Cen Lingqiu asked the system about Yu Mingjiao's self-destructive tendencies over the past few days, and the system informed her that they had decreased by 8%. Although it was a small change, it was still a positive sign.
It seemed that her persistent efforts to bring food to Yu Mingjiao had some effect.
As usual, she prepared breakfast and brought it to Yu Mingjiao's door, knocking for a long time without receiving a response.
She assumed that Yu Mingjiao was still sleeping and knocked again, but there was still no answer.
Strange, she thought. Was she still asleep?
Yu Mingjiao usually wasn't this late in opening the door.
Cen Lingqiu considered calling her, but then remembered that she still didn't have her contact information.
Given Yu Mingjiao's gloomy and pessimistic temperament, coupled with her physical disability, Cen Lingqiu couldn't help but feel a bit worried.
Just as she was about to knock again, the door opened.
Yu Mingjiao sat in her wheelchair, her face pale, her expression weary and listless. She glanced at Cen Lingqiu with a tired look before turning and heading toward the living room.
"Were you just sleeping?" Cen Lingqiu asked casually, placing the breakfast on the table. She noticed that the curtains were tightly drawn and walked over to open them.
"Why do you always keep the curtains closed?" Cen Lingqiu asked as she pulled them open, allowing bright sunlight to flood the living room.
Yu Mingjiao, sitting at the table, didn't respond. Her breathing was labored, and her eyelids drooped weakly.
Cen Lingqiu noticed something was wrong and leaned closer, asking softly, "What's wrong?"
Yu Mingjiao remained silent, unable to hear Cen Lingqiu clearly. Her head felt heavy, and her vision blurred as if she were sinking into a swamp, her breath and sight oppressed.
It seemed like someone was in front of her, speaking to her.
The voice was soft, like a cool stream flowing over smooth stones on a summer day.
She felt terrible.
"It hurts," Yu Mingjiao murmured, her consciousness muddled. She didn't know who was in front of her, only that she was in pain and blindly reached out for someone.
"What hurts?" Cen Lingqiu asked.
"…My head."
As soon as she said those words, Yu Mingjiao's strength left her, and she slumped forward, her head falling onto Cen Lingqiu's chest.
Cen Lingqiu caught her. "Yu Mingjiao?"
Yu Mingjiao's eyes were closed, her expression pained.
Cen Lingqiu touched her forehead, feeling the intense heat.
She guessed that Yu Mingjiao had a fever and wasted no time taking her to the hospital.
—
Yu Mingjiao felt as though she were being plunged into boiling lava, her body burning hot, only to be thrust into a freezing winter the next moment, shivering with cold.
She wavered between scorching heat and biting cold, suffering constantly.
This agony reminded her of when she had been sick as a child. She had felt miserable and had complained to her father, but he had told her to go back to her room and not bother him. Her stepmother didn't care about her and had taken her sister out to play.
She had curled up under the blankets, shivering, her head swimming with dizziness. She knew she was sick and wanted to see a doctor, but her body had been too weak, and she hadn't even had the strength to speak.
She had been in pain, and she had been scared, yearning for someone—anyone—to stay by her side.
But no one had come.
After what felt like an eternity, the pain began to subside, and the chaotic dreams faded. Slowly, Yu Mingjiao opened her eyes.
The smell of antiseptic filled her nose, and she stared up at a stark white ceiling.
She was in a hospital?
Yu Mingjiao blinked in confusion, hearing soft breathing beside her. She turned her head to see Cen Lingqiu, who had fallen asleep with her head resting on her hand.
The sky outside had already darkened.
The room was quiet, with Cen Lingqiu sleeping peacefully at her bedside, her breathing soft and steady.
Why was she here, with her in the hospital again?
Cen Lingqiu was a light sleeper and soon sensed the movement beside her. She opened her eyes.
"You're awake?" Cen Lingqiu yawned. "Are you hungry?"
Yu Mingjiao's voice was hoarse. "…Did you bring me to the hospital?"
Cen Lingqiu raised an eyebrow. "Who else?"
"The doctor said you caught a cold and developed a fever." Cen Lingqiu's tone was mildly reproachful. "Did you set the air conditioning too low last night?"
Clearly not wanting to be scolded, Yu Mingjiao turned her head away and replied coolly, "I don't know."
Cen Lingqiu smiled slightly and stood up. "I'm starving. I've barely eaten since I brought you to the hospital this morning. Do you want anything to eat?"
"Just leave," Yu Mingjiao said flatly. "I don't need your care. I'll pay you back for the medical expenses."
Cen Lingqiu looked down at her, crossing her arms. "Are you planning to discharge yourself and leave the payment with the nurse for me to collect again?"
Yu Mingjiao's expression darkened, her pale face tense as she pursed her lips, not denying it.
Her desire to distance herself from Cen Lingqiu was evident. Yu Mingjiao was highly defensive. Although she had begrudgingly accepted Cen Lingqiu's persistent efforts over the past few days, the emotional barrier between them remained.
It was as if she were a wounded cat, wary of human kindness, curling up and hiding her wounds in a corner.
Cen Lingqiu knew that Yu Mingjiao still harbored a deep-seated aversion to her, but that didn't matter. She didn't intend to form a close relationship with Yu Mingjiao; after all, she would eventually leave. Being too close would only be a burden.
She only needed to fulfill her duty, treating Yu Mingjiao as a fragile porcelain doll, getting close enough to supervise her, and finding a way to remove the thorns of pain from her heart.
Yu Mingjiao had never known love or concern, only loneliness, so Cen Lingqiu would give her what she had been missing.
This was advice Cen Lingqiu had recently gleaned from her colleagues.
People respond to what they lack.
So Cen Lingqiu was willing to unconditionally accept all of Yu Mingjiao's behavior.
Her rejection, her disgust, her coldness—none of it mattered to Cen Lingqiu.
She sat back down and, seeing Yu Mingjiao's confusion, said calmly, "I'm a bit tired. I don't want to leave."
She pulled out her phone. "Let's order takeout."
Yu Mingjiao: "…"
"I don't remember you being this thick-skinned," Yu Mingjiao muttered coldly.
"Now you know," Cen Lingqiu replied, unfazed.
The takeout arrived quickly, and Cen Lingqiu handed the lighter meal to Yu Mingjiao. Yu Mingjiao stubbornly refused, but Cen Lingqiu said, "You haven't eaten anything all day. You're on an IV and have a fever. Do you want to stay sick?"
Yu Mingjiao was silent.
Cen Lingqiu sighed. "Don't worry. I won't eat at the same table as you. I'll eat over there at the coffee table."
"Just eat and don't mind me," Cen Lingqiu said as she opened the table on the hospital bed and placed the takeout on it, moving to the sofa by the coffee table.
Cen Lingqiu had booked a high-end hospital room, so it had all the amenities.
Yu Mingjiao glanced over at Cen Lingqiu, who was sitting at the coffee table. She was quietly eating her meal while browsing her phone, her delicate face expressionless, devoid of any strong emotions.
Yu Mingjiao blinked slowly, then lowered her gaze and took a sip of the porridge.
It wasn't sweet.
Why did Cen Lingqiu's cooking have to be so sweet?
This was a bit tasteless.
Yu Mingjiao mentally critiqued the food.
After finishing the meal, Cen Lingqiu cleaned up and then helped Yu Mingjiao to the bathroom to freshen up.
When Yu Mingjiao returned to bed, she looked at Cen Lingqiu, as if silently asking, "Why are you still here?"
Cen Lingqiu let her hair down and said, "I'm sleeping here tonight."
She explained, "You need another IV tomorrow before you can be discharged, and I need to take you home."
Yu Mingjiao frowned. She wasn't used to sharing a room with Cen Lingqiu, but before she could say anything, Cen Lingqiu cut her off.
"I know what you're going to say, so save it." Lying on the sofa, she said, "I've been taking care of you all day. I'm exhausted, and I'm going to sleep now."
She made the decision without consulting Yu Mingjiao. "We'll leave the light on. There's no night light here."
"Goodnight."
With that, Cen Lingqiu closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Yu Mingjiao hadn't even said a word.
She knew that this woman wouldn't change her mind easily. Even if she told Cen Lingqiu to leave, she wouldn't.
Their brief time together had shown Yu Mingjiao that Cen Lingqiu was a resolute woman who prioritized her own decisions.
Yu Mingjiao turned away from Cen Lingqiu.
She had thought that sharing a room with Cen Lingqiu would make it difficult to sleep, but perhaps due to her dizziness, she drifted off without realizing it.
The next day, after Yu Mingjiao finished her last IV, the doctor prescribed some medication and gave her instructions on how to take care of herself.
By the time they left the hospital, it was already past three in the afternoon. Cen Lingqiu wheeled Yu Mingjiao toward the hospital lobby.
"Mingjiao-jie!"
They had just reached the lobby when a clear, familiar voice made Cen Lingqiu stop in her tracks.
Upon hearing the voice, Yu Mingjiao's pale lips trembled violently.
Cen Lingqiu turned to see a girl in a school uniform running toward them.
The girl ran quickly, reaching them in the blink of an eye. She grabbed Yu Mingjiao's shoulders excitedly. "Jie, it's really you! Why are you at the hospital?"
Yu Mingjiao's hands gripped the wheelchair handles tightly, her eyes cold as she spoke in a voice as icy as a snake's.
"Get lost."
Yu Sui'an looked puzzled. "Jie, how can you talk to me like that? I'm your sister, your only family."
If there was someone in the world who disgusted her more than Lin Qiu and Lin Dong, it was her sister.
Yu Sui'an was three years younger than her and her half-sister.
Though she appeared sweet and innocent, she was a cruel and malicious child.
Much of the pain and misfortune in Yu Mingjiao's childhood stemmed from this sister.
When she fell, her father blamed her for not taking care of her sister and tied her hands to the balcony railing for an entire night. When she took an extra piece of chicken that Yu Sui'an liked, Yu Sui'an cried, and her stepmother stuffed her mouth with hot peppers, forbidding her from spitting them out.
All of this was deliberate on Yu Sui'an's part. She enjoyed seeing her get punished and constantly made up lies to get her in trouble, exploiting her parents' favoritism.
She was a truly wicked child.
She loved to take things from her, and it was because she insisted on taking something her mother had left for her that her stepmother sided with Yu Sui'an, pushing her down the stairs and crippling her legs.
Yu Mingjiao could still remember what Yu Sui'an had said to her in the hospital.
"Jie, everything in this house is mine. It's your fault for trying to take it from me. You deserved it."
Yu Mingjiao wanted nothing more than to never see her sister again. Seeing her now, the painful memories of the past stabbed at her like needles, filling her with a deep sense of disgust.
"…Don't touch me." Yu Mingjiao's already pale face turned even whiter, her back hunching as she clutched her mouth, on the verge of vomiting.
Cen Lingqiu found the girl vaguely familiar but didn't have time to think about it; Yu Mingjiao was in bad shape.
"Kid, we need to go," Cen Lingqiu said as she tried to wheel Yu Mingjiao away.
Yu Sui'an finally noticed Cen Lingqiu. She widened her eyes and shoved her aside, angrily accusing her. "I know you! You're the one who's been bullying my sister! Why did you bring her to the hospital? Did you bully her until she ended up here? You're such a horrible person, flirting with men at the bar and now picking on women here. You're disgusting!"
Cen Lingqiu was taken aback by the tirade from this teenager. She didn't even have time to get angry before realizing where she had seen her before.
No wonder this kid looked familiar; she was the one who had bumped into her at the bar.
As for the flirting with men, what on earth was that? She had only had a few drinks with Wen Zhi's bandmates that night.
Cen Lingqiu's impression of Yu Sui'an was now thoroughly negative, and to think she was Yu Mingjiao's sister?
Yu Sui'an tried to wheel Yu Mingjiao away. "Jie, I'm taking you out of here. I won't let this woman bully you."
Seeing that the girl was about to take Yu Mingjiao away, Cen Lingqiu stepped forward and grabbed Yu Sui'an's hand. "Kid, what are you doing?"
Yu Sui'an sneered. "Of course, I'm taking my sister home."
Recalling Yu Mingjiao's earlier resistance, Cen Lingqiu lowered her gaze and slowly asked, "But are you sure your sister wants to go with you?"
"Of course. I'm her sister. There's no way she'd go with you."
Yu Mingjiao's head began to spin again, her body trembling. The urge to vomit rose to her throat, blocking her airways, making it hard to breathe.
She didn't want to hear Yu Sui'an's voice for even another second. Her voice only brought back memories she desperately wanted to forget.
She needed to get away from here.
Away from her so-called family, who filled her with such revulsion.
Yu Sui'an didn't want to argue with Cen Lingqiu, noticing that more and more people were watching. Embarrassed, she tried to push Yu Mingjiao away.
Yu Mingjiao, barely conscious, her hands shaking, suddenly reached out and grabbed Cen Lingqiu's wrist.
Cen Lingqiu looked down at her hand.
Yu Mingjiao's head was bowed, her long black hair falling to cover her pale, damp face. She struggled to force out a few words.
"…Take me… away."