With Zhou Jinbei deliberately creating opportunities, Jiang Nan Fang spent the entire afternoon at the hospital with Zhan Bei Jue.
After eating and drinking their fill, the two sat in silence. Zhan Bei Jue lay on the bed feigning sleep, while Jiang Nan Fang sat by the window looking at her phone.
He would occasionally open his eyes to glance at her. Seeing her engrossed in her phone, neither playing games nor watching videos, he grew curious about what she was doing.
Zhan Bei Jue looked at her many times, but Jiang Nan Fang didn't look back once. After enduring for over an hour, he finally couldn't help but ask.
"When did you start loving looking at your phone so much?"
Jiang Nan Fang glanced at him and turned the screen so he could see.
"I'm reading a biography. It's quite interesting. How else would I pass the time if I didn't look at my phone?"
So that was it.
"What biography are you reading?"
It had been a long time since they had sat together and chatted so peacefully. Jiang Nan Fang shouldn't have given him this opportunity, nor should she have answered his question.
However, she was bored at the hospital, and the ward was quiet. She didn't want to argue with him or spoil her mood.
"It's about Chanel. You must be familiar with her name from childhood to adulthood, but this is the first time I'm reading about her seriously."
Zhan Bei Jue had heard of her famous name, but he hadn't really studied it. He wasn't interested in such things.
He closed his eyes, signaling for her to continue reading, and slept for a while. A nurse came in to take his temperature and administer today's medication.
Before hooking him up to the IV, she asked if he needed to use the restroom, as it would be inconvenient later.
He did.
In fact, Zhan Bei Jue had already thought of it, but he didn't want to move while watching Jiang Nan Fang engrossed in her reading.
The bathroom was within the suite of the ward. Using the toilet would definitely make noise, and he would feel awkward about it.
So, when Zhan Bei Jue said he needed to go, Jiang Nan Fang instinctively told the nurse.
"Please wait outside for a moment. I'll call you when he's done."
It wasn't until the nurse walked out that she realized how deeply influenced she was by him.
Even though they were divorced, his various life habits were deeply ingrained in her DNA.
You are truly pathetic, Jiang Nan Fang.
Inside the bathroom, Zhan Bei Jue felt a secret surge of sweetness because of her instinctive remark.
After hanging the IV bag, the nurse left. He asked Jiang Nan Fang to stop looking at her phone.
"Let's talk."
Jiang Nan Fang reluctantly put away her phone. "Talk about what? What is there to talk about with you?"
"Let's not talk about ourselves, but about the children. How have the children been lately?"
"Ah Cheng and Ah Biao are guarding them every day. If you want to know how they are, just ask them."
"Can what Ah Cheng and Ah Biao say be the same as what you say?" Zhan Bei Jue insisted she tell him.
Regardless, he was the children's biological father.
His concern for the children would only be beneficial to them.
This was also the main reason why she hadn't completely fallen out with him.
Jiang Nan Fang then told him about how the children often thought of him and some of the cute things they did in their daily lives.
When she recounted funny and nonsensical anecdotes, Zhan Bei Jue couldn't help but chuckle softly.
"This child is incredibly mischievous. I was never like this growing up. He must take after you."
Jiang Nan Fang pouted.
"Fine. The good traits are all from you, and the bad ones are all from me. You're amazing, alright?"
They managed to spend their time together relatively peacefully until dinner. Ah Cheng brought the food.
Jiang Nan Fang ate a little. While her mood was still relatively good, Zhan Bei Jue discussed with her.
"I still have to stay in the hospital for two more days. If it's convenient, could you make this soup for me again tomorrow? It's really quite good."
Considering he had helped her somewhat the past two days, and out of pity for him, Jiang Nan Fang agreed.
At eight o'clock in the evening, Zhou Jinbei came to take over.
After Jiang Nan Fang left, seeing that Zhan Bei Jue was not only in a good mood but also looked much better, Zhou Jinbei teased him.
"What did my sister-in-law do to you today for you to look so radiant? You look like you're in love."
Zhan Bei Jue refused to reveal the details, only expressing his displeasure. "You should come later tomorrow. Just say you overslept, and let her stay longer."
"I haven't seen you be so punctual before, yet you know to come an hour early for important matters. Look at you."
Zhou Jinbei: "..."
He really felt like his good intentions were unrewarded.
Zhan Bei Jue seamlessly shifted the topic back to work, asking who had visited the company today and if there were any problems.
Zhou Jinbei reported a few insignificant matters, and the night passed uneventfully.
At eight o'clock the next morning, on Zhan Bei Jue's orders, Zhou Jinbei called Jiang Nan Fang again, requesting her to come earlier.
Unexpectedly, she had already arrived at the ward door carrying a thermal container.
"Do I even need to tell you?"
Compared to yesterday, she had brought another thermal container.
As if foreseeing that Lu Mingzhe would wake up today, she had prepared a portion for him as well.
Lu Mingzhe's fever had subsided, and his wound didn't hurt as much. His condition was indeed much better today than yesterday.
However, he was in low spirits, lying in bed blankly, not wanting to say a word.
Zhan Bei Jue wasn't good at making conversation either, so they sat in silence, keeping each other company.
If it weren't for the occasional stir caused by the two women in the ward, one might think they didn't know each other.
When the food was served, Zhan Bei Jue ate his, while Zhou Jinbei went to rouse Lu Mingzhe and persuade him to eat something.
Lu Mingzhe had a grim expression and remained silent. Zhou Jinbei made many jokes, livening up the atmosphere for a long time. Jiang Nan Fang played along with him, which finally got him to open his mouth.
However, before he could even take a few sips of the soup, Lu Mingzhe's mother arrived.
Not only did she come, but she also brought two uninvited guests.
Mrs. Wang and Mrs. Gao, whom they had met at Kangqiao Mountain Villa, were among them.
Upon entering and seeing the two patients eating, Lu Mingzhe's mother smiled at Mrs. Gao and Mrs. Wang.
"I told you it was nothing serious, just a common cold. Look, aren't they better now? These two insisted on coming to see them; it's really too kind of them."
"Mingzhe, A Jue, I happened to run into two aunts at the hospital early this morning, and they heard you were sick, so they insisted on coming to check on you. Hurry up and thank them."
Lu Mingzhe didn't understand why he was being looked at by two aunts he didn't know at all, but Zhan Bei Jue understood.
He suspected that some people had ulterior motives and that it wasn't just about checking if he was sick.
Jiang Nan Fang was standing beside him, watching him eat. Given their divorce and their past disagreements, standing like this now was quite accommodating.
Therefore, to maintain his "scum" persona, after Lu Mingzhe's mother finished speaking, Zhan Bei Jue slammed the soup bowl back onto the bedside table.
He then turned to look at Jiang Nan Fang with displeasure.
"This is disgusting. You bring me this to try and win me over?"
"You swore you just learned to cook? I think you deliberately came to annoy me."
"From now on, you don't need to bring me any more random things, don't bother putting in the effort."
"There will never be any possibility between us. Have some self-respect."