In the car.
Song Xi was roughly manhandled by Lou Yuming on the seat for an hour before he finally stopped.
Her eyes red, she tidied her clothes and muttered under her breath that he was an asshole.
Lou Yuming didn't get angry even when he heard her. He drove impeccably dressed, reverting to his usual ascetic demeanor.
"How do you feel?"
Song Xi's movements froze.
Sensing her pause beside him, Lou Yuming turned to look. The woman's eyes were complex, tinged with shyness, clearly having misunderstood.
"I was asking about the Qu family's child."
His tone was tinged with helplessness, amused by her train of thought, his serious expression softening.
Song Xi let out an "oh," her face burning. "Who told you not to be clear?"
"What feelings could I have?" Song Xi, after calming down, spoke with extreme coldness. "He already has a girlfriend."
Lou Yuming precisely caught the loophole in her words and stepped on the accelerator. "So if he didn't have a girlfriend, what would you want?"
His reaction was quite interesting. Song Xi propped her chin on her hand, lazily watching him. "Jealous? Aren't I already taken?"
This answer was satisfactory enough.
Lou Yuming let out a soft snort and restarted the car. "Good that you have self-awareness."
Two days later, Song Xi received a call from an unknown number.
She then decisively stood up Ge Baitao and, overjoyed, dressed and headed to the hospital.
Perhaps feeling she had performed well recently, Ye Sen, who hadn't seen Ye Hai for nearly two months, was satisfied and put the matter of transferring Yang Yang on the agenda.
Song Xi ran errands at Yunji for a whole morning before finally getting everything settled.
Ye Sen was somewhat considerate, waiving all fees for this year. Starting next year, it would be quarterly.
Song Xi had gotten a great deal. Looking at the staggering fees, she thought she needed to start taking on jobs.
So she sent Dai Ze a WeChat message.
Coincidentally, after sending the message, Song Xi emerged from the elevator and bumped directly into Qu Qi.
He held a bag of medicine and, upon seeing Song Xi, hastily hid the bag behind him, his expression panicked.
Song Xi pursed her lips, knowing that the best course of action at this moment was to pretend she saw nothing, so she walked straight ahead without looking.
However, Qu Qi unexpectedly called out to her.
On the second floor, after finishing his outpatient appointment at Shao Cheng, he planned to go to the cafeteria for lunch, but by chance, he saw Song Xi walking side-by-side with a boy.
Why did she have such good male relations?
It wasn't that Shao Cheng was being nosy. Ever since Song Xi was kidnapped last time, Lou Yuming had been outwardly calm, but the car crash incident was enough to show how out of control he was internally.
Indeed, he knew this woman couldn't be kept.
So, he took out his phone and called Lou Yuming. "Are you free for lunch? Come to the hospital, I have something to tell you..."
Hospital lawn.
During lunchtime, there weren't many people.
Song Xi sat on the bench, glancing at Qu Qi. His expression was complicated. He preferred to stand rather than sit with her, as if he was very wary of her, or rather, wary of the person behind her.
It seemed he had seen everything that night.
Song Xi waited for him to speak first. After nearly ten minutes, he remained silent.
Song Xi's patience wore thin. Just as she was about to leave, there was a "crash," and the bag in his hand accidentally fell to the ground, spilling bottles and jars of medicine everywhere.
He quickly picked them up, sweating due to his haste.
Song Xi's impulse to help stopped immediately.
She recognized the name of one of the medications. It was for treating depression.
He had depression!?
Qu Qi finally spoke, as if trying to divert Song Xi's attention from the medicine. He said, "I won't say anything about you and Lou Yuming to anyone else."
Song Xi nodded, withdrawing her gaze. "Thank you."
Qu Qi looked at her with surprise, his eyes seeming to ask what she was thanking him for. He wasn't saying anything because he didn't dare.
"About the boyfriend incident last time, just consider it a joke."
Song Xi had indeed not taken it to heart.
"Also, I received Ge Baitao's text message." He pursed his lips, seeming to find it difficult to say, but still spoke, "...Thank you."
After Song Xi went back last time, she casually mentioned it to Ge Baitao. She hadn't expected the child to take it to heart and specially send Qu Qi a text message to apologize, saying she wouldn't mention his nickname again.
No one knew that Qu Qi had cried himself to sleep under the covers that night.
They truly owed him an apology for his childhood. Ten years later, he had finally received it.
And all of this was thanks to Song Xi.
She was truly amazing. She was Zhang Qi's ex-girlfriend, had a close relationship with Lou Yuming, and even Ge Baitao listened to her.
Qu Qi thought that if he had met her earlier, he probably wouldn't have ended up like this.
After a moment of silence, Qu Qi took out a brand new, unopened mobile phone from his bag and placed it on the chair.
Song Xi was startled. "For me?"
"I broke your phone, so it's only right for me to compensate you."
Song Xi was very surprised. Her coming here today was purely accidental. He couldn't have known, so he carried this phone with him all the time?
Qu Qi saw what she was thinking and said dismissively, "It's just a phone, it doesn't take up much space."
"...Alright, from now on, we are even."
Qu Qi actually wanted to be friends with her, but he knew it was impossible.
He had been so bad and said many humiliating things. She wouldn't be happy about it.
Moreover, that sharp, dangerous gaze from a distance was constantly watching them. Qu Qi saying so much had already taken considerable courage.
His back had unknowingly been soaked with cold sweat.
He didn't dare to push his luck further. After casting a deep glance at Song Xi, he quickly left, carrying his medicine.