"Hey? You're here, Cainan? I thought the typhoon would delay your flight."
Jiang Li spoke and glanced past Zhuang Cai Nan, noticing Su Lu standing at the door with a slightly awkward expression, "Miss Su is here too..."
Su Lu was in a dilemma, neither able to enter nor retreat, and could only nod gently while standing at the door.
"I'm here to check on Mr. Bo's injury and thank him. If it's inconvenient..."
"Yes, it's inconvenient. Please leave." Zhuang Cai Nan, though looking tired, refused decisively, taking over unhesitatingly. Even though she had just arrived, she already knew the reason behind Jingshen's injury.
"Let her in." A deep male voice came from inside the ward.
Zhuang Cai Nan frowned and looked sideways, "Jingshen!"
"Alright. I've arranged a room for you at Wanli International in the High-tech District. You just arrived, so take a rest first. Handle matters for the exhibition with that temporary assistant, Xiao Qiu. I'm fine here."
Bo Jingshen's voice was indifferent and calm, arranging a room far from the city center but close to the exhibition center for Zhuang Cai Nan.
"Additionally..." Bo Jingshen paused, "The car was damaged. Take care of the follow-up compensation matters."
Su Lu, outside the door, felt a shock. Was he really hit by a tree in his car during the typhoon?
He looked at Jiang Li, "Let her in."
Jiang Li: "Uh..."
Jiang Li winked at Su Lu and gestured, "Miss Su, please come in?"
Zhuang Cai Nan's stare was unrelenting, with no warmth at all.
Although quite awkward, concern outweighed the awkwardness. Su Lu braved the embarrassment and walked in.
Entering the small hall of the suite ward, she turned her head towards the inner room.
The man on the hospital bed happened to be getting up, his back to the hall, putting on a shirt.
The muscles of his shoulders and back were beautifully and evenly toned. However, glaring white, thick bandages stretched diagonally from his shoulder across his back, with faintly seeping blood, forming glaring red stains.
Moreover, there seemed to be some old scars on areas of his back not covered by the bandages.
Su Lu racked her brain for all previous memories but couldn't remember seeing these scars on his back before.
During college, Bo Jingshen was on the swimming team, and with Hai City being near the sea, they had often gone to seaside resorts for dates.
At that time, his back had no such scars.
Just like when she found out he had a fear of flying due to a past plane crash.
Su Lu couldn't help but think, what exactly had he... been through?
Bo Jingshen finished buttoning his hospital gown and turned around, noticing her slightly reddened eyes.
Su Lu quickly lowered her gaze.
"Sickness has passed?"
"Mm."
Bo Jingshen slightly raised his hand, as if out of an old habit...
He used to always raise his hand like this, waving lightly and smiling, calling her, Su Xiaolu, come here quickly.
When Su Lu saw him raise his hand, she instinctively felt like taking a step forward.
But his hand stopped halfway, so did her motion.
Bo Jingshen glanced at Jiang Li, who was still looking over, "What are you standing there for?"
Jiang Li glanced at him, "Hey, when there's a girl..."
Before finishing his sentence, he saw Zhuang Cai Nan's unusually sullen face and changed his tone, "Cainan, let's go. I'll take you to the hotel."
Zhuang Cai Nan seemed to muster all her strength to resist the urge to say something more.
"President Bo, I'll leave now." She addressed him differently, speaking calmly.
After Jiang Li and Zhuang Cai Nan left,
Bo Jingshen then looked at Su Lu, "Sit."
Su Lu: "Are you... alright?"
Bo Jingshen: "Are you feeling better?"
They spoke simultaneously.
Su Lu nodded, "I'm much better, but you..."
She frowned and looked at his shoulder.
Bo Jingshen lifted the corner of his lips, with a smile that was either teasing or mocking.
"Worried?"
He leaned closer, suddenly reducing the distance between them.
Su Lu could almost smell the cold cedar scent from him mixed with the faint smell of disinfectant in the ward, a unique combination that still unsettled her.
She held her breath.
Bo Jingshen: "So… are you more worried about me, or more worried about Gu Xin finding out?"
Su Lu instinctively wanted to say, of course, she was more worried about him.
What would it matter if Gu Xin found out about this?
But before she could say it, she already realized the meaning behind the man's smile.
It was mocking.
She pressed her lips together and said nothing.
"I'm fine." Bo Jingshen said indifferently, "Instead of worrying about me, you should think about how to deal with Gu Xin. When I went to find you, all his project team members were there. They also brought an ambulance to the construction site in the morning, bringing us back to the city hospital."
Clearly, those who could once find warmth in each other's embrace during a storm, now turned every word into cold, sharp words.
Su Lu thought she could adapt, but the words still pierced her deeply.
"This, there's no need for you to worry about me." Su Lu stood up, "Since you're fine, I'll..."
"There is something." Bo Jingshen interrupted her, his long eyes glancing at her sideways, "Sit."
Su Lu was stunned, standing still.
Not long after, there was a knock at the door.
Bo Jingshen: "Come in."
A man in a white coat walked in, looking around thirty years old, with a badge on his chest that read: Director of Medical Aesthetics, Qu Kai.
"Doctor Qu."
"Ah, hello, Mr. Bo, right?" Doctor Qu smiled, "I've just looked at your medical record. The wound on your back hasn't healed yet, it will be some time before any treatment can be done. Besides, the sutures used were already cosmetic stitches. It's better to wait for it to heal and see the results."
"It's not for me." Bo Jingshen tilted his head toward Su Lu, "Please take a look at the scar on her face."
"Oh, oh! I see." Doctor Qu turned to look at Su Lu.
By now, Su Lu already knew this was the expert Cheng Youran had mentioned from the First Affiliated Hospital in Hai City for scar removal.
Doctor Qu looked closely at the scar on the corner of Su Lu's eye.
Bo Jingshen: "How is it?"
Doctor Qu looked at him. This Mr. Bo, though his back was full of scars that could hold a meeting for, seemed not to be the least worried.
Yet, from his voice, Doctor Qu could sense a well-hidden tension over the tiny scar on this lady's corner of the eye.
"It's not a big problem. The stitching was done well, and the healing is good too. Just one round of treatment and some topical medication is needed."
"That's good."
After Doctor Qu left, Su Lu thanked him softly, "Thank you, I heard this Professor Qu is hard to get an appointment with."
Bo Jingshen: "Knowing it's hard to get, you should be more careful, don't end up wounded and scarred everywhere."
Su Lu glanced at him, "Your scars on the back..."
Bo Jingshen curled his lips, "Heartache?"
Su Lu's eyes flickered.
His long fingers reached over, lightly brushing her forehead, and it felt like a string in her heart had been plucked gently.
Bo Jingshen: "Don't worry, I don't rely on my back to make a living."
Su Lu: "..." So is she supposed to rely on her face to make a living?