Gu Ruochu only got up when she saw Lan Nuo leave. Huo Nanchen walked towards her. She was in a bad mood and wanted to resist his approach, but when she recalled his reaction at the hospital, she forced herself to endure it.
Huo Nanchen followed her upstairs. When she reached out and twisted the doorknob of the bedroom, his scorching hot breath hit her ear. Gu Ruochu opened the door and entered the room.
"Are you that upset?"
"No."
He had someone he needed to protect, and she also had someone she needed to protect. From an outsider's perspective, both of them were not at fault.
Gu Ruochu did not know how to face him. Her mind was occupied with thoughts on how to resolve Xu Yichen's matter. She had felt uncomfortable when she saw him lying in the hospital.
Gu Ruochu was just about to take out her tablet and watch a movie when she remembered that she would be going to the set this afternoon. Huo Nanchen was changing his clothes, but Gu Ruochu did not pay any attention to him.
She did not know why, but her mind wandered to a popular online drama that had recently aired. By a beautiful lake, the male lead had slowly removed his mask in front of the female lead.
"Let the fireflies that fill the sky turn into dancing flames. Even if the light gets dimmer and dimmer..."
As the background music played, Gu Ruochu's eyes had heated up, and she had sobbed continuously.
She and Xu Yichen were also similar to the main characters in that drama. Although they were not lovers, they were true childhood sweethearts, and neither of them could bear to see the other get hurt.
"Since Xu Yichen was bailed out, I can promise you that I'll take a step back." Huo Nanchen's steady footsteps sounded as he approached her. Gu Ruochu's back was turned to him.
"You're crying? For Xu Yichen?"
Huo Nanchen's voice paused, and his fingers rudely wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes. Gu Ruochu had almost cried the first time she heard about Yichen's arrest, but this time, she was really crying.
"No." Gu Ruochu shook her head in denial. "I have a few scenes to shoot this afternoon. I'm flipping through the script to get a feel for it."
"You lying to me." Huo Nanchen looked at her as his fingers gently pulled her hair to the side. However, his eyes gradually turned dark and cold. "Ruochu, you're learning how to play nice with me. I said that I would let him go, so I'll let him go. That is my biggest concession."
Huo Nanchen's eyes turned even colder when he remembered that Cheng Xi was still at the hospital.
"I'm not playing nice." Gu Ruochu turned off her tablet and stood up. "I don't want to argue with you. I still have to go to the set this afternoon."
Huo Nanchen gazed longingly at her before planting a kiss on her forehead. "All right. I won't bother you anymore. Let me take you out for lunch."
His sudden gentleness caught her off guard, so she agreed to it.
"..."
Zhou Yunxi was still in the hospital. She had thought that Gu Yanwei was only joking when she said that she wanted nothing to do with her. She did not expect her daughter to ignore her calls and eventually turn off her phone.
Everyone in the hospital knew that Zhou Yunxi was Gu Ruochu's mother. At first, the doctors and nurses were friendly. They attended to her while waiting for someone from the Huo family to arrive and sign her discharge papers.
However, after her treatment, Zhou Yunxi walked back and forth in the hospital corridor countless times with a bandaged pig face. She was on her phone for more than an hour and still looked anxious. The doctor and nurse on duty finally lost their patience.
Was it because she didn't have the money to pay the medical fees?
"Mrs. Zhou, when do you plan on paying the medical fees?"
"Doctor, please wait a little longer. My daughter will be here soon." Zhou Yunxi was already at a loss. When she saw the doctor and nurse's doubtful faces, she became even more anxious.
She did not expect Yanwei to be so heartless and abandon her. All the other members of the Gu family had blacklisted her. The Ning family was also upset that Cheng Xi had been hurt during the scuffle at the police station and ignored Zhou Yunxi's calls.
Zhou Yunxi was helpless. She had no one to depend on for the first time in her life. A chill ran down her spine when she thought of her predicament.