Contractual Cohabitation GL - Chapter 23

The ambulance ride to the hospital was very swift, but because the emergency personnel had already given Qin Yan a basic diagnosis along the way, concluding that the patient was not in life-threatening danger, the waiting process for a definitive diagnosis once they arrived at the hospital became exceptionally slow.

Gao Jiong, after receiving the news, dealt with the more important matters, leaving the remaining few to the various managers, and also drove her Mercedes to the hospital.

By this time, dinner had already passed, and Qin Yan was still undergoing various large and small examinations inside. The hospital also provided dinner, but besides the small portions, the key issue was that it was ice cold in this winter. The two Deputy General Managers of Pengju glanced at it and gave it a rating of “too horrible to look at.” Thus, Gao Jiong stayed behind at the hospital, and Jing Xiaonan walked out to buy dinner for the three of them.

She went and returned quickly, only to find that Qin Yan had finished the examinations and was back lying in the hospital bed, with an IV needle in her left hand. Jing Xiaonan looked around the ward but did not see Gao Jiong. She walked straight over, pulled a heavy chair, and drew the curtain chain for the isolated bed before sitting down beside Qin Yan’s bed.

“What did the doctor say?”

Qin Yan was staring straight at the foot of the bed, her eyes somewhat vacant, her expression wooden. Hearing Jing Xiaonan’s words, it took her a while to reply: “They said I caught a severe cold and didn’t rest, which led to a fever.”

It was close to what she had expected. Jing Xiaonan nodded, her gaze falling on Qin Yan’s tightly pursed lips. She figured she wouldn’t be able to ask anything more, and besides, with her current physical condition, she should rest more. Thinking this, she leaned down, untied the plastic bag containing the three dinners, and took out a plastic container with rice porridge and a plastic spoon.

Mmm, it still felt warm. Jing Xiaonan was quite satisfied. She carefully lifted the lid of the container and asked Qin Yan: “Have some porridge?”

Having been sick for a day and a half without eating, although she was now on an IV drip to maintain her body, her stomach kept sending out strong signals of discontent. Upon smelling the light, warm scent of the food, Qin Yan couldn’t help but glance at it, then lowered her head and remained silent.

She didn’t hear an objection, but she also didn’t see any indication of reaching out for the porridge. Jing Xiaonan looked at the patient’s weak state, guessing she probably couldn’t hold the container. She sighed inwardly, scooped a spoonful of porridge, and brought it to the lips that were still tightly pursed.

It was obvious that she had never fed anyone before; she didn’t even know the common sense of blowing on it first. But Qin Yan didn’t seem to mind this. She looked down at the porridge by her mouth, and then, for the first time, turned her head to look at Jing Xiaonan. There was a faint glimmer in her eyes, deeply hidden, filled with emotions that were hard to decipher.

She slightly opened her mouth and cooperated with Jing Xiaonan’s movement to drink the porridge. It was indeed very hot! She clenched her silver teeth tightly, endured for a moment, and then endured a bit more, before finally swallowing the throat-scalding porridge. Whether it was because she was scalded or for some other reason, a film of moisture welled up in Qin Yan’s eyes.

Seeing her drink some porridge, Jing Xiaonan finally felt a little relieved. Without another word, she continued to feed her spoonful after spoonful, and Qin Yan unusually complied. When she had fed about ten spoonfuls, Jing Xiaonan smiled, and for the first time, she used a coaxing tone like one would use for a child:

“That’s right, that’s the way it should be. Eat properly and sleep on time, and you’ll recover sooner.” Saying this, she sent another full spoon of porridge over.

Hearing this, Qin Yan raised her head and quickly glanced at Jing Xiaonan, her eyes a little sharp. She turned her head away and pursed her lips tightly, raising her hand with effort to push the spoon away. She refused to eat.

What’s wrong? Jing Xiaonan looked at her with some bewilderment. One is Ye Luochen, the other is Qin Yan; why are their minds so fickle and difficult to understand? She, Jing Xiaonan, was truly unworthy of being a daughter. Thinking of Ye Luochen, Jing Xiaonan’s heart immediately thumped. Oh no, she hadn’t returned home so late, and she hadn’t even called to let her know.

Just then, Gao Jiong coincidentally walked in from outside the ward, lifting a corner of the curtain to enter. Jing Xiaonan remained frozen in the position of holding the spoon, and Qin Yan had turned her head away, her eyes closed, not looking at her. Gao Jiong just felt the atmosphere in the ward was very tense.

Seeing her enter, Jing Xiaonan placed the porridge she was holding on the bedside table and stood up from the chair: “Did you go see the doctor? How is it?”

Although Qin Yan was awake and her condition didn’t require much secrecy, she instinctively lowered her voice, afraid of disturbing her rest.

“Oh, the doctor said it’s easy to catch a cold in winter, and Xiaoyan’s physical constitution is average. The virus she caught this time is quite serious. It’s not surprising that she didn’t rest properly, plus she was traveling constantly, leading to fever and collapse. But fortunately, she was sent to the hospital in time. Aside from being physically weak, there are no major problems. She’ll stay overnight for observation, and if nothing unexpected happens, she can be discharged tomorrow to recuperate on her own.”

With the last concern also eliminated, Jing Xiaonan breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. She looked at her watch; it was already ten o’clock.

Having been best friends for so many years, Gao Jiong naturally understood this gesture. She patted Jing Xiaonan: “You go home first. I’ll stay with her for a while, and you can come relieve me tomorrow morning.”

Jing Xiaonan hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement. She turned to Qin Yan and said gently: “Xiaoyan, when you have a little strength, call home in the country. Uncle Qin and the others are very worried about you. Then, have a good rest, so you can recover quickly.”

Qin Yan still had her head down and didn’t look at her. Jing Xiaonan didn’t take offense, exchanged a few more words with Gao Jiong, and then hurriedly lifted the door curtain and left. Only then did Qin Yan raise her head and stare at the spot where she had left, her eyes becoming increasingly blurred the more she looked…

Nan, I’m not a fool. If I eat properly and recover soon, I won’t be able to see you so gentle like this again.

The whole night, she didn’t touch the bowl of porridge by the bed again.

The more restless she felt, the less smoothly her driving went. It seemed like she was stopped by a red light at every intersection. Jing Xiaonan made a face and patted the steering wheel, having considered calling Ye Luochen’s number more than a dozen times, but always felt it would be easier to be forgiven by apologizing in person.

The Porsche sped all the way home. Jing Xiaonan pondered how best to start the explanation. What was Ye Luochen doing now? Leaving the living room light on and waiting for her upstairs? Or sitting on the balcony, watching for movement in front of the garage? The thought of someone waiting for her return at home made Jing Xiaonan even more eager to get back.

She ran in three steps and two from the front of the garage to the main door of the small house. The clock hand already pointed to 11. Jing Xiaonan turned her wrist, opened the door, and walked in, only to find the house cold and pitch black. There was no one on the balcony, the living room was quiet, and there was no hint of light coming from upstairs.

She paused her action of closing the door, feeling an indescribable sensation in her heart. She liked to use the doorbell instead of the key to enter the house, and she liked to hear the sounds of other people in the house when she was working. Although she hadn’t held too many expectations for Ye Luochen, this situation still made her inevitably disappointed.

Just at this moment, a small lamp by the living room sofa lit up. Jing Xiaonan quickly turned her head and saw Ye Luochen sitting on the sofa with William, wearing the same clothes as during the day, not the pajamas she usually wore at this hour.

Stunned by this rollercoaster turn of events, she was momentarily speechless. However, Ye Luochen put down the newspaper she was holding after Jing Xiaonan entered the house, stepped out of her slippers, and walked gracefully towards her, her eyes filled with concern fixed on Jing Xiaonan.

“You’re back so late, did something happen?”

Her nose felt a little sour. Jing Xiaonan lowered her head, but then raised her eyes to look back. Self-reproach and gratitude surged in a tangled mess. This woman, had she been sitting here quietly waiting for her to come home all night?

Ye Luochen’s unblinking eyes were fixed on her, not missing a single expression. Seeing her looking like a child who had done something wrong, it didn’t seem like anything major had happened. The stone hanging in her heart slowly dropped, but this was immediately followed by another kind of speculation.

“Did you go on a date?”

“No!” Jing Xiaonan quickly denied, raising her head with a hint of panic, her eyes staring straight and fixedly at Ye Luochen, afraid she wouldn’t believe her again, “My assistant Qin Yan got sick. I took her to the hospital and waited until she finished her diagnosis and ate dinner before coming back…”

She said the first half loudly; she had nothing to hide about her actions, which she was confident about. But as she spoke, she watched Ye Luochen’s expression. Although there were no obvious changes on the woman’s face, Jing Xiaonan just felt like she had said the wrong thing, so her voice became quieter and quieter towards the end of her answer, almost a mumble when she finished.

Qin Yan? An image of a cold, beautiful, and delicate face immediately flashed in Ye Luochen’s mind. Jing Xiaonan’s secretary? Ye Luochen had only seen her twice. The first time barely left an impression, but the second time…

“Is that assistant the girl in the sapphire-blue dress who sat on your right at the Maple Leaf and Pengju dinner that night?”

Jing Xiaonan thought back, hmm, it seemed to be the case, so she nodded.

Lowering her eyes, Ye Luochen’s mind replayed the scene of the elegantly dressed girl occasionally putting food into Jing Xiaonan’s bowl that night. She bit her lower lip almost imperceptibly, hummed a response to acknowledge she understood, and then, ignoring Jing Xiaonan, turned around and walked upstairs.

Jing Xiaonan looked at her receding back with some confusion. Wasn’t everything fine just now? What was going on now? Staring blankly as the beautifully shaped ankles disappeared from her sight, she crouched down, desperately looking at William, who was leisurely pacing over, and whispered: “What’s wrong with her again?”

William glanced at his emotionally clueless owner, sneered, and ignored her. He clumsily imitated Ye Luochen’s earlier turn, wiggling his small waist and walking upstairs with a swagger. His gray tail cocked high, revealing a perfect, brilliant small chrysanthemum towards his owner’s direction. Contempt!

So, Jing Xiaonan was left alone in the spacious living room, innocently looking up at the departing figures of the person and the beast. She sighed, walked slowly to the small lamp that had warmed her, and was about to turn it off, but her gaze fell on the newspaper Ye Luochen had set aside earlier. The headline and accompanying picture were shocking.

Multiple fatalities and injuries in a serial car crash in Melbourne city center.

Jing Xiaonan unfolded the newspaper. The part she naturally held was already crumpled, and there were several clear crescent-shaped indentations on the right side.