Mrs. Fu, please be mindful of the appropriate boundaries.

"Hey, are you sure you're okay?!" Song Chang was startled. She quickly grabbed a trash bag and shoved it into her hand. "Don't throw up in my car. I have to drive out early tomorrow morning."

Xu Qingcheng really wanted to curse her.

What kind of friend is she? She's already in so much pain, yet all she's thinking about is the dirty car.

Despite his words, Song Chang quickly found a place to park.

She just dry heaved, but nothing came up; she felt dizzy.

Song Chang opened the car door, wanting her to get out and vomit, but Xu Qingcheng shook her head. She was too weak to move. "It's fine now, I get carsick. Drive slowly."

"You're really not going to throw up anymore?"

"Um."

Seeing that she was dead and hadn't been buried, Song Chang didn't bother her and gave her a bottle of mineral water.

Xu Qingcheng took it, screwed it onto the mineral water bottle cap, her fingers began to tremble, so much so that her whole arm shook, and the water in her hand fell to the ground with a splash.

Song Chang picked it up, unscrewed the cap, and held it to Xu Qingcheng's lips to let her drink the water. She only drank two sips before stopping.

Song Chang put away the bottled water and returned to the driver's seat. "Let's go home first. You can tell me slowly when we get home. Qingcheng, you can't keep this up. You can't keep everything bottled up inside. You'll hurt yourself."

"I'm not holding it in," Xu Qingcheng closed her eyes. "There's still a lot to do."

"Did you and Fu Jingting have a fight? He's not answering his calls?"

"No." Xu Qingcheng closed her eyes, thinking desolately, arguing, what a luxury.

Song Chang glanced at her, assuming she was troubled by Shengshi's affairs, and said, "Don't overthink it. You've overcome so many obstacles, you'll definitely succeed this time too. Fu Jingting certainly won't stand idly by."

"If it's what he wants, should I offer it to him with both hands?" Xu Qingcheng murmured, tears welling up in her eyes but she forced them back.

She fought so hard to protect what she had, risking everything, tearing away her pride, breaking her bones, and being ridiculed and mocked. He helped her so much, supporting her spine as it was about to bend, and her heart was filled with warmth.

A heart bursting with joy.

When she calls him "husband," she truly gives him her whole heart.

He didn't want her heart; he only wanted Shengshi to be a stepping stone on his path to power and a wedding dress for his beloved girl.

Her love was too cheap to catch his eye.

"What?" Song Chang was driving and her voice was too low to hear clearly, but when she asked again, Xu Qingcheng said nothing.

Xu Qingcheng started having a fever and vomiting in the middle of the night. Song Chang was afraid that something might be wrong, so she called Fu Jingting.

Fu Jingting rushed over, accompanied by a family doctor.

Xu Qingcheng was vomiting by the bedside, and by the end, her vomit was streaked with blood.

Her face was burning red and hot.

The man came in and hugged her. She lifted her eyelids to look at him, then suddenly forced a smile, her eyes filled with tears as she smiled.

"Qingcheng?!" Fu Jingting called her, but she didn't respond, as if she were delirious with fever.

Fu Jingting tenderly held her in his arms, his palm pressed against her hot cheek.

The doctor examined her and gave her an IV drip.

"Take her fever down first, it's too high," the doctor instructed. "Once she's calmed down, then use physical methods to lower her temperature."

"Why did she vomit blood?" Fu Jingting was worried; her frail appearance was heartbreaking.

The doctor examined her, pried open her mouth to look inside, and said, "It should be fine. It seems like she vomited too much and hurt her throat. Once she's awake, we'll ask her about her condition in detail. Finish the IV drip first. If the high fever doesn't go down, it's best to go to the hospital for a checkup."

Xu Qingcheng was delirious with fever. She vaguely saw Fu Jingting's face and seemed to hear his voice. She laughed at herself for thinking about him.

Her heart aches, her bones aches, her whole body aches—how could he possibly know?!

He can, how could someone as shrewd as him not be able to?

But he knew too well, knew Shengshi and Xu Qingcheng too well, and knew when to strike to ensure a fatal blow, leaving her no chance to even fight back.

Tears streamed down my face.

Qingyao, if your sister really can't hold on anymore, don't blame me.

Fu Jingting looked down at her, his dark eyes filled with heartache. He gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes with his fingers, and caressed her cheek with his palm.

The man's handsome features were as dark as ink, and his deep, dark eyes held unfathomable emotions. A multitude of thoughts intertwined, forcing bitterness into his eyes.

He offered her water, but she refused; her high fever had made her lips chapped.

Fu Jingting simply drank the water himself and then fed it to her, moistening her lips and throat little by little.

I wonder if it can still touch her heart.

After seeing the doctor off, Song Chang stood at the door and looked over. She dragged a stool over and sat down.

Fu Jingting didn't need her help at all; he took meticulous care of her.

Song Chang sneered, "Why does Young Master Fu have to pretend to be so sympathetic at a time like this? It's really strange that you even have your eye on this rotten cake like Shengshi."

Fu Jingting frowned, looked up at Song Chang, and asked, "What do you mean?"

"What else could it mean? Just the surface meaning." Song Chang's voice was icy as she tossed her phone to Fu Jingting.

The media groups are all discussing how editors are getting up in the middle of the night to finish their articles.

The higher-ups have ordered a layout change, and it will be on the news tomorrow morning.

The crackdown on organized crime is underway, yet now there have been incidents of forced demolition and construction resulting in injuries and deaths. Isn't this just courting disaster?

Those in positions of authority must make their stance clear, control public opinion, and occupy the high ground in public discourse.

Then I'm sorry, but we can only pick the weakest one, the one with the least vested interest, and we'll have to be ruthless with it.

The Shengshi Nanmen project was urgently halted, and the project site was sealed off overnight, with the surrounding area cordoned off.

Song Chang had limited information, but such a rapid pace was not normal. The task was coming down from above, and Song Chang's media sensitivity made it easy for him to sense that someone was trying to sabotage Shengshi, or even destroy it.

Otherwise, it's not uncommon for one or two people to die on construction sites. In the past, when five or six people died, the petitioners went up to the next level, but the matter was eventually suppressed. Now, the news of this person's death has just come out and there's such an overwhelming crackdown. This is obviously premeditated.

Moreover, the suppression is relentless.

"No wonder Qingcheng is so upset, Shengshi is her life." Song Chang clicked his tongue, his eyes reddening. "Shengshi is her obsession, the last compensation she can leave for Qingyao."

She knew best what Xu Qingcheng had been through. Qingyao had just gone in, Xu Shengchang had suffered a stroke, suppliers had come to collect debts, and one legal case after another followed. Xu Qingcheng didn't understand anything at that time. She almost knelt down to those people. Give her some time to calm down.

She sold all the fixed assets that the Xu family could sell and invested them in Shengshi. Song Chang said she was crazy. In the end, when Shengshi collapsed, she lost everything.

At that time, Qingcheng told her, "Changchang, Qingyao has a criminal record, and his future will be very difficult. I can't let him suffer scorn and contempt. I want my brother to live the rest of his life with his head held high. He did nothing wrong. He didn't kill anyone, and he didn't intentionally kill anyone to cover up the accident. He shouldn't have to suffer like this. I will risk my life to protect Shengshi. It belongs to Qingyao, it is Qingyao's hope, and it is also my hope."

"If a person loses hope, all that's left is despair. I really don't know who drove her to this point. Is this directed at you or at her?" Song Chang's eyes were a little red. "You don't know what happened when I picked her up at the Vienna Hotel..."

"Where?" Fu Jingting suddenly spoke, his voice hoarse and imposing. "Where did you just say you picked her up?"