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The nurse arrived at the ward ten minutes later.

Seeing that Chen Yang had already pulled out his IV needle, she frowned. “Are you trying to get worse? I’ll have to re-dress your wounds and re-administer the IV.”

Thanks to Liang Qian and Zhao Mingri’s presence, the nurse didn’t connect Chen Mingwu’s incident to him.

Le Ya watched as Chen Yang lay back on the bed, turning his head to look at her.

She softly said, “Listen to the doctor and don’t move around.”

Earlier, when she saw him angry, blood from his wound had soaked through the gauze, making her heart race just looking at it.

While the nurse was dressing his wounds, Le Ya said, “I’m going outside to buy something. Don’t go anywhere.”

She stepped out of the ward.

Liang Qian was outside, getting scolded by the doctor, who mistakenly thought he and Zhao Mingri were responsible for what happened. The doctor went on and on about it.

After seeing the doctor off, Liang Qian sighed in relief. “That doctor sure can talk. He repeated the same thing over and over in five minutes—I’m so sick of it.”

Zhao Mingri rubbed his forehead. “It’s good he didn’t kick us out. Stop complaining.”

“That guy went to see the doctor for treatment,” Liang Qian muttered, clearly irritated. “Why does he have to cause so much trouble? If it were me, I’d kill him.”

Zhao Mingri replied, “And then go to jail, right?”

Liang Qian quickly waved his hands. “No way! Yang-ge has such great grades—he’s supposed to go to a top university. How could we ruin his future because of trash like that?”

They only realized after learning more about Chen Yang’s situation how impressive it was that he could achieve such academic success despite his circumstances.

If it were them, they probably would’ve given up on themselves.

As Liang Qian spoke, he turned around and saw Le Ya standing at the ward entrance. Startled, he stammered, “Uh… what I just said was nonsense.”

Le Ya said, “I heard everything. It’s fine.”

Liang Qian scratched his head again, genuinely surprised that every time he said something, someone overheard it. He couldn’t help but ask himself: Am I really this unlucky?

Le Ya pressed her lips together. “I won’t ask you anything. Stop acting like this. I just want to know where that man is now.”

The two in front of her exchanged glances.

“He’s with the doctor,” Zhao Mingri spoke first. “I’ll take you there, but don’t go in—just in case something unexpected happens.”

Le Ya nodded.

It only took two minutes to get there.

The hospital’s doctor’s office had small glass windows on the doors, allowing them to see part of what was happening inside.

Chen Mingwu sat in the wheelchair while the doctor treated him. One side of his face was swollen, and the blood on his lips had been wiped clean.

Under the doctor’s care, he no longer displayed the same emotional volatility as before.

Le Ya had a very poor impression of this man.

When she had kindly gone to push the wheelchair, she hadn’t expected to be pushed down herself. The scar on her hand had since healed, leaving behind faint white marks that would likely take some time to completely fade.

Fortunately, she wasn’t prone to scarring.

Le Ya had no idea that he was connected to Chen Yang. This raised the question: Was Chen Yang’s appearance across the street not coincidental?

Had he gone to confront him, and she just happened to witness it?

Seeing her staring unblinkingly at the scene inside, frozen like a statue, Liang Qian took the initiative to speak. “He’s Yang-ge’s biological father, Chen Mingwu.”

Le Ya’s mind trembled. “Father and son?”

She murmured the words, finding it hard to believe.

How could a father-son relationship deteriorate to this extent? From Chen Yang’s earlier actions, it seemed as though he wanted to kill him.

Liang Qian said, “Yes, biological father. But even so, he’s still trash.”

Trash of the highest order. He suspected that if this story were posted online, everyone would side with Chen Yang.

Of course, they wouldn’t post it.

Le Ya fell silent for a moment, then said, “I understand.”

Liang Qian thought she had pieced things together and couldn’t help but add, “Actually, Yang-ge fighting with him wasn’t out of rebellion—it wasn’t rebellion at all.”

Zhao Mingri chimed in, “Exactly! There’s a real reason behind it—it’s not just teenage rebellion.”

Seeing their nervous expressions, Le Ya held back a smile. “I know. You don’t need to be so tense.”

Liang Qian exhaled in relief. “Good.”

As they spoke, the dressing inside was nearing completion.

Compared to Chen Yang’s injuries, Chen Mingwu’s were mostly superficial and simple to treat. He would recover in no time.

But Chen Yang had reached the point of needing hospitalization.

“Yang-ge told us to keep it from you for the past couple of days,” Liang Qian said after a pause. “He got into an argument with him.”

He didn’t know the specifics of the argument.

At the time, he had arrived with the ambulance and was nearly scared to death by the sight of the Chen household. Thankfully, the doctor assured them it wasn’t life-threatening.

It was hard to imagine that Chen Mingwu had barely sustained any injuries, while Chen Yang bore the brunt of the harm.

The more Le Ya listened, the stranger she found Chen Yang’s father to be.

Just then, a nurse emerged from behind them. “What are you all doing standing around here? If you’re coming in, come in!”

She pushed open the door.

The three of them quickly retreated, leaving the office area and eventually returning to the ward.

Chen Yang remained awake.

Liang Qian said, “Yang-ge, it wasn’t intentional…”

Le Ya interjected, “I asked him to take me there.”

One by one, they acted like this. Chen Yang glanced at them, his voice calm. “If you came, you came. It’s fine.”

The IV fluid slowly flowed through the thin tube into his veins.

Liang Qian immediately let out a deep breath, exchanged a glance with Zhao Mingri, and said, “We’re going out to buy something, haha.”

After they left, Le Ya finally sat down.

Just a few minutes later, her phone vibrated.

Le Ya couldn’t help but feel relieved that she had previously turned off the ringtone and switched it to vibrate—otherwise, it might have woken Chen Yang up.

She quietly stepped outside to answer the call. It was Luo Yijian’s voice: “Crescent Moon, you’re not home yet?”

Le Ya’s heart tightened. “I… I’m still out with Qingyu, so I’ll be back late tonight.”

“Be careful,” Luo Yijian said firmly. “If you don’t have enough money, let me know. Don’t stay out too late—it’s cold in winter.”

Le Ya murmured, “I know.”

She pretended to remain calm, but no one could tell how nervous she truly felt.

Only after hanging up did Le Ya let out a long breath. Before she could relax for more than a few seconds, she suddenly remembered the lie she had just told and quickly sent a message to Xie Qingyu.

A few seconds later, her phone lit up in the dark.

Xie Qingyu: “Got it. Leave it to me—I’ll cover for you. Even if Uncle calls, I’ll handle it.”

She had just gotten home when she received Le Ya’s message. She immediately figured it was related to Liang Qian and the others and naturally decided to help her best friend keep the secret.

Le Ya replied: “I’ll treat you to something when I get back.”

Xie Qingyu: “Are you sure you’re okay? Don’t lie to me.”

Le Ya couldn’t help but smile at the warmth of having a friend who cared so much. “I’m fine, really.”

Then Xie Qingyu sent another message: “That’s good… But you’re out alone now, so be careful. It gets dark early in winter, and it’s cold. Don’t catch a chill.”

Le Ya’s lips curved slightly as she typed back: “I know. Liang Qian and Zhao Mingri are with me. It’s fine.”

Upon reading this, Xie Qingyu promptly sent a voice message to Liang Qian, startling him out of his daze.

The corridor was quite chilly, and Le Ya put her phone away.

There weren’t many people staying on this floor, so no one noticed the earlier incident—it was only discovered later.

Liang Qian and Zhao Mingri had said they were going to buy something, but it was unclear where they had gone.

Le Ya went to the convenience store outside the hospital to buy some snacks. When she was paying at the counter, she finally spotted the two of them.

“Le Ya, you came out too?” Liang Qian chuckled. “I bought some porridge for Yang-ge. Why don’t you take it upstairs?”

Le Ya asked, “Aren’t you guys going up?”

Zhao Mingri nudged Liang Qian’s back, and he quickly added, “I still need to go see the doctor—I won’t go directly to the ward.”

Hearing this, Le Ya nodded. “Alright, give it to me.”

Liang Qian immediately handed her the porridge, grinning. “It’s still warm.”

This was the inpatient department, so most of the shops outside sold food or health-conscious meals. Le Ya had originally planned to buy something herself but hadn’t expected them to already have done so.

Zhao Mingri gave a subtle signal and said, “We still need to buy a few things. Why don’t you head back first?”

Liang Qian kept nodding fervently. “Yes, yes, yes.”

Though Le Ya knew why the two were acting so flustered, she didn’t think too much about it and returned to the hospital alone. She quietly entered the ward.

Only one lamp was on in the room, leaving the area by the bed dimly lit. The faint glow softly outlined the sleeping figure on the bed.

Le Ya instinctively lightened her footsteps.

She carefully placed the bag down and sat by the bedside, resting her hand on the edge of the bed as she looked at Chen Yang.

He looked peaceful while asleep, completely different from his usual demeanor.

Perhaps he was having a nightmare, as even in sleep, his brows were furrowed.

Le Ya hesitated before gently reaching out to smooth his brow. As soon as her hand touched him, Chen Yang shifted slightly.

Then her hand was grabbed.

Le Ya was startled to see him awake, his dark eyes staring unblinkingly at her. “You…”

She hurriedly explained, “I just… wanted to…”

But the rest of her sentence wouldn’t come out.

Was she supposed to say she just wanted him to stop frowning?

Le Ya felt the words sounded awkward, so she closed her mouth and remained silent.

In the quiet environment, all sensations seemed concentrated in her hand. She could clearly feel the coolness of his fingertips pressing against her palm.

It was almost chilling.

Le Ya’s body stiffened, unsure how to react.

Finally, Chen Yang’s fingers slipped through hers and withdrew. “So what exactly did you want to do?”

Le Ya pulled her hand back behind her. “Nothing.”

Chen Yang continued to stare at her. Just as she was about to lose her composure, he tilted his chin slightly. “Your earlobes are red.”

Le Ya quickly covered her ears with her hands.

Little did she know, such an obvious attempt to hide only made her look cuter—almost unbearably so—to someone like Chen Yang.

Le Ya glared at him halfheartedly, then lowered her hands. Her gaze fell on his hand lying outside the blanket. “Won’t this get cold?”

Chen Yang said, “No, it’s not cold.”

Le Ya touched it with one finger—it was icy cold—and yet he claimed it wasn’t. She pulled the corner of the blanket over his hand.

Chen Yang chuckled, resting his head on the pillow.

Le Ya frowned, confused. “Why are you laughing?”

“Just wanted to tell you,” Chen Yang gestured with his uninjured hand toward the blanket, “this won’t do much. There’s no heat.”

Le Ya examined it closely and had to admit he was right.

Suddenly, Chen Yang reached out and grabbed her hand resting on the bedside, intertwining their fingers—his icy cold meeting her warmth.

Le Ya was caught off guard.

Her hands were usually tucked into her pockets, so they were warm. Add to that the stress of today’s events, and her palms were practically sweating.

Now, suddenly touching his cold hand made her instinctively hiss.

Chen Yang smirked. “So delicate.”

Le Ya nearly collapsed halfway onto the bed, narrowly avoiding bumping his IV hand.

She sighed exasperatedly. “Do you even remember you’re the patient here?”

Chen Yang squeezed her soft hand tightly, not letting go of a single inch. His gaze remained fixed on her as he spoke in a low voice. “Of course I remember.”

The room was utterly silent—so quiet that even the drop of a needle could be heard, let alone voices.

Le Ya snapped back to reality and tried to pull her hand away.

Instead of releasing her, Chen Yang tightened his grip, giving her a pitiful look. “My hand is so cold.”

Le Ya whispered, “I’ll go ask the nurse for some hot water.”

Chen Yang said, “That’s too much trouble.”

Le Ya glanced down at him. “...Isn’t your hand cold?”

Chen Yang released her hand and pointed to the one with the IV. His eyes sparkled mischievously as he murmured something under his breath.

Le Ya exclaimed, “Chen Yang!”

Chen Yang said, “Say it again.”

Le Ya: “...You’re impossible!”

She knew that even when sick, Chen Yang couldn’t shake his shameless nature. How could he make such an outrageous request?

________________________________________

Outside, Liang Qian was about to push the door open when he saw the scene inside through the window. He quickly stopped, holding Zhao Mingri back.

Zhao Mingri asked, “What are you doing?”

Liang Qian made a shushing gesture and pointed inside.

Seeing this, Zhao Mingri quickly moved closer to peek through the glass. His eyes widened in disbelief, and he was momentarily speechless.

After a few seconds, the two quietly walked away.

Zhao Mingri still seemed incredulous. “Did I just see that right?”

“You saw it right,” Liang Qian nodded. “We probably saw the same thing. Do you think they’re dating now?”

Zhao Mingri scratched his nose. “Maybe. I don’t know. Even if they’re not dating, they’re definitely close.”

From what he’d understood earlier, it seemed like they were just flirting.

But now, they were holding hands. Had he missed an important plot twist, or had he misunderstood their relationship all along?