Lin Qi witnessed this scene and quickly walked over, deliberately clearing his throat twice.
Damn!
Wasn’t Miss Jiang clearly awake with her eyes open?
Why was her mother already mourning as if she were dead? He felt instantly speechless!
“Miss Jiang, Fu Zong is here to see you,” Lin Qi raised his voice.
Fu Beichen breathed a sigh of relief, his eyes instantly darkening a shade.
Wang Huilan saw the distinguished man at the door, wiped her tears, and hurried forward to greet him.
“Fu Zong, you’ve finally come. Our Xiner almost died. The doctor said if we had arrived two minutes later, I would have been burying my own child… Please, you must persuade her not to do anything foolish anymore. My heart can’t take it.”
Wang Huilan spoke while shaking her head, her face full of bitterness.
“I’d like to speak with Kexin alone.”
Fu Beichen stared at the excessively pale face on the hospital bed and spoke coldly, “Why would you do something so foolish?”
The person on the bed trembled her eyelashes and slowly opened her eyes.
Seeing it was him, Jiang Kexin suddenly smiled, but before the smile could reach her eyes, tears came rushing down first.
“My career… it’s completely ruined.”
Her voice was light and airy, carrying a sense of desperate brokenness.
“Now I’m like a rat crossing the street—everyone wants to beat me. What’s the point… what’s the point of living anymore?”
As she spoke, her tears flowed more fiercely, choking with sobs.
“I didn’t want to cause you trouble. My departure would be the best outcome for you, for everyone.”
She paused, looking at him with tear-filled eyes, her voice lowering with infinite grievance and reluctance.
“I just… couldn’t bear to leave you.”
Fu Beichen’s heart felt as if something had struck it—not too lightly, not too heavily—and those hardened edges instantly softened.
He softened his voice, with a gentleness he himself didn’t notice, “I told you, let me handle things.”
He looked at her, emphasizing.
“When have I ever not taken care of you?”
These words, like a lifeline, instantly reignited the extinguished flame in Jiang Kexin’s eyes.
She grabbed his hand urgently, seeking confirmation,
“Bei Chen Gege, you really… you’re really willing to help me?”
The hope that had been extinguished came flooding back like a tide, almost overwhelming her.
Seeing her like this, Fu Beichen sighed inwardly, “Don’t do anything foolish again in the future.”
He withdrew his hand and tucked in her blanket corner. The motion wasn’t particularly gentle, but it carried an undeniable firmness.
“I’ve reserved your favorite restaurant. Tomorrow night, we’ll have dinner together.”
Jiang Kexin immediately understood—this meant he would publicly acknowledge her and clear her name in this scandal.
She could hardly believe her ears. The ecstasy in her heart felt like it was about to burst, yet she struggled to maintain a tearful, fragile expression on her face.
She nodded, obedient as a frightened little rabbit.
Excellent!
This time, she had truly escaped death!
As long as Fu Beichen was willing to step forward, what did those insults matter? What did those losses matter?
This time, she had truly turned misfortune into blessing.
She took his hand again, this time with a hint of coquettishness.
“Bei Chen Gege, you’re so good. I’m really glad I jumped into that sea back then and saved you.”
She deliberately paused, observing Fu Beichen’s expression. Seeing no particular reaction, she continued, her voice trembling with feigned fear.
“You know what? At that moment, I was almost sinking, but I had only one thought in my mind—I had to save you… You couldn’t be allowed to come to harm. Thankfully, you eventually woke up. Everyone teased me afterward, saying I’d used my first kiss to perform… CPR on you!”
Every word of this struck precisely at Fu Beichen’s guilt.
It was textbook emotional blackmail through indebtedness.
Fu Beichen’s thoughts did drift back to that year.
The bone-chilling seawater, the suffocating sensation of nearing death. Then, being rescued, forcing his eyes open with great effort.
The first thing he saw was Jiang Kexin’s face—drenched in seawater yet still breathtakingly beautiful.
That moment of heart-pounding attraction was real! He truly had fallen for her right then.
This debt of saving his life, these feelings from their first meeting, became invisible shackles that trapped him firmly.
He remained silent for a moment, suppressing the turbulent emotions in his heart.
“Don’t do anything foolish like that again.”
He repeated, his tone heavier this time.
Then he shifted the subject, his voice carrying a warning. “I also hope you won’t target Gu Xingnian anymore. She soon won’t be part of the Fu family.”
Jiang Kexin’s heart skipped a beat.
Was he really going to divorce Gu Xingnian?
Perfect!
She kept her expression neutral, maintaining her gentle and obedient demeanor as she nodded vigorously.
“Okay, I understand, Bei Chen Gege. As long as she doesn’t provoke me, I definitely won’t lay a finger on her.”
Fu Beichen nodded in satisfaction, gently stroking her head.
“Grandfather might not accept you right away, but I won’t let anyone touch you.”
Jiang Kexin understood. She didn’t necessarily need to marry into the Fu family immediately—as long as his heart remained with her, she had nothing to fear.
She swayed his large hand, her voice soft and pleading, her eyes full of dependence.
“The doctor said I need to stay overnight for observation. I don’t want to be alone here, I’m scared. Could you… stay with me?”
Fu Beichen looked at her pale face, at the dependency in her eyes.
He didn’t want to disappoint her again. These past four years, they’d been through so many twists and turns… yet they’d still ended up here.
He didn’t want to lose her either.
This time, he’d made up his mind.
“Okay!” That single word carried immense weight.
Night deepened.
Fu Beichen didn’t return to the old mansion for dinner, but then again, neither did Gu Xingnian.
She’d made up some excuse and brushed it off.
Truth was, she just didn’t want to see Fu Beichen.
Thinking of him, remembering everything in the ship’s cabin, made her feel unsettled and irritable.
After Sheng Weiwei returned home, the elders had severely scolded her, saying how could a young lady from a prestigious family engage in a public brawl?
Meanwhile, the Gu family had immediately taken Gu Shaoheng to the Sheng residence to apologize.
Rumor had it the Gu family wanted to set a wedding date, but Sheng Weiwei shut it down with one sentence!
She declared she’d marry only when Hai City had no more romantic scandals about Gu Shaoheng!
Right now, the two families were having a reconciliation dinner.
At some point, rain had begun to fall—a pitter-patter tapping against the windows.
The balcony breeze drifted in, carrying the chill of late autumn.
Gu Xingnian stood on the balcony, watching the rain outside, the city lights blurring into a haze through the downpour.
In the darkness, Fu Corporation Tower remained grand and magnificent, yet appeared bitterly cold.
“Ding-dong, ding-dong”—the doorbell abruptly rang.
Could it be that Weiwei had sneaked out again? She shuffled over in her slippers to open the door.
The door opened.
Standing outside was not Sheng Weiwei, but the face she least wanted to see at this moment.
Fu Beichen.
He stood at the doorway, seemingly carrying the chill of wind and rain with him, his handsome face cold as ice.
His gaze fixed intently on her, carrying an indescribable pressure.
Gu Xingnian moved to close the door, but he pressed a large hand against it.
Staring at her with a faint, ambiguous smile, he said, “Gu Xingnian, you can’t hide!”