Yun Shu Nian was anxious to break free from Mu Qi's grip, wanting to shake him awake, but Mu Qi tightened his hold.
Fortunately, Mu Qi eventually woke up. He looked at Yun Shu Nian beside him, her breathing rapid and her face pale.
"Baby, I'm here."
"Baby, I love you so much, I only love you.
Really, baby, you're the best."
Yun Shu Nian leaned by the bed, holding Mu Qi's hand, and soothed him softly.
After speaking, Yun Shu Nian still felt it wasn't enough. She kissed Mu Qi's hand twice more.
Mu Qi's eyes were slightly moist, and he looked at Yun Shu Nian with a wronged expression.
"Wronged." The word applied to Mu Qi was unexpected.
Shan Gong and Diao Guan were successfully stunned by Mu Qi's wronged demeanor.
For a moment, both of them doubted if the person lying in bed was truly Mu Qi.
Shan Gong, with his vivid imagination, even thought it might be Zuo Nan.
However, Shan Gong immediately dismissed the thought, remembering Zuo Nan's cunning appearance.
Mu Qi: "You..."
Before Mu Qi could finish, Yun Shu Nian quickly interjected, "I'm not leaving, I'm not leaving, I absolutely will not leave."
As Yun Shu Nian finished speaking, Mu Qi looked at her with teary eyes for a moment, then closed his eyes to calm his emotions.
---
In the hospital bed, Ning Jing woke up hazily and saw Ning Chen, who was guarding her bedside.
"Brother, are you okay?"
Seeing the blood seeping from the side of Ning Chen's neck, Ning Jing instinctively got up from the bed and moved closer to Ning Chen to check his wound.
"How did you get this?" Ning Jing, being a bit nearsighted, stood on tiptoe and placed her hands on Ning Chen's shoulders to examine him closely.
"Accidentally." Ning Chen stared at the top of Ning Jing's head, his gaze filled with intense possessiveness, as if he wanted to devour her whole.
Ning Chen felt that the intense emotions that were almost burning him no longer needed to be hidden.
"I'll go get some medicine." Ning Jing removed her hands from Ning Chen's shoulders and turned to find a nurse for a first-aid kit.
Ning Chen watched Ning Jing's retreating figure, his eyes filled with longing and deep affection.
"Brother, sit down, I'll help you apply the medicine," Ning Jing said to Ning Chen as she took out a cotton swab.
"You know already. Then you..." Ning Chen wanted to ask who Ning Jing would choose between Wang Yi Xing and himself.
But before Ning Chen could ask, Ning Jing interrupted him.
"Brother, the wound is treated. I'm tired, I'm going to sleep."
Ning Jing put down the used cotton swab and then buried herself in the quilt, tears streaming uncontrollably.
The person she had secretly admired for so many years liked her best friend.
Ning Jing couldn't calmly face this.
Ning Chen clenched his fists, his gaze darkening as he watched Ning Jing's retreating back. He eventually turned and left.
...
By evening, Wang Yi Xing's family arrived.
At Wang Yi Xing's insistence, his parents didn't force the Ning family to do anything. However, Ning's father and mother still sent gifts and negotiated a project with the Wang Corporation.
Ning Jing rested in the hospital for a few more days and then returned home.
That day, Ning's mother and father accompanied Ning Jing out of the hospital. Ning Chen was conspicuously absent.
Upon arriving home, Ning Jing wanted to go to her bedroom to pack her things, but Ning's father called her to a halt.
"Jing Jing."
"Dad." Ning Jing turned to look at her father in confusion.
"Dad has something he wants to tell you." Ning's father hesitated slightly before finally speaking.
"Okay." Ning Jing handed her suitcase to a servant and followed her father to the study.
"Dad, did something happen?"
After Ning Jing and her father went to the study, Ning's father sat in his chair. After a long silence, Ning Jing couldn't help but speak first.
"Jing Jing, from now on, try to avoid Ning Chen as much as possible. If he insists on taking you out, call me." Ning's father lowered his head with guilt.
He had brought his comrade's daughter into their home and treated her as his own, hoping to give her a better life, but now...
Ning's father sighed inwardly, feeling increasingly sorry for his comrade.
Now that Ning Chen had grown up and become capable, his father knew he couldn't control him forever, and no one else could keep him in check.
Ning's father was truly out of options.
As Ning's father spoke, Ning Jing's face instantly turned bright red.
So "Dad" had seen through her feelings for Ning Chen and had come specifically to warn her.
Ning Chen insisted on taking her out?
How could that be?
"Dad" was giving her some face.
Ning Jing suddenly understood why someone had been guarding her hospital room door during those days in the hospital.
"Dad, don't worry. I definitely won't go near Brother anymore." Ning Jing quickly stated her position. She had never intended to be willful about this matter.
Ning Jing didn't want Ning Chen to live the rest of his life in pain and regret, nor did she want to lose Ning's father and mother, her relatives.
After stating her stance, Ning Jing quickly left the study.
She didn't hear Ning's father sigh with deep regret after she left, saying, "If only this little girl fancied Ning Chen." Su Dan Novel Network.
Ning Jing didn't eat much that night. After showering, she lay motionless on her bed.
In the living room, Ning's father and mother looked in the direction of Ning Jing's bedroom with heavy hearts.
"That brat is unlucky," Ning's mother sighed emphatically.
Ning's father's expression was also grim.
"How about I arrange for Ning Chen to go on a blind date tomorrow? Let him get over Ning Jing sooner.
This brat has made Jing Jing lose her appetite," Ning's mother said, shoveling a large mouthful of seafood congee into her mouth.
Seeing this, Ning's father felt a sense of relief.
Fortunately, his wife could still eat.
...
"Ning Chen, why aren't you drinking today?" In a bar, a man with a buzz cut and a scar above his eyebrow swirled his wine glass, looking at Ning Chen with confusion.
He had been dragged out by Ning Chen to drink for several nights. During this time, he had asked Ning Chen countless times what was wrong, but Ning Chen simply wouldn't say anything.
He had been prepared to drink with Ning Chen for months.
Tonight, however, after a few sips, Ning Chen kept opening and closing his phone's contact list.
He touched the scar above his eyebrow and couldn't help but ask Ning Chen again.
After so many days, Ning Chen had finally revealed a little.
"I've liked someone for a long time, but she already has a boyfriend."