Chapter 112: Knowing When to Stop

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“Then what are you worried about?” Yuan Man asked again, her eyes glinting with amusement. “That young man from the Research Department?”

The moment Xianyu Qing heard this, she raised her head. “How is Mr. Jiang?”

Yuan Man leaned back and folded her arms across her chest. “He didn’t die, though he’ll have to remain in bed for a while.”

Even as an outsider, Jiang Mohe possessed astonishing vitality. No wonder Young Master Ao had spared no effort to save him.

At the news, Xianyu Qing’s mood visibly improved.

Yuan Man continued her “psychological intervention.” “So you’re not afraid of those people. You’re only afraid that young man won’t survive, aren’t you?”

Xianyu Qing did not answer.

But one look at her expression told Yuan Man everything. She let out a soft laugh. “Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for that young man?”

Fallen for him?

A trace of confusion appeared in Xianyu Qing’s eyes. Did she like Jiang Mohe?

“Ha! Look at you, sweetheart. Don’t tell me you’ve never been in love?”

“…”

Xianyu Qing had grown up under her brother’s “protection.” Where would she have found the chance to fall in love?

During the three years after her brother was no longer by her side, she had been unwilling to interact with others because of her illness, and she had never given romance a thought.

Then Yuan Man tossed out another remark. “I went to see that young man once. While he was unconscious, he kept murmuring ‘Qingqing.’”

The doctors in the Research Department had no idea who Jiang Mohe meant by “Qingqing.” Otherwise, they would have reported it to Nangong Ao long ago.

Yuan Man had not mentioned it to Nangong Ao either. She adored nothing more than a melodramatic love triangle.

Xianyu Qing remained stunned by those words, unable to come back to herself.

Yuan Man asked again, “That young man suffered such serious injuries because of you, didn’t he? Do you know what kind of people the Jiang family are?”

Xianyu Qing hesitated, then shook her head.

Yuan Man adored that bewildered little gaze of hers. At this moment, she felt less like she was conducting psychological intervention and more like she was giving romantic advice.

“The Jiang family values profit above all else. They’ll risk their lives only for a sufficient reward—and the reward must be worth their lives. Do you think you, merely Young Master Ao’s cousin, are worth him risking his life?”

Indeed.

Jiang Mohe always said that protecting her was part of his job, but what he had done had long exceeded the duties of a bodyguard.

He brought her late-night snacks when she was hungry. When she was upset, he used pets to cheer her up. When she was afraid, he gave her the most reassuring embrace. And whenever she was in danger, he would rush forward without hesitation to shield her from harm.

Her brother had once told her that someone who truly cared for you would always hold you close to his heart. Apart from her mother and brother, Jiang Mohe was the only person in this world willing to give his life for her.

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But did she like him? Xianyu Qing was not sure.

Seeing her confusion, Yuan Man reminded her, “Sweetheart, loving someone doesn’t necessarily mean giving your life for them. But if you’re willing to give your life for someone, then what else could it be if not love?”

That was enough. If everything were spelled out, there would be no fun left.

Yuan Man rose to leave, but Xianyu Qing called after her. “Doctor Yuan, could you take me to see Mr. Jiang?”

Yuan Man curved her lips into a smile. “I’ll take you there after he wakes up.”

* * *

After Yuan Man left, Ning Wenyen watched Xianyu Qing remain distracted and began to regret letting her return to the Nangong family.

At the time, she had only hoped that Xianyu Qing would live a more stable life. Yet ever since entering the Nangong household, one crisis after another had followed.

As she peeled an apple for her daughter, she asked tentatively, “Qingqing, why don’t we go back home? I’ll ask your uncle-in-law to use his connections to help you. You could attend another year of high school and retake the entrance examinations. What do you think?”

The Nangong family might not agree, but she could no longer concern herself with that.

Sitting against the hospital bed, Xianyu Qing was still thinking about Jiang Mohe and did not hear what Ning Wenyen had said.

Ning Wenyen handed her the apple. “You can’t bear to leave, can you?”

This time, Xianyu Qing heard her. She was just about to answer when a knock sounded from outside.

Ning Wenyen went to open the door. It was Xi Junle.

He was not even wearing a mask. Sweat covered his forehead, and his bangs were slightly damp. His eyes were filled with worry. Passing Ning Wenyen without a word, he walked to Xianyu Qing’s bedside and asked anxiously, “Qingqing, are you all right?”

For the past two days, he had been overseas attending an awards ceremony. Several things had happened, leaving him no time to follow the news back home.

The moment he landed that morning and saw the report, he had rushed over without stopping.

“I’m fine,” Xianyu Qing replied. “Thank you for your concern.”

Only after seeing that she had no serious external injuries and that her spirits were reasonably good did Xi Junle finally relax.

Then he said guiltily, “I’m sorry. I haven’t been in the country these past two days, so I didn’t know what had happened to you…”

Xianyu Qing looked at him in confusion. “Young Master Xi, you don’t need to apologize to me.”

Xianyu Qing did not understand the concern in Xi Junle’s eyes, but Ning Wenyen saw it clearly. She recognized the musical prodigy, and Mao Wandou had only recently told her that he and Xianyu Qing had grown quite close.

She stepped forward and greeted him. “Young Master Xi, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to visit Qingqing.”

Xi Junle turned to look at Ning Wenyen, remembering that Mao Wandou had told him Xianyu Qing’s adoptive mother was also in Imperial City.

“You must be Aunt Ning?” Xi Junle said, bowing politely. “Aunt Ning, please just call me by my name. There’s no need to be so formal.”

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Ning Wenyen smiled and nodded, admiration in her eyes. “Qingqing has been receiving your care as well.”

“Not at all,” Xi Junle replied, his gaze falling tenderly on Xianyu Qing. “If anything, Qingqing has helped me quite a bit.”

“Hee hee hee…”

Ning Wenyen wore a delighted, knowing smile.

It seemed that the young master of the Xi family truly had feelings for Qingqing.

The two of them chatted happily, one speaking after the other. Xianyu Qing had no idea what excuse she could use to avoid Xi Junle.

Fortunately, the head nurse came in to change the bandages on Xianyu Qing’s wounds, and Xi Junle had no choice but to leave.

“Qingqing, get plenty of rest. I’ll come see you again later.”

After giving her his instructions, Xi Junle left the ward. Sun Ge was waiting outside.

The moment he saw that Xi Junle was not wearing a mask, he cried out, “Good heavens, my lord! It’s one thing for you to abandon your engagements and rush here in a panic, but why aren’t you even disguising yourself? What if someone photographs you?”

As he spoke, he handed Xi Junle a mask.

Xi Junle waved it away and continued forward without a care. “Let them photograph whatever they want!”

He was deliberately exposing his whereabouts now, allowing the paparazzi to take as many pictures as they pleased.

Sun Ge rubbed his aching forehead. What had gotten into his boss today? There was no way he would avoid making tomorrow’s entertainment headlines.

Sure enough, the following day, an entertainment headline exploded across the forums of every major online platform:

“Musical Prodigy Xi Makes Mysterious Appearance at Hospital—Suspected of Visiting a Certain Beauty”

Xi Junle’s fans all believed the story was nothing more than paparazzi speculation and fabrication.

But before long, someone came forward with an explosive claim: they had indeed seen the musical prodigy entering and leaving a female VIP ward at Angel Hospital, even hinting that the woman was a certain young lady of the Nangong family.

The online entertainment forums erupted even more fiercely.

A young lady of the Nangong family? The Nangong family had only one third young lady.

Soon, people dug up the fact that the Nangong family’s third young lady and the musical prodigy had known each other since childhood and shared a close relationship.

Wherever the musical prodigy performed, the third young lady of the Nangong family was sure to attend. Every year on the third young lady’s birthday, the musical prodigy would be present as well—and whenever he could not attend, he would certainly send a gift.

For a time, all kinds of “romance” revelations and follow-up reports concerning the musical prodigy and the third young lady of the Nangong family began surfacing one after another.

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