After reciting a dozen or so pages of lines, Wen Tingli suddenly felt something was off.

Lu Shicheng’s breathing on the bed was growing heavier and heavier.

And whether it was because a ray of the setting sun happened to fall on Lu Shicheng’s face, his complexion showed a strange flush. Reaching out to touch him, she found his skin somewhat hot.

Wen Tingli was startled. Dr. Louis had said that the one thing to fear above all else was Lu Shicheng running a fever. She called out quietly, “Mr. Lu, Mr. Lu.”

Lu Shicheng’s brows twitched slightly, but he could not open his eyes.

Wen Tingli hurried out. “Dr. Louis! Mr. Lu seems to have a fever!”

Louis went in to examine him, then said gravely, “It must be an infection. Earlier today, when Mr. Kuang was here, I strongly urged that we transfer Mr. Lu to a hospital — he simply refused. I’ll call Mr. Kuang right away.”

Wen Tingli asked anxiously, “What can I do?”

Louis’s voice came through from outside the room. “Help me gather the medicines and the vital signs charts from the last few days. When we hand him over to the doctors at Huiqun Hospital shortly, these records will help them understand his condition.”

An hour later, Lu Shicheng was sent to Huiqun Hospital.

Huiqun Hospital was a private hospital under the Lu family’s name. By the time they arrived, the director had already personally gathered a team to wait at the entrance.

Lu Shicheng was placed in a premium ward in the surgery department.

A large number of medical staff moved in and out of the ward, and Wen Tingli, with nowhere else to be, had no choice but to retreat to the corridor.

She waited anxiously for a long while, and finally Kuang Zhilin came out.

Kuang Zhilin had grown noticeably thin and dark these past few days. Seeing Wen Tingli, he strode over quickly. “Miss Wen, please go home first. The doctors are discussing treatment plans — there’s not even room to stand in there. It’s almost ten o’clock, I’ll have someone send you home.”

Wen Tingli asked, her heart hanging, “How is Mr. Lu?”

Kuang Zhilin only shook his head. “Miss Wen, you’ve been exhausted these past few days. Go home and rest well tonight, come back tomorrow.”

Wen Tingli bit her lip. “All right.”

Kuang Zhilin walked her out, then suddenly stopped partway. “I haven’t had the chance to thank Miss Wen properly, with everything going on — that night, we were so fortunate that Miss Wen stepped forward to save him, and afterward received such careful care from Miss Wen and Zhou Sao. Otherwise Young Master Cheng might not have escaped that danger. Mr. Lu and I will remember this great kindness always.”

He bowed deeply to Wen Tingli.

Wen Tingli said quickly, “Anyone with a shred of decency would have stepped in that night. Besides, Mr. Lu has helped me many times without expecting anything in return.”

Kuang Zhilin didn’t answer right away, but studied Wen Tingli with an expression she had never seen from him before. In the past he had always been perfectly courteous toward her, but there had often been, in some unguarded moment, a hint of scrutiny and wariness in his eyes.

Tonight, however, alongside his courtesy toward her, there was now also a measure of respect.

Wen Tingli said nothing, thinking of the Lu family’s years of complicated grievances, and of how close Lu Shicheng had come to dying at Lu Sanye’s hands — all of this became a little easier to understand.

A car was parked at the entrance. The two of them descended the steps, and Kuang Zhilin personally opened the car door for Wen Tingli. Then he took a card from his suit pocket and handed it to her.

“From now on, if Miss Wen needs anything, you may call this number directly.”

Wen Tingli understood what this meant. She took the card and said seriously, “If Mr. Lu wakes up, please call me the very first moment.”

Kuang Zhilin agreed, then added, “There’s one more thing I should mention in advance — to guard against the Bailong Gang giving Miss Wen any trouble, we’ll be keeping more men stationed around your residence day and night for the time being. If Miss Wen notices anything, there’s no need to worry — those will be our own people.”

As the car pulled away, Wen Tingli waved to Kuang Zhilin through the window; he stood watching from the steps for a while before turning to go back inside.

Nearing home, Wen Tingli paid attention to the street outside — sure enough, two cars were parked nearby.

Entering the house, Zhou Sao and Xiao Taozi were already asleep.

Wen Tingli walked straight through the living room toward the inner room.

At this hour, she would usually be reminding Dr. Louis to change Lu Shicheng’s bandages.

She pushed open the door and found the bed empty — her heart inexplicably hollowed out.

These past days she had grown used to tending Lu Shicheng at his bedside, used to counting down the time until he woke. Now that he was gone, the sense of loss in her heart caught even her by surprise.

For a while she simply stood silently in the doorway, surveying the room. Kuang Zhilin had been so thorough in his arrangements that he’d had someone specially clean up before leaving. As a result, the room had an unusually spotless feel to it, but for that very reason, there was almost no trace anywhere of Lu Shicheng having lived here.

She turned to see the peanut sprouts on the windowsill in the moonlight, and couldn’t help walking over to gently touch the tender green leaves. Remembering that quiet afternoon, an indescribable wistfulness came over her, and she lingered by the window, troubled, for a long while before finally turning off the light and leaving.

Back in her own bedroom, Wen Tingli was startled.

The pile of cookie tins on the floor had all vanished.

She searched every corner of the room but couldn’t find them, until finally checking the wardrobe, where she discovered the candy and cookie tins had been moved inside at some point.

Zhou Sao must have tidied up while she was out.

Stacked in the wardrobe like this, it somehow looked like even more than when it had been piled on the floor. Wen Tingli laughed to herself — buying this much all at once, did Lu Shicheng think she could eat that many tins in one sitting? In truth, her mood had been rather low since leaving the hospital, but the moment she laid eyes on this little “mountain,” her spirits lifted at once.

That night, Wen Tingli did not sleep soundly, and woke past five. The first thing she did upon rising was call Huiqun Hospital.

The nurse on the other end said, “Mr. Lu? I’m sorry, ma’am, you must be mistaken. We didn’t admit anyone surnamed Lu last night.”

Wen Tingli was baffled for a moment, then thought that the Lu family probably didn’t want news of Lu Shicheng’s serious injury to get out. It seemed there would be nothing to learn from the hospital. She decided to try Kuang Zhilin’s card instead, but just then the phone rang.

“Up already? I’ll come pick you up in forty minutes.”

It was Dong Qinfang, the eldest daughter of Xinxin Department Store.

Wen Tingli was baffled. “Sister Qinfang? Why are you coming to pick me up?”

“For the Fulishi winter coat advertisement, of course. We agreed I’d come get you,” Dong Qinfang said, puzzled.

Wen Tingli inwardly cursed — how could she have forgotten something this important. That night at the Xinxin Department Store finals, Fulishi’s manager had also been watching from the audience, and the moment the awards ceremony ended, had decided on the spot to renew Wen Tingli’s winter coat advertisement contract. Both sides had agreed the shoot would happen before “Beauty of the South” officially began filming, with the location rented at Guanlin Film Company’s sound stage — a fact Huang Yuanshan was also aware of.

Since Xinxin Department Store was the intermediary, when Wen Tingli had visited her new home the other day, Dong Qinfang had offered to drive over and pick her up on the day — partly because Wen Tingli’s new rental was rather far away and the photographer had to start at eight, and partly because Xinxin Department Store also had an advertisement to shoot at the same location that day (note).

Who could have known that not long after, Lu Shicheng’s crisis had happened—

“Of course I haven’t forgotten,” Wen Tingli said, wiping the sweat off her forehead and laughing to cover her fluster. “I’m just about to have breakfast.”

After hanging up, Wen Tingli rushed to the washroom to clean up, and seeing she still had a little time, picked up the receiver again to call Kuang Zhilin.

An old man answered the phone — Kuang Zhilin must have specifically instructed him the night before, since his tone was quite gentle.

“Mr. Kuang hasn’t come back all night… Don’t worry, Miss Wen, as soon as there’s any news, Mr. Kuang will let you know.”

Wen Tingli thanked him and hung up, still uneasy in her heart. But what use was unease — one had to see to the matters at hand first.

Remembering that Guanlin’s studio often hosted big-name advertisement shoots, she took special care with her appearance before heading out. Outside, she waited a few minutes at the corner before seeing Dong Qinfang’s car approach.

“Sister Qinfang!”

Dong Qinfang’s eyes brightened. “Why are you so dressed up today? Oh, I know — you must be hoping to catch a new opportunity in Guanlin’s studio. Wonderful! Those managers see a pretty girl like you, they might just cast you in an ad on the spot.”

Wen Tingli, her mind full of worries, only laughed as she got into the car. “Sister Qinfang, teasing me again.”

Dong Qinfang turned the steering wheel. “This isn’t teasing at all. You, my dear, not only know how to seize opportunities, you know how to create them. Even when luck isn’t on your side, that spirit of yours can turn misfortune into fortune. I just love dealing with clever people like you.”

The two chatted idly as they drove toward their destination. Passing by Huiqun Hospital, Dong Qinfang suddenly said,

“Isn’t that Principal Zou from your school? What’s she doing at the hospital so early in the morning?”

Wen Tingli looked out the window uneasily. Principal Zou had just gotten out of a car, and the one opening the door for her was none other than Kuang Zhilin. Principal Zou walked in hurriedly, with Kuang Zhilin following close behind.

“Seeing a doctor? No, that can’t be right — if she were seeing a doctor, there’d be no need for Kuang Zhilin to accompany her specially. He’s Lu Shicheng’s number one busy man.”

Wen Tingli said quickly, “I heard Principal Zou was close friends with Mr. Lu’s mother back in the day. Maybe Mr. Lu was worried about her and had Mr. Kuang accompany Principal Zou to her appointment.”

She carefully changed the subject. “Sister Qinfang, we’ll be late if we don’t hurry.”

By the time the two arrived at the studio, Fulishi’s people had also just arrived. As Dong Qinfang had said, four companies had rented the studio to shoot advertisements that day (note) — besides Xinxin Department Store and Fulishi Fabrics, there were two other fairly well-known companies as well. The moment Wen Tingli appeared, Fulishi’s staff swarmed around her, while Dong Qinfang parked the car by the roadside and went off to find her Xinxin colleagues.

Fulishi’s manager had brought over forty sets of winter clothing. After each outfit was shot, Wen Tingli had to rush to the dressing room to change into the next. Though it was already early autumn, the weather wasn’t much cooler than summer, and inside the studio especially, the temperature was much higher than outside. Wearing heavy winter clothes, Wen Tingli never stopped sweating, yet still had to strike various poses for the camera — it was a real ordeal.

Fortunately, Wen Tingli was no ordinary person. No matter how heavy the clothing on her, she could always display the most natural and captivating smile.

They shot all the way until nine at night. The director and the manager were full of praise for Wen Tingli, but unfortunately, the other companies did not gather round to ask about her, as she had hoped her performance might attract — both finished their own work and left.

By wrap time, Wen Tingli felt as though her whole body had been coated in mud, reeking of sweat, every movement clumsy and heavy. Even after taking off the costumes, every pore of her body still seemed to be exuding a sour smell.

Worse still, she hadn’t eaten a single bite since noon.

Fortunately, before leaving, Dong Qinfang had bought her a meal from a nearby Ningbo restaurant. She sat down at the mirror and the first thing she did was open the oil paper wrapping, only to nearly retch on the first taste — the food had already gone bad.

She then opened the lunch box Fulishi had prepared for her, only to find it too had a sour smell. Fulishi’s manager apologized profusely. “I’m truly sorry, who could have known the studio would be this hot. Miss Wen, please wait a moment, I’ll have them buy you another meal right away.”

Wen Tingli waved her hand weakly. “It’s fine. I know none of you have eaten either. It’s all over now anyway — I can eat once I get home.”

Everyone hurried to pack up their things. Fulishi’s manager hired a car for Wen Tingli. “Is Miss Wen headed straight home?”

Wen Tingli hesitated slightly, then nodded. “Yes, thank you for the trouble.”

Once the car started moving, Wen Tingli hurriedly pulled an oil-paper package from her book bag. Opening it, a milky fragrance wafted out, and she inhaled deeply, satisfied. Fortunately, before leaving that morning, she had specially wrapped a dozen or so of the cookies Lu Shicheng had sent yesterday into her bag — meals spoiled easily, but these kept well. She ate a dozen pieces in one go, and finally her dizziness and shakiness subsided.

In truth, in the middle of the day when she’d been starving, she had thought about taking the cookies out to eat, but doing so would have meant sharing with everyone else. Usually she was quite generous, but today she only wanted to selfishly enjoy them alone.

Back home, Wen Tingli tiptoed into the room to check on Xiao Taozi, who was sleeping soundly. Wen Tingli looked at her for a few moments, then hurried to pull Zhou Sao aside. “Did Mr. Kuang call today?”

“He called twice. The first time was at eight in the morning — I told him Miss had gone out to shoot a calendar ad, and he asked me to relay a message to Miss: Young Master Lu has woken up. The second call came around five in the evening, asking whether Miss was home yet. I said not yet, and this time Mr. Kuang didn’t say anything more.”

Without another word, Wen Tingli rushed into the bathroom.

To wash off the lingering sweat from her body, she washed her hair thoroughly twice, and lathered herself from head to toe with soap three times, scrubbing herself until she smelled fresh before coming out.

The moment she opened the door, fragrance came pouring out along with milky-white steam. Wrapped in a towel, Wen Tingli went to her bedroom to find clothes, and suddenly felt an itch at the back of her neck. She had no time to look closely, though, and hurriedly bundled her hair up high, changed her shoes, and prepared to go out.

Zhou Sao was busy reheating dishes in the kitchen and called out, “Are you going to visit Mr. Lu? Do eat something first.”

“If I’m any later they might not let me in. Go to sleep, I’ll be back soon.”

Sure enough, the medical staff at the ward blocked Wen Tingli at the door.

“Visiting hours are over. Please come back tomorrow.”

“My name is Wen. I’m here to see Mr. Kuang Zhilin. Could you please announce me?”

Kuang Zhilin didn’t come out himself, but two familiar-looking middle-aged men did — Wen Tingli had seen them before, around Lu Shicheng. The two were quite courteous to her.

“Mr. Kuang had to step out for something. Miss Wen, please, this way.”

Wen Tingli followed the two men upstairs — it was a small, separate building with only two or three wards per floor. Lu Shicheng’s room was on the third floor, at the very end of the corridor. There were quite a few Lu family guards in the hallway, but each one was quieter than the last.

She pushed open the door — the room, too, was utterly silent.

“Young Master Cheng woke up for a while earlier, then fell back asleep. The doctor says his condition has basically stabilized.”

“May I go in and take a look at Mr. Lu?”

“Please, go ahead.” The two men quietly withdrew to the doorway.

Wen Tingli walked over and sat down in the chair by the bed. A day had passed and the white gauze on Lu Shicheng’s forehead had not yet been removed — if anything it had been thickened somewhat. A thin blanket covered his chest, and she had no way of knowing how the wounds on his chest and abdomen were doing. Under the lamplight, his complexion looked slightly better than the past few days, but he seemed to be sleeping restlessly, his brow furrowed, his breathing somewhat uneven.

Suddenly, Lu Shicheng stirred.

“Mama—”

Wen Tingli immediately held her breath.

Then, the same low murmur came again.

He seemed to be having the same nightmare often, always searching for his mother in his dreams, and that cry of “Mama” was always filled with anguish.

Unable to bear the thought of Lu Shicheng trapped in that dreadful dream, Wen Tingli called out gently, “Mr. Lu.”

Lu Shicheng’s breathing eased somewhat, but he did not wake.

Wen Tingli meant to wait for him to wake up before leaving — at the very least she wanted to wait for Kuang Zhilin to return and ask about Lu Shicheng’s condition. But it looked like Lu Shicheng wouldn’t wake anytime soon, so she quietly took her script from her bag, intending to read while she waited. But she had greatly overestimated her own stamina — she had gotten up before dawn, spent the whole day on her feet in the studio, and before that, having cared for Lu Shicheng continuously for days, she had barely slept a full night’s sleep. By now she was thoroughly exhausted.

She hadn’t read for long before she found herself, without realizing it, fallen asleep leaning against the bedside.

Wen Tingli was woken by a maddening itch.

She snapped her eyes open — the hospital bed was empty.

Startled, she paid the strange itch no mind for the moment and hurriedly turned her head. “Mr. Lu?!”

Looking closely, she saw Lu Shicheng sitting in a wheelchair by the bed across the way, staring unblinkingly at her.

“When did you get up?” Wen Tingli, dazed, hurriedly sat up straight, only to feel something draped over her shoulders shift and slide silently to the floor at her feet as she moved.

It was the thin blanket from Lu Shicheng’s bed — she had no idea how it had ended up on her.

While Wen Tingli was still dazed, Lu Shicheng wheeled his chair toward her, but after a couple of pushes he failed to make progress. Wen Tingli decisively set down the blanket and walked over to Lu Shicheng.

“Let me.”

She couldn’t imagine how Lu Shicheng had managed to get out of bed without waking her — his movements must have been extremely careful, perhaps even straining his wounds. Somewhat embarrassed, she smiled. “How long have you been awake, Mr. Lu? Why didn’t you wake me? Look at me — coming to visit a patient and falling asleep myself instead.”

Lu Shicheng looked at her face, and suddenly his expression turned strange — staring at her while trying to push himself up from the wheelchair.

Wen Tingli quickly stepped forward to support him. Lu Shicheng immediately lowered his head to stare at her neck, the two of them so close that his gaze seemed almost glued to her skin.

Wen Tingli’s face burned. Lu Shicheng had never been this abrupt before. She turned her face away and reminded him quietly, “Mr. Lu.”

Lu Shicheng’s gaze flickered, but he did not look away — instead he raised a hand to point at her neck, then anxiously looked around the room.

Wen Tingli sensed something was wrong and hurriedly felt her own neck, unexpectedly touching something like a mosquito bite.

“What is this?” The moment she touched it, that maddening itch flared up again.

She instinctively moved to scratch, but her wrist was caught by Lu Shicheng.

【Don’t scratch.】

“But it itches so much. Does it look scary?” Wen Tingli stamped her feet from the itching. Besides the itch, a wave of panic gripped her too — what on earth was this, why had a rash suddenly broken out on her neck?

Lu Shicheng, too, was less composed than usual — she was too alarmed, and if this continued she would scratch her skin raw.

He tried to convey with a soothing look that it wasn’t frightening, one hand holding her still while the other pressed the call bell by the bed to summon someone.

Two attendants came in and froze at the sight before them: Miss Wen twisted into a knot before Mr. Lu, Mr. Lu forcibly holding her still.

Lu Shicheng, his expression grave, told them to hurry and fetch the doctor. The doctor came in and took one look. “This looks like an allergic reaction. When did it start? It’s fairly severe. Whatever you do, don’t scratch. Miss Wen, have you had skin rashes before? When did this start?”

Only when the doctor reached her side did Lu Shicheng release Wen Tingli’s arm. Forcing herself to bear the maddening itch, Wen Tingli said, “I’ve never had a rash before. I was fine before I came here. I dozed off just now, and woke up like this.”

“Did you eat anything unusual before coming? Where were you all day?”

“I spent the whole day at the studio under Guanlin Company’s name shooting an advertisement. This morning at home I had a bowl of sugar-poached egg — I usually eat that at home anyway. At noon on set I had a piece of rice cake. I didn’t eat anything in the evening.”

Lu Shicheng frowned, and the doctor too looked taken aback. “You ate only that much the entire day?”

Wen Tingli, biting her lip against the itch, said, “I also had a little something else. On the way back I ate about a dozen pieces of Lufeini cookies from Switzerland — I’ve had those before too.”

“So it’s probably not a food issue. This looks like heat rash. Was it very hot in the studio? How long were you there? Did you ever go outside during the day?”

“From eight in the morning until nine at night before wrapping. I was shooting winter clothing today, so I sweated especially much. The company only rented the space for one day, so there was no break in between.”

The doctor sighed. “Bundled up like that for thirteen or fourteen hours straight — no wonder there’s a problem. Given how widespread it is, it’s not just heat rash, it also looks like an allergic reaction to the dye in one of the winter outfits. Did it itch at the time? Your skin is this red — may I ask, Miss Wen, did you take a bath with soap after finishing work?”

Bathed was an understatement — wanting to arrive at the hospital feeling fresh and clean, Wen Tingli had scrubbed practically every pore of her body.

“I felt sweaty and uncomfortable, so I went home and took a hot bath,” she murmured, glancing at Lu Shicheng.

“No wonder. With a rash already present, both soap and hot water can make the skin damage worse. I’ll ask a colleague from Emergency to come take a look right away. Miss Wen, this needs treatment immediately, or it will only get worse.”

Wanting to scratch but not daring to, the moment the doctor finished asking his questions, Wen Tingli ran straight to the washroom to look in the mirror, and burst into tears the instant she saw herself.

A patch of red rash had appeared on her neck, her eyelids and lips slightly swollen and red as well, making her look like a swollen red peach. And to think she had gone to such trouble to dress up before coming to visit Lu Shicheng — no wonder she’d frightened everyone, looking like this. She hurriedly closed the door and took off her clothes to check further — her chest and back were also covered in large red patches.

Lu Shicheng knocked on the door outside.

“I don’t want to go out.”

Lu Shicheng paused, then knocked gently again.

Wen Tingli, dispirited, opened the door.

Lu Shicheng wheeled his chair back a little, looked at her for a moment, then handed her the notepad.

【The doctor said you can have mung bean porridge. I’ve had someone prepare it. Eat something before you cry any more.】

“Who said I was going to cry anymore?” Wen Tingli said — and found herself laughing through her tears even as she said it.

Lu Shicheng laughed too, looking at her pitiful state, then glanced around and pointed toward the sofa for her. Whatever else, she should sit down and rest a moment first. Once she was seated, he wheeled his chair a little closer and leaned in to examine her carefully.

Her heart warmed — there was no offense in his gaze, only deep concern and tenderness. Soon the emergency doctor arrived with her medical bag — a woman doctor, who took one look and said, “There are probably quite a few rashes on your body too. I’ll need to give Miss Wen a quick examination — it won’t take long. Mr. Lu, would it be convenient for you to step out for a bit? If it’s inconvenient—”

Lu Shicheng, without a second thought, wheeled himself straight out the door. The attendants, startled, hurried after him with a blanket.

Wen Tingli found herself both laughing and crying at once — she had come here to visit Lu Shicheng, and now his hospital room had somehow become hers instead.

Once the examination was finished, the doctor applied a thin layer of pale brown medicated powder to the affected areas and gave Wen Tingli several oral medications.

“The rash covers a fairly large area, so to be safe, Miss Wen, it would be best to stay for observation overnight. I’ll arrange a temporary bed for you in the general ward, so that if anything changes overnight, we can treat you promptly.”

Once outside, the woman doctor repeated this to Lu Shicheng, who thought it over.

【Please arrange a private room for Miss Wen instead.】

Wen Tingli had meant to say something, but the doctor had already agreed. Lu Shicheng bowed slightly to the doctor in thanks from his wheelchair.

Wen Tingli said quietly to Lu Shicheng, “I need to call Zhou Sao and Xiao Taozi to let them know what’s happening, or they’ll worry.”

After the call, the food arrived as well. Besides the mung bean porridge, there were several delicate pastries.

Lu Shicheng looked at the medicated powder on Wen Tingli’s neck.

【Still itchy?】

“Itchy,” Wen Tingli nodded, dejected.

【Why don’t you eat something first?】

Wen Tingli had had no appetite at all, but the steam rising from the pastries on the table kept drifting enticingly toward her nose. Watching Lu Shicheng scoop a bowl of porridge and set it beside her, she decided on the spot to fill her stomach first and worry later.

Still, out of habit, she scooped a bowl for Lu Shicheng too and set it by his hand, then picked up a small spoon, preparing to feed him.

During the time Lu Shicheng had convalesced at her home, she and Louis had taken turns caring for him just like this. Right now, distracted as she was, she had unconsciously started treating him again as a gravely ill patient.

A flicker of amusement showed in Lu Shicheng’s eyes as he tilted his head to dodge the spoon Wen Tingli brought to his lips.

【I’ve already eaten. All of this is for you.】

For a few seconds, Wen Tingli simply held the spoon and studied Lu Shicheng — the hospital’s conditions really were better than at home; in just one day, his condition seemed to have improved considerably. After looking him over carefully, she withdrew the spoon, satisfied, and muttered, “I came here to visit you, Mr. Lu, and somehow it’s you looking after me instead.”

Even so, she still ate a whole bowl of porridge with relish, then looked at the few plates of pastries, hesitating over whether to eat any.

Lu Shicheng pushed all the plates on the table over to her side.

【I asked the doctor. You can eat these.】

Wen Tingli picked up a small piece and put it in her mouth, restraining herself from eating too much, when an attendant knocked outside the door. “Miss Wen, the room is ready. The doctor over there is waiting to record your case history.”

Wen Tingli checked the time — without realizing it, it was already past one o’clock. There wasn’t the slightest trace of fatigue on Lu Shicheng’s face, but she knew that given his current physical condition, he must simply be forcing himself to stay strong.

She said to him quietly, “I’ll head off then.”

Lu Shicheng leaned forward, took the notepad from the side table, wrote a line, and handed it to her.

The paper held only a string of phone numbers, nothing else.

But she guessed this was the direct line to his room — every premium ward at Huiqun Hospital seemed to have its own telephone.

He pointed to the number, indicating that if anything came up during the night, she should call him right away.

“All right,” she said, smiling sweetly, eyes lowered.

Lu Shicheng personally wheeled himself to see her to the stairwell. Led by the attendants, Wen Tingli made her way to the newly opened room in the front building’s emergency department. Inside were a new washbasin, towels, tooth powder, cup, soft slippers, and other items — even the comb was a brand new one.

Besides that, the bedside was stacked with the familiar Vichy brand mineral water and some easily digestible fruit, though there was no milk or biscuits — probably out of fear that eating them might worsen her condition.

“Mr. Lu had all of this bought,” the attendant said warmly. “If Miss Wen still needs anything, please just let us know.”

Wen Tingli looked at the pair of jade-green satin slippers by the bed, and a secret, unbidden pleasure rose in her heart — the color and style of these slippers were almost identical to the pair she often wore at her apartment. She had no way of knowing whether this was a coincidence, or whether Lu Shicheng had specially had someone buy them for her.

She had thought she would have trouble falling asleep in unfamiliar surroundings, but instead felt an unexpectedly deep sense of peace. Once she’d finished washing up and come out, she fell asleep the instant her head touched the pillow.