Lu Yuan indeed had something to do that afternoon.
His grandfather's surgery for a stroke had been performed four or five days ago.
Due to his exams, his family hadn't allowed him to visit.
Now that his exam was over, Lu Yuan planned to go to the hospital.
The distance from Fourth Middle School to Burnt Rock City First Hospital, where his grandfather underwent surgery, was roughly seven to eight kilometers.
Lu Yuan didn't take a bus, opting to walk instead.
Running at midday might seem a bit strange, so Lu Yuan alternated between jogging and walking, finally arriving at the hospital entrance twenty minutes later.
[Your Basic Step Skill has improved, Experience Points+2]
This seven or eight-kilometer walk wasn't wasted, Lu Yuan thought, looking at the notification on the panel. Slightly satisfied, he wiped the sweat from his forehead.
A physique of 10 points had already reached the "Elite" level among normal adult men. Lu Yuan was energetic and spirited. After walking seven or eight kilometers, he didn't feel the slightest bit tired, only hot.
Thankfully, the hospital was cool.
He asked a nurse for the location of the inpatient department and, following the directions, easily found his grandfather's ward.
Pushing the door open, he immediately saw the frail but kindly old man lying on the hospital bed, and Lu Xinghua sitting by the bed peeling an apple.
"Grandpa! Dad," Lu Yuan called out twice, surveying the ward.
His grandfather, Lu Yueping, was in a standard double room. There was another patient in the room, separated by a blue curtain. Lu Yuan couldn't see the other patient clearly, only hearing a faint cough from behind it.
"Yuan is here," Lu Yueping said. He took a moment to recognize Lu Yuan. A smile appeared on his face, and he struggled to sit up.
Lu Yuan hurriedly rushed over. "Don't try to get up, Grandpa. Just lie down."
"It's just minor surgery, nothing to make a fuss about." Lu Yueping stubbornly sat up, taking Lu Yuan's hand and not letting go.
Given the medical standards of this world, an operation for a stroke was indeed considered minor. The real pressure on Lu Yuan's family hadn't been the surgical risk, but the considerable cost.
"Why are you here in this heat..." Lu Yueping smiled, looking at his eldest grandson.
Lu Yuan replied, "I just finished my exam today. I have the afternoon off, so I thought I'd come see you."
"How did the exam go?" Lu Xinghua asked, handing the peeled apple to Lu Yueping.
"Top three for sure," Lu Yuan responded.
Lu Xinghua frowned. "Weren't you second in class in the last monthly exam? Why is your target still just the top three?"
"I meant top three in the grade… Thanks, Grandpa!" The apple Lu Xinghua had peeled for Lu Yueping was promptly stuffed into Lu Yuan's hand by his grandfather. Lu Yuan didn't refuse, taking a large, juicy bite.
"Keep bragging. You were sixteenth last time, and now you're aiming for the top three..." Lu Xinghua scolded him with a laugh, though his expression had brightened considerably. This was precisely Lu Yuan's intention. Unlike his conversation with Cheng Peng, he chose to exaggerate a bit in front of his father.
"Whether I'm bragging or not, you'll know when the results come out," Lu Yuan said, biting into his apple confidently. Lu Yueping watched with an amused grin.
Lu Xinghua was about to ask something else when his phone suddenly rang. He glanced at it and quickly stepped out of the ward. "Keep an eye on your grandpa. If anything happens, press that button up there to call a nurse."
"Yeah." Lu Yuan watched Lu Xinghua leave, then sat quietly by the bed, keeping an eye on Lu Yueping.
Since Lu Yuan had entered, Lu Yueping's eyes hadn't left him, looking his grandson up and down. "Your dad said you recently joined some kind of combat training class, learning martial arts..." Lu Yueping pinched Lu Yuan's arm and said approvingly, "This money wasn't wasted. You've gotten taller and stronger. You don't look sickly like you used to..."
"I'm not bragging, Grandpa," Lu Yuan said, patting his chest proudly. "I'm quite strong now. When summer vacation comes, I'll take care of all the land you farm in the countryside." This made Lu Yueping burst into laughter.
Lu Yuan's grandmother had passed away a few years earlier, and his grandfather, Lu Yueping, had been living alone in their rural village. Lu Xinghua had tried several times to persuade him to move to the city, but he always refused, so Lu Xinghua had to let him be. However, after this stroke, Lu Yuan suspected another tug-of-war on the matter was inevitable between father and son.
After chatting with Lu Yueping for a while, Lu Xinghua, who had stepped out to take a call, rushed back in. "I have something urgent to deal with and have to leave right away. Lu Yuan, please take good care of Grandpa. I'll be back soon."
"Oh," Lu Yuan responded, standing up. Before he could say another word, Lu Xinghua had already turned and hurried away. His phone seemed to still be connected, as faint voices could be heard from outside the ward after he left.
"...Keep an eye on him for me! I'm coming over right now!"
"That bastard! He finally decided to show his face!"
From the snippets of Lu Xinghua's phone conversation, Lu Yuan guessed it was likely related to the person who owed their family money for goods. It seemed Lu Xinghua had found a lead on the man's whereabouts and was now going to apprehend him. Hopefully, it goes smoothly, Lu Yuan silently prayed for his father, then focused on looking after his grandfather.
Lu Xinghua had said he would be back soon. However, he didn't return at all that afternoon.
Lu Yuan spent the afternoon first chatting with Lu Yueping, then watching TV with him. He called the nurse to change his IV drip twice. When Lu Yueping was resting, Lu Yuan, unable to stay idle, went to the inpatient department's stairwell to do some physical training. Two young nurses caught him doing knuckle push-ups and gave him strange looks, probably thinking he was a patient who had escaped from the psychiatric ward next door.
"Go get dinner for your grandpa. The cafeteria is just below the inpatient department. I'll be a bit later..." It wasn't until nearly dinnertime that Lu Xinghua finally called, his voice tinged with fatigue.
Lu Yuan obediently agreed, telling Lu Xinghua not to worry and that he could handle things.
After hanging up, Lu Yuan sighed softly. It seems things aren't going well for Dad.
Lu Yuan informed Lu Yueping and then went downstairs to get dinner. He only bought food for Lu Yueping, planning to eat in the cafeteria himself after his grandfather finished. His appetite was huge now, about two or three times that of an average person. If he got takeout, he'd need seven or eight meal boxes, and a single trash can wouldn't be enough for the empties.
Just as Lu Yuan was carrying the meal box up the stairs, a voice suddenly pierced through the din of the inpatient department lobby, reaching his ears.
"...Yang Jiandong in bed sixteen on the eighth floor..."
"I'm his friend..."
"Okay, thank you."
Lu Yuan whipped his head around towards the sound. He saw a familiar figure walking from the nurses' station towards the elevator.
Lin Zhiquin! Lu Yuan recognized the man as Coach Lin Zhiquin from his combat class at the Origin Martial Arts Hall.
Why is Coach Lin at the hospital? What was the name of the patient he just asked the nurse about? Yang Jiandong, was it? With his physique at 10 points, Lu Yuan's hearing was far superior to an average person's, allowing him to unexpectedly spot Lin Zhiquin in the hospital.
Yang Jiandong is sick and hospitalized? And Coach Lin came to visit him? Are they that close? Lu Yuan was filled with questions.
Driven by intense curiosity, after taking the food back to the ward and helping Grandpa Lu Yueping eat, Lu Yuan didn't immediately go downstairs for his own meal. Instead, he quietly made his way to the eighth floor of the inpatient department.