[How tired must she be?]

Luo Siyu never expected to run into Luo Long here. After Gao Xiang divorced him, Luo Siyu hadn’t seen her biological father in over a year, and this long separation left her completely unaware of his current situation.

He used to own a bustling food stall, but more than half a year ago, Zhou Lei managed to shut it down. Luo Long lost the small business he had spent half his life building and was now reduced to working as a cook at someone else’s restaurant just to make ends meet.

At first glance, Zhou Lei might sound like a bully, but the truth is that not all the blame fell on him—Luo Long had indeed crossed the line first.

Here’s what happened:

Over a year ago, Gao Xiang believed she had secured a better future with Zhou Lei and could no longer tolerate living a humdrum life with Luo Long. So, she filed for divorce without hesitation. Luo Long had been content with their modest life until one day, out of the blue, his wife bluntly admitted to having an affair. It would be hard for anyone to accept such news right away, and Luo Long was no exception. What made matters worse was that in his anger, he slapped Gao Xiang—a violent reaction that only deepened the rift between them. That slap later became ammunition for Gao Xiang: she used it both to speed up the divorce process and to gain sympathy from Zhou Lei.

In the end, Luo Long lost his family and, due to the domestic violence charge, ended up with even less property. He was utterly devastated by the loss and harbored deep hatred for Gao Xiang and Zhou Lei.

Yet, despite his resentment, he still harbored feelings for Gao Xiang. In his heart, he believed she had been seduced by her lover, that she was inherently good, and that there was still a chance she might come back to him. After the divorce, he tried numerous times to persuade her to reconcile, but each attempt ended in failure. His hopes were shattered, and he began to spiral into extremism.

He gathered a few friends, planning to beat Zhou Lei to death. Of course, they failed—how could someone like Zhou Lei, who had strong social connections, fall victim so easily? Frustrated and enraged, Luo Long eventually turned his attention to Zhou Lei’s daughter.

He knew Zhou Lei had a teenage daughter named Zhou Leqi, studying at the best school in City A. Wouldn’t Zhou Lei love his child dearly? And wouldn’t he suffer if something happened to his daughter?

About six months ago, during Zhou Leqi’s second attempt at the college entrance exam, Luo Long seized the opportunity. He tracked down the location of her test center and printed countless copies of explicit chat records between Zhou Lei and Gao Xiang. On the day of the exam, he stormed into the testing site and shoved them into Zhou Leqi’s hands.

The girl turned pale but couldn’t scream or cry under the watchful eyes of the crowd outside the exam hall. She endured silently, pretending nothing was wrong—but in the end, her performance suffered, forcing her to repeat another year of study.

Luo Long knew deep down that Zhou Lei’s daughter was innocent and shouldn’t have been dragged into the mess of adults. But consumed by his pain and hatred, he had nowhere else to vent his frustration and ultimately targeted an innocent child.

Zhou Lei found out about this incident.

Though Zhou Lei was indeed a shameless scoundrel, as a father, he still loved his child deeply. Luo Long’s actions toward Zhou Leqi crossed a line, prompting Zhou Lei to use his connections to investigate Luo Long’s food stall. He uncovered some hygiene violations, which led to Luo Long’s business being shut down permanently.

Now, having lost his wife, his child, and his livelihood, Luo Long truly had nothing left. He could only work as a cook in someone else’s restaurant to survive while constantly pondering when he might open a new shop or whether he should leave City A altogether.

He never expected to run into his daughter, Luo Siyu, here.

He felt awkward because she saw him in such a pitiful state. Yet, at the same time, he was happy because he loved his children. He wanted to see her and talk to her.

He stood frozen at the kitchen door, nervously wiping his hands on his clothes, unsure how to approach his daughter. But before he could decide, Luo Siyu abruptly stood up, turned around, and headed straight for the restaurant exit. Ding Peng was startled, hurriedly calling for the waiter to settle the bill while shouting after her, “Hey, Siyu, wait for me!”

Wait?

How could she possibly wait?

She had to escape as quickly as possible; otherwise, she would soften.

Her mother had taught her long ago… softness only brought misfortune.

Thursday was the day Yu Qing was discharged from the hospital. Logically, Zhou Leqi should have gone to pick her up, but after getting soaked in the rain last night, she developed a high fever and was barely coherent by morning.

Hou Zihao had stayed by her side all night, sitting on the floor next to her bed. Just before dawn, he heard her delirious muttering. He pulled back her blanket and saw her face flushed red, struggling to breathe heavily. He checked her temperature—it was 38.9°C.

He quickly applied an ice pack and gave her fever-reducing medication. After a while, her temperature finally began to drop. When she opened her eyes hazily, he urged her to take a hot shower and change into dry clothes. She refused, mumbling incoherently that she needed to find Yu Qing.

… He thought she was starting to lose her mind from the fever.

With no other choice, he took her back to the hospital for an IV drip.

By the time she started receiving treatment, it was around 8:30 AM. She fell asleep leaning against the chair in the infusion room while Hou Zihao kept her company for a bit. Realizing Yu Qing would soon be discharged, he quietly slipped out of the infusion room and went to her ward.

It was rather ironic—he had dressed impeccably when he came to the hospital last night, intending to leave a good impression on Yu Qing. But who could have predicted what transpired? Now, not only were his clothes drenched from the rain, but he also looked haggard from staying up all night. He appeared far from presentable.

But Yu Qing didn’t care about any of that.

She had already heard from Zhou Leqi how much help this classmate, Hou Zihao, had provided. Not only had he accompanied her tirelessly, but he had also covered all the expenses. When she tried to repay him, he refused, and it took a lot of persuasion before he reluctantly accepted the money. Moreover, his family had helped arrange the transfer to a better hospital. Even the nurse performing dialysis for Yu Qing casually mentioned how fortunate Zhou Leqi was to be with Hou Zihao.

Yu Qing had long since lost interest in her own life, but deep down, she still cared about Zhou Leqi. Naturally, she felt immense gratitude toward this young man who had taken such good care of her daughter.

She greeted him warmly and asked why he was here.

“I’m here to take you home,” he replied politely.

The young man was courteous and considerate, his words and demeanor reflecting excellent upbringing. However, there was a flicker of unease in his expression that puzzled Yu Qing slightly.

She thanked him profusely, apologizing for troubling him. After a while, she glanced at the door, expecting to see Zhou Leqi but not spotting her. She then asked, “Did QiQi drag you here? That child is so irresponsible, always causing trouble for you.”

Hou Zihao quickly shook his head, rubbing his nose and hesitating before responding, “No, I brought her here… She has a fever and is currently receiving an IV drip.”

Yu Qing was stunned, then visibly panicked. “QiQi has a fever? How did she get a fever? She was fine yesterday… What happened? Has her fever subsided?”

A barrage of questions followed.

Seeing Yu Qing genuinely worried, Hou Zihao reassured her that Zhou Leqi had already taken fever-reducing medication and was stable. The fever was due to getting caught in the rain last night, and with a few days of rest, she would recover.

Only then did Yu Qing relax, calming down enough to go check on Zhou Leqi in the infusion room.

On the way to the infusion room, Hou Zihao wrestled with whether or not to tell Yu Qing everything that had happened last night. If he told her the truth, he feared she might not be able to handle it, especially since she herself had just gone through a harrowing ordeal. But if he didn’t tell her, he worried she wouldn’t fully grasp the severity of the situation—and what if something happened to Zhou Leqi again while he wasn’t around?

He was torn between two difficult choices.

To this day, he still didn’t know exactly what had happened in Zhou Leqi’s household or why Yu Qing had attempted suicide. The lack of information made it hard for him to gauge how to handle things properly. After much deliberation, he ultimately decided to remain silent for the time being.

When they arrived at the infusion room, Zhou Leqi was still asleep, curled up alone in the chair.

She had always been slender, but these past few days, running around worrying about Yu Qing and not sleeping well, she had grown even thinner. Her complexion was pale, and she looked utterly exhausted and frail.

She was still in her third year of high school… and this was her third attempt.

How tired must she be?

Yu Qing’s heart ached unbearably as she gazed at Zhou Leqi’s fragile form. Tears welled up in her eyes almost instantly. Never before had she felt so weak, so powerless, or so guilty toward her daughter. Silently weeping, for a moment, she even hesitated to approach her.

Hou Zihao stood silently beside Yu Qing.

He knew that as an outsider, he shouldn’t interfere in their mother-daughter relationship. He also knew he had no right to speak in this situation. Yet, there were things he felt compelled to say, if only as a gentle reminder.

Carefully choosing his words, he subtly told Yu Qing:

“Auntie… She’s sick.”

Not just a cold or a fever—but a sickness far more insidious and harder to heal.

The illness tormenting her was cunning, hidden and intangible. Perhaps she hadn’t even realized its presence yet, but it had already left her battered and bruised.

She couldn’t afford to be hurt anymore.

She needed someone to confide in, someone who understood her, someone who could shatter the thick glass box trapping her inside.

… She needed to be loved.

Yu Qing said nothing, too overwhelmed to speak. She stood there for a while before gradually regaining some composure. Then, gently and quietly, she sat down next to Zhou Leqi.

Hou Zihao watched silently as Yu Qing tenderly embraced her sleeping daughter. Realizing he shouldn’t disturb them any further, he prepared to quietly leave.

Just as he turned around, he saw his father, Hou Feng, standing not far behind him, his expression serious as he held up his phone.