Yu Huan was about to kick him again.
A warm, large hand grabbed her ankle, stopping her from moving.
Immediately after, the blanket was lifted open slightly.
The always-smiling Zhu Heqing rarely wore such a serious expression on his handsome face.
His brows were faintly furrowed, and his eyes were full of disapproval.
“My dear, don’t joke with your own health.”
The unsmiling Zhu Heqing carried a strong sense of distance—aloof, mature, and handsome, his face filled with cold restraint.
It looked exactly like the expression he would later show when she was left to wander the streets in her memories.
Yu Huan trembled slightly. In the next blink, large tears rolled down her cheeks.
Still refusing to withdraw her strength, she kept kicking at Zhu Heqing while sobbing, “Go away… go away. I don’t want to see you right now. Not at all.”
Her kicks were completely random—wherever she hit, she hit.
Zhu Heqing didn’t dodge. He was afraid that if he moved, she might kick something else and injure her foot instead.
As a result, one of her kicks accidentally landed on a very sensitive area below his lower abdomen.
Instantly, a wave of indescribable pain swept through his body, and Zhu Heqing’s face turned deathly pale.
He took a deep breath, barely suppressing the pain, and used the blanket to tightly wrap her legs together.
Yu Huan: “!!!”
She glared at him furiously.
“Baby, I’m fine. Don’t worry,” Zhu Heqing said as he wiped the tears from her face, gently instructing her, “Don’t cry. I’ll leave right now. The doctor will come later to check your temperature.”
“In the thermos is black chicken soup. It’s very hot—pour it out and let it cool before drinking.”
“I’ll have someone bring your clothes over, and I’ll also arrange a caregiver for you. You can tell them anything you need.”
Zhu Heqing did not know why she was rejecting him so strongly, but he was certain it must be because he had done something wrong.
His Fufu was only twenty years old—still a child who had not yet left the warmth of a sheltered world.
At this age, people had just stepped into life not long ago. Whether love or hatred, emotions were the richest and most intense.
A single word, a single action, could stir those overflowing feelings.
If she was throwing a tantrum at him, then it could only mean he was at fault.
Zhu Heqing knew that Yu Huan was the type who disliked moving around, so before leaving, he silently poured the chicken soup and placed it within her reach.
Then he gathered the documents, picked up his coat, and left the ward with somewhat stiff movements.
The room fell quiet again. Yu Huan still felt the lingering warmth of his fingertips where he had wiped her tears.
Looking at the empty ward, a trace of grievance rose in her heart.
She knew it had only been a strange and surreal dream.
But its overly real sensation had changed its meaning.
It made her unable to ignore even the one-in-a-million possibility.
What if… it was true?
But why would she know all of this in advance?
Yu Huan bit her lower lip lightly, her mind in complete chaos.
Who had stuffed this memory into her head?
What was the purpose of revealing the answers to her life in advance?
Yu Huan irritably ruffled her hair. She wasn’t good at thinking—she had always struggled with complicated problems.
Besides, even if she knew, it didn’t matter.
She did like Zhu Heqing a lot—but she liked her parents and herself even more.
She wasn’t the heroine of some idol drama. How could she possibly destroy her own family for a man?
Men could be replaced, but parents only existed once.
Between men and parents, if it ever came down to a choice…
Even if she was stupid, she still knew how to choose.
Before she could figure out the meaning of all this, there was a knock on the door, and a doctor in a white coat entered.
“Miss Yu, how are you feeling? Is your head still uncomfortable?”
The doctor used a thermometer gun to check her forehead.
“37.5°C. Still a slight fever, but nothing serious. I’ll come back in two hours to recheck your temperature. Please extend your hand so I can check the IV.”
Yu Huan pulled her hand out from under the blanket and was shocked to find that her originally slender hand had swollen into something like a Doraemon paw.
Earlier, her attention had been completely taken by the strange dream and Zhu Heqing, so she hadn’t noticed it at all.
Now, seeing her hand swollen like a steamed bun, the pain finally registered in her nerves.
“The needle has come out completely. It needs to be removed.”
The doctor took out a cotton ball from her chest pocket, tore open medical tape, and skillfully pulled out the needle, pressing the cotton over the puncture site and reapplying tape.
“Luckily there wasn’t much fluid left, so no need to reinsert it.”
The doctor glanced at Yu Huan, who was carefully holding her hand, then took out a few candies from her pocket and handed them over.
Yu Huan sniffled and accepted them. “Thank you, sister.”
“I’ll have a nurse bring an ice pack later. It’ll help reduce the pain and swelling.” The doctor smiled. “I have a younger sister about your age. Whenever she’s upset, I give her candies.”
“I hope these candies make you feel a little better. I’ll head out now. If you need anything, just press the call button.”
The doctor left the room and closed the door behind her.
Back in the office, before she even entered, Zhu Heqing—who had been sitting on the sofa—stood up at the sound of footsteps.
“Cousin, is Fufu still running a fever?”
Zhu Nanxu clicked her tongue twice. “Look at how anxious you are.”
“She’s fine. Just a bit teary, looking pitiful.”
“Did you give her the candy?”
“I did.” Zhu Nanxu sat down on the sofa. “She’s quite polite. She even said thank you so nicely—really likable.”
Zhu Heqing said proudly, “Fufu is always polite to outsiders.”
He thought this about her was especially good.
Clear distinction between closeness and distance.
“But you’re really quite meticulous. You even told me to focus on checking her hand.” Zhu Nanxu sighed in amazement. “By the way, she hasn’t touched the black chicken soup yet. Want me to send her something under my name instead?”
Zhu Nanxu figured the girl might not want food sent by her cousin after their argument.
Zhu Heqing shook his head. “I’ll have someone bring food later. She’ll drink the soup.”
Zhu Nanxu raised a brow. “So confident?”
“She’s someone who values food very much.”
Whether at home or outside, Yu Huan never wasted food. She only ordered what she could finish.
Anything she couldn’t finish, she would leave for him to handle.
“Alright then. You couple types figure your own things out.”
Zhu Nanxu’s gaze drifted downward and paused at a very subtle area of Zhu Heqing’s body. “Are you sure you don’t want me to get someone to check that for you?”
Zhu Heqing shot her a glance, expression cold, and walked out.
“It’s getting late. I’ll leave first.”
Zhu Nanxu clicked her tongue.
So rigid and boring. Still the same as when he was a kid—tease him a bit and he immediately finds an excuse to leave.
Not even a bit of fun.