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nDu Jingtang smacked his lips together in frustration. He picked up his chopsticks and started eating with a vengeance. Although the food had cost a bomb, he made sure to buy whatever was the most expensive because he was claiming the expenses from his cousin.

n“Mr. Chu…”

nAn overly sweet voice called out.

nCough…

nDu Jingtang patted his chest hard as he had almost coughed the bits of food out of his nostrils. He quickly covered his mouth and hide in the corner while he continued to cough. It was numbing.

nSomeone had obviously chosen a bad time to visit; it was mealtime. What should he do? Should he invite their guest to join him or not? Before he had even extended the invitation, their visitor had entered uninvited. She had called ‘Mr. Chu’ in such a meaningful way that Du Jingtang was covered in a layer of goosebumps.

nHis cousin had made it clear to her; he made a mistake. If he hadn’t, it wouldn’t have mattered to him a bit even if she died a million times.

nHow could the woman not know what he had said? She had been coming every day and getting told off by him. She was a cockroach that couldn’t be killed, chased away, or told off. No matter what, she always found a way to crawl back from her death.

nAt last, his cough subsided. He grabbed a cup of water and gulped it down while he gave a deadly glare at the uninvited woman.

n“Miss Li, can you please leave? This is a private ward, not your own backyard. You can’t come and go as you wish.”

nLi Yangyang’s face froze, but she remained thick-skinned and refused to leave. Regardless of what he had said, she was determined to offer herself in return for Chu Lui saving her life. However, she couldn’t even get near him —much less offer herself to him.

nChu Lui threw his chopsticks away. In an instant, Du Jingtang felt his hair rise; and he wished he could just kick this woman out. She was so dim-witted and clueless about how to read one’s expression. If Chu Lui was to throw a fit, Du Jingtang would be the first to suffer.

n“Get lost!” It was the same word. No matter how thick-skinned Li Yangyang was, she could only stick out her buttocks and ran out of the room as though she had seen a ghost. She ran into another person coming in her direction as she was scrambling.

n“Don’t you pay attention to where you’re going?” She almost lost her balance and sat on the floor. All the pent-up frustration from earlier was directed at the other person.

nXia Ruoxin rubbed her arm as she felt pain in her left elbow. She was puzzled that she had been labeled as a troublemaker when it was the other party’s fault for running into her. She was walking perfectly fine on her own. How could she be at fault?

nWell, never mind. She straightened herself and tidied her clothes. Coincidentally, there was nothing much at the art studio so she could send Gao Yi’s lunch to the hospital since it was mealtime.

n“Are you looking at where you are walking? You bumped into me, and yet you didn’t apologize.” The woman wasn’t letting it go. Obviously, she had suffered grievance elsewhere, and she was looking for a place to vent her anger.

nXia Ruoxin checked the lunchbox she had been carrying with her. Fortunately, it hadn’t spilled.

nShe looked up and smiled at the woman before her who was clearly upset. The blow from the woman’s fist had been cushioned by lumps of cotton.

n“I’m sorry.” Xia Ruoxin didn’t think much about apologizing. She gave the woman what she wanted.

n“You…” The irate woman stomped her foot hard on the ground. The impact almost caused her shoe to fall off, and a pain shot up her leg. Suddenly, it was so painful that she couldn’t walk. She limped away as though she had just shot herself in her foot.

n“The face of a lady with a bitchy temperament.” An abrupt voice gave Xia Ruoxin scare.

nShe turned around in time to look at a smiling face.

n“Oh, Cousin-in-law?”

nDu Jingtang rubbed his eyes in surprise. Was she the real thing or a fake?

n“Mr. Du, how are you?” Xia Ruoxin returned Du Jingtang’s smile. “Also, thank you for what you did for me in the past.” Her gratitude was four years late. If it hadn’t been for Du Jingtang’s kind gesture all those years ago, she might not have survived until now.

n“Oh…” Du Jingtang rolled his tongue in embarrassment. “Don’t mention it. I just did what I could. My cousin had gone overboard.” In fact, he was at a loss for words so he brought his cousin into the topic.

n“Is your family member a patient here?” Du Jingtang realized Xia Ruoxin was carrying a lunchbox with her. Did she know anyone at the hospital?

nXia Ruoxin didn’t have the chance to reply when she heard someone call her from behind.

n“Ruoxin, what are you doing here?”

nGao Yi happened to pass by, and he saw Xia Ruoxin standing at the doorway.

n“Gao Yi!”

nXia Ruoxin hurried over at first sight of him. She presented the lunchbox to Gao Yi with a smile like she was giving him something precious. “I cooked some food and wanted to bring it to you. There’s your favorite braised fish. It was still alive when I brought it home. The meat is very fresh.”

n“Really?” Gao Yi quickly accepted the lunchbox from her. He could feel his hunger at the mention of food.

n“Come, let’s go eat.” Gao Yi pulled Xia Ruoxin’s hand. He could feel the coldness of her hand, especially her left hand. He began to frown as an unpleasantness filled his voice. “How many times must I tell you? Your left elbow can’t take the cold. Why won’t you listen to me?”

n“It’s nothing.” Xia Ruoxin moved her left elbow. “I can suddenly feel the strength, and I’m still trying to get used to it. Without realizing, I may have exerted it. I didn’t use much strength though.” She raised her left arm up and tightened her fingers. It had been weak throughout the four years. Out of nowhere, her arm was having a reaction. She would be lying if she said she wasn’t feeling excited.

n“Don’t forget yourself.”

nGao Yi pulled a sullen face and told her off.

n“I know.” Xia Ruoxin naturally knew her limits. She and Gao Yi were talking as though there was nobody around them. No third party would be able to interrupt the mood between them.

nDu Jingtang could only stare at them with his eyes wide open.

nHmm, what was the relationship between Doctor Gao and his ex-ex-cousin-in-law?

nFrom what he had just seen, it was quite obvious. They were in love. Both of them even had a beautiful daughter-Doctor Gao’s daughter. He felt something was amiss when he put the bits and pieces together. However, he simply couldn’t tell what was wrong at the moment.

n“Let’s go.” Gao Yi took the lunchbox from Xia Ruoxin. He was getting hungry, and he needed to eat now. Moreover, there was a troublesome man who was refusing to leave. Both Gao Yi and that man knew what he was up to.

n“Okay.” Xia Ruoxin turned her head back and nodded gently towards Du Jingtang before she left with Gao Yi.

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