Chapter 128: Division Commander Jiang, Please Give an Honest Account

"That is not mine."

Si Rong denied it flatly.

She only began to gradually accept the color pink after she turned thirty, but before thirty, she did not like pink at all, and even somewhat detested it.

It was impossible for her to buy clothes or daily necessities in pink, so how could she possibly have bought a pink hair accessory to wear on her head?

"Doesn't he have a daughter? It might be his daughter's."

Ming Zi's speculation was rejected once again.

"Although that hair accessory isn't mine, I remember that style; it was popular back when we were young, and it's definitely not something little girls wear nowadays."

"Actually, it doesn't matter. I've already let it go, and I won't take this matter to heart."

Si Rong took a small sip of coffee.

Ming Zi:...

"So this is the reason you asked me out for coffee early in the morning?"

Ming Zi understood her; ever since experiencing the incident where Shen Lan deceived her into marriage, she had been a bit afraid of matters of the heart.

"If you really didn't care, then you would have had a frank and honest talk with Jiang Cheng right after discovering the hair accessory last night."

"You are afraid, afraid that the result is exactly as you imagined, afraid that Jiang Cheng is truly deeply in love with some woman. Rongrong, could it be that you are jealous? You have fallen for Jiang Cheng!"

As expected of a friend of several decades, she analyzed her inner journey very accurately.

"A little bit."

Si Rong admitted.

The key was that she couldn't deny it either.

"Listen to me, that lousy hair accessory is definitely a misunderstanding. Just talk it out with Jiang Cheng when you get home, and everything will be fine." Ming Zi patted her shoulder.

Then she looked down at her watch, "I have a date later, do you want to come along?"

"A date? You're seeing someone?" Si Rong asked. Sure enough, people from Huaguo are gossips at heart, which washed away quite a bit of the sorrow in the depths of her heart.

"Not yet, I'm not that easy to chase."

Ming Zi winked at her, "And it's an old acquaintance of yours."

An old acquaintance? Si Rong decided to go and see.

She didn't expect it to be Shen Qinghe.

She had previously said she wanted to play matchmaker for these two, but she didn't expect that after all the twists and turns, there was no need for her to act as the matchmaker.

"Si Rong?" Shen Qinghe was also pleasantly surprised, "Right now, you are a lucky charm in the hearts of the people of Huaiyang. Let's shake hands! I have to hurry and buy a lottery ticket later too!"

Si Rong gave a shallow handshake in return.

"Go ahead! I hope you win a big prize too!"

Ming Zi ordered a few dishes that Si Rong liked to eat, then took off her coat, "Shen Qinghe! Go! If you can win a big prize, I'll agree to be your girlfriend!"

"Really? Then I'll have to buy a few more later."

Shen Qinghe?

Si Rong suddenly felt his name had been strangely familiar recently, "Do you know Shen Qingyu, the wife of Political Commissar Tao from the Navy Department?"

"You know my sister?" Shen Qinghe shrugged, "Huaiyang is really small."

She really hadn't expected this.

But it also explained Shen Qinghe's attendance at the military social mixer back then.

She had previously thought Shen Qinghe was a decent person, but she hadn't expected his sister's character to be so poor.

"We are neighbors now."

"Don't pay her any mind!" Shen Qinghe warned, "We have the same mother but different fathers, and since we were little... in short, she is not a person to be trifled with."

Indeed.

Si Rong nodded in agreement.

The meal was eaten quickly; Si Rong was somewhat distracted, and she felt that Ming Zi was right.

Since she had chosen to spend the rest of her life with Jiang Cheng, she shouldn't always be so suspicious; it was better to talk things out if there was an issue.

After eating, she went home.

She sat under the trellis in the courtyard, picking up that copy of *Gone with the Wind* she had read who knows how many times.

She really liked one sentence in it.

After all, tomorrow is another day.

This wait lasted until she almost fell asleep.

"Ma'am, there is a phone call."

Si Rong went upstairs, bleary-eyed, to answer the phone; it was Xu Yan calling.

Father Jiang had a sudden acute illness and was hospitalized.

She immediately dialed the military unit.

Jiang Cheng must have been running to answer her call, because Si Rong could hear his rapid, heavy breathing.

After communicating quickly, the two of them rushed to the hospital.

When they arrived, Hu Qian, Jiang Yu, and Xu Yan were already waiting outside the emergency room.

"Mom, what happened to Dad?" Si Rong asked.

Hu Qian sat on a wooden chair, her whole person lacking any spirit, "I don't know. He was fine when he ate lunch, but after he finished, he said he was a bit sleepy and sat on the sofa. It was only when I went to cover him with a blanket that I realized something was wrong."

Before she could finish speaking, tears were already streaming down Hu Qian's face.

If Old Jiang were to leave, what would she do?

"Please don't be sad," Xu Yan took a tissue from her bag and wiped Hu Qian's face, "Dad will definitely be fine."

"Yes, Dad is a blessed man; he will certainly be fine."

Hu Qian patted the backs of their hands with relief.

The brothers Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yu waited solemnly at the entrance of the emergency room.

Seeing Jiang Cheng like this, Si Rong felt a pang of heartache.

She hoped that Heaven would bless Father Jiang to pull through this ordeal.

After a while, a doctor came out of the operating room and told them about Father Jiang's condition.

A heart attack.

He needed a stent.

The estimated cost of the surgery was over a hundred thousand, and if they used imported stents, the cost would be two hundred thousand.

"You family members should discuss it!"

Two hundred thousand was not a small amount; the average wage at the time was only a few hundred yuan.

"No need to discuss, we'll do it!"

Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yu exchanged a look.

"I'll go back and withdraw the money now," Jiang Yu said, rising.

"I should go back with your brother to get it!" Si Rong said. "You have to wait in line to withdraw large amounts of cash at the bank; we have checks, which are more convenient to cash."

Besides, one usually has to run to several banks.

They only needed to go to one.

"Then I'll trouble you, sister-in-law." Jiang Yu's gaze toward Si Rong grew much more respectful. "My brother and I will each pay half of Dad's surgery fees; I'll send my half over once I've withdrawn it."

"There's no need to talk like that between family."

Si Rong took Jiang Cheng's hand.

Naturally, the two had no mind for idle chatter and quickly took the check to the bank to exchange it for two hundred thousand in cash.

The hospital also successfully arranged the surgery for Father Jiang.

Hu Qian patted Si Rong's hand and thanked her sincerely.

Although her daughter-in-law had won a big prize, she had never once set her sights on her daughter-in-law's money.

"Mom, if you say thank you again, it means you don't consider me family."

Si Rong was quite satisfied with Jiang Cheng on this point; he didn't keep saying thank you incessantly.

"We have money on hand, so you two don't need to pay; later, when your dad wakes up, I'll withdraw the money and give it to you."

Hu Qian said with some embarrassment, "However, the matter of buying you a car that Mom promised earlier might not be fulfilled for the time being."

"Let's not talk about that now," Si Rong felt a sourness in her heart. "Nothing is more important than a person."

Father Jiang's surgery was very successful, and he was moved from the emergency room to a ward in the middle of the night.

However, he had not yet woken up.

"Mom, the two of us will stay here to accompany Dad," Jiang Yu offered. "You, Big Brother, and Sister-in-law go home and rest first."

"Tomorrow night we will go back and switch with Big Brother and Sister-in-law, so everyone can get some good rest."

Jiang Cheng nodded, "Everything will be under the command of County Magistrate Jiang."

Because of this remark, the atmosphere lightened up quite a bit.

But Hu Qian refused to leave; she sat by Father Jiang's side, her eyes fixed firmly on him. "It won't do if your dad wakes up and doesn't see me."

In the end, there was no other way, so only Jiang Cheng and Si Rong went back first.

The night breeze was cool, and it was already the early hours of the morning when the two returned home.

After washing up casually and lying on the bed, Jiang Cheng said, "I have something to..."

"I have something to..."

The two spoke at the same time.

"I'll go first."

Si Rong flipped over and straddled Jiang Cheng's waist and abdomen, making a gun shape with her hands. "Division Commander Jiang, please confess honestly: whose is that pink hair tie I found in the wardrobe?"