Many people came to visit throughout the morning.
The gifts were so numerous that the small table in the room was almost overflowing.
"Give me a couple more days, and I can open a supermarket," Wen Tingxue joked.
Jiao Yutong laughed and said, "Then get well quickly, or I'll bring you fruit every day, and you'll be sick of sweetness."
"Hmph, you..."
There was a sudden noise at the door. Wen Tingxue instinctively closed her mouth and looked over.
It was Song Cheng Lu.
He was wearing a hospital gown, his face even paler than hers. He looked like he had only recently woken up, and the needle marks on the back of his hand were still oozing blood.
"You child, why don't you listen?!" Mrs. Song chased after him, scolding him with anger and exasperation. "At least finish your IV drip! Are you that eager to see her?!"
Song Cheng Lu ignored her, his eyes urgently searching the room.
"She already left," Wen Tingxue said.
"Mm," he lowered his head in disappointment, responding with a muffled "I know."
But he had still rushed over.
Even though he knew the chance of seeing her was slim.
"I'm sorry." He suddenly spoke.
Wen Tingxue raised her eyebrows in surprise.
Jiao Yutong immediately grabbed her bag and stood up. "You two talk. I'm going to work."
Tang Mo Bai, who had been waiting, quickly followed up, "I'll drive you."
The two of them left, and the room door closed.
Song Cheng Lu hesitantly took a step forward, his gaze falling on her bruised wrist. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."
His voice was low, and he sounded genuinely apologetic.
But Yu Wen Li did not accept it. "Didn't mean to?"
He stood up, his eyes as cold as a blade. "Then perhaps you wouldn't mind if I also acted without intending to?"
"What, what do you want to do?" Mrs. Song immediately stepped in front of Song Cheng Lu.
Despite being quite frightened, she still mustered a brave front and argued, "My son didn't do it on purpose either. He didn't want things to turn out this way. He had been drinking that day, and besides, he was quite badly injured himself!"
"He deserved it," Yu Wen Li said without mincing words. "If you can't hold your liquor, don't drag others down."
Mrs. Song's face turned red with anger. "What kind of person are you!"
Yu Wen Li sneered. Wen Tingxue quickly grabbed his hand. "A Li."
Her wrist hurt with every movement.
Yu Wen Li couldn't bear to let go of her, nor could he bring himself to let Song Cheng Lu off the hook.
As they stood in a stalemate, Song Cheng Lu pulled Mrs. Song aside and stepped forward. "As long as you can forgive me, hit me."
"A Li!"
Feeling the strength in his wrist, Wen Tingxue called out to him with more urgency.
Song Cheng Lu was about to be sent abroad. Why should they bother with someone who was heartbroken and drunk?
Besides, he hadn't intentionally let go that day.
"He already knows he was wrong. Please, let him go."
Wen Tingxue persuaded him softly.
It wasn't that she was particularly kind or magnanimous, but Song Cheng Lu was already in a bad enough state.
A few more punches or a few less wouldn't make much difference.
If they were accidentally photographed, it would be Yu Wen Li who would face trouble.
"Yes, yes, that's right!" Mrs. Song, afraid her son would be beaten, shielded him again, her expression pleading. "Miss Wen is right. Xiao Lu knows he was wrong. Please give him a chance to redeem himself!"
Wen Tingxue scratched his palm with her fingertips.
It was a ticklish sensation.
Yu Wen Li reluctantly sat down, then held her wrist and gently rubbed it, helping to improve circulation.
Song Cheng Lu was pulled away by Mrs. Song. As they neared the door, he clung to the doorframe, asking unyieldingly, "Did she really say nothing?"
His gaze was too complex, a mixture of deep affection and hatred.
Wen Tingxue had interacted with him a few times, but this was the first time she had seen him like this, and her gaze flickered.
After a brief silence, she said, "She told you to drink less alcohol."
"...Okay."
It was unclear whether he believed her or not.
But the "okay" he gave was particularly earnest.
...
Not long after Song Cheng Lu left, Fu Ran and Lu Youran arrived with gifts.
Perhaps it was because they had encountered him on the way, but as they entered, Fu Ran mumbled, "He's changed quite a bit recently."
Que You called back, casually asking, "Who are you talking about?"
"Song Cheng Lu," Lu Youran placed the desserts on the bedside table.
Rolling her eyes, she complained, "He's been muttering this whole way. I don't know what's so surprising."
She didn't interact much with Song Cheng Lu and wasn't interested in him at all.
She had no intention of discussing this topic further.
"Did you know?" she grabbed a chair and sat down next to Wen Tingxue, chattering, "Your name is all over the internet now, talking about love triangles and quadrangles, anyway..."
Mid-sentence, there was a knock on the door.
Que You, who was closest, opened it casually. Upon seeing who it was, he froze for a moment.
"Who is it?" His expression was so peculiar that Wen Tingxue instinctively asked.
Lu Youran turned her head.
Que You took half a step back, and Fu Yu Shen entered in his wheelchair.
After a long absence, he still had that gentlemanly demeanor.
When their eyes met, Wen Tingxue could still find the professor in his gaze.
"I heard you were injured. This medicine is very effective."
He handed the paper bag in his arms to Que You, his voice as gentle and warm as she remembered.
"Thank you," Wen Tingxue nodded politely.
Fu Yu Shen smiled slightly, his gaze sliding from her to Lu Youran.
"Professor Fu," Lu Youran called out reflexively.
Her voice wasn't loud, and her eyes quickly averted.
She visibly became more reserved.
Fu Yu Shen smiled. "Hello."
"What are you doing here?!"
Before Lu Youran could respond, Fu Ran stepped in front of her, blocking their line of sight.
Fu Yu Shen, as if not seeing the displeasure on his face, asked with a smile, "Nana isn't here. Would you mind accompanying me to the restroom?"
It was clear he was here for Fu Ran.
And he wasn't hiding it at all.
Fu Ran frowned, wanting to refuse.
Lu Youran nudged him. "Your uncle has something to say to you. You should go."
...
The door closed again, and Lu Youran continued their previous conversation.
"I don't know what the media is thinking. They actually think you've moved on and fallen for Song Cheng Lu, and that you and Xie Jin Yi are fighting over Song Cheng Lu. They're making it sound so convincing, as if they were at the scene when the accident happened.
"Also, because you were carried out by Senior Song, many netizens think that Senior Song likes you, and that it's a clear-cut love quadrangle between you. It's ridiculous!"
She spoke animatedly, as if it didn't affect her.
But Wen Tingxue knew she was just nervous.
Fu Yu Shen was, after all, Fu Ran's uncle.
His special visit couldn't possibly be just for pleasantries.
Most likely, he was here to persuade Fu Ran to go home.
"Ran Ran," Wen Tingxue gently interrupted her.
"What?" she asked with a smile. "Am I not telling the story entertainingly?"
Wen Tingxue shook her head and said frankly, "Fu Yu Shen and Fu Ran don't have a good relationship. Fu Ran won't listen to what he says."
Lu Youran's back stiffened for a moment, then she smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. I've long been prepared for him to leave at any time. It's just a matter of sooner or later."
She firmly believed they would break up.
It wasn't that she didn't believe in love, but in the face of immense temptation, love and affection seemed... truly insignificant.
Just like Jing Xiao. He clearly liked her, but the moment Meng Xiyao flirted with him, he could forget her.
If a relationship of over ten years could be like that,
How long had she and Fu Ran known each other?
And he had been raised in privilege since birth. Could he endure hardship without money for a lifetime?
When he got tired of playing, he would definitely go home.
After all, a thousand Meng Xiyaos couldn't compare to the wealth of the Fu family.
Lu Youran felt the same way.
"You can't think like that..." Wen Tingxue wanted her to try and believe Fu Ran.
But she didn't want to talk about it anymore. "Let's talk about something else."
Wen Tingxue immediately changed the subject. "So, how did it end up? A love quadrangle? Or a love triangle?"
"It's none of those, it's a beautiful love!" Lu Youran smiled and glanced at Yu Wen Li.
Although Chi Ze Rui had exercised some control during the incident, he wasn't in the entertainment industry, so some matters weren't handled meticulously.
The media, however, was all-pervasive.
Soon, all sorts of gossip news began to spread.
The most popular one was 'A certain top star's girlfriend has a change of heart, suspected to be in a love triangle.'
Although many posts didn't name names, the descriptions were so detailed that netizens could easily guess it was Yu Wen Li.
Coincidentally, there were rumors that Song Cheng Lu and Wen Tingxue were injured by Xie Jin Yi and were hospitalized.
This further confirmed the authenticity of the posts.
Following that, netizens dug up Yu Wen Li's schedule for the past six months.
After a series of analyses, they concluded that Yu Wen Li and Wen Tingxue had broken up.
After all, they had very little time to see each other.
If they were in the midst of a passionate romance, how could they not see each other for so long?
Then, this analysis went viral.
The reason for its virality wasn't just the breakup.
A significant part of it was also a backlash against the marketing.
Of course, Yu Wen Li was greatly wronged in this matter.
Because from his debut until now, he had never posted a single marketing post related to romance.
Yet, there were many articles online about them, most of which talked about 'beautiful love' or 'seeing them makes me believe in love again.'
These were all written by marketing accounts trying to gain popularity.
Que You had already deleted many, but Yu Wen Li's popularity was too high.
Furthermore, he disliked interviews, so the media couldn't find a good angle and could only focus on his relationships.
Initially, netizens were interested, but after seeing too much, they developed a rebellious psychology.
Therefore, the 'breakup' issue could create such a stir.
However, the reversal came quickly.
Last night, after Wen Tingxue woke up, Yu Wen Li had his studio issue a statement.
Then netizens learned that not only had they not broken up, but Wen Tingxue had also stayed in Jiangcheng for a long time to take care of Grandpa Yu.
#BeautifulLove# once again dominated the trending search rankings.
...
Restroom.
Fu Ran pushed Fu Yu Shen in and wanted to leave.
Fu Yu Shen called him to a halt.
"What?" Fu Ran stood there impatiently, but didn't turn around.
"The Qi family has specifically requested a marriage alliance with you, and the Fu family has already begun preparing the necessary arrangements."
Fu Yu Shen's tone was that of notification.
"What did you say?!" Fu Ran immediately walked up to him, his expression sour. "Didn't I already reach an agreement with her?"
Fu Yu Shen smiled and looked up, but there was no trace of a smile in his eyes.
"Xiao Ran, how can you be so naive? A marriage alliance between two families has never been something the younger generation can control."
In other words, your persuasion of her was useless.
"I'm going to find Uncle right now!"
Fu Ran turned to leave, but Fu Yu Shen said calmly, "This matter was negotiated by him. Do you think he will change his mind because of your tantrums?"
Fu Ran slammed on the brakes.
Fu Yu Shen turned his wheelchair and looked at his retreating figure. "I know you like Lu Youran very much, but you also know Fu Yu Chuan's methods. If you dare to refuse, Lu Youran will be in danger."