He Su brought her to his office to apply medicine himself.
As he treated her wounds, the distance between them gradually shrank, though neither seemed to notice.
When An Ruo finally realized it, she felt a bit uneasy. Aside from Zou Yikai, her first love who was snatched away by An Qing, she had never been this close to any man.
Even with her new husband, Shen Xiaoxing, she only lay on top of him while sleeping—when she was unconscious.
On the other side of the door, a man leaned against the wall, glancing through the glass window of the hidden door, watching He Su tend to her wounds. The girl blushed awkwardly.
Suddenly, he recalled that morning when her soft lips pressed against his...
Shen Xiaoxing's eyes turned cold instantly, his brow furrowing in irritation.
Just applying medicine—was it necessary to be so close?!
The man handed her the medicine: "Remember not to get it wet when you get back. Keep the wound clean to avoid infection." He also instructed her on how to use the medication, along with dietary restrictions and precautions.
An Ruo caught sight of the name on his badge and silently committed it to memory.
"Thank you, Dr. He. I'll pay you back for the medicine."
He Su wanted to say that this hospital was all thanks to the man backing her, so paying seemed redundant, didn't it?
But since the man had told him not to say anything, he had to hold back.
The door closed, and He Su finally let out a slow breath. The man emerged from the hidden door, his face dark as if someone owed him money.
He Su watched him sit on the sofa, then sidled over with a sly grin: "Alright, what's going on between you and that young lady?"
He knew the man had been standing by the window watching for a while—there had to be something fishy.
Shen Xiaoxing didn't hide anything from him: "She's the An family girl who married into the Shen family." He paused, then added, "Though she's just an adopted daughter of the An family."
"The little sister-in-law, huh? Why didn't you say so earlier?" He would have tried to curry favor more. Wait... "What did you say? An adopted daughter?"
Old Master Shen had arranged for a young wife to take care of him—He Su had known that from the start. But he'd heard that the one marrying into the Shen family was the legitimate daughter of the An family. How had she become an adopted daughter now?
The man toyed with the cigarette in his hand: "A substitute marriage."
On his way back to the hospital, he had Han Chong investigate An Ruo's identity and was surprised to discover she was a substitute bride and an adopted daughter of the An family. No wonder that mother-daughter pair had been so harsh on her.
It was only out of pity that he agreed to perform surgery on her brother and sent He Su to treat her wounds. But now... he might as well have left her alone.
-
Outside the window, night fell, and snowflakes drifted through the air, forming a thin layer on the ground. Streetlights flickered on one by one...
An Ruo hadn't eaten lunch, staying by the operating room door, waiting.
The surgery lasted five hours. The red light above the door suddenly went out, and An Ruo snapped to attention as a nurse pushed the hospital bed out.
An Ruo immediately rushed over. The attending surgeon removed his mask and reassured her: "Don't worry, he's out of danger. With proper post-op care and cooperation with the doctors, he'll be discharged soon."
"Thank you, thank you, Dr. Yang." An Ruo finally let out a sigh of relief.
She followed the doctor back to the ward. An Che was transferred to a VIP room, which felt surreal to her. Why had the hospital suddenly changed its mind?
An Ruo stayed with An Che for an hour, then checked the time. She needed to return to the villa. That man's temper was unpredictable, and if he flew into a rage again, she couldn't handle it.
The hospital had arranged a caregiver for An Che, but An Ruo couldn't shake the feeling that someone was helping them. Yet she didn't remember having such influential friends.
Never mind, she'd head home first.
Back at the villa, she was met with a scolding from Butler Chen.
"Madam, do you even remember my young master? Coming back this late—who's going to serve him dinner? You're too irresponsible!"
An Ruo was in a good mood today. An Che had successfully undergone surgery, so she listened meekly to Butler Chen's reprimand, nodding in apology: "I'm sorry, something came up at home, so I got delayed on the way..."
"Madam, I don't think that's a good excuse. Even if you were busy, you could have called to say you'd be late, so the young master wouldn't have waited for you to eat."
"He was waiting for me?"
How was that possible?
Butler Chen frowned awkwardly. He was just giving an example—that aloof, proud young master would never wait for her.
"I meant hypothetically."
An Ruo breathed a sigh of relief. She knew that man would never wait for her, unless the sky rained red or the sea flowed backward.
The consequence of coming back late was Butler Chen's relentless warnings. An Ruo swallowed her temper, kept apologizing, and promised never to repeat the mistake.
Before she left, Butler Chen reminded her, "The old mansion called this afternoon, saying you and the young master need to go back for a family dinner tomorrow."
An Ruo stopped in her tracks. "Does it have to be tomorrow?"
"The old master himself gave the order. You must arrive on time tomorrow."
She wanted to go to the hospital tomorrow. Although An Che was out of danger, she couldn't afford to be careless, and she didn't trust anyone else to care for him.
But going back to the Shen family mansion was more important now, so An Ruo had no choice but to agree.
Having missed dinner, An Ruo could only go to the kitchen to cook herself a bowl of noodles. Starving and freezing, her hands and feet were icy cold, and her whole body ached from being kicked. A bowl of hot soup noodles warmed her up and made her feel much better.
Before stepping into the bedroom, she politely knocked twice. No response.
"Mr. Shen, may I come in?"
No answer.
"I'm coming in."