriedly apologized.

"When we were little, and we played house, I was always Brother Guozi’s bride," Li Xiaoru smiled half-seriously, half-jokingly.

Cheng Guo smiled and patted her head, "Alright, as long as you’re willing to marry, I’ll marry you."

"I might take you seriously..." Li Xiaoru pouted, her eyes full of unease. "Brother Guozi, you’d better think it through; you’ve already deceived me once."

"Xiao Ru..." Hearing the seriousness and formality in Li Xiaoru’s tone, Cheng Guo was stunned. The two hadn’t seen each other for years, and he indeed had a good impression of this younger sister, but not to the extent of wanting to marry her upon first meeting after so long.

Li Xiaoru, struggling to hold back tears that threatened to spill, said, "What do you think, did I scare you? Hehe..."

This time, Cheng Guo couldn’t laugh. He could see that Li Xiaoru was not joking. Though she was smiling now, her facial expressions were stiff as if plastered with cement...

When Cheng Guo returned to the office, Wu Jingbo was quietly sitting there looking through medical records. Seeing him, she greeted him with a faint smile, "I spoke to the teacher for you."

"The teacher is here?" Cheng Guo’s eyes lit up.

Wu Jingbo glanced at him inexplicably, "If he weren’t here, how could I speak with him?"

"Hehe..." Cheng Guo, embarrassed, rubbed his head, "I really was confused. Where is the teacher?"

"He went to the director’s office. By the way, don’t go out. The teacher will take us on rounds in a while," Wu Jingbo said indifferently.

Cheng Guo acknowledged and sat there, twisting his waist at times and shifting in his seat at others. Seeing this, Wu Jingbo looked at him puzzled, "Is there a nail in your chair?"

"Sorry, did I disturb you?" Cheng Guo hurriedly apologized. He truly respected this new junior sister.

Though younger than him, her skills in Traditional Chinese Medicine were absolutely awe-inspiring. He once wondered, given her prowess in Traditional Chinese Medicine, why she switched to studying Western medicine. She only responded with a faint smile, without revealing anything more.

Highly skilled people probably have that kind of temperament, he comforted himself.

Therefore, although he was her senior brother, he never acted superior towards her. Moreover, he admitted that apart from spending more time with the teacher, he had no other "advantages" over her.

Wu Jingbo put down the medical record she was holding and looked at Cheng Guo indifferently, "Brother Cheng seems distracted. Is it because of that girl just now?"

The usually cold junior sister actually initiated a conversation with him? Cheng Guo was taken aback and then gave a bitter smile, "Yes, she’s my old neighbor’s sister. We haven’t seen each other for over three years. She’s run into some trouble, and I’m quite worried about her."

"I’ve seen that girl," Wu Jingbo said coldly. "She’s staying in room 205."

"You’ve seen her?" Cheng Guo unconsciously sat up straight.

Wu Jingbo nodded, "Yes, the way that man looked at her was lustful, but..." She paused, then continued, "I saw her laughing, and she seemed very happy."

Cheng Guo’s expression turned grim.

"You don’t like me talking about her like this, do you?" Wu Jingbo smiled faintly, "I’m just stating the facts. You want to ask the teacher for help, but as a student of the same teacher, I hope you understand the whole truth before troubling the teacher."

"The patient’s father threatened her. If she doesn’t take good care of his son, he will expose her father’s past of stealing rice and flour from the factory," Cheng Guo explained.

"Why did he steal?"

"Who would steal if not driven by life’s hardships?" Cheng Guo sighed deeply. "Her family has four children and two elderly, supported only by her parents."

"I see, but..." Wu Jingbo changed the tone, "Why would the patient’s father know about that incident?"

"Her father and the patient’s father used to work in the same factory..." Cheng Guo paused, then continued, "Once, when her father was pocketing some rice, he was caught red-handed by that man. At her father’s plea, that man let her father go.

Since then, that man and her father became friends, and it was that man who secured her a job. She doesn’t understand why he suddenly turned on them."

"Don’t you think that man she’s talking about is very contradictory?" Wu Jingbo pondered for a while before speaking, "Don’t blame me for thinking the worst, but something about this situation feels off.

Of course, if you want to help her, it’s not my place to say anything; I’m just reminding you, don’t put the teacher in a difficult position. It would be better not to cause more trouble for the teacher for a while."

"I know," Cheng Guo was conflicted. Hearing Wu Jingbo put it that way reminded him of rumours he had heard before about Li Xiaoru’s mother and Director Xiao. Could it be... the more he thought, the more he believed his guess was right; it was unusual for that man to let Li Xiaoru’s father go so easily, and furthermore, they even became friends afterward. That was even more unusual!

If that man had his eye on Li Xiaoru as a daughter-in-law, he shouldn’t have let his son get married. Now, insisting that she marry his already married son, what was this all about?

"Come with me on rounds," Cheng Guo was still conflicted when Jing Zhe walked in, greeted them both, and then turned to leave. He quickly picked up his folder and followed.

An hour later, as they were walking to the stairs on the second floor with Jing Zhe, they happened to run into Li Xiaoru coming up from the opposite direction. Cheng Guo’s face turned slightly unnatural, and for a moment, he didn’t know whether to greet her or not.

At the sight of him, a flicker of joy crossed Li Xiaoru’s eyes. Just as she was about to greet him, seeing his gaze drift away, her eyes gradually dimmed, and then, bowing her head, she passed by without a word.