Yu He buried her face in Qin Beiting's neck, the faint tobacco scent on the man giving her a sense of security deep within her heart.
After a while, as the sudden emotional surge gradually subsided, she suddenly realized she had lost her composure.
She let go of Qin Beiting and saw the wet patch on his shirt collar, a hint of embarrassment flashing across her face.
"I missed your pan-fried steak, I thought I'd never have it again," Yu He coughed lightly, explaining.
Qin Beiting, seeing her attempt to cover up, curled his lips. "You just missed my pan-fried steak?"
As he spoke, he noticed a few strands of hair clinging to her cheek and reached out to tuck them behind her ear.
His gesture was so natural that Yu He's mind became a mess, and the place his fingers brushed against her cheek seemed to retain a trace of warmth.
She avoided Qin Beiting's gaze and affirmed, "Yes."
"Don't you miss the person who fries steak?" Qin Beiting looked at Yu He with anticipation in his eyes.
"..."
Seeing her silence, Qin Beiting, based on past experience, thought she was about to get angry again. However, he saw Yu He's lips move, and she uttered a word.
"Yes."
Qin Beiting was immediately overjoyed and deliberately asked again, "Miss who?"
Yu He: "......"
She always suspected Qin Beiting was doing it on purpose. Her exquisite face regained its usual cool expression. Looking at him, she said earnestly, "I miss your... pan-fried steak, I'm hungry."
Qin Beiting chuckled twice. Just for her first two words, let alone a steak, he would be willing to make her steak for a lifetime.
"When you're discharged from the hospital, I'll make it for you. For now, you need to eat lightly."
Yu He gazed at his smile, somewhat lost in thought. This man was already stunningly handsome, and when he smiled, he was even more radiant than an angel, making him utterly irresistible. It was truly too much, a temptation directed at whom?
She turned her face away, not looking, unable to succumb.
Just then, there was a knock on the ward door. Qin Beiting answered, "Come in." Lu Yiming and Qi Nan entered, carrying insulated lunch boxes.
Seeing Yu He awake, they both greeted her. Qi Nan noticed the IV drip had finished and helped Yu He remove the needle.
Lu Yiming's gaze fell on Qin Beiting's wet collar. "Brother Ting, why is your shirt wet?"
Did he cry secretly?
His eyes darted between the two of them, and no matter who it was, he felt a sense of incongruity.
Qi Nan heard this and looked up at Qin Beiting. "You cried?"
Yu He: "..."
Qin Beiting glanced at Yu He and, with feigned seriousness, lied, "The heating was turned up too high, I was hot."
Yu He: "......"
"Young Master Lu, why are you here too?" she changed the subject.
As she turned back, she felt a soreness in her neck, as if it had been heavily impacted. She rubbed her neck.
"Brother Ting received the news of your kidnapping and asked me for backup," Lu Yiming said.
"Thank you." Yu He rubbed her neck and asked Qi Nan, "Why does my neck hurt so much?"
She didn't remember injuring her neck.
Qi Nan frowned slightly. He hadn't participated in the rescue, but he had heard from Lu Yiming about the fierce confrontation between Qin Beiting and Yu He. For this reason, Qin Beiting had specifically asked him to pay attention to Yu He's symptoms.
"You don't remember what happened that night?" Lu Yiming was somewhat surprised. He glanced at Qin Beiting and recalled his impressive counterattack that night, thinking that the boss was truly the boss; when he got ruthless, he could even go so hard on his own woman.
Could she have been beaten into amnesia?
Qin Beiting: "..."
"What happened?" Yu He followed Lu Yiming's gaze to Qin Beiting and noticed that his left arm seemed to be bandaged under his shirt, looking a bit bulky. Her brow furrowed slightly.
Seeing the confusion on Yu He's face, Qi Nan realized she truly didn't remember what happened that night. This symptom was even more severe than Qin Beiting's previous episodes.
At least when Qin Beiting had an episode before, after using medication to regain consciousness, he would know he had had an episode and would have some fragmented memories. But she remembered nothing.
"Eat something first. Aren't you hungry?" Qin Beiting opened the insulated box brought by Lu Yiming, revealing a light, nutritious congee inside.
Seeing their strange expressions, Yu He had a gut feeling that something else had happened after she fainted, but they didn't want to mention it.
She stopped asking and decided to fill her stomach first. She hadn't eaten for several days and was starving.
Yu He reached out to take the bowl from Qin Beiting, but he didn't give it to her. "You're not feeling well, I'll feed you."
"..."
Qin Beiting scooped a spoonful of congee, blew on it gently, and brought it to Yu He's lips. "Here, ah."
Yu He: "......"
Seeing her not moving, Qin Beiting's gaze moved between her lips and the spoon. "Is the spoon too big? How about I feed you another way?"
Yu He:!
Her sixth sense told her that the "other way" Qin Beiting referred to was definitely not a good way. She opened her mouth and ate the congee.
Qin Beiting's lips curved into a smile. "Such a good girl."
"..."
Lu Yiming and Qi Nan, watching this, suddenly understood. It could be done like this! They learned something new.
After filling her stomach, Yu He felt much better all over.
Qin Beiting finished the remaining congee in the insulated box. Qi Nan was changing the dressing on his arm on the next hospital bed. Yu He glanced at it; the wound looked like it had been inflicted by a sharp object like a dagger.
She remembered the dagger she found in the cave and the bite marks below Qin Beiting's collarbone she saw after returning from Lucheng last time. Her gaze deepened, and she became even more convinced that something had happened after she fainted twice, but Qin Beiting wouldn't say anything.
After dealing with the current matters, she would have to find time to examine herself properly.
She asked Lu Yiming, "Are Brother Hao and Yang Lin okay? And the kidnappers..."
"They are fine. The kidnappers have confessed that Gu Yan instructed them. The police are looking for Gu Yan. For specific details, Chen Hao is in charge and knows more." Lu Yiming said.
Yu He's peach blossom eyes narrowed. The culprit was Gu Yan?
Impossible!
Although she hadn't interacted much with Gu Yan, she had deliberately provoked Gu Yan once in the woodshed that day. From Gu Yan's startled expression, it was clear she didn't know the specifics. Later, when Yu He pressed her, Gu Yan seemed eager to confirm something and left.
Compared to Gu Yan, Qin Meimei was more suspicious. Although she hadn't cooperated well with the investigation, her reaction when Luo Xiaoyao's family of three was mentioned was much more dramatic than Gu Yan's uninformed shock.
"Where's my phone?" Yu He asked, then remembered she hadn't had her phone since she was locked in the woodshed. She didn't know if it had fallen in the car or been taken by the kidnappers. Just as she was about to ask Lu Yiming to borrow his phone,
"Here." Lu Yiming handed her the phone on the table.
Yu He saw a laptop and an acupuncture kit on the table, which were her lost items. She breathed a sigh of relief.
Losing her phone and laptop was manageable, but she would really miss the set of golden needles Qin Beiting had given her.
She opened her phone. There were 10 missed calls and over 99 unread WeChat messages. She didn't have time to look at them and first looked for Chen Hao.