It fell from his fingertips

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yanchen's expression immediately changed.

His mind went blank with a sudden, overwhelming sound.

Even though he emphasized it twice, why didn't his brother cooperate?

Did you not hear his hint?

Zhou Yanchen wanted to emphasize it again, but he saw that Tang Luoqing had already closed her eyes in disappointment.

Zhou Yanchen became even more anxious.

He quickly emphasized again, "Brother, how could you not have received the report? It must be that the assistant hasn't reported this to head office yet. Here's the thing, this morning, I, along with Young Master Liao from Haicheng International, spent the whole morning discussing the operating rights issue with the domestic head of Q Company. We..."

"The banquet ended."

The person on the other end of the phone interrupted Zhou Yanchen: "If I remember correctly, the relevant contracts with Q's family were signed yesterday. So, what kind of management rights issue are you discussing today?"

Zhou Yanchen's face turned pale.

Before he could explain anything to Zhou Jinbai on the other end of the phone, Zhou Yanchen hung up immediately.

He panicked completely this time, grabbing Tang Luoqing's wrist and anxiously explaining, "Baby, please listen to me! I... I really don't know why my brother lied. I was clearly discussing a collaboration with a client this morning. This must be a lie my brother told on purpose, although... although I don't know why he lied. Wait, I have evidence, wait for me..."

Zhou Yanchen hurriedly opened his phone's photo album and flipped through the latest photos. The photos showed Zhou Yanchen having dinner with a group of clients at a restaurant.

In the photo, Zhou Yanchen is seen raising his glass and clinking glasses with the other person, seemingly celebrating a pleasant collaboration.

Tang Luoqing looked at the photo on Zhou Yanchen's phone screen, her heart filled with mixed feelings.

She knew she shouldn't trust Zhou Yanchen anymore, because Zhou Jinbai would never lie to her, but she also felt that it didn't matter if she was lied to. She didn't want to go through the trouble of whether he was lying or not, because that would only make Zhou Yanchen apologize endlessly, and even the way he apologized might be a lie.

Tang Luoqing nodded in disappointment, her voice low: "I believe you."

Zhou Yanchen's worried eyes immediately lit up with joy: "I knew you were the best, baby. I won't lie to you again."

The next moment, Tang Luoqing closed her eyes wearily and said, "I'm a little tired now. You can go out first. I want to take a nap."

Zhou Yanchen looked at Tang Luoqing with a puzzled expression, remained silent for a moment, and then turned and left the room.

After stepping out of the room, Zhou Yanchen glanced at the lipstick stain on his shirt and pinched his brow in exasperation.

Immediately, the phone vibrated with an incoming call.

Zhou Yanchen picked up his phone, glanced at it, and answered the call with annoyance.

"Is Miss Tang alright?"

Su Leqi's voice came from the other end of the phone.

Zhou Yanchen glanced at the closed door, his tenderness gradually replaced by anxiety: "It's nothing, but could you please be more careful next time? Don't leave lipstick marks on my shirt collar, Su Leqi, did you do that on purpose?"

There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone, followed by Su Leqi's heartbroken voice: "Zhou Yanchen, is this how you see me?"

Zhou Yanchen sensed something was off about Su Leqi's tone and softened his own: "I didn't mean that, I just..."

He had a vague feeling that he and Tang Luoqing could never go back to how they were before.

Not only Tang Luoqing towards him, but also him towards Tang Luoqing.

There's something deep inside me that was once suppressed and buried, now it's eager to break free, as if it might burst forth at any moment.

Tang Luoqing, who was just a door away, slowly opened her eyes as she heard the footsteps fading into the distance and the sound of the door closing.

Zhou Yanchen had already left, and Tang Luoqing felt a void in her heart.

Over the next few days, Zhou Yanchen would appear in the ward every afternoon and stay for a while, then go to the company in the morning to handle work, saying that he had specially applied to the president to temporarily return to work.

Tang Luoqing didn't pursue the details, but instead stared at the flowers he brought, which he said were for Zhou Jinbai, after Lu Yu came to see her.

Tang Luoqing likes sunflowers, a fact that even Zhou Yanchen seems unaware of, because when he was pursuing her, he sent her roses every day. How could Zhou Jinbai know that?

Is it a coincidence?

Since that day, Zhou Jinbai has never appeared again, seemingly reverting to his identity as Zhou Yanchen's older brother once more.

Tang Luoqing stroked the milk candy in her arms, her mind blank, lost in thought.

When Shen Baiyan arrived, she saw the scene described above.

"You're really something, only telling me when you're about to be discharged."

Shen Baiyan glared at Tang Luoqing, annoyed. "If I hadn't happened to see the news about Grandma Tang's parents and asked you, were you planning to keep quiet?"

Tang Luoqing put the kitten down, took Shen Baiyan's hand, and apologized gently, "I was wrong. I was just thinking that you're so busy with work and live far away, so..."

"So what if we're far apart?"

Shen Baiyan hugged Tang Luoqing tenderly and sighed, "You know, I've never believed Zhou Yanchen was truly sincere towards you. Of course I was worried when you were in danger, afraid that guy wouldn't take good care of you. But I didn't expect him to be so reliable this time. I heard he went to your grandma's house and rescued you, is that right?"

Tang Luoqing was taken aback, a look of confusion crossing her eyes: "No, who told you that?"

Shen Baiyan was also taken aback: "No? But I heard from people in your village during an interview that your boyfriend rushed in to save you despite everyone else's attempts to stop him, and that his leg seemed to have been cut by something and was bleeding a lot. Who else could care about you so much besides Zhou Yanchen? How come... no?"

Upon hearing this, Tang Luoqing's heart tightened.

Is your leg injured? Is it bleeding a lot?

So, that's why he noticed Zhou Jinbai's walking posture was a bit off?

But he avoided talking about it at the time, perhaps because he was afraid it would put her under psychological pressure?

"What's wrong?"

Shen Baiyan noticed Tang Luoqing's strange expression and asked, puzzled, "It can't really not be Zhou Yanchen, can it? Then who saved you? Could it be someone who has a crush on you?"

Tang Luoqing's mind went blank.

She bit her lower lip hard, trying to stay rational with the pain, and then picked up her phone to call her neighbor.

As soon as the call connected, Tang Luoqing asked, "Auntie, do you know who saved me back then?"

The elderly neighbor asked, "Isn't the person who saved you your boyfriend?"

"Actually, I've wanted to say this for a long time. Your boyfriend is a really good person. When you came home before, he specially asked us to wait for you at the entrance of the village because he was worried that you might be in danger. This time, he rushed in to save you despite his leg injury."

"You know your house is at the very end of the alley, and there are so many bricks and trees washed away on that road. I can't even imagine how he managed to rush in and find you without any protective clothing. Let me give you a piece of advice: don't make a fuss over such a good man."

The old woman rattled off a whole bunch of things, and Tang Luoqing's breathing tightened as she listened, her eyes reddening.