The man was exceptionally handsome to begin with, and paired with his cool motorcycle, he effortlessly drew the gazes of passersby, both men and women, just by standing there.
In An Ning’s over twenty years of memory, she had never seen a man more good-looking than him.
But… what did it matter to her whether he was handsome or not?
She bent down to pick up the chocolate from the ground, walked over to the man, and handed it to him. “Yours.”
Lu Xiyan’s deep gaze shifted from the chocolate to An Ning. Her skin was naturally fair, but now after having her blood drawn, she looked even paler. Her figure was so frail it seemed a gust of wind could knock her over.
Yet her eyes remained aloof and distant.
“It’s for you.”
Lu Xiyan’s well-defined fingers took the chocolate from An Ning’s hand, unwrapped it, and held it to her lips.
“Your blood sugar can drop after giving blood. Eating some chocolate can help.”
An Ning was experiencing severe palpitations at that moment, with fine beads of cold sweat forming on her pale forehead.
After hesitating for two seconds, she took the chocolate and bit into it. The intense sweetness spread through her as she swallowed, and indeed, the dizziness and palpitations eased considerably.
“Thank you.”
Her voice was soft and polite. She rummaged through her bag, pulled out a small change purse, and took out a five-yuan bill, placing it in Lu Xiyan’s hand.
Lu Xiyan examined the unfamiliar “paper” in his hand and asked, “What’s this?”
“Thank you for the chocolate. Five yuan… should be enough, right?”
An Ning had seen chocolates with similar packaging at the convenience store where she worked. They cost about fifty yuan per box, with ten pieces in each box.
Lu Xiyan turned the bill over in his hands, examining both sides. When he looked up again, An Ning was already gone.
She had mounted an electric bike parked by the roadside. As the bike started, the wind tousled her smooth black hair.
Under the scorching sun, her slender figure swayed unsteadily, like a stubborn, resilient blade of grass.
“Hey!”
Someone tapped him on the shoulder, not too lightly but not too heavily either. Lu Xiyan turned around to see Liang Xu.
“What are you spacing out for? How’s Wanwan? Have you gone in to see her?”
Liang Xu fired off several questions in one breath.
Then his gaze fell on Lu Xiyan’s hand, and he asked, “What’s that?”
Lu Xiyan held the bill up above his head with one hand, tilting his head to examine it closely. “Money.”
“Money?” Liang Xu’s tone rose in disbelief as he leaned in to look at it together. “What kind of money? Isn’t money supposed to be red? What money is this?”
“Five yuan.”
“What’s five yuan?”
“Why do you have so many questions?” Lu Xiyan shot him a glance and stuffed the bill into his pocket.
Although he himself didn’t know what “five yuan” meant either.
Getting off his motorcycle, Lu Xiyan headed into the hospital. “Let’s go see Wanwan.”
……
Perhaps the chocolate had taken effect, as her palpitations and trembling had subsided significantly.
An Ning hadn’t gone far on her electric bike when her phone rang from inside her bag.
Li Chunfang answered immediately and asked, “An Ning, did you give blood? Did you get the money?”
“Yes.”
“Was it really one hundred thousand?”
Li Chunfang raised her voice, sounding very excited. “Transfer it to me right away!”
An Ning lowered her gaze, her eyes settling on the leaves scattered on the ground by the wind.
The wind tangled her long hair, covering her slightly moist eyes.
The faint taste of chocolate still lingered in her mouth—a kindness from a stranger.
She steadied her breathing and said softly, “They gave me a bank card. I’ll bring it back for you.”
After hanging up the phone, An Ning slowly pulled out a golden, neatly folded square of paper from her jeans pocket. It still carried chocolate residue and the faint scent of cocoa.
She clenched the golden wrapper tightly in her palm, opened her phone’s chat interface, and held down the voice message button. “Mom, I want to eat pork liver.”
Soon, a 60-second voice message came in reply.
Followed by another 32-second message.
“Why do you suddenly want pork liver? It’s so expensive… The money for half a kilo of liver could buy your brother something else… Besides, your brother hasn’t had much appetite lately and doesn’t like greasy food. He can’t keep down any meat, liver, or heart… Let’s skip the pork liver for now. When his appetite improves, I’ll buy some and cook it for both of you. Come home quickly – I need to get to the bank before their lunch break to deposit some money.”
“Oh, An Ning… Yucan just said he wants pork liver too. I don’t know what’s gotten into him today, but his appetite’s back. I’ll go buy some right now and stir-fry it for lunch.”
After listening to the messages, An Ning’s hands began trembling again.
Something heavy settled in her chest, as if invisible hands were gripping her heart, making it hard to breathe properly.
She thought her hypoglycemia might be acting up again – even her vision was blurring.
A tear fell with a soft “plop.” When she wiped her face, her palm came away damp.
……
“Miss Cheng was urgently hospitalized today… It was a wrist-slashing incident. They say it’s because of the marriage arrangement with the Lu Consortium’s Second Young Master… What else could it be? One wants to marry while the other doesn’t…”
On the tenth floor of the municipal hospital’s VIP ward, a man’s voice echoed from the far-right stairwell.
“The woman who came to sell blood for Miss Cheng was quite the character – she donated a full 1500ml for just 100,000 yuan… Her face turned completely pale. Any more and she might have died… The craziest part? Before leaving, she told me to contact her again if we needed more blood. I almost laughed out loud…”
The stairwell was dark, the man’s face obscured in shadow. Only his brightly patterned tie was visible, signaling his flamboyant taste.
“You have to admit though, that woman was quite pretty. Only 22, with fair, delicate skin – especially those long, slender legs…”
The man’s voice trailed off with undisguised suggestive amusement. “I might not call her for blood donation again, but if she’s selling other services… I’d definitely be interested, haha…”
Before his laughter faded, a cool voice suddenly echoed through the confined space.
“Secretary Xu, what a coincidence.”
Xu Lei startled, quickly putting away his phone as he looked toward the entrance.
A tall man stood leaning against the doorway, legs crossed casually in the darkness. His narrow eyes held a meaningful glint.
“Y-Young Master Lu? What are you doing here?”
With a sudden crash!
Xu Lei went tumbling down the stairs like a basketball, slamming against the wall.