The hospital bed was significantly larger than those in regular rooms, and beside it were rows of sophisticated, intricate medical devices.
Coming from a poor single-parent household, Su Linyi had never even seen such a high-end hospital room before.
As she looked up at Shen Che, who was busy moving around to help, her gratitude and affection grew even stronger, spreading wildly in her heart like vines.
[Congratulations, Host. Su Linyi’s favorability has increased again. You’ve earned 500 Villain Points.]
The sudden system notification echoed in Shen Che’s mind, and his heart skipped a beat, filled with glee.
It seemed that no matter where they were, this girl always had him in her heart.
After settling Su Linyi on the hospital bed, Shen Che turned around and pulled a chair over. Sitting down steadily beside her, he leaned forward slightly. His eyes were full of care, and he gently asked about her condition and comfort—as if, in this moment, nothing else in the world mattered more than the girl before him.
Standing nearby, Xu Wenxuan watched Shen Che and the girl chatting happily, laughing and smiling together. A sudden thump struck his heart—a deep, uneasy feeling rising within.
Shen Che was his niece Xu Qiuchi’s fiancé, yet now he was being so attentive and affectionate toward this girl who seemingly came out of nowhere.
Their interactions were far too close to be dismissed as a normal friendship.
The more Xu Wenxuan thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong. He turned around and left the room, walked some distance away, then quickly took out his phone and dialed Old Master Xu’s number.
Once connected, he exaggerated the whole situation to Old Master Xu, embellishing the details as he described what was happening with Shen Che. When he got to the part about the two chatting and laughing, his tone became even more dramatic, obviously hoping to stir things up.
…
At the Xu family estate.
Old Master Xu sat on the sofa in the living room, listening to Xu Wenxuan’s embellished report over the phone. His brows furrowed deeper and deeper.
He raised his eyes to look at his granddaughter, Xu Qiuchi, who was focused on her work nearby. A sudden idea came to him. With a tap of his finger, he switched the phone to speaker mode.
Xu Wenxuan’s exaggerated voice echoed clearly through the quiet living room. Xu Qiuchi’s hand, which was holding a pen, paused just slightly. When she heard the part about Shen Che chatting warmly with some unfamiliar girl, her hand froze for a moment, but then she resumed writing as if nothing had happened.
Her elegant face, aside from that fleeting stillness, remained completely composed—like none of this had anything to do with her.
Seeing that this trick hadn’t provoked any visible reaction, Old Master Xu sighed inwardly.
He looked at Xu Qiuchi, his gaze filled with helplessness: Granddaughter, if you keep acting like you don’t care, your fiancé will really be snatched away by someone else! The source of this chapter is g.com.
Clearing his throat, Old Master Xu spoke again, keeping his tone as gentle as possible. “Qiuchi, the Shen and Xu families have been close for generations. Now that Ah Che is staying at our hospital, out of courtesy, we should be proper hosts, right?”
He paused slightly, his gaze fixed on her. “Qiuchi, just come with me to the hospital, alright?”
Xu Qiuchi’s fingers moved quickly across the keyboard, eyes locked on her screen, showing no response to her grandfather’s words as she stayed focused on the documents before her.
Watching his granddaughter immersed in work, Old Master Xu could only sigh again, a mix of helplessness and hope in his expression.
He turned to the housekeeper beside him and said, “Aunt Wang, prepare the car. We’re going to the hospital.”
With that, he stepped out of the house with noticeably heavier footsteps.
Moments later, Xu Qiuchi closed her laptop, swiftly changed clothes in the dressing room, and followed after him.
Her face remained elegant as always, but now carried a chill that kept people at a distance. Her voice was calm and without emotion as she spoke, “I never said I wouldn’t go.”
Old Master Xu’s dim eyes instantly lit up. His heart surged with joy, and even his steps became lighter as he thought to himself, Looks like there’s still hope for this matter.
…
Inside the car, even Xu Qiuchi herself couldn’t understand why she had agreed to accompany her grandfather to the hospital.
She had never cared about Shen Che’s personal life, yet now here she was.
“It must be because I wanted to keep Grandpa company,” she thought, lightly biting her lip and convincing herself in silence.
Before long, the car arrived steadily at the entrance of the Xu family hospital. The butler expertly parked the vehicle, and Old Master Xu stepped out first, with Xu Qiuchi following behind.
Xu Wenxuan had been waiting nearby. As soon as he saw them, he hurried over and led the two toward Shen Che’s presidential suite.
As they walked, the scent of disinfectant lingered in the air. Their footsteps echoed through the wide, quiet corridors. Xu Qiuchi’s heart began to beat faster for no reason. She instinctively clenched her fingers around her sleeve but kept her expression icy and composed.
The moment she followed her grandfather into the room, her eyes locked onto the scene before her—Shen Che and Su Linyi chatting intimately. This chapter was taken from novelping dot com without permission.
There was a rare smile on Shen Che’s face, and his body was slightly tilted toward Su Linyi. They whispered to each other from time to time, their atmosphere warm and harmonious.
Instantly, Xu Qiuchi’s gaze turned icy. A chill surfaced from the depths of her eyes.
Her left hand clenched unconsciously. Her fingertips turned pale from the force, her nails digging into her palm—but she didn’t even notice.
Though the room was warm and cozy, she felt as though she had stepped into a freezing cellar.
The girl beside Shen Che was elegant and innocent, radiating youthful charm. Her unadorned beauty made it hard to look away.
The sight of Shen Che chatting with her was like a sharp invisible thorn, stabbing deep into Xu Qiuchi’s heart, stirring up an unexplainable sourness.
The two continued chatting closely, their lips frequently curled into smiles. Laughter echoed lightly within the room.
Shen Che sat upright, maintaining his gentlemanly demeanor, focused entirely on Su Linyi. His expression was soft, almost tender. His eyes seemed to contain only the girl in front of him—as if the rest of the world no longer existed.
Watching them interact so warmly, Xu Qiuchi couldn’t help but scoff softly, “Hmph!”
The engagement wasn’t even officially broken off, and he was already flirting with another girl?
She recalled how cold and stiff Shen Che had been during their recent interactions—his tone always short and distant, like a wall of frost separating them.
But now? That man was smiling. His gaze was full of warmth. Every subtle expression, every gentle word, overflowed with concern for that girl.
Such a stark contrast made Xu Qiuchi feel as if her emotions had been thrown into a blender.
All along, she had convinced herself she felt nothing for Shen Che. That engagement was nothing more than a piece of paper—a meaningless bond.
But now, the image of him smiling at another woman, the softness in his eyes, and that girl’s bashful laughter… all of it was like a sharp, invisible blade cutting through the defenses she had built up in her heart, sending waves of bitterness and frustration through her.
She was confused—why did this scene bother her so much?
After all, she had always believed none of this mattered to her… right?