Li Leilei did not respond to Cheng Zi. Instead, she looked straight at Xie Ci and said word by word:
“Xie Ci, how could you lie to me?”
“Lie to you?” Xie Ci truly didn’t understand what she meant.
Tears shimmered in Li Leilei’s eyes. “How could you treat me like this?”
Cheng Zi couldn’t quite make sense of her expression either and glanced at Xie Ci for clarification.
Xie Ci’s gaze was clear, his confusion genuine and just right.
Seeing him pretending to be clueless, Li Leilei finally broke down. She covered her face.
“You said you would divorce her! I worked so hard to convince my father to accept your divorced status—do you know how much effort I put in? How could you do this to me!”
Xie Ci: “……”
Cheng Zi shot him a glare.
Xie Ci immediately straightened his posture.
“Answer me, Xie Ci!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he replied simply, his impatience already obvious.
“You—” Li Leilei burst into tears from anger.
Seeing that Cheng Zi looked upset, Xie Ci hurriedly added, his expression serious:
“I don’t know her. We’re just comrades.”
“I really don’t know what she’s talking about.”
“Wife?”
He spoke three sentences in a row—rarely so talkative.
“Hmmph.”
Cheng Zi wasn’t actually angry at all; she even found it funny. But she still put on a face of displeasure, letting out a heavy nasal snort.
Xie Ci hesitated for a moment, then slowly reached out and held her hand, no longer bothering to explain.
His attention shifted entirely away from Li Leilei, toward the hospital room door, his eyes filled with concern.
The three comrades who had just left earlier came back after dinner. Seeing Li Leilei crying in the corner, they were visibly surprised.
“What’s going on?”
Now that they had returned, Li Leilei couldn’t keep crying and instead felt extremely embarrassed.
“Li Leilei?” one of them asked.
These three were special forces soldiers and knew her fairly well. They were all from the same military district, and there had always been rumors that Li Leilei and Xie Ci were a perfect match—both highly capable, with Li Leilei being the admired “military flower” of the unit. Many thought no man could resist her.
But when their eyes fell on Xie Ci and Cheng Zi’s tightly held hands, they immediately understood.
“If you’re fine, Comrade Li, you should head back. We’ll take care of Xiangyuan here. It’s not convenient for a woman to stay here alone. You should rest. Thanks for making the trip.”
The tallest of them, Wei Jianhang, a sniper, was the most perceptive and quickly eased the awkwardness.
Li Leilei felt utterly humiliated and left immediately.
After she left, the three of them all looked toward the ward.
The doctor had said that Xiao Xiangyuan needed to wake up within 24 hours to be considered out of danger.
So they waited.
A full day passed.
Dinner was brought from home by Cheng Zi. She packed several lunch boxes and delivered them to the hospital.
“We can just eat at the hospital cafeteria. It’s too tiring for you to run back and forth,” Xie Ci said.
Cheng Zi acted as if it was nothing. “It’s fine. Tomorrow lunch you guys can make do, I’ll bring dinner again.”
“No need.”
“Eat quickly.”
Even though everyone was still tense about Xiangyuan’s condition, the food was so good that they almost wanted to praise her endlessly.
They all ate quickly. Cheng Zi had prepared generous portions, but it was finished in no time.
Wei Jianhang quickly took the dishes, washed them thoroughly in the hot-water room, and handed them back.
“Thanks, sister-in-law.”
“It’s nothing. Did you all eat enough?”
“We’re full. Thank you, sister-in-law.”
Another young soldier leaned in. “Yeah, not just full—we’re satisfied. Your cooking is amazing.”
The tense atmosphere gradually eased.
“Quick—Xiangyuan woke up! Wei Jianhang, go call the doctor!”
The doctor arrived quickly and completed a full examination.
“He’s fine now. Just needs proper rest…”
Only at this moment did Cheng Zi finally relax. The psychological burden she had been carrying was not something ordinary people could understand.
Xie Ci also let out a breath of relief. With a lighter expression, he went off speaking with the doctor.
After Xiangyuan stabilized, the other three returned to the unit. Xie Ci had taken leave, but now it was all used for caregiving.
For the next ten days, Cheng Zi delivered meals every day.
Xiangyuan gradually regained the ability to eat. Cheng Zi even prepared a special post-surgery diet, taking excellent care of him.
Xie Ci only went home to shower and change clothes, not staying a single night at home for ten days straight.
As Gu Yechén’s wedding approached, Cheng Zi quietly made several moves behind the scenes.
For example, three days earlier, she had submitted two design drafts to Director Zhang that were highly unconventional.
Director Zhang had originally agreed to Li Qianqian’s request and was considering how to push Cheng Zi out…
But after seeing the designs, he immediately dropped that idea completely.
“Xiao Cheng, you’re saying this is a cropped trench coat? What fabric should we use? It’s so hot right now—will it work?”
“Summer is ending soon. Autumn collections must be launched early. Whoever leads the market first is the real leader. Director, look…”
Cheng Zi casually fed him some basic marketing ideas. His eyes lit up immediately.
Director Zhang, completely impressed, also heard she had been taking care of a patient while working, and generously approved her a week’s leave.
“This is me being considerate. But you must still work from home—I’ll have someone send you new orders later.”
In his heart, he was clearly just being opportunistic.
Cheng Zi thought to herself: what an old fox.
Outwardly, she smiled gratefully. “Director Zhang, you really are an excellent leader…”
More flattering words followed.
Pleased, Director Zhang left completely satisfied, forgetting all thoughts of pushing her out.
If he had known how capable she was, he would have valued her far earlier.
After work, Cheng Zi took some good-quality fabric home, planning to make a stunning dress for Gu Yechén’s wedding.
She also bought groceries, cooked a few dishes, and brought them to the hospital—eating together with Xie Ci.
At the hospital entrance.
Just as she arrived, a woman suddenly rushed toward her…
Cheng Zi quickly lifted her lunch boxes and narrowly avoided being hit.
“Aah—!”
The woman fell heavily to the ground. The sound of bones hitting the pavement was painful to hear.
Before she could even react, a thin, dark-skinned man rushed over and started beating her mercilessly.
“If the villagers hadn’t seen you heading this way, our family would’ve been ruined by you!”