Chapter 10: The Breakup is in Progress 1
Shen Zhiqian was stunned by the question. Instinctively, he thought of his family matters, and a wave of irritation surged through him.
But the girl on his shoulder was still looking at him. Because of the fever, her cheeks were flushed, her eyes glistening with tears, beautiful enough to make him unable to look away.
He recalled nine years ago, when he was in his second year of high school, he saw the girl who had just transferred to their school from her first year.
The girl came from the south, her Mandarin was quite good, but she still mixed up N and L, sometimes confusing the retroflex and alveolar sounds, and sometimes H and F as well.
Their first conversation was when Ning Qingqing asked him for directions. The girl had a high ponytail, wearing a simple white T-shirt and blue jeans, yet she still possessed a kind of unadorned beauty.
She looked very young, yet she already possessed a subtle air of grace.
She stood before him, looking up at him, her voice possessing the soft, gentle tone unique to Southern girls. “Senior, is the music classroom on the 13th floor of Building 4?”
There were several instances where she mixed up the sounds of “si” and “shi,” afraid of making a mistake, she spoke very slowly, her meticulous pronunciation was incredibly cute.
Shen Zhiqian didn’t know what came over him at the time, but he impulsively said, “That music classroom is hard to find, I’ll take you there.”
Along the way, he asked her grade and class, and also her name.
After that, he would intentionally or unintentionally run into her, and after they became a little more familiar, he proactively helped her correct her pronunciation.
Even after so long, whenever Shen Zhiqian recalled these things, he couldn’t help but feel his heart flutter.
He thought, perhaps this was love at first sight, and falling deeper in love with each passing moment. He had never liked a girl so much.
“Qingqing, you have a fever, you need to rest more,” Shen Zhiqian rubbed Ning Qingqing’s hair. “Don’t think about anything else for now, let’s talk after you’re better.”
Listening to the man’s words, Ning Qingqing’s heart sank little by little.
She actually wanted to ask if the Shen family had taken a liking to Si Luoqing, so he couldn’t promise her anything. But she felt that asking would make her seem jealous and pathetic.
She didn’t want to be that kind of person.
“Then after I’m better,” Ning Qingqing continued to look at Shen Zhiqian, “my birthday is in a week, can you give me an answer then? This is very important to me.”
Shen Zhiqian nodded, gently resting her head back on his shoulder. “Okay, now you sleep.”
Ning Qingqing hummed in response and closed her eyes.
There was a traffic jam at the company entrance, and it took a while to get out of the congested area. Shen Zhiqian felt that the girl on his shoulder was motionless, and guessed that she had fallen asleep.
He tilted his head slightly and looked down at Ning Qingqing’s profile.
His Adam’s apple bobbed, his voice very low. “Qingqing, actually, love is enough for two people to be together, marriage doesn’t guarantee anything. What I can guarantee is that I will always love you.”
On his shoulder, Ning Qingqing’s eyelashes fluttered slightly, a sigh resonated deep in her heart. She closed her eyes without responding.
They soon arrived at the hospital. The driver stopped the car and went around to the back seat to open the door.
Shen Zhiqian carried Ning Qingqing out of the car. “Qingqing, we’re at the hospital.”
“Mm.” Ning Qingqing pretended to have just woken up and opened her eyes. “Then I’ll—”
But Shen Zhiqian didn’t give her a chance to walk herself, carrying her directly into the hospital.
Ning Qingqing was a little helpless, but she was too weak to struggle, so she let Shen Zhiqian carry her towards the outpatient department.
Just then, she caught sight of a somewhat familiar figure out of the corner of her eye, it seemed to be Gu Youchen.
Just as she was about to take a closer look, the man turned his head. Ning Qingqing’s heart skipped a beat, and she quickly buried her face in Shen Zhiqian’s arms.
She didn’t know why she was hiding, perhaps it was because she had embarrassed herself in front of Gu Youchen the day before yesterday, and she didn’t want to continue to embarrass herself.
At the same time, Zhou Linghang bumped Gu Youchen’s arm. “That seems to be Ning Qingqing, right?”
Since that day, they knew that Shen Zhiqian’s girlfriend was Ning Qingqing, and their usually aloof Brother Chen had actually taken a liking to someone else’s girlfriend.
Coupled with the complicated relationship between Shen Zhiqian and Gu Youchen, and their projects often competing with each other, this love triangle was particularly juicy gossip.
Gu Youchen was visiting a sick friend who was having surgery today. He saw Shen Zhiqian at first glance, then noticed the girl Shen Zhiqian was carrying.
Even though it was just a fleeting moment, he recognized Ning Qingqing.
Shen Zhiqian carrying Ning Qingqing to the hospital, it went without saying who was sick!
Gu Youchen had been about to leave after seeing his friend, but he turned around and walked back into the hospital.
Behind him, Zhou Linghang quickly caught up. “Brother Chen, even if we want to steal a girl, we can’t do it in front of her boyfriend! We need to dig from the corner, not the front door!”
Gu Youchen ignored Zhou Linghang’s earnest advice and went straight to the outpatient hall.
This was a high-end private hospital, so there was no need to queue up after entering, and there weren’t many people in the outpatient department. Gu Youchen immediately saw Ning Qingqing sitting in the waiting area.
Shen Zhiqian was paying and processing the blood test, Ning Qingqing sat on the chair. After he got the slip, the man was about to carry her, but she went to the blood test room first.
“Brother Chen, we’re a bit conspicuous here—” Zhou Linghang deliberately stood in front of Gu Youchen, afraid that Shen Zhiqian would immediately see their Brother Chen coveting someone else’s girlfriend.
Fortunately, Gu Youchen didn’t move forward, but stood there and took out his phone.
He directly sent a message to Ning Qingqing: “I saw you at the hospital just now?”
Ning Qingqing finished her blood test and arrived at the rest area with Shen Zhiqian. Feeling her phone vibrate, she picked it up and saw that it was Gu Youchen.
She sighed inwardly. Sigh, she was still seen, so embarrassing!
She replied: “Yes, I came to see a doctor for a cold and fever.”
Gu Youchen breathed a sigh of relief. “Is your temperature high? Did you catch a cold because of the temperature drop last night after work?”
Ning Qingqing replied: “Yes, I probably didn’t pay attention to the weather change last night. It’s 38 degrees, actually, I didn’t need to come to the hospital, but my boyfriend insisted I come for a check-up.”
Seeing the latter half of the sentence, Gu Youchen’s eyes darkened.
Zhou Linghang kept observing his expression, and didn’t know how to console him, so he said, “Brother Chen, you also saw that she has a boyfriend, even if we’re worried, it’s really none of our business.”
“Mm.” Gu Youchen replied indifferently, walked to a seat in the waiting area and sat down. “Go back first, I’ll sit here for a while.”
How could Zhou Linghang leave? But knowing that Gu Youchen wanted to be alone, he nodded. “Okay, then I’ll go upstairs to chat with Lao Qin for a while, call me when you leave.”
“Mm.” Gu Youchen nodded.
The blood test results finally came out. Ning Qingqing had a viral infection, and the doctor suggested that she get an IV drip and rest for two days, taking medicine on time.
The doctor gave her an IV drip. The infusion area had private rooms where one could sleep. Ning Qingqing lay down, and Shen Zhiqian stayed by her side.
He was clearly busy, and he answered two or three work calls in just a short while.
“Qingqing, sleep first, I’ll go outside and make a few calls,” Shen Zhiqian was afraid of disturbing Ning Qingqing’s rest, and walked to the outside hall.
Ning Qingqing nodded. She lay in bed and deliberately didn’t sleep, to avoid having another sleepless night.
Just then, there was a noise at the door, she turned her head. “Finished your calls—”
Before she finished speaking, she found that the person at the door was Gu Youchen.
“You—” she asked in confusion, “Why are you here?”
Gu Youchen didn’t answer the question, but said, “Is it a common cold or a viral infection?”
Ning Qingqing said, “Viral, probably when my resistance was low, the virus took advantage of the opportunity.”
“Mm, my friend is getting an IV drip nearby,” Gu Youchen explained, his gaze falling on Ning Qingqing’s cheek, after a moment he said, “Rest well, I’m leaving.”
Ning Qingqing nodded.
Gu Youchen had just reached the door when Shen Zhiqian came over.
The man was still holding his phone, whispering to the other end of the phone, “Sorry, wait a moment, I have something urgent here, I’ll call you back later.”
Then, he frowned at Gu Youchen standing at the door of Ning Qingqing’s ward, his eyes cold. “What are you doing here?”
Then, he quickly walked past Gu Youchen to Ning Qingqing’s bedside, asking, “Qingqing, are you okay?”
Ning Qingqing shook her head.
This was the first time she had seen Shen Zhiqian and Gu Youchen face to face, and she finally felt the tension between them.
She suddenly had an idea—
Why did Gu Youchen keep appearing around her after returning to the country? Once or twice was a coincidence, but after so many times, even she began to wonder.
And he gave her his phone number for no reason and asked for hers.
Could it be that he was targeting Shen Zhiqian, so he started with her?
Suspicion flashed in her eyes as she sized up Gu Youchen at the door.
Almost with just a glance, Gu Youchen guessed Ning Qingqing’s thoughts.
Deep down, a strange wave of sadness surged, feeling as if he had been pricked by something sharp, a little stinging.
“Sorry, I went to the wrong room,” he said calmly.
Then, his gaze quickly retracted from Ning Qingqing.
Shen Zhiqian’s eyes were sharp, blocking Ning Qingqing, as if guarding against some ferocious beast.
Just then, Gu Youchen’s phone rang, he answered. “You’re in the ward? Okay, I’ll be right there.”
Then, he left directly.
Shen Zhiqian sensed that he wasn’t acting, but still watched him leave before turning to Ning Qingqing. “Qingqing, did he say anything when he came in?”
Ning Qingqing shook her head. “He probably just went to the wrong room.”
She herself also inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed that she was overthinking. Although she didn’t have much contact with Gu Youchen, she didn’t think he was as scheming and ruthless as the rumors said.
But no matter what, her relationship with Shen Zhiqian was probably entering the countdown. In the end, the feud between Shen Zhiqian and Gu Youchen would have nothing to do with her.
Author’s Note:
Brother Chen: One day, I will reverse our positions today and declare my sovereignty~