Jiang Xuli still wanted to protest, but unfortunately, no one paid any attention to his opinion. After several trips to the bathroom, he became so dehydrated that he had no strength left. Before he knew it, he had already been shoved into the car.
Jin Ran hadn’t originally planned to go, but everyone seemed to assume she should be there, so in the end, she followed along as well.
The four of them rushed to the largest hospital in City A at top speed.
Emergency room, examination, diagnosis, prescription, and IV drip.
After a flurry of activity, everything was finally taken care of.
Wealthy families had their advantages. Although Jin Ran had come along, others handled all the tasks. She was just there as a mascot.
Still, she believed her role as a mascot was quite important-like a pillar of stability. Just by standing there, everyone could carry out their duties without issue.
Soon, the butler walked over, holding the medicine prescribed by the doctor. “Madam, this is the young master’s medicine. There are three types in total, to be taken three times a day-morning, noon, and night.”
Jin Ran nodded. “Mm-hmm.”
Seeing that Jin Ran showed no intention of taking the medicine, the butler paused for a moment and placed it on the chair next to her. “The villa called. A batch of items ordered by Sir some time ago has arrived and needs to be confirmed in person.”
Since she was already here, Jin Ran couldn’t just leave halfway. Understanding the situation, she said kindly, “Then you go back first. Have Xiao Sun accompany you. When it’s about time, he can come pick us up.”
The butler replied, “Thank you for your trouble, Madam.”
Once he left, only Jin Ran and Jiang Xuli remained.
Fortunately, the IV area was located in the hospital corridor, where many other patients and their families were also present, so Jin Ran didn’t feel awkward.
Jiang Xuli sat on a bench with a needle in his left hand. He seemed to have regained a bit of energy and was typing rapidly on his phone with one hand. After watching him for a while, Jin Ran decided she wasn’t needed for the moment and took out her own phone to review exam questions.
A few days earlier, she had bought an electronic version of the materials specifically for printing practice questions—she never expected it would actually come in handy!
What Jin Ran didn’t know was that the moment she lowered her head, Jiang Xuli, who had appeared busy, subtly relaxed his tense shoulders.
Then he quickly sent out a message.
Half an hour later, Chen Xunliang rushed to the hospital, panting heavily.
Upon hearing that Brother Li was hospitalized, he feared something serious had happened and didn’t dare delay for a moment. He nearly ran a red light on the way and hurried to the spot, where he immediately spotted Brother Li sitting with his stepmother.
Brother Li had the looks of a campus heartthrob, highly popular among the girls at school. Over the years, Chen Xunliang had delivered stacks of love letters to him. Because of his illness, he now appeared somewhat listless, which instead lent him a fragile beauty compared to his usual self.
Chen Xunliang thought that was impressive enough, but what was even more striking was the young woman beside him!
Jin Ran was only ten years older than Jiang Xuli. Sitting together, they didn’t look like stepmother and stepson but more like siblings.
At that moment, she had one arm wrapped around herself, her raven-like eyelashes casting faint shadows on her skin. The pungent smell of disinfectant filled the air, and the surrounding noise seemed not to reach her ears. She alternated between looking at her phone and occasionally glancing up to check the IV drip. Occasionally, passersby would notice the unusually bright scene and find it pleasing to the eye.
Chen Xunliang couldn’t help but think that if this was what “making things difficult” from Brother Li’s stepmother looked like, it really wasn’t so bad after all.
Jiang Xuli was almost wearing out his phone from flipping through it. When he looked up and saw the person he was waiting for standing there in a daze, he couldn’t help but laugh in exasperation: “Have you turned into an idiot?”
Chen Xunliang grinned. If Brother Li could still scold people, he probably wasn’t in too bad shape.
He walked over with a playful smile and first greeted Jin Ran, who nodded in response. Such was the friendship of youth—a single word or phone call could summon someone without any complaints or calculations, only genuine concern between friends.
She couldn’t help but feel a slight pang of envy.
Only after growing up does one truly understand the rarity of certain things. Jin Ran’s student years began in the new millennium, spanning a long period of technological utopia. Back then, Hong Kong style was in vogue, as was the drama “My Fair Princess” and its character Xiao Yanzi. Sisterhood meant everything. But as they grew older, former friends pursued their own lives, busy with daily routines, and gradually, their connections faded.
All that remained were forwarded, copied, and pasted New Year’s greetings during holidays, exchanged with a simple “thank you” or “same to you,” before being casually set aside.
Looking at the two good buddies with their arms around each other’s shoulders, Jin Ran’s gaze softened with affection. Like the adults she had encountered in her own youth, she sighed with emotion:
“This is youth.”
Chen Xunliang, who was being stared at, gave a little shiver.
“?”
He couldn’t shake the feeling that Brother Li’s stepmother was looking at him like he was a piece of pork belly.
Jin Ran knew that with Chen Xunliang’s arrival, her services were likely no longer needed. She put away her phone, and sure enough, Jiang Xuli spoke the next moment: “Just let Liangzi stay and watch me. You can go do your own things.”
He paused, then added, “Thanks for today.”
Even thanking someone had that cool, aloof vibe.
By now, Jin Ran had gained a little understanding of Jiang Xuli—arrogant, prickly, but not exactly bad. She smiled politely. “Will the two of you be alright?”
“Yes, yes,” Chen Xunliang eagerly promised. “Auntie, don’t worry, I’ll definitely take good care of Brother Li. I’ll get him food if he’s hungry and water if he’s thirsty. Even if he needs to use the restroom, I can help him with his pants…”
“Shut up!” Jiang Xuli’s face turned livid, and he kicked out at him.
Chen Xunliang dodged with a nimble twist, spotted the medicine on the seat, picked it up, and said in a feigned high-pitched voice, “Open wide, dear brother. Let me feed you your medicine first.”
Watching them roughhouse, Jin Ran couldn’t help but chuckle. Taking medicine required water, and they hadn’t brought a cup. She stood up. “I’ll go buy some. This bottle is almost empty. Remember to call the nurse later to change it.”
“No problem!”
Even as she walked away, she could still hear the carefree laughter of the teenagers behind her.
Exiting the hospital, she found a small commercial street across the way, complete with porridge shops, pharmacies, fruit stores, and convenience stores—perfect for hospitalized patients, and in turn, the patients provided ample demand.
A mutually beneficial arrangement.
Jin Ran went in and bought two bottles of mineral water, then, gritting her teeth, added two bread rolls.
Anything more was out of the question. Jiang Xuli had food poisoning, and his stomach was probably weak; she didn’t dare give him random things to eat. On the other hand, she was currently poor. Until she found a job, every penny had to be budgeted carefully. She simply didn’t have the means to splurge.
Maybe Jiang Xuli even had more money than she did. If he got really hungry, he could always order takeout on his phone.
Sigh!
Jin Ran let out a long sigh.
Why couldn’t it just rain money from the sky? She wasn’t greedy; picking up a few thousand would satisfy her just fine.
Lost in her daydream, she walked out, unaware that a man in a white coat not far away kept glancing her way.
Wei Mo had come to the convenience store during his break to grab a bite.
He usually ate at the hospital cafeteria, but he’d been a bit late today, and the food was sold out, forcing him to settle for instant meals.
At first, he noticed Jin Ran because she was attractive—it’s human nature to appreciate beauty, so he instinctively looked a few more times.
But the more he looked, the more familiar she seemed. Finally remembering something, he dug out the photos taken on Jiang Minghuo’s wedding day from a small group chat. Comparing them, she looked exactly like the bride!
Had she gotten the news and come to visit?
It was nearly noon, and the crowd waiting for the elevator was larger. Jin Ran was squeezed to the back before she could even press the floor button.
A bit helpless, she was about to ask someone in front to press it for her when the helpful person beside her said, “I pressed it for you.”
Jin Ran thought, I haven’t even spoken; how do you know which floor I’m going to? She was puzzled, but the elevator had already passed the third floor and was heading straight for the sixth.
The sixth floor was the inpatient department. The doctor enthusiastically pointed the way for Jin Ran. “Go straight ahead from here, third room on the left. I have something to attend to, so I won’t walk you over.”
Jin Ran was even more confused.
Weren’t Jiang Xuli and the other guy getting an IV in the outpatient area? How had they moved to the inpatient department in such a short time?
But trusting the white coat, she chose to believe him. She even followed this line of thought further—no matter how tough you are, sitting for three hours straight is hard, especially for a pampered rich kid like Jiang Xuli. He probably couldn’t handle the discomfort, so choosing the more comfortable option of hospitalization wasn’t impossible!
Thus, Jin Ran followed the doctor’s directions to the room.
A sliver of quiet tranquility seeped through the door crack, the light partially obscured, casting a long, thin gleam on the floor. She stopped, raised her hand, and knocked.
Knock, knock, knock.
There was no response.
Thinking those inside hadn’t heard, Jin Ran knocked again. Unexpectedly, the door suddenly swung open this time, causing her knocking hand to land on the chest of the person who opened it.
Looking back, Jin Ran wished she could bury her face in her hands every time she recalled this.
How on earth was she supposed to explain to make people understand that she was truly, genuinely a very upright person?!
But at that moment, Jin Ran hadn’t processed it at all.
Under her hand was a sensation completely different from wood—firm yet yielding, with a resilient strength, slightly raised. She instinctively pressed a little harder.
A muffled grunt came from above, the voice unexpectedly hoarse and sexy. Jin Ran thought, this must be the kind of voice people online describe as ‘making you pregnant with just one listen.’
Whether it could actually cause pregnancy was debatable, but it was definitely pleasant to hear.
Her thoughts were scattered until the question came from above: “Had enough?”
It was like a thunderclap out of the blue, jolting Jin Ran back to her senses!
She stiffly turned her neck. At the end of her line of sight was her own “wicked” hand. Oh my god!
She snatched her hand back as if burned, taking two or three rapid steps backward.
“Sorry, I must have the wrong…”
The next second, her eyes met the man’s.
Jin Ran froze.
How to describe it?
It was an exceptionally deep pair of peach-blossom eyes, with thin, taut eyelids forming a slightly upturned line. The outer corners held faint creases, and the under-eye area was slender and broad. They seemed profoundly affectionate, but when his gaze landed on you, it sent a chill down your spine.
Jin Ran was stunned.
She hadn’t expected this man to be so ridiculously good-looking.
It wasn’t that Jin Ran had never seen handsome men. In her past life, she’d had a few relationships, each boyfriend outstanding among ordinary people. One had even posted photos online, amassing a million followers in just half a month and subsequently becoming an influencer.
The man before her was in no way inferior to them; he might even be better.
Jin Ran thought about it briefly. It was probably because she was older now. She used to like lively, cheerful college boys, or sweet, coquettish younger types. Of course, she still liked them, but she had also learned to appreciate the charm of mature men.
Take this one, for example. Though he wore only a seemingly simple shirt, judging by the fabric’s color and its still-pristine condition despite her earlier mauling, it was undoubtedly high-end.
And such high-quality clothing perfectly accentuated the man’s physique—broad shoulders, narrow waist, partially exposed collarbone, the curve of his pectoral muscles evident beneath the fabric.
She just barely managed to stop herself from looking further down, but based on what she’d felt earlier, there was definitely substance there.
The man was very tall, a full head taller than Jin Ran at 1.68 meters. His every movement exuded the aura of someone in a position of power. His posture was casual yet alert, giving off a sense of wild, untamed energy that seemed to operate on the edges of rules.
With looks and presence like this, he couldn’t possibly be an ordinary character in the novel, right?
Was he perhaps one of the female lead’s suitors?
If she had accidentally flirted with the female lead’s suitor, would there be consequences?
Just as Jin Ran was starting to feel a vague sense of worry, the handsome, silent man finally spoke.
“Why are you here?”
“Did the Jin family tell you?”
Jin Ran looked utterly confused. “What? I came with someone else to see a doctor.”
Hearing this, the man frowned very slightly, then quickly understood. “Xiao Li is sick?”
That familiar tone, those peach-blossom eyes so similar to Jiang Xuli’s… In a flash, a lightbulb went off in Jin Ran’s mind.
She looked at him and tentatively spoke. “Old… Old… Old Jiang?”
Forgive her, she really couldn’t bring herself to say those other two words.
Hearing her address, Jiang Mingzuo’s expression paused for a split second.
Seeing this, Jin Ran’s heart jumped.
Fortunately, in the end, he didn’t comment, merely nodding slightly.
Case solved. It really was Jiang Mingzuo.
The dead-end path suddenly took a turn. Good news: the man she’d groped wasn’t the female lead’s man; her life in the latter half of the book was probably safe.
Bad news: the man she’d groped was Jiang Mingzuo, the man in the book who, despite being married for three years, had always maintained physical distance from his original wife. This lack of care and affection had led her to become the well-known “discarded wife” of the wealthy circle, starved for love.
So… was this fortunate or unfortunate?