Rong Jian was forced to let go of Feng Rubing’s hands to get his phone. When he saw that Liu Xiaofan was calling him, he remembered that he had asked him to get the key, so he immediately accepted the call. When he heard Liu Xiaofan say that he was already outside the ward, Rong Jian got up and made for the door. He led Liu Xiaofan over to the nurses’ station, because Rong Ying had said earlier that the key was there.

Once Liu Xiaofan had gotten the key and confirmed that he was supposed to retrieve Feng Rubing’s phone, Rong Jian returned to the ward.

Feng Rubing was already lying down with her back to him when he returned. She was still, as though she was already asleep.

He stood by her bed, his eyes on her back as he stood there for a long time. While he had once guessed that the reason she wouldn’t accept him was due to emotional trauma, he had never expected her to have such a pitiable past. No wonder she never said a word about it.

He was deeply touched by this. His heart ached even more for her now.

Nevertheless, it seemed that she didn’t trust his feelings toward her.

There was little wonder about that. Despite all the years that had gone by, she had never been able to forgive herself for her past naivete, and she loathed herself to no end. If she couldn’t even move past this baggage, how could she believe that he would accept all her flaws so quickly?

However, as a rational adult, Rong Jian truly didn’t mind her youthful foolishness and ignorance in the past. What he cared about was her present self. Only he knew his own true feelings toward her.

He quietly sat down next to her bed and just so happened to see her body shift slightly. It was then that he realized she hadn’t fallen asleep, but he didn’t tell her to turn around. Instead, he kept looking at her back like he did earlier while he remained deep in his thoughts. His brows gradually furrowed tighter and tighter.

She had said that Li Jianyun used a video of Feng Qiqi showering to blackmail her, and prior to his death, Li Jianyun hadn’t come to a settlement with that video. Therefore, the problem was—where was that video?

Rong Jian had personally checked all of Li Jianyun’s belongings. Li Jianyun only had a somewhat new smartphone when it came to his electronic gadgets. He didn’t have a computer or tablet, and Rong Jian hadn’t found any USB drives or any other storage devices. He had also managed to check Li Jianyun’s personal QQ, WeChat, and email through the technical department, but he didn’t discover anything out of the ordinary there either. So what did he use to secretly film that video and show it to Feng Rubing?

Could it be that…

Feng Rubing suddenly rolled over and sat up, as though she had just woken from a deep slumber. “You still haven’t left yet?”

“I’m here to keep you company.”

“I’m already fine. I don’t need you around. The moment the sun is up, I’m going home.”

“But—”

“All the IV drip in the hospital does is provide me with nutrients. I just need to watch my meals when I go home. It’s getting late. You should go back and get some rest too.” She didn’t ask him when he had gone to Guangyang or when he came back, because both of these questions were meaningless.

“I’m not sleepy,” he replied. Worried that she would shoo him away, he hastily added, “You get some sleep. I’ll stay here for a bit before leaving.”

Feng Rubing looked at him for a few moments. She knew that she couldn’t get him to leave, so she didn’t insist. Just as she was about to lie back down, she sat up again and asked, “By the way, did you not find Li Jianyun’s second phone when you were going through his belongings?”

“His second phone?”

“Yes, the one that he used to secretly film Qiqi. According to him, that phone didn’t have a SIM card in it. It was mainly used for his secret filming. I saw it when he showed me Qiqi’s video. My attention was solely focused on the clip, so I didn’t notice what brand it was, never mind the model.”

When she saw Rong Jian shake his head, she sighed. “No wonder he wasn’t afraid at all when I threatened to file a police report. He said something about having hidden the phone away in a secret place that even the police couldn’t find. If the police couldn’t find any proof, they wouldn’t be able to charge him with anything. He said that he would upload the video online along with Qiqi’s name when he got out. I didn’t quite believe him, but I also didn’t dare to take that risk. From the looks of things now, he wasn’t lying to me. I hope that no one will ever find that phone.”

Rong Jian didn’t speak, opting to simply watch her.

She sighed once again and didn’t bother continuing to entertain him. She simply lay down to sleep with her back facing him.

Rong Jian’s forehead tightened as he stared at her back, his eyes filled with confusion.

If she hadn’t provided that additional information about the video on the phone, he would have completely believed her. But now that he thought about it, there were plenty of plotholes to her story. For one, if Li Jianyun really intended to harass Feng Qiqi, why did Feng Rubing still allow her to go to school alone? She even said that Li Jianyun had sneaked into their home and made off with some underwear. If so, how could she still work overtime without worry and leave Feng Qiqi alone at home?

In addition to that, she had refused to divulge anything about her relationship with Li Jianyun after he was found dead. If she only did it because she didn’t want people to know that Feng Qiqi had been secretly filmed, this wouldn’t make sense at all, because she may very well be charged with murder. Besides, she had been working on the front lines for a long time now, so she should know police protocol and procedure very well. Even if they did find the video, they would be sure to keep it under wraps to the best of their abilities. Her anxiety about this seemed to be over the top.

Perhaps her relationship with Li Jianyun wasn’t as simple as she said it was. Maybe something did happen between her and him because of that video of Feng Qiqi. Even so, that was done out of coercion, so she shouldn’t gamble her future and freedom to hide all this. If she was worried that she wouldn’t be able to continue living in An City openly, at most she would only need to move somewhere else for a fresh start, just like she did over ten years ago.

When he thought about what happened over ten years ago, Rong Jian had even more questions. He still didn’t understand what her past had to do with Li Jianyun. Could she be especially worried that Feng Qiqi would be harmed by men because of how that man mistreated her when she was young? Was that why she was doing all she could to protect Feng Qiqi?

I’ve already come clean with you, so don’t go to Linhe or Guangyang to look into things, okay? Feng Qiqi is a smart egg; I’m worried that she’ll pick up on it. I really don’t want her to know about that dark past of mine. I’m especially worried that she’d let herself go because of her rebelliousness and make the same mistakes as I did.

Her words once again reverberated in his mind.

Feng Qiqi may seem like a stubborn brat, but she was actually a kind and thoughtful girl. The reason why both sisters butted heads often was mostly because they both had different viewpoints, and they handled matters differently. The main cause for this conflict of opinion was because of their age gap, and also because of Feng Qiqi’s communication style. Feng Rubing held Feng Qiqi to strict standards, and she was never willing to cut the younger girl some slack. Rong Jian had always thought that this was tied to Feng Rubing being her sister and substitute parent, but now that he thought about it, Feng Rubing was just worried that her sister would make a mistake and be like her younger self. It seemed that she was worried over nothing, but this was Feng Rubing’s concern toward Feng Qiqi as an older sister.

Still, that wasn’t the primary thing that Rong Jian was concerned about. Instead, his thoughts were fixed on Feng Rubing’s plea for him to not dig into her past.

She had already told him everything, so why was she still scared that he would look into it? Could there be some other hidden thing that she didn’t want anyone else to know? Or was it because she didn’t want to face those memories that made her skin crawl again?

He was a typically rational and deliberate person, but his mind was currently a mess of thoughts. No matter how he tried, they remained tangled. Perhaps it was because he was too concerned for her and pitied her so much.

He lifted his hand to check his watch and realized that it was nearly dawn, so he promptly abandoned the notion of calling up Mu Yu at this hour. While Mu Yu was an inexperienced investigator, she was rather insightful when it came to dissecting cases as she was often able to suggest different ideas from her own viewpoint, making Rong Jian see a new light from seemingly simple interrogations. Hence, he was often willing to discuss various cases with her. To top it off, this case involved a woman that Rong Jian cared about greatly. He was worried that he would end up missing some key clues by slipping up and being clouded by his emotions, and he especially didn’t want people to know about Feng Rubing’s experience. And so, finding Mu Yu to untangle his thoughts was a good idea to him, considering how he was now.

He rubbed his throbbing temples and ran his fingers through his messy hair. Rong Jian then let out a yawn before dragging his exhausted body over to the couch to lean back and rest.

He had only napped for a short while when he opened his bloodshot eyes to stare at Feng Rubing. From his current angle, he could clearly see her face—a face which was so pale that it made his heart ache.

“Rubing’s family may have struggled, but she was the top of her class, and she was kind, considerate, and bubbly. I and the other teachers were especially fond of her. She had good grades too, and she skipped two years. She was a student that the school favored. Alas, she fell seriously ill one day and dropped out. Later on, there was no longer any news of her. I’m not going to lie—if you hadn’t told me today that she’s living well now, I would have thought that she had died from her sickness back then.”

He still remembered what Gu Lihao, Feng Rubing’s homeroom teacher back at Linhe First Middle School, had said.

Top of her class, kind, considerate, and bubbly. That was practically the same as how Feng Qiqi currently was. Both sisters were indeed from the same stock.

If that incident hadn’t happened, perhaps Feng Rubing would have shined even brighter. She might not have been constantly reserved and gloomy now.

Back to the topic at hand, though—if she hadn’t gone through that experience, she wouldn’t have moved to An City, and he wouldn’t have necessarily met her. Even if he did, she, as a brilliant and impressive woman, definitely wouldn’t have waited until she started working to look for a boyfriend.

It seemed like the marks that the heavens left on her during her youth were so that he could appear in her life and reach out to her to face the future together.

A smile finally bloomed on his haggard face, his gaze turning even more determined.

Rubing, regardless of whatever happens, I won’t give up pursuing you. You are the one who will walk by my side for the rest of my life. I will do everything I can to protect you and Qiqi and make you two happy!

As he made that promise, the sun shone in through the window, having risen with the dawn.

…

“Yu, where are you going?”

Mu Yu had woken up past 10.00AM and hastily downed her ‘breakfast’. She was about to leave when Qin Xiaozhi stopped her.

She quickly grinned and explained, “Grandpa, I’m going to work.”

“What work? You can go when the weather warms up a bit. You’re pregnant now, so you can’t keep going outside!”

“Grandpa, I’m fine. I—”

“You’re still saying you’re fine? First, you caught a cold, and later, you got caught up in a car accident! You nearly gave me a heart attack out of fright. You know that?”

Mu Yu felt very guilty as she apologized. “Grandpa, I’m sorry…”

“Don’t apologize to me. I don’t like hearing it. I just want you to stay at home.” When he saw her pout, Qin Xiaozhi’s initially harsh voice softened, and he changed his tone to a more earnest one. “Yu, I know that you can’t bear to sit around at home, but there’s no other way. You’re pregnant, you know? And pregnant ladies aren’t as physically strong. It’s still not warm yet outside. What if you catch a cold again?”

Those words made Mu Yu feel even guiltier. When she caught a cold last time, Qin Xiaozhi put Lei Zhi and Li Xianglan through the wringer, because ‘pregnant women weren’t supposed to take just any medication’. Moreover, she wanted to get pregnant quickly, so she didn’t dare to take cold medicine. Fortunately, her body was robust; she just drank some ginger tea and rode it out for a day.

Still, she must leave for work today because she had to verify something. Seeing how Qin Xiaozhi stubbornly refused to let her past the door, she racked her brains and came up with an idea, and so she wrapped her arms around Qin Xiaozhi and blinked her puppy eyes. “Grandpa, if I can’t go to work, then can I go to Qing Tian Building to see President Huan? I really miss him so much.”

Urgh, that is pretty cringey to say.

Even her skin was prickling with goosebumps already. However, Qin Xiaozhi was overjoyed to hear that, and so he agreed. “Lan happened to have made some nourishing soup for you. You should take some over to him too.”

Forty minutes later, Mu Yu showed up at the Qing Tian Building with a thermos filled with soup.

As she stepped into the elevator, she mentally warned, Qin Jinhuan, you’d better not be lying to me, or I will definitely never forgive you.