Chi Yue and Chi Le learned that their father had been injured and hospitalized. Sneaking out without telling anyone at home, they made their way there to see him.
In their haste, they bumped into someone and fell over. Chi Yue scraped her elbow, and her eyes welled up with tears from the pain. Remembering that they were in a hospital and that they mustn't disturb the patients, she held back her sobs.
Perhaps because she was so accustomed to being tormented by the two little terrors at home, Lixi was taken aback; it was the first time she had encountered such a well-behaved child. Overcome with a sudden sense of guilt and pity, she hurried to crouch down, her face full of remorse. "It’s my fault, I wasn't looking where I was going. Did I hurt you?" she asked. "May I see?"
Chi Yue and Chi Le had not been around many people, as they spent most of their time with their mother, Lu Meng. But Lu Meng did not love them, and she would pinch them whenever something was not to her liking. Consequently, upon seeing Lixi, who was around the same age as Lu Meng, they felt an instinctive fear.
However, seeing the look of genuine concern in Lixi’s eyes, Chi Yue could not help but whisper, her voice thick with tears, "It hurts... my arm hurts."As she spoke, she held out her injured hand.
Lixi was someone who truly loved children; otherwise, she would not have disregarded her doctor's advice and risked her life to give birth to twins. Yet, who could have known they would grow up to be such ungrateful wretches?
Seeing such a well-behaved little girl now, Lixi felt her heart melt. She gingerly took the little girl's injured hand to examine it closely.
Seeing that it was merely a scrape, Lixi breathed a small sigh of relief. She gently blew on the wound while soothing her in a soft voice, "There, there, once I blow on it, it won't hurt anymore."
"How about this? Auntie will take you both to find a nurse to have this treated, shall we?"
Chi Yue had never been treated with such gentleness before; her little face flushed a deep red. She liked this auntie very much and glanced over at her brother, Chi Le.
Chi Le clearly liked the gentle Lixi as well, but he still seemed a bit hesitant.Because they didn’t know Lixi, even though she seemed like a nice person, what if she were a bad one?
In the end, Chi Le’s eyes were red as he refused Lixi’s offer. "No need, Auntie. We just weren't watching where we were going, and that's how we fell."
"We're here to look for our dad. Once we find him, he'll take us to see a doctor, so we won't trouble you, Auntie."
Hearing Chi Le’s sensible words, Lixi felt an inexplicable warmth in her heart. This little boy was so well-behaved; she really wanted to pat his head, but he seemed a bit afraid of her.
Lixi could only restrain her restless hands, her voice softening a little more. "Then let Auntie walk you there."
She would be staying here for a while anyway. If these two children came by often, she could find opportunities to spend more time with them.
A few minutes later, Lixi stood once again at the door of Chi Mu’s hospital room. Even the two guards at the door looked puzzled, so Lixi had to explain sheepishly, "I accidentally bumped into them on the way, so I brought them here."
The two guards glanced at Chi Le and his sister. Weren't these the Marshal's precious children?
Chi Le lifted his head to look at the guards and requested in a small voice, "Uncles, may we go in and see our dad for a moment?"
"We heard that Dad was hurt, and we want to see him."
The two guards naturally had no reason to refuse. Over these years, the Marshal had either been on the front lines or away on missions, with little time to spend with his family. Since the children had finally come to see him, how could they possibly turn them away?
With that, they stepped aside to clear a path.
Seeing the way open, Chi Le and his sister happily walked into the ward. Lixi followed behind them.
As for Chi Mu, he had already slowly drifted back to consciousness the moment he heard Lixi’s voice at the door.Although he was already awake, he froze the moment he saw Lixi walk in behind Chi Le and the others.
He glanced at the calendar nearby, puzzled. Had he been asleep for a long time? How could he and Lixi have children after just one nap?
And why did these children look exactly like Chi Le and his sibling?
A moment later, Chi Mu realized that Chi Le and the others must have come to visit him and just happened to run into Lixi.
He shifted his body, intending to sit up, but accidentally tugged at his wound, causing him to frown slightly in pain.
When Lixi saw that Chi Mu was awake, she instinctively moved to help him. She hurried forward and gently steadied him. "Marshal, your wounds haven't healed yet; you should be careful." She then grabbed a few soft pillows to tuck behind his back, pulled the blanket up for him, and poured a glass of water, holding it to his lips.
Only after she had finished did Lixi realize she had simply fallen back into the habits she had formed while caring for the Shen family.
In the Shen household, whenever someone fell ill, they would only ever order her around, yet when she was the one who was sick, no one ever cared.
These actions were etched into her DNA, and she realized she might have overstepped. Would Chi Mu misunderstand?
Lixi felt a wave of embarrassment.
It wasn't just Lixi; Chi Mu felt equally unaccustomed to the treatment. Having received a military upbringing since he was a child, he never troubled others if he could do things himself.
Even when he was sick, as long as he could still move, his father would have dragged him off to training.
No one had ever treated him with such careful attentiveness before. Chi Mu couldn't quite put a name to the feeling, but he noticed Lixi’s embarrassment.
He took a sip of the water, offered his thanks, and then quietly shifted the subject. "Chi Le, what brings you here? Where is your mother?"
Chi Le and Chi Yue, who had wanted to step forward earlier, had hung back because of Lixi’s actions. They felt the atmosphere was strange, though they couldn't quite put their finger on why.
Hearing their father call them, they hurried to the bedside.
Seeing how weak Chi Mu looked, Chi Yue could no longer hold back her tears. They fell one by one, and she asked with a sob, "Dad, how are your injuries?"
"We were so worried about you. Are you in a lot of pain?"
Though Chi Le tried his best not to cry, his little nose twitched, a sight that was particularly heartbreaking.
Lixi stepped back, leaving this precious time for the father and his children.
Watching his two sensible children, Chi Mu reached out to pat their heads and said softly, "Be good, don't cry. Dad is fine. It was just a small injury; I'll be better in a little while."
But very few people knew about his injury. How did Chi Le and the others find out?
As he pondered this, Chi Mu asked.
Chi Yue wiped her eyes and replied with a nasal tone, "Mom told us. Mom said that you were distracted during your mission because you were worried about us, and that’s how you got hurt by the bad guys."
At this, Chi Yue reached out and clutched Chi Mu’s large hand tightly, adding with a sob, "Dad, you don't need to worry about us. Mom treats us very well. You just need to take care of yourself out there."
Only now did he truly understand the meaning behind what Lixi had said: "Even if others don't care, your family will."
When he had heard those words earlier, he had instinctively thought of Lu Meng. But how could Lu Meng ever care about him? She probably wished he would die in action, so she could finally be completely free.
Now, looking at the worry etched onto the tender faces of Chi Le and Chi Yue, Chi Mu felt a dull ache in his heart, though a sliver of suspicion remained.
How did Lu Meng know? Could his identity being exposed this time have something to do with her?