The nurse hesitated for a moment, wondering whether to refuse or agree.
Seeing that Shen Nian didn't seem like a bad person, and that there were security cameras everywhere, if she truly had ill intentions, they could immediately catch her by reviewing the footage...
With this thought, the nurse felt reassured and nodded: "Okay."
"Thank you." Shen Nian lowered her head and pushed open the door to enter.
The ward was a suite, with furnishings similar to a model home in a real estate showroom.
She first placed the sunflowers on the empty table, without doing anything special, just pushing the chairs back into their original positions.
Using the hair tie on her wrist, she tied her hair into a high ponytail, neatly tidying up the room.
Her movements were swift, and since the room wasn't too messy to begin with, she quickly made it clean and tidy.
She also folded the clothes draped over the sofa and set them aside. Shen Nian took a glass vase with artificial flowers from a cabinet in the living room.
She set the fake flowers aside, washed the vase clean, and then unpacked the sunflower bouquet she had brought, placing the sunflowers into the vase one by one.
The furnishings in the high-end ward were not much different from those in a regular home, with various small items provided that one might need.
Shen Nian searched around and found scissors in a drawer of the TV cabinet under the large living room TV.
Shen Nian had some flower arranging skills, and she expertly trimmed the stems, continually adjusting the overall look until the bouquet appeared exquisite and beautiful.
Carrying the vase, she looked around the living room and finally placed it on a small high table near the balcony.
After completing these tasks, Shen Nian tidied up the items on the table and also took out the trash.
She came and left quietly, without anyone knowing she had been there.
Shen Nian had left no more than three minutes when Aunt Xu, who had been working in the Lu family for a long time, returned from buying groceries. As soon as she opened the door, she saw that the room was clean and tidy, and there was a faint, soothing fragrance in the air.
It wasn't an overpowering scent, just a light, gentle aroma that gave a calming feeling when inhaled.
Had a cleaning worker come and tidied up the room?
Aunt Xu didn't understand, but she carried the groceries into the kitchen and began preparing the meal.
Since learning that Li Mingshi had stomach cancer, the Lu family had been particularly attentive to her diet, with small, frequent meals, avoiding oil and spicy foods.
Aunt Xu had just finished washing the vegetables and remembered that she still needed to wash and cut the fruits she had bought, as Lu Yanhua would be bringing Li Mingshi back soon.
With this thought, she set aside her current tasks and went out to get the fruits.
Lu Yanhua brought Li Mingshi back after her checkup.
The moment they entered, Lu Yanhua also noticed the difference.
It was the same house and decor, but it felt completely different from when they had left.
Yet upon closer observation, he could only tell that it had been cleaned.
Was it because everything was tidied up?
The balcony window was slightly open to allow air circulation, and the white curtains were pulled aside and tied back, making the room appear much brighter.
Li Mingshi immediately noticed the sunflower vase on the small table, staring at it blankly for several seconds before slowly approaching it.
Seeing that his wife's attention was drawn to something, Lu Yanhua followed her gaze and also saw the sunflower vase.
He froze for a moment, a hint of surprise in his eyes.
His wife hadn't painted sunflowers or mentioned them since their daughter Lu Lingrui passed away five years ago.
Sunflowers were like a depiction of Lu Lingrui, born to face the sun, lively and radiant...
Sunflowers were the embodiment of Lu Lingrui.
Lu Yanhua's heart skipped a beat, worried that the sight of sunflowers might cause his wife to break down.
The doctor had said that emotions should be avoided during treatment, and her mood must remain stable and cheerful.
But, unexpectedly, Li Mingshi showed no signs of breaking down.
She stared intently at the sunflowers, reached out to touch the petals, and then...
Finally, she smiled for the first time in a while.
Although it was faint, just the corners of her lips curving upwards, when Lu Yanhua saw that smile, he let out a heavy sigh of relief.
Aunt Xu came out and saw that Lu Yanhua had brought Li Mingshi back, saying: "Master and Madam are back. I just bought the groceries. I'll make a few of Madam's favorite dishes today."
Li Mingshi smiled, and Lu Yanhua, who had been tense, also relaxed greatly. He smiled at Aunt Xu: "Thank you for your hard work, Aunt Xu, buying groceries and cleaning the room. The sunflowers you bought look lovely. Your salary will be doubled this month."
But Aunt Xu looked bewildered: "What sunflowers? I didn't buy any."
"What?" Lu Yanhua was momentarily stunned, immediately looking towards the nearby area where Li Mingshi had already picked up the vase.
"When I came back, it was already so clean. I thought you had someone come and tidy up," Aunt Xu said, equally puzzled.
"..."
No.
He hadn't asked anyone to clean the room.
Lu Yanhua had Aunt Xu take care of Li Mingshi, then went to the nurses' station.
A young nurse happened to be on duty, and upon seeing Lu Yanhua approach, she immediately stood up.
"Mr. Lu, is there anything you need help with?"
Lu Yanhua looked at the nurse and asked, "Did any strangers enter the ward today?"
He paused, then added, "With sunflowers."
The young nurse standing before Lu Yanhua was the same one who had spoken with Shen Nian earlier, and Lu Yanhua's reminder made her recall it clearly.
"Yes, someone did come. She said she was Mr. Lu's assistant, so she must be your assistant." People able to stay in such a high-end ward were usually family members of company executives.
"..." Lu Yanhua frowned. He didn't have any assistants.
"The person was quite young. She was carrying a bouquet of sunflowers. At the time, I told her that you were taking Madam for a checkup, but she said she wanted to go in and leave something."
Young, sunflowers, Mr. Lu's assistant.
Connecting the three clues, Lu Yanhua immediately knew who it was.
Mr. Lu - there was more than one Mr. Lu in their family.
Not his assistant, then it could only be his son Lu Lingchuan's assistant.
And Lu Lingchuan's assistant was... Shen Nian.
For a moment, Lu Yanhua's feelings were complicated, and he didn't know what to say.
Seeing that Lu Yanhua didn't respond, the young nurse became nervous, "What's wrong, Mr. Lu... Was that person not your assistant?"
Had she let a bad person in?
The nurse was instantly terrified.
"No." Lu Yanhua spoke up.
Hearing this answer, the nurse's heart sank, and she was about to bow and apologize when Lu Yanhua continued.
"She's my eldest son's assistant. She knew that my wife was hospitalized, so she came to check on her."
So it was Young Master Lu's assistant. Hearing Lu Yanhua's explanation, the nurse finally relaxed.
"If she comes again..." Lu Yanhua was about to say...
But the words got stuck in his throat, and he couldn't bring himself to continue.
After a few seconds, he finally said, "Never mind, it's okay."
He didn't continue the topic further and left.
For the next week, life was as peaceful as water.
Shen Nian came to the hospital every day. She knew that Li Mingshi didn't want to see her face, so she would time her visits during Li Mingshi's checkups.
