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

Fu Jingting looked at her quietly and instructed the driver, "You get out first and wait a little further away."

Xu Qingcheng's mind went blank for a moment; she instinctively sensed danger. "What do you want to do?"

The driver had already opened the car door and gotten out. The interior of the car was briefly lit before returning to darkness as the door closed.

Xu Qingcheng gripped the seat even tighter. "Fu Jingting, can't you listen to me? I don't need a medical examination. I'm fine. I was lying. I don't feel any pain anymore."

Ignoring her nagging, the man bent down, grabbed her ankles, and easily flipped her onto the back seat.

Xu Qingcheng wanted to kick him, but the violent movement was painful and she couldn't muster any strength.

He even turned on his phone's flashlight to shine a light on it.

Xu Qingcheng was so angry that she couldn't speak. Her face turned bright red in the darkness, and her legs kept fidgeting to stop him from looking.

Fu Jingting was kicked, and he lost his grip on the phone, which fell to the ground. The man hissed as he picked up the phone and threatened her, "If you don't behave, I'll take a picture and send it to the doctor."

"Fu Jingting, you're a pervert!"

"almost."

"What do you mean 'almost'? You are!" Xu Qingcheng was furious, her face flushed, and she felt like her head was about to boil over.

Fortunately, Fu Jingting's examination was quick, and he let go of her hand. Xu Qingcheng quickly sat up.

The man waited until she had finished getting ready before opening the car door and getting out.

Xu Qingcheng was the only one left in the car. She slammed her head heavily against the car seat.

I felt both embarrassed and shy.

Xu Qingcheng never imagined that she would be so intimate with him one day.

She was suffering inside, and even her shyness was seen as affectation by others.

Tears welled up in her eyes, but she forced them back.

The old lady looked her up and down, and her first words were, "You're quite a pretty young lady. I'm not familiar with the Xu family. I have met your maternal grandfather, though. Mr. Zhao is a mentor and educator; many have achieved success under his guidance. You do resemble your grandfather a bit. Girl, you can tell me what you need."

She only had two requests, nothing more.

"Are you sure that's all you want? Think it over. I'm only giving you this one chance." The old lady smiled, but Xu Qingcheng felt immense pressure as she stared at her.

"I've made up my mind. That's all."

Even though she knew she could go even further, and that the fact that Old Mrs. Fu had brought up her maternal grandfather was a signal, Xu Qingcheng still didn't make any more outrageous demands.

Her contact with Fu Jingting wasn't very long, but over the course of a few months, he took good care of her.

There were some things he could have easily avoided helping her with. A simple word, a message, or a word of advice could have saved her from making a mistake. Dealing with those widely discussed rumors wouldn't have bought her any time.

Xu Qingcheng was well aware of these seemingly insignificant yet extremely useful forms of assistance.

Therefore, at this moment, she could use the woman's reputation as leverage to make him take responsibility, or to get the Fu family to provide greater benefits.

But she just couldn't say it.

She knew all too well what it meant to suffer in silence like a mute eating bitter melon, so she didn't want to drag anyone else down with her experience of the same thing.

The old lady stared sharply at her. "I've heard about the Xu family's situation. Shengchang Group is now riddled with problems. Even if the Fu family doesn't intervene, how long can you hold out?"

"I'll hold on until I can't hold on any longer."

"Alright. Girl, for saying that, I'll grant your request, but remember your promise."

Xu Qingcheng closed her eyes gently, holding on until she couldn't hold on any longer. She often felt desperate, as if she was about to collapse, but she would always manage to stand up unsteadily.

Just like this time, she can hold on.

After an unknown amount of time, the car door was opened again.

Xu Qingcheng looked up in a panic, her expression not yet composed, and it all fell into Fu Jingting's eyes.

He was carrying a medicine bag and a macaron pink water bottle with bunny ears.

The pretty and cute cup looked strangely out of place in his hands.

Fu Jingting got in, the car door closed, and the entire space darkened again.

He shoved a water glass into my hand.

He turned on the roof light, opened the medicine box, and dispensed two anti-inflammatory pills. "Drink this."

Xu Qingcheng stared at him, somewhat dazed. The man frowned. "Are you stupid?"

"You're the one who's stupid."

Xu Qingcheng took the medicine from his hand, unscrewed the lid of the thermos, and brought it to her lips to test the temperature.

Warm.

The hype is just right.

Xu Qingcheng glanced at him furtively and found him staring at her with a cold expression in his eyes.

She looked away and quickly took her medicine.

"Take this medicine as directed. This is an ointment for external application." He handed it to her, then raised an eyebrow. "Need any help?"

"No need," Xu Qingcheng hurriedly refused. "I can manage on my own."

The man glanced at her, then nodded as if he had thought of something. "That works too, you're quite skilled yourself."

Xu Qingcheng's face suddenly turned bright red, as red as dripping blood.

She quickly turned her face to the other side, remembering him pouring her water in the bathtub, and she couldn't control herself...

Xu Qingcheng was filled with resentment. Why did she have to retain these memories?!

Fu Jingting couldn't help but smile when he saw her like this.

He handed her a piece of paper, a hospital note: "Doctor's orders. Precautions."

The handwriting was the doctor's usual flamboyant style, but it was barely legible.

It's simply a matter of keeping clean, avoiding certain activities, not engaging in strenuous exercise, getting plenty of rest, and applying topical medication in conjunction with oral anti-inflammatory drugs...

"Can you understand it? Shall I read it to you?"

Xu Qingcheng hurriedly threw the doctor's prescription into the bag, "I can read it myself. My education level is no lower than yours."

"..."

Fu Jingting glanced at her, but ultimately said nothing.

He called his driver to come and pick up the car.

Xu Qingcheng felt a bitter taste in her mouth, so she unscrewed the lid and took another sip of water.

Seeing her frown and stick out her tongue, Fu Jingting reached into his pants pocket.

He turned her face around and, without her noticing, shoved something into her mouth.

Hard, fructose.

Sweet.

The driver came over, opened the car door, and I got in.

"Send her to Jinliu Bay."

The car started, and the overhead lights inside the carriage were turned off.

Xu Qingcheng suddenly grabbed his shirt and climbed over to him, almost sitting on his lap. She leaned down to kiss him, her tongue pressing against the candy in his mouth.

She stepped back slightly, looked at him, and said, "Try it, is it sweet?"

The motion-activated lights in the underground parking space flickered on and off as cars drove by. Two lines of tears silently streamed down her face, down her chin, and dripped onto his shirt.

Xu Qingcheng suddenly covered his eyes with her hand and said with a smile, "Don't look at me."

Her voice choked with emotion.

"Fu Jingting, believe me, I won't bother you, absolutely not."