CHAPTER 52: 052: AS YOU WISH.

The commotion eventually drew the attention of the gardeners in the vicinity. Upon witnessing the scene under the porch, the gardeners reacted as if they’d stumbled upon an incredible secret. They quickly bowed their heads, held their breath, afraid to even breathe too loudly, and even their movements became considerably lighter.

Ning Guiwan glanced at her wrist, held firmly in Quan Yu’s grasp. The man’s large hand seemed to exert little force, yet she couldn’t break free.

"What exactly do you want?"

She looked up at the man’s sharply defined face. Sunlight slanted across it, and in the interplay of light and shadow, his nose appeared exceptionally straight.

Quan Yu slowly leaned in. Ning Guiwan instinctively turned her face away as his warm breath brushed her ear. She took an involuntary step back, her hand clutching her bag pressing against Quan Yu’s arm, just as she heard his magnetic voice whisper, "Don’t go on any more blind dates."

His tone was somewhat domineering.

Ning Guiwan’s back hit a hard pillar, the raised carvings pressing painfully into her spine.

A soft whimper escaped her lips. The sound was rather... alluring.

Quan Yu’s gaze flickered. He guided her hand to his lower back, while his other arm, previously braced against the pillar, moved to support her. The next second, he pulled Ning Guiwan into his embrace.

"Be good, hm?"

The man’s voice grew deeper, each word like the tolling of a bell in a valley, striking heavily upon Ning Guiwan’s heart through her eardrums.

Her wrist was still caught in his large palm. The hand he held was now pressed against his lower back, effectively trapping her, her stomach pressed against his metal belt buckle.

"Xiaowan! Have you been waiting long?"

Lai Yang’s voice arrived before she did.

Ning Guiwan was startled, panic flashing across her face. But before she could react, Quan Yu had already let go of her.

Just as she was about to sigh in relief, the man suddenly leaned down and kissed her forehead.

By the time she recovered her senses, he had already strolled off, one hand casually in his pocket. He even raised his other hand to wave at her, the back of it facing her.

He looked utterly self-righteous.

Ning Guiwan clenched the bag in her hand.

Lai Yang ran up, panting, her left hand clutching her stomach. "I think I caught a chill last night," she said, looking uncomfortable.

Ning Guiwan withdrew her gaze and looked at Lai Yang. "Are you okay?"

"Better," Lai Yang said. "It’s just..."

Before she could finish, Ning Guiwan’s phone suddenly rang.

"I need to take this call," Ning Guiwan said, pulling out her phone. When she saw the caller ID was the Ning Family’s landline, her eyes slowly turned cold.

"What is it?" Her voice was equally indifferent.

"Third Miss, Second Miss tried to kill herself!"

「」

The weekend traffic was so bad that it took Ning Guiwan and Lai Yang almost two hours to reach the hospital.

By then, Ning Qinghan had been resuscitated and moved to a hospital room.

Besides Ning Guiwan and Lai Yang, Ning Honghua, Ning Rongyue, Yun Shu, He Yunqing, and Quan Xiangru were all there.

Ning Qinghan lay in the hospital bed, an oxygen tube under her nose, her face paler than the white sheets. Yun Shu sat by the bed, hand over her mouth, stifling her sobs. When she saw Lai Yang and Ning Guiwan, she paused, saying nothing, her sobs merely becoming more suppressed.

Ning Rongyue looked at Lai Yang, her gentle eyes filled with anger. "Are you satisfied now?"

Lai Yang’s lips were also pale, and she clutched Ning Guiwan’s arm tightly. She hadn’t expected things to become so serious, that a life had almost been lost...

Ning Qinghan had jumped into the swimming pool in the garden.

Fortunately, a servant found her in time and pulled her out. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

"How was I to know she’d take it so hard..." Lai Yang defended herself in a low voice, but in this situation, it sounded like a hollow excuse.

"You’re a pampered young lady, living in luxury, high and mighty. How could you possibly understand how difficult life is for people like us?" Ning Rongyue’s eyes brimmed with tears—it was unclear if they were for Ning Qinghan or for herself. As they streamed down her cheek, across the scar, she had the fragile beauty of a pear blossom drenched in rain.

"We’re of low status, not good enough for the noble young master. No one knows how hard Qinghan struggled to maintain this engagement. Now that it’s come to this, how can she possibly bear it?"

As she spoke, she looked towards He Yunqing and Quan Xiangru. "I understand Qinghan’s current situation is difficult for you to accept, but it’s not her fault she ended up like this. The child she miscarried belonged to the Quan Family; you can’t just abandon her..."

He Yunqing remained silent.

Quan Xiangru also remained silent.

Ning Rongyue then turned to Ning Honghua, her voice laced with sorrow. "Dad, Qinghan truly can’t leave Xiangru. She’ll die! You... you have to think of something..."

Ning Honghua looked at the figure on the hospital bed, barely clinging to life, then at the grief-stricken Yun Shu.

After a long moment, he said to He Yunqing, "Let’s talk outside."

Watching their retreating backs, Ning Guiwan felt the unease in her heart intensify.

After a moment’s thought, she turned to Lai Yang. "Wait here for me; I’ll be right back."

"Where are you going?" Lai Yang asked.

"Something came up." Ning Guiwan patted Lai Yang’s hand reassuringly. "Wait for me, okay?"

She paused, then leaned close to Lai Yang’s ear and whispered, "Keep an eye on them for me. Don’t let them leave the room."

Lai Yang only seemed to partially understand, but seeing the grave expression on Ning Guiwan’s face, she could only nod. She whispered back, "Got it. Don’t worry."

「」

Coming out of the hospital room, Ning Guiwan stood at the doorway for a few seconds, looking left and right, before finally choosing the left.

She walked down the brightly lit corridor for some distance, rounded the only corner, continued for about five more meters, and turned again. Before her lay a surprisingly spacious covered walkway.

And there stood Ning Honghua and He Yunqing, on the covered walkway connecting the outpatient clinic to the inpatient tower.

The spot they had chosen seemed less than private, with people constantly coming and going. However, those seeking medical attention were usually too preoccupied with their own worries to eavesdrop on two strangers. Besides, the walkway offered no cover; anyone attempting to listen in would be easily spotted.

She was too far away to hear their conversation clearly.

But her intuition insisted that their discussion was somehow related to her.

She didn’t normally eavesdrop, but right now, she felt an inexplicable urgency. Just as she was wondering how to approach them discreetly, a deep, extremely familiar voice suddenly spoke from behind her, "What are you doing, sneaking around?"

The voice was low and incredibly familiar.

Turning, she indeed saw Quan Yu’s cold yet handsome face.

The man stood with one hand in his pocket. A cigarette was wedged between the fingers of the hand hanging by his side. His tie was neat, exuding an air of asceticism. Wisps of smoke curled up beside him, veiling his tall, sturdy frame in an indescribable aura.

Remembering what had happened earlier under the mansion’s porch, she felt a wave of displeasure. Her tone became unintentionally distant and cool. "You..."

Before she could finish, Quan Yu’s cigarette-holding hand shot out, grasped her arm, and pulled her behind a nearby wall.

Before Ning Guiwan could react, she found herself in his embrace once more.

Her face was pressed against his chest, the firm muscles palpable beneath her cheek. Quan Yu had lowered his head, and his warm breath fanned across the crown of her head with each exhalation.

Ning Guiwan hurriedly struggled free, and Quan Yu, surprisingly, let go smoothly.

"What exactly do you want?"

Quan Yu tapped the ash from his cigarette, his cool gaze fixed on her face, which held an alluring mix of charm and vexation. "Were you planning on letting them catch you eavesdropping?"

Ning Guiwan: "..."

Meeting his teasing, amused gaze, she felt her face inexplicably flush.

"I didn’t hear anything..." she defended herself instinctively.

Quan Yu took a drag from his cigarette.

Ning Guiwan watched the smoke drift and spread, then frowned. "Smoking isn’t allowed in the hospital."

Upon hearing this, Quan Yu immediately stubbed out his cigarette in a nearby standing ashtray. He then said, "Alright. I’ll listen to you."

Ning Guiwan: "..."

What did he mean by ’I’ll listen to you’?