Director Jiang, don't let the divorce get out of control.

Shen Yicheng quickly opened the work schedule and glanced at it, his tone gentle: "There's nothing urgent in the hospital these two days, so I'll approve two days off for you. Go back and get some rest."

Wen Ruan wanted to decline, but the nausea she had just suppressed resurfaced, and her chest felt extremely tight.

She finally nodded her thanks: "Thank you, Director Shen."

After leaving the office, Wen Ruan packed her things and took a taxi home.

I got back to the apartment, but it was only 2 p.m.

Wen Ruan changed out of her formal attire, took a shower, and then lay down on the bed, falling into a deep sleep.

In her dream, she was enveloped in a thick darkness, her feet weighed down by an immense weight, making it impossible to move an inch. A suffocating sense of despair enveloped her completely...

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't escape or break free.

……

At nine o'clock in the evening, Jiang Yubai returned home from get off work and found the living room completely dark and quiet.

He turned on the light and scanned the area, but didn't see Wen Ruan, so he frowned.

Hasn't he returned yet?

Jiang Yubai took out his phone and dialed a number. A series of ringing sounds came from the room.

He knocked on the door following the sound, but no one answered.

After pondering for a while, Jiang Yubai slowly pushed open the door and entered. He saw Wen Ruan curled up in a small ball on the bed. He raised his hand and turned on the bedside lamp. The moment the light illuminated the bedroom, his eyes darkened.

Her forehead was covered in a thin layer of sweat, her face was flushed, and she was breathing rapidly.

"Wen Ruan." Jiang Yubai called her softly as he bent down and touched her forehead.

The temperature was noticeably hot to the touch.

He called out to Wen Ruan twice, but she didn't respond.

Jiang Yubai took out his phone and dialed a voice call.

It rang twice before being answered. A casual voice came from the other end, "Director Jiang, calling me at this hour... what's up? Missing me?"

"Enough with the nonsense." Jiang Yubai's voice was low, suppressing a barely perceptible tension: "Bring your things to my apartment. My wife has a high fever."

"Oh, your wife? Let me think... we've been married for three years and I haven't seen her yet, and in the middle of the night—"

"Lu Cheng'an!" Jiang Yubai's voice deepened. "Twenty minutes."

"Alright, alright, Director Jiang has spoken, how could I not come?" Lu Cheng'an chuckled, his tone irritating. "But let me make this clear first, I'm holding a grudge against you for your attitude this first time meeting your sister-in-law."

Twenty minutes later, Lu Chengan arrived on time with a medical kit.

"The high fever was caused by weakness and exposure to cold. After these two bottles of medicine, the fever should subside." He deftly prepared the medicine and put the IV drip on Wen Ruan. "When are you planning to introduce her to the brothers?"

"Let's see." Jiang Yubai's aura was extremely low.

"Fine, everyone's saying you came back to China for Jiang Wanxing. Aren't you going to explain? Aren't you afraid she'll run away?" Lu Cheng'an joked.

"understood."

Knowing he was being rude, Lu Cheng'an yawned and went home.

In the middle of the night, Wen Ruan finished her IV drip, and her high fever gradually subsided.

Jiang Yubai sat by her bedside, never leaving.

In the middle of the night, Wen Ruan finished her IV drip and her high fever gradually subsided. Jiang Yubai sat by her bedside, his gaze fixed on her restless little face, his dark eyes deep and unfathomable.

Suddenly, Wen Ruan's breathing quickened, and soft moans escaped from her slightly parted lips, filled with extreme fear and resistance.

"No...don't come any closer...go away...go away..."

"Wen Ruan, wake up!" Jiang Yubai's brows furrowed into a deep frown.

"Get away from me...stay away from me..."

Her voice suddenly rose, and her arms waved wildly without her noticing, as if she were desperately trying to avoid or reject something.

Jiang Yubai grasped her flailing hand gently, his strength controlled, as if afraid of hurting her. "Wen Ruan, don't be afraid, I'm here."

Wen Ruan seemed oblivious, her eyelashes trembling violently, tears streaming down her face, and sobbing repeatedly in her throat, "It's disgusting...no...don't touch me..."

Her voice grew increasingly hoarse, and she curled up in discomfort and helplessness.

Jiang Yubai felt a tightness in his chest as he watched, his eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses filled with a fierce aura.

Who exactly left her with such a terrifying shadow?

Is it Wen Shaokang?

He held her hand, patiently comforting her again and again, his voice so pleasant it was reassuring: "Wen Ruan, I am Jiang Yubai. With me here, no one can bully you."

Whether it was from hearing his name or voice, Wen Ruan suddenly opened her eyes and gasped for breath.

Her empty eyes met Jiang Yubai's dark eyes, and she slowly pulled herself out of the terrifying nightmare.

"Is there anything else that's bothering you?" he asked in a magnetic voice.

Wen Ruan shook her head, her throat dry, tears still clinging to her eyelashes, looking disheveled and vulnerable.

"That's good. Call me next time you feel unwell."

"Okay, thank you for your help."

The warmth of his hand soothed Wen Ruan's tense nerves and panic from the past few days.

"If you don't want to trouble me, then get well soon."

After saying that, Jiang Yubai picked up a towel and gently wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, then got up and fetched a new glass of warm water.

Wen Ruan watched the man's movements quietly. In the warm yellow light of the bedside lamp, his handsome face, broad shoulders, and soft yet caring eyes silently soothed her heart, which was pounding restlessly from the nightmare.

"I just had a nightmare..." Her voice was weak and hoarse from just waking up, and she stopped before she could finish speaking.

Seeing that she didn't want to go into details, Jiang Yubai stopped her at the right moment, saying, "I'm here, don't be afraid."

Six simple words are more effective than any comforting words.

"Mmm." Wen Ruan couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness in her heart.

Was he this gentle and considerate towards Jiang Wanxing as well?

Perhaps it was because of her illness, but at this moment, Wen Ruan felt a little reluctant to leave this warmth.

Later, with the help of the antipyretic, Wen Ruan fell asleep again and slept very soundly.

Jiang Yubai sat by the bedside without leaving her side, his eyes filled with a chilling malice as he gazed at her sleeping face.

Her panicked ramblings just now sounded more like real trauma she had suffered.

Thinking of this, he sent Lu Cheng'an a text message: "Find out all of Wen Ruan's past after she moved into the Wen family's residence."

The next morning.

Wen Ruan slowly woke up.

Her gaze instinctively drifted to the side, and the moment she saw Jiang Yubai hunched over the edge of the bed, her heart skipped a beat.

The man had shed his aloofness, and the morning light softened his hard features, making him extremely handsome.

Her heart raced involuntarily, and she quickly looked away, twitching her fingers before realizing that Jiang Yubai had been holding her hand the whole time…

Wen Ruan's heart trembled with heat.

She held her breath and tried to move as gently as possible, trying to pull her hand back.

But Jiang Yubai was a light sleeper.

He woke up the moment she moved, the wariness in his eyes vanishing instantly when it fell on Wen Ruan's face, his voice slightly hoarse from just waking up: "Awake?"

Before he could finish speaking, he raised his hand and placed it on her forehead. "The fever has gone down."

Wen Ruan didn't dare look into the concern in his eyes, afraid that she would become overwhelmed by it. "You worked hard last night."

Jiang Yubai interrupted her polite words with a curt tone, "Between us, there's no need for formalities."

After a few seconds of silence, Wen Ruan finally couldn't suppress her unease and asked cautiously, "I...didn't talk nonsense last night?"

What she feared most was—

Unconsciously, she revealed a past she wanted to forget but found difficult to talk about.