CHAPTER 110: 110: WHEN SHE GETS SICK, SHE BECOMES PARTICULARLY MELODRAMATIC (2 UPDATES)

Qiao Yishen suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked down at his sister.

"Fifth Brother... why are you looking at me like that?" The look in his eyes is terrifying.

Qiao Yishen stared at her. "Youning, don’t you feel even a bit that you’re in the wrong? You’ve hurt someone. Regardless of how serious their injuries are or whether their life is in danger, you’ve made a grave mistake. Moreover, the person you’ve hurt has done nothing to deserve it. Youning, you can be naive, even foolish, but you cannot lack the basic ability to discern right from wrong."

His tone wasn’t heavy, but the words he uttered were incisive.

Qiao Youning was the youngest daughter in the family, with five older brothers. Her third brother had died, and her second and fourth brothers were abroad. Everyone at home doted on her, including her eldest and fifth brothers. Having been spoiled from a young age, no one had ever spoken to her in such a serious tone.

"Fifth Brother..." Qiao Youning’s large eyes widened, her mouth falling open. After a long pause, she barely squeezed out, "I was afraid she would hurt Second Brother Lu. I... I was scared she would toy with Second Brother Lu’s feelings..." Just like that young man I saw at the bathroom door, looking so wretched and pathetic because of Ning Guiwan...

"Youning, this is the last time I’m warning you. Lu Ziqi and the Zhang Group’s heiress have a long-standing arranged engagement. Archaic as it may sound, both the Lu Family and the Zhang Family take it seriously. Even if Lu Ziqi doesn’t like the Zhang family’s daughter, he is still their future son-in-law. There will be no future for you and him; there simply can’t be."

Qiao Youning’s pale face trembled, and her slight body looked as if it might collapse at any moment.

Qiao Yishen, seeing his sister’s pained expression, couldn’t bear it, but he had to harden his heart. My sister has been spoiled too much; she needs to learn a lesson. It isn’t just a matter of getting past Quan Yu. If she doesn’t learn her lesson now, who knows what she might do in the future.

"Lu Ziqi is ambitious. To compete with his brother, he will surely marry the Zhang family’s daughter. It’s not too late for you to back out now. I don’t think you want to be like that woman from a few years ago—a third party who destroyed someone else’s marriage. You hate third parties the most, don’t you?"

Qiao Youning’s lips turned white.

Qiao Yishen raised his hand to touch the top of her head, his voice softening considerably. "Stay here tonight. Second Brother Quan won’t let you stay in the ward, so just keep watch outside. You must let him see your sincere regret."

"Youning, you’re already twenty-one. The National Orchestra training class exams are in a few days. If you pass, you’ll have to go to Beijing alone. You need to be independent and strong, and learn to take responsibility for your mistakes."

Qiao Youning was afraid to face Quan Yu alone. "Fifth Brother, Mom and Dad will worry about me..."

"I will go back and explain to them," Qiao Yishen said. "Since they’ve left me to handle this, they’ll listen to my suggestion."

"But I still need to practice the piano..."

"You’ve been studying for over a decade. Does it matter if you miss three to five days?"

In the early hours of the morning, past two o’clock, Quan Yu received an international call. Seeing the number, he took his mobile phone and stepped out of the ward to answer. Qiao Youning, red-eyed, was crouching by the wall. Seeing him, she stood up as if startled. Quan Yu gave her a cold glance, put the phone to his ear, and walked to one side. "...I don’t have time recently, but when I do, I’ll come over to see him..."

「...」

Ning Guiwan was awakened by pain. When her consciousness began to return, she first felt a sharp, then dull, throbbing pain at the back of her head. As she gradually regained her senses, her gaze took in the snow-white ceiling, the built-in chandelier, and the unmistakable stand of a hospital IV drip bag. She had been attacked. At the time, her head had gone blank, and as she fell, she vaguely recalled seeing the girl who had blocked her in the bathroom.

Ning Guiwan frowned, intending to lift her hand to touch the painful spot, only to discover that her right hand was being held.

Slowly turning her head, she recognized the person grasping her hand and paused for a moment. Quan Yu was leaning beside the hospital bed, his forehead resting on his forearm. The collar of his suit jacket, barely hanging on his broad shoulders, looked as if it might slip off with the slightest movement.

Ning Guiwan’s gaze fell on the hand he held in his palm. The man’s fingers were closed tightly around her wrist, making his hand appear wide and large against her slender one. His shirt sleeve was rolled up, exposing a muscular and powerful forearm where dried bloodstains were vaguely visible. Due to his leaning posture, the shirt across his upper arms and shoulder blades was taut, revealing the lines of his muscles.

Last night, on the way to the hospital with Quan Yu, she had been somewhat conscious. Though she couldn’t see his expression or hear what he was saying, she could feel his panic-stricken urgency.

Ning Guiwan gazed at him quietly, suddenly remembering when her mother was still alive. Every time she was ill, her mother would watch by her bed, so whenever she opened her eyes, she was sure to see her mother’s figure.

After a while, Quan Yu suddenly looked up. A look of pleasant surprise clearly showed in his light brown eyes. "Awake?"

As he spoke, he straightened up, and his suit jacket, draped over his shoulders, indeed slid off. Quan Yu didn’t bother with it and simply looked at Ning Guiwan, his gaze lacking its usual harshness, filled instead with gentleness. "Does your head hurt a lot?"

Fatigue from lack of sleep was evident between the man’s brows, and a red mark indented his forehead. Yet, this didn’t detract from his handsomeness. Instead, it added a touch of life to his appearance, making him seem like a deity descended to the mortal realm, touched by worldly concerns and thus more approachable.

"Not too bad..." Her voice was particularly hoarse after not speaking all night. Ning Guiwan cleared her throat, and her voice sounded clearer when she spoke again. "I’d like some water."

Quan Yu poured a glass of water and helped Ning Guiwan sit up slowly, noticing bloodstains on the white pillow. Ning Guiwan felt somewhat weak. After a few sips of water, she was slightly out of breath. That girl truly hadn’t held back.

Quan Yu took the cup from her hand, placed it on the bedside table, and said in a low voice, "It’s still early. Go back to sleep for a bit."

Ning Guiwan glanced at the window; it was indeed still dark outside.

"You go sleep on the bed." The single patient room had a family member’s cot. "If I need anything, I’ll call you."

Quan Yu didn’t listen to her. He helped her lie down, pulled the chair closer to the bed, stroked her forehead, and said in a low, slow voice, "Sleep now."

Her head ached intensely, and Ning Guiwan couldn’t fall asleep, restlessly shifting through several positions. The room was very quiet, with only the occasional sound of footsteps outside, but those too would quickly fade into utter silence. Not knowing how much time had passed, Ning Guiwan quietly opened her eyes.

"Can’t sleep?" Quan Yu was leaning against the back of his chair. Seeing her open her eyes, he leaned in closer. "Is it very uncomfortable?"

In the dim lighting, the man’s eyes were sincere, filled with concern and compassion.

During her solitary years in Britain, Ning Guiwan had developed the habit of internalizing everything. She endured pain and fatigue on her own, quietly coping, because there was no one in whom she could confide. Song Changfeng and Tan Xi were very good to her, but that was only the kindness of friends. The people in this world she could rely on, those who made her feel safe even if the sky were falling, were no longer there. She could only rely on herself; she had only herself.

But at this moment, looking into Quan Yu’s eyes, her nose inexplicably tingled, and warmth welled up in her eyes, as if she had gone back to over four years ago when her mother was still alive. She wanted to restrain the strange emotion surging from the bottom of her heart, but she just couldn’t.

Tears slid from the corners of her eyes, burning hot. It’s strange. My mind is clear, I don’t intend to cry, yet the tears seem to have a mind of their own. Mother was right; when I get sick, I become particularly melodramatic. Despite all I’ve been through, I can’t believe I’m still so prone to melodrama.

"Does it hurt a lot?" Quan Yu held Ning Guiwan’s face, his thumbs wiping away her tears, but he couldn’t seem to dry them completely. "Ming Yi!"

Ming Yi came in; someone else had taken over the watch outside during the latter part of the night.

"Call the nurse."

As soon as Quan Yu finished speaking, Ming Yi immediately went to the nurse’s station to call someone. The nurse arrived quickly, performed a simple check-up, and after obtaining the family member’s consent, administered a pain relief injection to the patient.

When leaving, the nurse saw a girl squatting outside the door, huddled on the floor with her head tilted, asleep. She looks so pitiful, the nurse thought. She was about to wake the girl to ask about the situation but was stopped by Ming Yi.

"She hurt someone. If she doesn’t stay here, she has to go to the police station." His cold tone sounded particularly merciless.

The nurse hesitated. Although she disapproved of treating a girl this way, she didn’t say anything more. Those two bodyguards at the door look rather formidable, and that man inside... he has such a powerful presence, definitely not someone ordinary. It’s probably best not to intervene...

「...」

Perhaps the painkillers were taking effect, as Ning Guiwan gradually felt drowsiness creep over her. With her eyes closed, her long lashes damp, she seemed to have shed her armor and spikes, looking as fragile as a small animal abandoned in an unfamiliar environment.

Quan Yu still held her hand, unable to stop himself from wondering, Did she cry like this when she first arrived in Britain? Then he recalled his own challenging early days in Canada.