After returning home with the child, her ex-husband knelt down and gently coaxed her.

In the quiet ward, the only sound was the dripping of the IV fluid.

So subtle as to be almost inaudible.

The woman in the hospital bed was buried in a thin blanket, and her pale face had regained a faint color.

She seemed to be sleeping restlessly, her delicate brows furrowed slightly, her hands at her sides gripping the sheets tightly, and a tear slid down her cheek.

Suddenly, her tightly closed eyes opened, and her chest heaved rapidly.

Looking up, all I saw was a cold, white ceiling, and my blurry vision gradually cleared after a moment.

Just then, the ward door was pushed open.

"Miss An, you're awake?" The nurse came in, glanced at the IV drip that had just finished, and went over to remove the needle.

Ten minutes ago, Mr. Lu came out of the ward and told her that the IV drip would be finished in ten minutes.

I didn't expect him to time it so perfectly.

An Ning's mind was still a little muddled. She looked at a small needle hole on her right hand, surrounded by a bluish-purple color.

These are traces of blood drawn.

She remembered that she had drawn blood from Cheng Wanwan and received 200,000 yuan from Lu Xiyan.

Then, before fainting, she fell into a cool, refreshing embrace...

She glanced around the ward; apart from herself and the nurse who came in, there was no one else.

"Excuse me, who brought me here?"

Anning sat up in bed, only to find her throat dry and her voice hoarse when she opened her mouth.

The nurse was writing something in the patient's medical record when she casually remarked, "You fainted in the hospital due to low blood sugar, and it just so happened that our CEO, Mr. Lu, happened to be there."

An Ning's fingertips suddenly tightened.

Is it Lu Xiyan?

She remembered that faint fragrance.

Before she could ask for details, the other person added, "It's fortunate that it happened in the hospital. If it had happened outside, the consequences of such a sudden fainting could have been much more serious. You should be more careful in the future."

The nurse knew that this young woman might have some kind of relationship with their CEO, Mr. Lu; otherwise, Mr. Lu wouldn't have stayed in the ward for so long before leaving.

She added a few more thoughtful words of advice, "Ms. An, if you are prone to hypoglycemia, you can always keep some sweets on you."

"Okay, thank you." Anning looked towards the door but didn't see the man.

Did you bring her here and then leave again?

"You're welcome." The nurse packed up the equipment and told her, "You can rest for a bit and then you can be discharged."

Upon hearing this, An Ning suddenly remembered the hospital room she was currently in—

It's a VIP single suite!!!

She took a deep breath and her eyes widened!

She was just getting an IV drip, and Lu Xiyan got her a VIP appointment?!

She had barely received the 200,000 yuan when several thousand yuan was deducted for hospital fees!

She quickly got out of bed and asked the nurse, "Is...is the hospital fee expensive in this ward?"

The nurse said, "It's 1,600 a day, so this counts as one day."

An Ning nearly fainted; her ears were ringing.

Just as she was about to leave the ward, the nurse hurriedly called out to her, "Ms. An, you just finished your IV drip, why don't you eat something before you go?"

She pointed to the food on the coffee table not far away, "This was just served ten minutes ago, eat it while it's hot."

An Ning looked at the coffee table, which looked like a bowl of porridge and a few side dishes.

The VIP service is really good. Putting aside the room conditions, they even deliver meals to patients upstairs. The service is truly thoughtful.

An Ning thought that since she had to pay the hospital fees anyway, it would be a waste not to eat the free meals.

She walked to the coffee table, and just as she was about to sit down, she froze in place when she saw the porridge in the porcelain bowl.

Shrimp and shredded chicken congee...

She turned to the nurse and asked, "What is this porridge?"

"This was made by the hospital cafeteria today." The nurse finished packing up and picked up the patient's medical record. "Ms. An, you can go directly to the information desk on this floor to complete the discharge procedures later."

An Ning nodded her thanks, then lowered her gaze once again to the bowl of porridge garnished with shrimp and shredded chicken.

Is it... a coincidence?

Through the misty vision, she seemed to see a young couple sitting in a corner of an old porridge shop.

The man scooped up some porridge from his bowl, his eyes crinkling with a smile as he looked at the girl across from him. "You seem to really like the porridge here?"

"The shrimp and chicken congee here is delicious. When I'm tired from work, I come here for a bowl. After eating, I feel full of energy." The girl picked out the shrimp and chicken from her bowl and put them into the man's bowl, her fair face beaming with smiles.

"Then eat more." The man returned the meat she had picked out to her, and also gave her the fried egg from his plate.

The girl pretended to pick the shrimp and shredded chicken back, but the man blocked her from eating the porridge, smiling and saying, "I'm allergic to shrimp, you eat it."

The girl immediately stopped what she was doing, her eyes filled with worry. "Then you can't drink this bowl of porridge. I'll get you a different one."

"No need, just don't eat the shrimp." The man spooned the shrimp from his bowl into hers, his eyes full of love. "I want to eat anything you like with you."

The girl blushed slightly, but felt a sweet joy in her heart.

Seeing him push the eggs over as well, she quickly asked, "Are you allergic to eggs too?"

The man shook his head. "I've never liked egg yolks since I was a child."

His tone was somewhat childlike.

"A picky eater?" the girl asked with a smile.

The man smiled gently, did not deny it, picked up a piece of fried egg and held it to her mouth, "From now on, you will eat all the yolks for me."

Suddenly, tears welled up and blurred my vision, gathering together and dripping into the bowl.

Anning's fingers trembled as she held the spoon, scooped up a mouthful of porridge, and put it in her mouth.

I don't know why, but the porridge that used to be so delicious and flavorful no longer tastes the same.

Anning wiped away her tears and put down her spoon.

It must be because the hospital cafeteria food is bad!

......

Top floor VIP hospital suite.

The pretty woman sat leaning against the headboard of the hospital bed, her face still somewhat pale.

The woman's right hand was wrapped in gauze, and traces of blood seeped into the white gauze.

The wound was five or six centimeters long, but it was particularly deep.

It required more than a dozen stitches.

The man sitting on the edge of the bed was spooning soup from the bowl to her lips.

Cheng Wanwan looked at the man's exquisite features, her eyes filled with a smile, and her words carried a hint of guilt.

"west Yan, it's my fault for having an inconvenient hand; I have to trouble you to feed me even a simple bowl of soup."

"It's okay."

The man spoke calmly, his movements unwavering, but Cheng Wanwan felt a pang of jealousy.

When a man feeds a woman, it should be an intimate act.

But Lu Xiyan felt no other emotion whatsoever.

He was like an unbreakable lock—polite and gentlemanly, yet with a coldness that kept people at arm's length.

Cheng Wanwan drank the soup he handed her, looked at his cold and refined face, and said, "Don't be angry. An Ning didn't do it on purpose. I don't blame her."

As she finished speaking, she saw a dark and ambiguous light flash in the man's calm and unwavering eyes.

"An insignificant person." The man looked up, his eyes deep. "Why mention her?"

Cheng Wanwan took a sip of soup and tentatively asked, "west Yan, if you still can't let go of An Ning, I can—"

"What can't you let go of?" Lu Xiyan asked, raising his eyes. "What's the point of mentioning someone who's annoying?"

The clear, crisp voice wasn't loud; it just managed to reach the doorway through the half-open door.

Outside the ward, the person who was walking forward paused and stopped in place.