Chapter 596

Chapter 596: Chapter 611

Holding the lunch box, An Ning deliberately hooked her arm through An Guoping’s, startling him so much his entire body went rigid.

The siblings exchanged meaningful glances, but to anyone else, it looked like they were flirting.

The young nurse behind them, looking indignant and on the verge of tears, let out a huff and ran off.

An Ning forcefully dragged An Guoping to a secluded corner of the hospital before finally letting go of his arm.

“Alright, spill it. What’s the story with your little admirer?”

“What admirer?”

An Guoping didn’t get it at first, but after a “friendly” reminder from An Ning, it finally clicked.

“I swear I didn’t do anything! I’ve been completely focused on work; I don’t have the energy for that stuff. I’m so busy it’s killing me. The moment I get off work, all I want to do is sleep. It has nothing to do with me.”

An Ning smacked him on the head. “Pay attention,” she warned. “Make sure this little romance doesn’t turn into a big disaster.”

“What? Come on, Sis, don’t scare me like that.”

“I’m not trying to scare you. But that ‘admirer’ of yours? Her first reaction to seeing me was jealousy and anger. She didn’t ask who I was or why I was here; she just acted on her emotions. You need to be clear about this—she’s a nurse. Her job involves people’s lives. It’s not a profession where you can afford to be impulsive.”

An Guoping took her words to heart.

“Okay, Sis. I get it. I’ll be careful.”

Saying nothing more, An Ning handed the lunch box to An Guoping.

An Guoping opened it and saw the aromatic pork knuckle over rice. His mouth clamped shut, his stomach churned, and he gagged. “BLEGH!”

A retching sound escaped him as he dry-heaved, thrusting the container back at An Ning.

“Nope, take it away, take it! I just saw—BLEGH—I was just—GACK—”

An Ning couldn’t make out his words, but she got the gist. He must have just seen something disgusting.

Something that must have looked a little too much like the pork knuckle rice.

“Okay, you take your time with that. I’ll just take this and go.”

An Ning backed away with the lunch box. An Guoping wanted her to stay, but once the nausea took hold, there was no stopping it. And so, the siblings’ brief reunion came to an end.

An Ning left the hospital and returned to her small courtyard home.

That evening, An Guoming called her over for dinner.

By then, Yin Xuemei was past her first trimester and had announced the pregnancy to the family. Lin Cuihua had offered to come over and help, but Yin Xuemei, feeling she could still get around easily and had no heavy chores, told her not to come just yet.

They had agreed that Lin Cuihua would come closer to the due date.

An Ning knocked on the door. Hearing An Guoming shout for her to enter, she pushed it open and went in.

Past the screen wall, Yin Xuemei was sitting in the courtyard, brewing tea.

“Come, have a seat. The tea is ready. Your brother’s in the kitchen cooking, so we can have a drink first.”

Yin Xuemei, clearly on a mission, sounded unnatural. Her eyes darted about, looking everywhere but at An Ning.

“Aren’t you cold?”

Yin Xuemei patted her chest. “It’s a bit stuffy inside. I came out for some fresh air.”

An Ning didn’t think much of it and sat down across from her.

Yin Xuemei placed a cup of freshly brewed tea in front of An Ning, then pushed over a plate of delicate Chinese pastries.

“Have some.”

“Is my brother’s cooking that bad?”

Yin Xuemei covered her mouth to stifle a giggle. She nodded and whispered, “Let’s not crush his confidence.”

An Ning nodded knowingly, and the two of them shared a conspiratorial giggle.

“An Ning… um… do you… well…”

“Spit it out. If you keep hemming and hawing, my brother is going to finish cooking.”

An Ning took a small sip of her tea and immediately put it down.

“Did you put mint in this?”

“Huh? Did I?”

Seeing Yin Xuemei’s distracted state, An Ning leaned in and whispered, “Did An Guoming do something to you?”

Yin Xuemei immediately shook her head.

“No, of course not. He’d never do that. This is about you.”

Yin Xuemei decided to stop beating around the bush. She took a deep breath and, gathering her courage, asked, “I wanted to ask… is there someone you like?”

“Yes.”

RING RING RING—

The single word, “Yes,” left Yin Xuemei stunned.

An Ning was already answering her phone. “Really?” she said into it, as she shot to her feet.

“Something urgent came up, I have to go!”

With that, An Ning ran for the door. Behind her, Yin Xuemei jumped up and shouted anxiously, “Who is it?!”

But An Ning’s answer never came.

“What’s wrong?”

An Guoming ran out from the kitchen, wearing a floral apron. He saw Yin Xuemei’s worried expression and An Ning’s absence. “What’s going on?” he asked urgently. “Are you alright? Where’s An Ning?”

“She ran off.”

“Huh? Did the question make her shy? I didn’t think it was possible for An Ning to get embarrassed.”

Yin Xuemei shot An Guoming a look of utter disdain and pinched the soft flesh of his arm.

“What are you babbling about? She got a call and had to leave for an emergency.”

“She’s gone… Oh well. We’ll ask her next time.”

An Guoming turned to go back to cooking but was stopped by Yin Xuemei.

“Wait. An Ning said she has someone she likes.”

CLANG! The spatula dropped from An Guoming’s hand. At first, he was in disbelief, then he grew angry. ‘What rotten kid has been messing with my sister?!’

Then worry set in. ‘Is An Ning really going to get married? Then what about Jiang Xia?’

It had to be said, An Guoming genuinely approved of Jiang Xia.

Watching her husband’s rollercoaster of emotions, Yin Xuemei suddenly suggested, “Is it possible the person she likes is Jiang Xia?”

“Huh? Could it be?”

An Guoming considered the possibility. “If that were true,” he analyzed, “with An Ning’s personality, would she really have waited this long?”

“That’s true.”

The couple was bewildered. They stared at the front gate, wishing An Ning would reappear and give them an answer.

The couple didn’t sleep a wink that night.

That same night, An Ning drove to Luo Li’s house to witness a new invention.

At Luo Li’s home, An Ning watched the demonstration of the external mechanical device and applauded.

“It’s incredibly agile. Far beyond what I imagined.”

An Ning’s praise made Luo Li’s second uncle lower his head, saying with a touch of bashfulness, “That’s all because your programming is so good.”

An Ning shook her head.

“I only wrote the program. You did all the other research. This is your creation.”

An Ning turned to Mrs. Luo, asking about the situation with their competitor.

“They haven’t made a move yet, but they won’t be able to hold out for much longer. I think it’s time for Luo’s Pharmaceutical to hold another press conference.”

An Ning nodded in agreement. “My thoughts exactly.”

Mrs. Luo quickly left to prepare for the press conference.

An Ning stayed behind to perform the final calibrations and ensure everything was perfect.

‘This external mechanical prosthesis is commonplace in the interstellar era,’ An Ning thought, ‘but on Ancient Earth, it’s an absolute first.’

At ten o’clock the next morning, Luo’s Pharmaceutical held another press conference.

This time, Mrs. Luo stood alone on the stage. After a brief opening statement, she gestured with one hand. The curtain behind her dropped, revealing several mechanical limbs with clean, simple designs.

“Hello, everyone. On behalf of Luo’s Pharmaceutical, I am proud to present our first-generation external mechanical limbs.”

“They weigh between one and two kilograms, and they will give those who have lost their mobility the chance to move again.”