CHAPTER 133: CHAPTER 133: ARE YOU TRYING TO PERSUADE ME TO JOIN THE ARMY?

When Lin Xiang rushed to the door of the ward, a soldier guarding the door blocked her way.

Staring at the unfamiliar face of the guard, Lin Xiang said, "My name is Lin Xiang, I’m Lin Yun’s sister. I’ve come to bring him food."

"Sorry, the patient is not available to see you right now."

"Why? I was at the hospital this morning to see him."

Lin Xiang tried to tiptoe to peek into the ward, but the soldier quickly blocked her view.

"Comrade, you can wait in the corridor for a while. The patient is not available to see you now."

Lin Xiang instantly understood; there were other people in the ward.

She sat on the floor of the corridor with the lunch box in her arms, patiently waiting. But as she waited, waves of drowsiness hit her. She hadn’t slept well the previous night and was dozing off against the wall.

The hospital corridor was noisy, and Lin Xiang’s sleep was uneasy.

Soon, she felt someone tapping her on the shoulder.

Lin Xiang opened her eyes and met the gaze of the senior officer.

"Senior Officer," Lin Xiang politely greeted.

She tried to stand up, but her legs had gone numb from being curled up for so long, and she nearly fell.

The senior officer helped her, speaking softly, "Did you come to bring food for Lin Yun? It’s meal time now, you can go in and find him."

Lin Xiang gave a little "oh" and entered the ward.

She didn’t know how to interact with the senior officer, feeling a bit uneasy.

In the ward, Lin Yun was sitting on the bed with a sullen face, his right hand clenched tightly into a fist, blue veins bulging on the back of his hand.

The veins on his temples were also bulging, making him appear somewhat menacing.

Lin Xiang placed the lunch box on the bedside table and pulled out a meat bun. She forcibly pried open Lin Yun’s clenched right hand and placed the bun in his palm, "Braised pork bun with crucian carp soup. Make do with this for today, and later I’ll see if I can buy some meat to make you a nutritious meal tomorrow."

The aroma of the braised pork bun wafted enticingly. Lin Yun felt the warmth in his palm, lifted his head to look at Lin Xiang, "You really don’t need to specifically bring me food. The hospital cafeteria has everything, and they will deliver it to me."

"How can cafeteria food compare to homemade meals? Eat up."

"Alright."

Lin Yun took a bite of the bun and sipped the crucian carp soup, occasionally lifting his eyes to glance at Lin Xiang.

But several times when he looked at Lin Xiang, she was daydreaming.

Only after finishing everything in the lunch box did Lin Yun speak, "Sis, what were you thinking about just now? Did you encounter something difficult?"

Lin Xiang shook her head, "Brother, when the senior officer came to see you, was it about something?"

Lin Yun furrowed his brows but quickly softened, gently shaking his head and giving a faint smile, "The senior officer heard about my injury and came to express his condolences, nothing else, don’t overthink it."

"Brother, has anyone ever told you that you’re not good at lying? Every time you lie, the corner of your right eye twitches unconsciously, it’s obvious."

"Really?" Lin Yun instinctively touched the corner of his right eye, "I’ve never noticed."

"Just kidding, I fooled you!" Lin Xiang said, "But your actions just now proved you were indeed lying. The senior officer didn’t just come to offer condolences, but to persuade you to join the military, right?"

Lin Yun: "What did the senior officer say to you?"

"He told me the truth about your injury and said you have potential for the military, asking me to persuade you not to miss the opportunity to enlist."

"So, are you going to persuade me to join the military?" Lin Yun asked cautiously.

From an angle Lin Xiang couldn’t see, his hands gripped the blanket tightly, his teeth biting his lips, both expecting Lin Xiang’s answer but fearing it might not be what he wished to hear.

Lin Yun’s direct question left Lin Xiang unsure of how to respond.

To say she wanted it, she actually didn’t want Lin Yun to enlist. Once he joined the military, his life trajectory would be completely different from the previous one, and Lin Xiang didn’t know if the consequences of such a change would be good or bad. She didn’t like the feeling of losing control.

Moreover, if Lin Yun enlisted, he wouldn’t be able to come home for a long time, and with a long separation, he might forget about her as his "sister." How could she earn his affection then?

But to say she didn’t want it, Lin Xiang felt the senior officer was right.

Blocking someone’s future is akin to killing their parents. Lin Yun said himself in the morning that he didn’t like doing business and wasn’t interested in making money. On the contrary, he seemed eager to join the military, but due to her and Mrs. Lin, he had to force himself to give up.

That would be too unfair to Lin Yun.

"Brother, I think you should follow your heart. If you yearn to enlist, then go for it. As for Mom and me, you don’t need to worry. We’ll live well on our own."

"How can I not worry? Not to mention anything else, just the firewood needed for winter every year, how can you and Mom bring back so much from the back mountain? And you need to go to the market to sell spicy noodles; some markets are far, can you pull the cart? And..."

Lin Yun kept talking about his role at home, all seemingly trivial matters, but they indeed affected the quality of life.

Yet Lin Xiang didn’t think these were reasons to keep Lin Yun from leaving.

"As for firewood, I can spend money to buy it from others. If worse comes to worst, we can ask Fifth Uncle to help. In your absence, Fifth Uncle and Chunya have been helping me and Mom sell sweet potato noodles at the stall. I’ll just pay him a salary."

"Brother, I admit that without you, life at home will have its inconveniences, but these are all solvable. Instead, do you really plan to spend your life aimlessly in the countryside?"

"Issues that money can solve are not real problems. But in life, we inevitably encounter issues that money can’t solve. We’re an ordinary rural family without any connections. If someone wanted to bully us, we wouldn’t even have ground to resist."

"That’s when having someone with connections and confidence in the family becomes crucial. If you enlist and make a name for yourself in the military, you’d be a refuge and shield for Mom and me. Who would dare to bully us then?"

"Besides, I’ve heard that enlisting comes with a monthly allowance, which isn’t small. When spring comes, I’ll go to school and stop selling sweet potato noodles, leaving us without an income. If you have a monthly allowance, I wouldn’t worry about earning money and could focus on my studies."

"Most importantly!" Lin Xiang looked intently at Lin Yun, "I plan to attend university in Beijing in the future. Brother, we can totally meet again in Beijing, so it’s not even a real separation."