Three days later, at the VIP follow-up examination area of the hospital’s orthopedic department.
Xie Wanyin sat in a wheelchair.
Her complexion was a little rosier than it had been a few days ago, though her cool, clear eyes still held little warmth.
Qiao Yu pushed her along, still chattering excitedly as she planned out the week ahead. “Yinyin, I’m telling you, the French chef on that cruise ship makes absolutely incredible desserts! Once we finish the examination and confirm that your leg is all right, we’ll go shopping for the equipment tomorrow, and I’ll buy you a few battle outfits, too. I guarantee that the moment you board the ship, you’ll drive a whole crowd of handsome young men crazy!”
“I’ve already stocked up on ten bottles of sunscreen for you. This time, we’re not coming back until we’ve seen every handsome man in the Pacific!”
Listening to her friend’s exuberant arrangements, Xie Wanyin finally curved her lips into a smile. “All right. But do we really have to go that far?”
“Of course. That’s exactly how—”
Qiao Yu had not finished speaking when her voice abruptly cut off.
Her hands slammed on the wheelchair’s brakes, and her eyes fixed intently on a VIP ward on the left side of the corridor, its door half open.
Xie Wanyin followed Qiao Yu’s gaze. At that instant, her breathing stopped completely as well.
Through the glass in the ward door and the narrow opening of the half-open door, the scene inside was displayed before her eyes with perfect clarity—and merciless cruelty.
Zhou Ruotan was sitting beside the bed. Holding a bowl in one hand, he scooped up a spoonful of porridge, lowered his head slightly, and blew on it with gentle patience.
Then he carefully brought the spoon to Yuan Qian’s lips.
Yuan Qian, dressed in a hospital gown with her long hair falling over her shoulders, wore a shy, blissful expression.
She opened her mouth and swallowed the spoonful of porridge, then deliberately complained coyly, “Brother Ruotan, you don’t have to be so careful. I’m not a three-year-old child anymore.”
The corner of Zhou Ruotan’s mouth twitched, revealing an indulgent yet helpless smile. “You just had your stomach pumped. The doctor said you can’t eat anything too hot. Be good and finish this bowl.”
“Then you have to promise to watch a movie with me this afternoon, and I’ll drink it~” Yuan Qian wheedled.
In the corridor, Xie Wanyin quietly watched the scene. All she felt was that it was painfully, absurdly glaring.
A thick bitterness and sorrow rose from the bottom of her throat.
What a warm and loving scene.
She could not help remembering three years ago.
They had only recently gotten married then. Because of a long period of high-intensity rehearsals, she had caught a severe cold. Her fever had climbed to nearly forty degrees, and her whole body ached.
She had lain on the cold bed at home, her throat dry enough to feel scorched. She did not even have the strength to get out of bed and pour herself a glass of water.
With her eyes reddened, she had weakly tugged at Zhou Ruotan’s clothes, wheedling like a child asking for candy. “Ruotan… I feel awful. Could you feed me a sip of water? Could you stay with me for just a little while, please…?”
But Zhou Ruotan had merely poured a glass of warm water from the kitchen and placed it on the bedside table, his brows slightly furrowed.
His tone held the rationality of a stereotypically straightforward man, along with a trace of impatience.
“Wanyin, I’m a firefighter. The team has an emergency drill right now. You’re an adult already. You have a fever, that’s all—just take your medicine and drink some water yourself. Don’t always act like a child and be so spoiled. Be good and take care of yourself.”
After saying that, he had hurriedly thrown on his coat and walked into the stormy night without looking back.
He had left her alone in the feverish, hazy night, struggling to reach the glass of water that had already gone completely cold. In the end, she had fallen to the floor along with the glass.
So that was it…
It turned out Zhou Ruotan was not incapable of taking care of someone.
It turned out he was not cold and hard by nature, nor did he not understand tenderness.
It turned out he could also patiently, attentively, and gently coax a woman into drinking porridge.
It was simply that the person who could make him set aside all his principles and boundaries, the person he would spoil like a little child, had never been her, Xie Wanyin.
“Fuck!”
Qiao Yu suddenly let out a string of profanity in the corridor.
The blood throughout her body rushed straight to her head.
This was simply too much!
After leaving Yinyin in such a state, that bastard of a man had turned around and started putting on a display of deep affection with another woman?
Qiao Yu could not suppress the fury raging inside her. She stormed toward the ward.
“A-Yu!” Xie Wanyin exclaimed in alarm and tried to stop her, but it was already too late.
“Bang—!”
A deafening crash rang out.
Qiao Yu kicked the half-closed VIP ward door open with all her strength, sending it slamming violently into the wall!
The quiet, warm atmosphere inside the ward was torn apart in an instant.
“Ah—!”
Startled, Yuan Qian let out a sharp scream. Her entire body curled up as if electrocuted, and she suddenly threw herself behind Zhou Ruotan, clutching his clothes tightly with both hands.
“In broad daylight, what kind of disgusting, lovey-dovey act are you two shameless pair of dogs putting on here? Do you really think the hospital is your own backyard?”
Qiao Yu strode into the ward and began cursing at the two of them, pointing straight at their noses.
Her presence was practically that of a female war goddess who had come to catch her lover cheating.
Hiding behind Zhou Ruotan’s broad back, Yuan Qian revealed half of her pale face. Her eyes instantly filled with tears, which clung precariously to her eyelashes without falling.
She timidly tugged at Zhou Ruotan’s sleeve, her voice trembling like a fallen leaf. “Brother Ruotan… who is this sister? She’s so fierce. Qianqian is scared…”
“Fierce, my ass! Who are you putting on that dead green-tea act for?”
The thing Qiao Yu hated most in this life was precisely this kind of fake, white-lotus green tea. Her brows shot up, and she immediately hurled the insult back.
“Not only am I fierce, I also feel like ripping that hypocritical skin off your face!”
“That’s enough!”
Zhou Ruotan rose with an ashen expression and directly shielded Yuan Qian behind him.
His brows were tightly furrowed, and his murderous gaze stabbed toward Qiao Yu, carrying all the fury in his body.
“Miss Qiao? Why are you here?”
Zhou Ruotan naturally knew Qiao Yu. This heiress had always been inseparable from Xie Wanyin.
Following the direction behind Qiao Yu, Zhou Ruotan’s gaze suddenly stopped. In an instant, his hands and feet grew tense.
The corridor outside was dimly lit, and Xie Wanyin sat quietly in her wheelchair.
Her complexion held a clean, translucent pallor.
Those beautiful eyes did not even fall upon him.
That calmness pierced Zhou Ruotan so sharply that his heart abruptly contracted.
He had called her several times, but his calls had already been blocked, and he had been unable to find her.
He had assumed she wanted to hide away and reflect on herself.
But now, she had finally appeared before him.
However, when he saw that Qiao Yu was pushing Xie Wanyin and that she had suddenly kicked down the door to make a scene, the trace of relief in Zhou Ruotan’s heart was instantly replaced by inexplicable irritation.
He strode forward and stared straight at Xie Wanyin.
His stern tone carried a reproachful edge.
“Wanyin, why are you here? I know you’re angry that I saved Qianqian first, and you’ve been throwing a tantrum ever since. But no matter how angry you are, you shouldn’t bring someone to make a scene in the ward at a time like this!”
“She’s my sister. An outsider has no right to meddle in her affairs!”
Zhou Ruotan pointed at the frail Yuan Qian on the hospital bed. “Qianqian swallowed half a bottle of sleeping pills last night and spent three hours in the resuscitation room! She almost never woke up! Do you know how weak she is right now? How did you become so unreasonable?”
At those three words, Xie Wanyin suddenly laughed.
She lifted her chin slightly, her cool gaze drifting lightly toward Yuan Qian on the hospital bed.
“She almost never woke up?” Every word Xie Wanyin spoke carried ice.
“Zhou Ruotan, have you spent so long at fire scenes that even the basic use of your brain has been burned away? If she really wanted to die, she wouldn’t have let herself be saved!”
“You—!”
Zhou Ruotan’s eyes flew wide.