Adored by Him: My Blissful Days as the Girl Next Door-Chapter 368 - 367: Cheeky

The same senior ward, everything in the old man’s room from bed sheets to daily necessities was all brand new. In front of the sofa provided by the hospital on the windowsill, somehow a low table was brought in, with small stools on either side, and half-finished chess laid out on top.

Qu Chaozong and the old man sat side by side on the sofa.

The old man asked, "Do you know how to play? Want a game?"

Qu Chaozong hurriedly waved his hand, "No, for these kinds of games, I only know Gomoku."

The old man chuckled, "Really? Actually, I’m not very good either."

Qu Chaozong didn’t believe him, "Are you being modest?"

The old man burst out laughing, "No, really. When I was younger, I liked playing Mahjong. Later, I got shoulder periarthritis, and lifting my arm for too long hurt, so I stopped playing. With nothing to do, I saw other old folks in the yard playing this game, so I joined in and learned bit by bit. It’s only been a few years, I’m not being modest."

Qu Chaozong found it amusing, realizing the old man played chess just to mingle with other elderly folks, imagining just how lonely he must have been.

Qu Chaozong thought this to himself but didn’t ask further, fearing the old man would get carried away and start confiding family matters to him. Some things, once heard, become responsibilities, and if he accidentally spilled the beans later, it wouldn’t be good.

So Qu Chaozong picked some harmless jokes to chat with the old man, lightening the mood.

After chatting for a while, Qu Chaozong asked, "I brought two apples with me. Would you like one?"

Qu Chaozong took out the apples from his pocket, one was big and green, the other small and red.

The old man chuckled, "Sure, I’ll eat."

Qu Chaozong casually handed over the smaller and redder one, keeping the other for himself, wiping it twice before taking a bite.

The old man was even more careless, directly taking a bite and chewing twice before asking, "Why did you give me the small one?"

Qu Chaozong placed his apple next to the old man’s hand, "Yours is red!"

The old man glanced sideways at Qu Chaozong and suddenly smiled, a smile emerging from his cloudy eyes, calm and with a hint of appreciation hanging at the corner.

As their scattered topics ran out, Qu Chaozong glanced at the old man, his mouth curled into a mischievous grin, muttering, "My nicotine cravings flaring up, old man, can I smoke one in your room? No one’s watching, right?"

The old man paused, "Go ahead, no one’s watching."

Qu Chaozong reached for his cigarettes and asked, "Haven’t you sneaked a smoke recently?"

The old man waved his hand, "Family’s watching too closely, didn’t leave me any money."

Qu Chaozong pulled out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes, their packaging darker if looked at closely, he squeezed it, covering most of the pack, "Even when cravings hit, didn’t you ask someone for one to take the edge off?"

The old man sternly replied, "Would I stoop that low?"

Qu Chaozong held the cigarette, not putting it in his mouth, instead waving it in front of the old man, gesturing as he spoke, "Not smoking is the right choice. The doctor said your lungs can’t handle any more troubles, you must take care of yourself."

The old man’s eyes involuntarily followed the cigarette swaying with Qu Chaozong’s fingers, jokingly commenting, "Live a while longer, accompany Da Bao?"

Qu Chaozong laughed.

Since being admitted, the old man hadn’t found a chance to sneak a smoke. One reason was the strict supervision from doctors and family, another was a lingering fear from his recent fainting spell.

The older one gets, the less they fear death, but that’s only talk to comfort others and perform self-suggestion.

The older one gets, the closer they are to death, intensifying the importance and reluctance over people and matters they care about.

The old man looked at the dangling fingers and couldn’t resist longer, smacked his lips, and asked, "How about letting me take a puff? Just one, I haven’t smoked in days, the craving is strong."

Qu Chaozong put on an expression of difficulty, trying to dissuade him, "Maybe not? You’re still undergoing treatment, can your lungs handle it?"

The old man feigned anger, "Just one puff, what’s so unbearable?"

Qu Chaozong pretended to think, then handed over the cigarette, "Okay, but just one puff."

The old man joyfully took it, skillfully put it in his mouth, sucked a bit, then frowned, "Is this cigarette fake? The taste is so mild."

Qu Chaozong couldn’t hold back and burst into laughter, wrinkles pressing down at the corner of his mouth, showing a sly grin achieved by some mischievous deed.

The old man’s puzzled expression instantly twisted into a mix of laughter and helplessness upon seeing Qu Chaozong’s sly smile, reaching out to smack his head, "You rascal, tricking me!"

Qu Chaozong laughed heartily, then explained, "I specially bought you a smoking deterrent. When craving strikes, just hold it for a while. The smoke flavor is synthetic, harmless to the body."

The old man took the cigarette from his mouth, checked it closely, realizing it was indeed quite fake, but the taste wasn’t bad. Especially when clenched between teeth, the cigarette felt no different from a real one.

The old man slid his hand from smacking Qu Chaozong’s head to pat his shoulder, gratefully squeezing twice, "Thanks, I like this gift."

Qu Chaozong grinned, staying to chat with the old man a while longer, then got up to leave.

The old man walked him to the ward door, Qu Chaozong gave a carefree smile, waved, then turned towards the stairway.

Liu Xiue had received a call from Shi Yang that morning and told Zhao Dazhuang, "Yangyang is really thoughtful. Ever since your sickness these past couple of days, he’s been here every night to stay watch. If he wasn’t too tired, he wouldn’t have called over Chaozi tonight."

Zhao Dazhuang agreed, "Exactly, didn’t my mom always say I’m blessed in old age?"

Liu Xiue laughed, "Our mom is just old-fashioned, you really believe that?"

Zhao Dazhuang said, "Why not believe? Bad omens never happen, good ones come true. The saying ’blessed in old age’ is so joyous. Besides, if I’m blessed, you get to benefit too!"

Liu Xiue packed her things, "Sure, but I’m not benefiting from you! Over time you’ll become an old man, what’s there to develop? If there’s any need to depend, it’s on our daughter, it’s her light I’m borrowing."

Zhao Dazhuang chuckled, "Without me, would you have our daughter? Isn’t that still borrowing my light?"

Liu Xiue retorted, "Without me, could you have given birth to our daughter? Why don’t you try giving birth? Without me enduring a whole day and night of labor, where would you borrow light from?"

Zhao Dazhuang immediately conceded, "Right, right, right, without this good soil of yours, could our daughter, this wonderful seedling, have grown? Isn’t that right?"

Liu Xiue burst into laughter, "Keep being cheeky, you!"