Song Qingchun was exhausted, but she could not have a good sleep. She would wake up every other hour, and it was not until 11 am that she finally fell asleep. Song Qingchun then woke up at 3 pm.
Su Zhinian woke up earlier than the doctor predicted. His eyes fluttered open by 5 pm. However, since the drip was mixed with painkillers, he did not say a word after he woke up.
The doctors and nurses all rushed over to inspect him. They crowded his bed, and the last available space was taken by Auntie Su. Song Qingchun had no choice but to look at him from afar.
Su Zhinian did not react in any way to Auntie Su's excited and teary words. He seemed to be shell-shocked as he stared at the white ceiling for a long time. Some time later, his pupils slowly moved like life had returned to the man, then he croaked out softly and weakly, "Where's Qingchun?"
Her heart felt like it was wrapped by something; it was warm and nice with an undercurrent of sourness and satisfaction. He had been unconscious for two days and two nights, and the first words out his mouth were asking about her.
Auntie Su was too caught up in her own relief and joy to notice her son's question. She rambled on. "Ah Nian, how are you feeling? Do you know how big a scare you've given your mother? Thank god you're awake now…"
Su Zhinian frowned slightly because he did not get the answer he wanted. His lips moved, but before he could speak, a soft voice said, "Su Zhinian."
The voice was barely above a whisper, but Su Zhinian still turned toward it with a tilt of his head. Through the crook of Auntie Su's arms, Su Zhinian met Song Qingchun's eyes.
Auntie Su was still fussing over Su Zhinian. Song Qingchun stared at him quietly and did not say anything else, but her lips curved into a smile. When he saw her smile, he was temporarily dazed before blinking several times, and his facial expression visibly softened.
The curve of Song Qingchun's smile became more pronounced, and her eyes started to get teary. Su Zhinian's lips moved. Even though he did not vocalize it, Song Qingchun could see clearly on his lips that he was trying to tell her not to cry.
Song Qingchun's tears fell, but the smile on her face glowed brighter. She mimicked him and mouthed back to him. "I know, but I'm too happy, happy that you have woken up."
Her lips moved very slowly, trying to enunciate every syllable very carefully. When she finished and he wanted to reply to her, Auntie Su realized her son had been staring in a direction and followed his gaze to look at Song Qingchun.
My son has been staring at Song Qingchun since he woke up… Auntie Su's thought filtered into Su Zhinian's mind through her hand that held her arm. Su Zhinian lowered his gaze to pull his eyes away from Song Qingchun to his own mother. Then he called out softly, "Mum."
Su Zhinian's voice immediately pulled Auntie Su's attention back from Song Qingchun. She turned around to care about her son once more.