Chapter 32

Lu Xixiao's voice was like it had crossed thousands of mountains and waded through countless rivers, taking deep root in her heart. Like a magical sea-calming needle, it finally brought some of Zhou Wan's rationality back.

This was not the time to be helpless and at a loss.

Zhou Wan haphazardly wiped away her tears with the back of her hand and stepped onto the ambulance with Lu Xixiao.

The nurse gave Grandma an emergency examination and treatment. “She has a high fever, it might be caused by the flu.”

The weather had turned cold, and a new round of flu was once again sweeping through the city.

“Then what should we do? My grandma is old, will something happen to her from a high fever?” Zhou Wan asked, her voice thick with suppressed sobs.

“Young lady, don't worry for now. We'll be at the hospital soon. We need to run a full check-up first,” the nurse comforted her.

Lu Xixiao wrapped an arm around Zhou Wan's shoulders, pulling her into his embrace, and said in a low voice, “Nothing will happen.”

Zhou Wan wiped her tears, but they kept falling. “It's all my fault. I knew Grandma would endure her discomfort and not say anything, but I didn't even notice she was feeling unwell with a high fever.”

…

Grandma was wheeled away for a check-up.

Zhou Wan sat outside, dazed and helpless.

When she was nervous, she would unconsciously pick at her fingers. By now, she had picked the skin on her fingertips raw. Lu Xixiao glanced over, sat down beside her, and took her hand in his.

“Lu Xixiao.” Zhou Wan's voice trembled. “Today is Christmas Eve.”

“Mn.” His voice was deep. “So your grandma will be fine.”

Zhou Wan's head was muddled, unable to think clearly about anything. Lu Xixiao suddenly asked, “Are you thirsty?”

“What?”

She looked up at Lu Xixiao's dark, deep eyes, registered the question, and shook her head.

He raised his hand, his index finger knuckle brushing over her dry lips. “You've bitten them raw.” He quickly withdrew his hand, stood up, and said, “I'll go buy some water.”

After Lu Xixiao left, Zhou Wan was the only one left in the corridor.

She lost all sense of time passing. She didn't know how long it had been before the nurse finally came out and said that Grandma's life wasn't in danger. It was just inflammation caused by the high fever and complications from uremia, and she needed to be put on an IV drip at the hospital first.

The taut nerves throughout Zhou Wan's body finally relaxed, and she thanked the nurse.

Grandma was settled in an infusion ward. Zhou Wan sat by the bed holding Grandma's hand, calling her name softly a few times, but she didn't wake up.

“Your grandma is probably asleep now. It's fine, let her sleep,” the nurse said. “Just press the call bell when this IV bag is empty.”

Zhou Wan nodded and thanked her again.

Grandma was old and tormented by all sorts of complications.

She would have minor aches and pains every few days. Afraid of worrying Zhou Wan, she often hid them. If she could endure it, she would. If she couldn't, it would end up like today.

She sat by the hospital bed for a while, then thought of Lu Xixiao.

She sent Lu Xixiao a message saying she was in the infusion room, but she didn't get a reply. After a moment's hesitation, Zhou Wan went out to look for him.

The convenience store was right across from the hospital.

Zhou Wan had just walked out of the hospital's main entrance when she saw Lu Xixiao's back. He was wearing his school uniform today, his figure particularly conspicuous.

Zhou Wan jogged two steps forward and called out, “Lu Xixiao.”

He turned around. “Mn.”

Only after she came to a stop behind him did Zhou Wan notice a black sedan parked in front of him. The rear door was open, and a white-haired but hale and hearty old man was leaning out.

Lu Xixiao bent over to support his arm. “Slowly.”

Zhou Wan's eyelashes trembled. She vaguely understood that this old man before her was probably Old Master Lu.

The old man looked at Zhou Wan for a moment. His appearance was amiable, yet his aura exuded authority. “Ah Xiao, is this your classmate?”

Lu Xixiao said flatly, “My girlfriend.”

Zhou Wan froze.

Old Master Lu punched him on the shoulder, half-smiling and half-scolding, “You little rascal.”

Zhou Wan lowered her eyes and greeted him politely, “Hello, Grandpa.”

“Eh, hello, hello.” Old Master Lu was cheerful. He then asked, “Why are you two at the hospital?”

Zhou Wan answered, “My grandma is sick.”

“Oh, how is she now? Is there anything I can help with?”

Zhou Wan quickly waved her hands. “No need, Grandpa. She's already on an IV drip, it's nothing serious.”

“Alright. You're Ah Xiao's classmate. If you need my help with anything, you can just tell me.”

Old Master Lu was different from how Zhou Wan had imagined him.

In her imagination, the pillar of such a large family would surely be decisive, meticulous, serious, and rarely smile. But in reality, Old Master Lu had no airs about him.

Zhou Wan didn't dare to look at him. She kept her eyes lowered and thanked him again.

Although she and Guo Xiangling didn't look much alike, she felt guilty and was afraid that the sharp-eyed Old Master Lu would see through her.

“Alright, don't you worry about it.” Lu Xixiao spoke in a lazy tone. “Hurry up and go upstairs.”

“You're not coming up with me?” Old Master Lu asked.

Lu Xixiao gave a faint “mn.”

Old Master Lu gave him a slightly reproachful look, but in the end, he didn't say anything. No matter how you looked at it, the things in the past were his own son's fault.

“Ah Xiao, when you have time, you should go home and spend more time with your dad. There's no need for a father and son to be so estranged that they never see each other again.”

Lu Xixiao tugged at the corner of his mouth but didn't speak.

Just as he was speaking, the elevator in front of them reached the first floor and opened with a ‘ding’.

Zhou Wan's steps suddenly faltered—Guo Xiangling walked out of the elevator and ran over, calling out eagerly to Old Master Lu, “Dad.”

Zhou Wan's reaction was too obvious. Lu Xixiao noticed and turned his head to glance at her.

“What's wrong?”

Zhou Wan forced a smile and shook her head. “Nothing.”

At this moment, Old Master Lu was not as amiable as before. He grunted “mn” and asked, “How is Lu Zhongyue?”

“The temperature suddenly dropped, and he caught a cold. Old Lu had surgery a while ago, didn't he? His resistance is a bit low, so he developed a slight fever,” Guo Xiangling said. “Dad, why did you come to the hospital so late?”

“I scheduled a physical check-up and decided to stop by and see him.” As Old Master Lu spoke, he turned back to look at Zhou Wan and said, “The temperature has indeed dropped quickly recently, and many people have colds and fevers. By the way, young lady, what is your name?”

Following Old Master Lu's line of sight, Guo Xiangling finally noticed Zhou Wan.

Her face instantly turned pale.

She naturally assumed that Zhou Wan had deliberately calculated all of this, and a vicious, resentful light burst forth from her eyes.

Zhou Wan was young and no longer wanted to be involved in this.

She didn't know if Old Master Lu had investigated Guo Xiangling, nor did she know if the old master knew her name. For a moment, she was silent, not daring to answer.

Lu Xixiao thought she was still shaken from her grandma's collapse and hadn't recovered yet. He placed a hand on her shoulder and answered for her, “Zhou Wan.”

Old Master Lu nodded and instructed Guo Xiangling to have a word with the hospital staff later and ask them to take good care of Zhou Wan's grandma.

Guo Xiangling gritted her teeth, forced a smile, and replied, “Okay.”

…

After the group of people left, Lu Xixiao watched Zhou Wan for a moment, then reached out and poked her cheek. “What are you spacing out for? Lost your soul?”

“No.”

In a corner he couldn't see, Zhou Wan clenched her fists, forcing herself to calm down again. “Are you really not going up to see him?”

“Not going.”

“My grandma is fine now, she's on a drip.” Zhou Wan looked up at him. “Thank you for coming with me. It's getting late, you should go back and rest.”

Lu Xixiao could, of course, hear the change in Zhou Wan's tone.

It had suddenly become distant and stiff, much like when they had first met.

He raised an eyebrow, lifted his hand to pinch her chin, and tilted it up. With his eyes half-lidded, he frivolously sized her up for a moment, then chuckled. “Saw my grandpa and got scared silly, huh.”

Zhou Wan's heart settled back into its place slightly.

Just now, after Lu Xixiao said her name, Old Master Lu's expression hadn't changed. He probably didn't know who she really was.

She pursed her lips. “Why did you just tell your grandpa directly that I'm your girlfriend?”

“Aren't you?” Lu Xixiao pinched her cheek. “He seems to like you, which isn't easy. To be able to handle that old man.”

His tone was impudent and devil-may-care.

“Is that so?” Zhou Wan mumbled.

“He just likes well-behaved little girls.” Lu Xixiao said nonchalantly, “He was deceived by your appearance.”

Zhou Wan turned her head to the side and said nothing.

Back in the infusion room.

Lu Xixiao placed the bag in his hand on a nearby table, took out a bottle of mineral water from it, twisted it open, and handed it to Zhou Wan.

She thanked him, took it, and drank a mouthful of water.

Lu Xixiao stayed with her for a while, then took out a cigarette case, leaned close to her ear, and whispered, “Going out for a smoke.”

“Mn.”

The IV bag Grandma was on now was a small one, and it was almost empty. Zhou Wan looked up at the IV bottle, waited a moment, then got up to find the nurse.

But as she pushed the door open to leave, she was forcefully bumped into by someone head-on.

Zhou Wan let out a soft cry and staggered backward, barely managing to steady herself. Scalding hot soup had been spilled on her, but thankfully it was only on her jacket and hadn't burned her skin.

The person had just bought takeout from outside and was coming in to eat. They immediately took out a napkin, apologizing while trying to help Zhou Wan wipe it clean.

“It's okay, it's okay,” Zhou Wan said. “I'll just go back and wash it.”

Zhou Wan called the nurse to change the IV bottle, then took off her soiled school uniform jacket. She suddenly noticed that in the bag Lu Xixiao had bought from the convenience store, there wasn't just water, but also a pack of sanitary pads.

Her gaze lowered, and she stared at it for a moment. Her face grew a little hot, and the corners of her mouth lifted very slightly.

She opened it, took one out, and went to the restroom.

Coming out of the restroom stall, Zhou Wan stood in front of the sink.

She looked at herself in the mirror. The corners of her eyes were still a little red, and from exhaustion, the creases of her eyelids had deepened.

She propped her arms on the marble counter, let out a soft breath, and bent down to wash her face.

She shook the water from her hands and was just about to turn and leave when she was suddenly shoved from behind.

“Zhou Wan!” Guo Xiangling glared at her viciously, pointing a finger with light pink nail polish at her. “How did you promise me back then? I gave you 150,000, and you said you wouldn't let the Lu Family know!”

Zhou Wan was already a little dizzy and was nearly pushed to the ground.

Her face was pale as she braced herself with her hands on the sink behind her. “Today was an accident. I didn't expect to run into his grandfather.”

“Do you think the Old Master is someone a little girl like you can fool?!”

Guo Xiangling gritted her teeth, seemingly driven mad with anger by today's events. “Now he knows we met and pretended not to know each other. If one day he finds out you're my daughter, neither of us will even know how we died! Daring to deceive him, I think you don't want to live anymore!”

Zhou Wan clenched her fists, trying to sort through the thoughts in her chaotic mind.

She raised her eyes, staring fixedly at Guo Xiangling without flinching, and said word by word, “Since you know that, you shouldn't have come looking for me now. Aren't you afraid of being seen?”

Guo Xiangling took a step forward in her high heels, grabbed Zhou Wan by the collar, and said in a low voice, “Zhou Wan, don't think you can control me with your little tricks. The roads you've walked are fewer than the bridges I've crossed.”

Zhou Wan's expression didn't change; she even gave a very faint smile.

In a daze, Guo Xiangling seemed to see Lu Xixiao's shadow in her own daughter.

Her voice was gentle, without a hint of pressure, as she said softly, “Whether you can or not isn't for you to decide. After all, I am your daughter.”

Guo Xiangling narrowed her eyes. “You like Lu Xixiao, don't you?”

Zhou Wan clenched her jaw and said nothing.

“Since you like him,” Guo Xiangling released her collar and clapped her hands together, “would you bear to tell him the truth? Let him know you're his stepsister?”

“Do you love Lu Zhongyue?” Zhou Wan looked at her and asked.

Guo Xiangling was taken aback.

Zhou Wan said, “I told you, I'm your daughter, so naturally, I'm like you.”

Zhou Wan washed her hands again, dried them unhurriedly, and looked directly at Guo Xiangling with a calm expression. In a flat voice, she said, “I told you, I won't go looking for Lu Zhongyue, as long as you stop provoking me and my grandma. Otherwise, even if it means blowing everything up and dying with you, I will destroy you.”

…

Suddenly, a voice came from nearby—

“Zhou Wan.”

The young man stood there, his brow slightly furrowed, his eyes cold and menacing, looking in their direction with a hostile expression.