16
Jiang Mian let go of Qi Yanshu’s wrist. Seeing the slight frown on his lips, she awkwardly tugged at her skirt hem. “Uncle Qi, I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was you.”
How was she supposed to know that the person she was attacking was Qi Yanshu? She also hadn’t expected him to suddenly pull back his strength, while she, precisely because she was angry, hadn’t held back.
“You don’t need to apologize to me.” The tightness at the corner of Qi Yanshu’s mouth relaxed. “I attacked you first. You were just defending yourself.”
Because he couldn’t see, he had mistaken her for someone else.
The man’s brow, hidden behind his glasses, furrowed slightly.
Jiang Mian guessed that Qi Yanshu had probably thought she was the man who had drugged the drink in the hall. It was only when he heard her voice and realized his mistake that he withdrew his strength.
A moment later, the corner of Qi Yanshu’s lips lifted slightly. “Nice moves.”
Jiang Mian: “…”
He still had the presence of mind to think about that at a time like this?
She looked at his wrist dangling limply. Did it really not hurt?!
“We need to get you to the hospital right now.” Jiang Mian pressed a hand to her forehead. Qi Yanshu had realized his mistake and instantly withdrawn his strength, which was already a concession. Breaking his wrist was entirely her fault.
She didn’t know how to drive, so she would have to ask her Film Emperor Dad for help. She helped Qi Yanshu over to a chair. “Try to bear with it for a moment. I’ll go get someone right away. Wait for me.”
Qi Yanshu nodded slightly.
As Jiang Mian hurried back to the hall to find Qin Jingrun, Qi Yanshu cradled his right wrist. He could fix it in just one second.
But he didn’t want to.
Back in the hall, Qin Jingrun was frantically searching for his precious daughter. His precious daughter was so beautiful; without him watching over her, what if someone tried to harm her?
The hall was crowded, and people kept coming up to talk to him, which meant he still hadn’t spotted his precious daughter. Then he got cornered by Yu Sizhu.
“Jingrun.” Yu Sizhu handed him a glass of wine and smiled. “You’re such a busy man. I finally have a chance to talk to you.”
Qin Jingrun had worked with many female stars, and Yu Sizhu was one of the actresses he had collaborated with the most.
Others might think Yu Sizhu was very close to him, but only Yu Sizhu herself knew that she was merely an acquaintance to Qin Jingrun.
If it weren’t for their multiple collaborations, she would still be a nobody in Qin Jingrun’s eyes.
“Thank you.” Qin Jingrun took the wine. He had always been accustomed to keeping his distance from female actresses. “Mr. Yu is over there. I’m going to go say hello to him.”
He nodded politely at Yu Sizhu and took a long stride, ready to leave.
Yu Sizhu bit her red lips. She had been watching him, knowing he was looking for someone. Who else could he be looking for but the girl who had arrived with him?
“Are you looking for the little girl who came with you?” she asked softly.
Qin Jingrun paused in his step. “You’ve seen her?”
Yu Sizhu nodded slightly and pointed toward a nearby corridor. “I saw her go that way with a man.”
Hearing this, Qin Jingrun frowned slightly. Seeing this, Yu Sizhu felt a surge of delight. That corridor was quiet and empty; a young woman leaving with a man was all too easy to fuel the imagination.
Her implication was subtle: the female companion who came with you has left with another man, abandoning you. It just wasn’t normal.
Seeing Qin Jingrun step toward the corridor, Yu Sizhu followed without a second thought. But after just two steps, she saw that beautiful butterfly walk out. Her gaze instinctively darted to Qin Jingrun, and sure enough, she saw a smile appear on his face.
Yu Sizhu’s expression shifted through several changes.
“Dad.” Jiang Mian stepped out, spotted her Film Emperor Dad, and went up to take his arm. Just as she was about to speak, she saw Yu Sizhu approaching. “Jingrun, aren’t you going to introduce this beautiful young lady? So young, yet she’s outshining the entire room.”
Yu Sizhu knew this would displease Qin Jingrun, but she was too eager to find out the relationship between this girl and him.
Jiang Mian, having inexplicably absorbed a wave of hostility, thought for a moment.
She deliberately tightened her grip on her Film Emperor Dad’s arm, then leaned close to his ear. “Dad, I accidentally broke someone’s wrist.”
Qin Jingrun: “…???”
Fortunately, her Film Emperor Dad was a seasoned big shot. Even if his inner world was in turmoil, his expression remained perfectly composed. He said very naturally to Yu Sizhu, “Sorry, excuse us.” Then he put an arm around Jiang Mian and led her aside.
Yu Sizhu’s expression management system began to gradually lose control.
“Baby, what did you just say?” Walking to a more private spot, Qin Jingrun finally let his surprise show. He thought he must be hallucinating. How could his delicate, precious daughter possibly break someone’s wrist?!
“It was an accident.” Jiang Mian coughed. “We need to take him to the hospital now.”
When he saw Qi Yanshu’s condition, Qin Jingrun fell silent.
Anyone qualified to attend this reception was of no ordinary status. Even though he didn’t know who the man was, since his precious daughter had accidentally injured him, it was naturally her father’s responsibility to make things right.
Qin Jingrun decided to personally take Qi Yanshu to the hospital, but Jiang Mian quickly stopped him.
The host of the reception had specially invited Qin Jingrun. The event had only just started. If he suddenly left, it would be a great disrespect to the host and could easily offend people.
“Dad, just have someone drive us to the hospital.” Jiang Mian said quietly. “Don’t worry, I can handle this.”
Qin Jingrun also knew it wasn’t appropriate for him to leave now. Seeing his precious daughter’s firm stance, he finally arranged for one of the reception waitstaff to drive his car and take Jiang Mian and Qi Yanshu to the hospital.
The hospital was a place that was never short of people. As Jiang Mian helped Qi Yanshu inside, they drew a sea of stares.
Jiang Mian was still wearing that beautiful dress. To the average passerby, she looked like she had stepped out of a painting. Seeing her at the hospital seemed utterly incongruous.
Some of the younger people even whispered, “Are they filming a movie?”
…
Jiang Mian ignored the murmurs. The driver, who was very perceptive, went to register and busied himself with the legwork, saving Jiang Mian a lot of trouble.
Seeing that there was nothing left for him to do, and thinking that Qin Jingrun might need the car, Jiang Mian gave the driver a tip for his trouble and had him drive the car back.
The doctor carefully examined the developed X-ray film, remaining silent for a long time.
Jiang Mian: “…”
Just say something, anything.
After a moment, the doctor put down the film and asked, “How did this injury happen?”
“An accidental fall,” Qi Yanshu said calmly before Jiang Mian could speak.
The doctor said bluntly, “This looks more like it was broken in a fight, doesn’t it?”
As an experienced orthopedic doctor, he could tell the difference between a break from a fight and a break from a fall. Looking at the film, the fracture was clean and neat. How could that be from a fall?
Qi Yanshu: “…”
The doctor put down the film. “Let’s set the bone first.”
Qi Yanshu suddenly turned his head and said to Jiang Mian, “You should wait outside.”
Jiang Mian paused for a second, then quickly understood. The pain of setting a bone was no less intense than the pain of breaking it. Qi Yanshu probably didn’t want her to see his reaction, so she obediently stepped out of the doctor’s office.
After Jiang Mian left, the doctor chuckled. “Afraid your girlfriend will feel bad for you?”
“With a girlfriend this beautiful, why go around getting into fights?” The doctor assumed the dark glasses Qi Yanshu was wearing were sunglasses, not knowing that he couldn’t see.
He walked over to Qi Yanshu, ready to set the bone. When he saw Qi Yanshu reach for his broken right wrist with his uninjured left hand, he quickly said, “Don’t touch it, don’t—”
Before he could finish, he saw the man nimbly set the bone back into place himself.
The doctor: “???”
The doctor was shocked by Qi Yanshu’s action. “You…”
Qi Yanshu’s expression didn’t change in the slightest, as if he hadn’t just set his own wrist. He said calmly, “Please put a cast on it.”
It took a moment for the doctor to find his voice. He stared at Qi Yanshu in amazement, examined his wrist again, and finally asked, “Since you can set it yourself, why did you even come to the hospital?”
Qi Yanshu remained silent.
Outside, Jiang Mian sat on a chair in the hospital corridor, calling Qin Jingrun.
Qin Jingrun had been waiting for news about his precious daughter. When he finally got her call and heard what had happened, he was truly worried. “I should come over.”
“No need,” Jiang Mian refused firmly. If Qin Jingrun came to the hospital and was photographed, it would be front-page news in no time. After much persuasion, she finally talked him out of coming.
She hung up and felt a tug on her skirt. Turning her head, she saw a little boy carefully holding the hem of her dress. “Big sister, you’re so pretty.”
The little guy was chubby and quite adorable. Jiang Mian smiled and was about to speak when the boy’s mother came over, scolding, “Don’t touch! If you ruin it, selling you wouldn’t cover the cost.”
Then she scooped the child into her arms and turned to walk away.
Jiang Mian: “…”
Was she a monster?
The office door opened. Jiang Mian stood up and walked in, then frowned, noticing the doctor’s expression seemed a bit strange. Had she been so brutal that even after being set, there would be lasting damage?
Qi Yanshu was already blind. If something happened to his hand as well…
“It’s been set. No major problems. Come back for a follow-up in two weeks. If it heals well, the cast can be removed early. Be careful not to use your right hand during this time. Rest it properly,” the doctor said.
Jiang Mian: “…”
If there are no major problems, why do you look so troubled???
Still, as long as it wasn’t permanent damage, she was relieved. “About how long until it’s fully healed?”
The doctor gave her an aloof reply: “Soft tissue and bone injuries take a hundred days.”
Outside the hospital, Jiang Mian looked at the cast on Qi Yanshu’s hand and felt a headache coming on. She recalled that the scratch from Xiao Mi had also been on his right hand.
This right hand of Qi Yanshu’s must be jinxed with her. Jiang Mian sighed, hailed a taxi, and helped Qi Yanshu inside.
The taxi driver was thrilled to have two such good-looking passengers late at night, especially the young lady. She was so beautiful he hardly dared to look, but he couldn’t help stealing glances.
When the driver snuck another peek, he unexpectedly met a pair of dark glasses in the rearview mirror. He got a fright, feeling as if eyes behind those glasses were staring back at him. He quickly averted his gaze and didn’t dare look again.
Jiang Mian was replying to her Film Emperor Dad’s message when she suddenly felt a warmth on her shoulders. She saw that Qi Yanshu had taken off his jacket and draped it over her.
Jiang Mian: “???”
“I’m not cold.” Even though the car’s air conditioning was on full blast, her internal spiritual energy was flowing freely; this bit of chill wasn’t enough to affect her.
She took the jacket off and placed it on the seat.
Qi Yanshu: “…”
Jiang Mian kept thinking about whether there was any way to help Qi Yanshu’s hand heal faster, but after racking her brain, she couldn’t come up with anything and resigned herself to the situation.
When they reached the apartment and took the elevator, Jiang Mian suggested calling Qi Yanshu’s assistant, Luo Jiale. Qi Yanshu refused: “Don’t worry, I can manage on my own.”
Uh… Jiang Mian glanced at his right hand, wrapped in a thick cast. She wanted to say something but ultimately held back.
The elevator arrived, and the two walked out one after another.
Suddenly spotting a figure in front of her own door, Jiang Mian paused for two seconds. When she saw that it was Gu Qiwen, her expression turned cold.
Qi Yanshu also sensed the presence of another person and stopped.
Gu Qiwen had been waiting at the door for three full hours. Now, he ignored Qi Yanshu entirely and walked straight up to Jiang Mian.
After a moment, he spoke through clenched teeth: “Jiang Mian, I can agree to date you, but the prerequisite is that you must apologize to Guan Xin, promise not to compete with her for roles anymore, and stop targeting her.”
“This is the agreement.” He handed the A4 paper to Jiang Mian, speaking in a condescending tone. “I’ve already signed it. As soon as you sign, from now on, I’ll be your boyfriend.”
Jiang Mian looked at him and suddenly laughed.
“What are you laughing at? Isn’t this what you’ve always wanted?” Gu Qiwen said with disgust.
“I see…” Jiang Mian put on an expression of sudden realization. “You’re acting like a gigolo, trying to sell your body to me?”
**