Spoiled Sparrow

In the dead of night, the VIP ward was so quiet that only the dripping of the IV tube could be heard. Ruan Qing lay fast asleep on the hospital bed, the scars on her wrists and ankles shocking to behold.

Youyou, who was receiving an IV drip on the bed next to me, looked much better.

Both are out of danger, but they still need to be hospitalized for observation for a few days.

He Xunnan tucked the blanket around his daughter, then walked over to Ruan Qing, picked up her wrist with the IV drip, and gently wiped it.

The heartache in his eyes was almost overflowing.

The moment I turned around, I met a gloomy gaze from the doorway.

Fu Chen stood at the door, his wounds on his arm and back freshly stitched up, the smell of gunpowder and blood still lingering on him, exuding an aura that kept people at bay.

He Xunnan put down the hot towel, walked out calmly, and gently closed the door behind him.

The two men stood side by side against the wall. In the empty corridor, only the exchange of their eyes remained, creating a tense atmosphere.

After a long silence, Fu Chen spoke first: "He Xunnan, who exactly are you?"

What is your purpose in approaching me?

What are these women who are getting close to me up to?

It's not a question, it's an examination.

He Xunan looked up upon hearing this: "What do you mean by this, President Fu? The business deal was arranged by your fiancée, Zhao Xiyao. Shouldn't you ask her about it?"

As for Miss Ruan, it's just that my daughter likes her, and she's willing to recognize her as her daughter. Why, is that not allowed?

He stared into Fu Chen's eyes, his expression a mix of question and provocation: "Mr. Fu, your wedding is just around the corner, why are you still concerned about other women?"

When the middleman introduced Fu Chen that day, he and Zhao Xiyao acted like an Oscar-winning couple.

He Xunan's every word pushed Fu Chen to the edge of his patience, making him even more convinced that his partner had ulterior motives.

Chen Yan honestly confessed everything about Ruan Qing and He Xun Nan. He was furious that they were blatantly causing trouble right under his nose.

His tone turned icy, laced with intense aggression: "No one in this world dares to steal my woman. Do you really think she'd be so naive as to become your child's stepmother?"

He Xunan stared into Fu Chen's eyes and calmly said, "Mr. Fu, let's make a bet."

"What are we betting on?"

"I bet Ruan Qing will choose me, I bet I can take her away."

In just a few seconds, Fu Chen had already cursed all the swear words in his mind.

If they hadn't just signed a contract worth hundreds of millions, the two of them could have really gotten into a fight in the hospital.

The tense atmosphere between the two was broken by a series of hurried footsteps.

Upon hearing this, they looked over and saw an elderly woman with disheveled white hair, panting heavily, running towards them in a shaky manner.

Fu Chen immediately became alert and stared intently at her.

After what happened to Ruan Qing, he now suspects everyone equally.

As she approached, Fu Chen's face instantly darkened, followed by a chilling look of disgust that crept into his eyes as he stared intently at her.

Ruan Qing's adoptive mother, Shen Zhaolan.

Back then, she tacitly allowed her husband to use Ruan Qing as a bargaining chip in a marriage alliance, and under the instigation of her own daughter, she cruelly abandoned her on New Year's Eve.

She lost her husband and son within a week, and aged twenty years instantly. The once well-dressed lady now looked like an old woman.

She shouted excitedly, "Let me in! I want to see Qingqing! I want to see my daughter! My daughter..."

Her voice trembled, and she collapsed to the ground, her cries echoing down the corridor.

If any passerby saw this scene, they would surely say that the loving mother had a hard life.

Fu Chen, however, did not indulge her at all, his tall figure blocking the doorway.

Shen Zhaolan was so overwhelmed by his powerful aura that she leaned back and almost fell headfirst.

Rumor had it that the men of the Fu family were notoriously tyrannical, so she dared not look Fu Chen in the eye and instead went to beg He Xun Nan for help.

"Please, please let me see my daughter!"

"Qingqing is someone I raised myself. If I hadn't taken her in back then, she would have died long ago! I treat her like my own daughter, she can't abandon me..."

He Xunan, who had been silent all along, frowned slightly upon hearing her words, his eyes filled with questions.

She wailed over and over again, and Fu Chen impatiently delivered the fatal blow: "Then go die! Isn't your daughter waiting for you on the road to the underworld?"

Fu Chen's voice was extremely low and devoid of any warmth.

He had already witnessed the true colors of the Su family five years ago.

After he took Ruan Qing away, Su Mingsheng heard that it was the Fu family in Beijing who took her away, so he immediately sent someone to the old master of the Fu family to demand seventeen years of child support.

At that time, Fu Chen had just returned from abroad and had just taken over the company that his father had completely controlled. His father used this incident to make him lose his power.

From then on, Su Mingsheng would ask Fu Chen for money every now and then.

It wasn't until Su Mingsheng used Ruan Qing's reputation to threaten Fu Chen that Fu Chen could no longer tolerate it and seized an important cooperative project under the Su family. Su Mingsheng became depressed and addicted to gambling.

He originally intended to let the Su family live like this, but unexpectedly, he gave them the opportunity to harm Ruan Qing.

To cut the weeds, you must pull them out by the roots.

Fu Chen closed his eyes: "Get out. Don't let her see you again, or else..."

Before he finished speaking, all three people present understood the implied meaning.

Shen Zhaolan, who was sitting on the ground, turned pale and collapsed to the ground.

He Xunnan bent down to help her: "Auntie, the ground is cold. Come, let me help you to a chair."

Fu Chen was truly amazed when the person who had been a mere spectator suddenly became so gentle.

This man is even better at pretending than him.

Chen Yan made a phone call, leaving only He Xunan and Shen Zhaolan in the corridor.

Shen Zhaolan glanced at him timidly, unsure of who he was, and finally asked, "Child, are you Qingqing's friend?"

He Xunnan did not give her a direct answer.

"Auntie, I know how hard it was for you back then. Where did you find Qingqing?"

When she wakes up, I can tell her about it. Maybe she'll remember your kindness and plead with President Fu on her behalf.

Shen Zhaolan grasped at a straw, pounded her chest, and began to recall the past: "Back then, I was in poor health after giving birth. On a snowy day, I saw her wrapped in a small basket, smiling so adorably."

As I squatted down, I found a note in the basket. It said that the child's parents were unable to raise her, so they had abandoned her. They hoped that someone would take the child away and raise her properly.

I had just lost my daughter and thought this must be a blessing from heaven, so I took Qingqing home and raised her for seventeen years.

So many years have passed in the blink of an eye, and I truly treat her like my own daughter.

He Xun Nan nodded slightly, his tone softening as he gently coaxed, "Auntie, is it the Second People's Hospital of Liu County, Y City?"

Shen Zhaolan's throat tightened, and she stammered for a long time, unable to utter a complete sentence: "Who...who are you?!"

Her reaction had already given He Xunnan the answer he wanted.

He stood up and looked down at her: "What a brilliant lie you've concocted."

"Did you ever imagine this day when you stole the child from the delivery room?"