"Bwahahahahahaha!"
Nurse Auntie doubled over laughing in the hospital room.
The toilet was clogged, and she had just unpacked a new plunger to fix it when Little Zhen snatched it away.
She thought Little Zhen was going to unclog the toilet, but no—she had other plans!
Lin Mo also wanted to laugh but first pried the plunger off Gu Jingchuan’s mouth.
Thunk.
A bright red ring was left around Gu Jingchuan’s lips.
Lin Mo couldn’t hold it in anymore. "Pffft—HAHAHAHAHAHAHA—honk honk honk!"
Gu Jingchuan was fuming, fists clenched but utterly powerless.
He’d looked into Lin Mo’s hospital room situation beforehand.
That old lady was a total nutcase!
"Lin Mo, it hurts!"
Playing pitiful might work, Gu Jingchuan figured.
Lin Mo could barely look at him—even his voice seemed to stink now. "Go buy some ointment, quick! You look ridiculous!"
The word "ridiculous" struck a nerve. Gu Jingchuan immediately slapped on a face mask, eyes full of grievance. "You owe me for this, Lin Mo!"
Lin Mo waved him off. "Just go already!"
Luckily, the elevator doors opened to reveal another patient’s family instead of Xie Guanyan.
Even with his mouth in that state, Gu Jingchuan couldn’t resist a dramatic declaration. "I’ll come back for you later. I love you, Lin Mo!"
Xie Guanyan and Shen Ji’an stepped out of the elevator just in time to hear it.
Xie Guanyan’s brow twitched.
When he glanced up, he saw the radiant girl by the hospital room door, her eyes and lips brimming with unconcealed laughter.
But the moment their gazes met, her smile faltered.
The tall, striking man felt his heart plunge into an icy abyss, cracking with pain.
Shen Ji’an was equally puzzled. Why was his sister so amused by Gu Jingchuan today? Last time, she hadn’t reacted this way.
Gu Jingchuan strutted past them like a proud rooster, chin held high behind his mask.
He knew Lin Mo well—with a tweaked approach, winning her back was only a matter of time.
Xie Guanyan and Shen Ji’an walked to the room together.
Lin Mo blinked. "How’d you two end up coming up at the same time?"
Xie Guanyan adjusted his glasses with a single finger, voice smooth as ever. "Just a coincidence."
The moment he entered, Xie Guanyan sensed the room’s lively atmosphere.
Auntie Zhen and Nurse Auntie were both grinning.
His fingers tightened, his eyes darkening like still, bottomless pools.
Gu Jingchuan had always been good at making people laugh—unlike him.
Shen Ji’an set a bag of fruit on the table, then spotted another identical one. "Did Gu Jingchuan bring this?"
Lin Mo, who’d spent a hundred bucks on it, plucked an orange from the bag. "Yep."
The orange was plump and fresh, its tangy-sweet scent filling the air as she peeled it.
She ate a segment first, then handed one to Shen Ji’an and another to Xie Guanyan.
Shen Ji’an happily popped it into his mouth.
Xie Guanyan watched the girl’s delicate, jade-white fingers, her peach-blossom eyes bright and clear as they met his.
He wanted to refuse but couldn’t bring himself to say it.
In the end, his slender fingers took the segment and placed it in his mouth.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Lin Mo burst out laughing as Shen Ji’an’s face scrunched up from the sourness, his whole body shuddering.
Why suffer alone with a sour orange?
"Sis! It’s so sour!" Shen Ji’an was torn between spitting it out or swallowing.
How had he picked such a sour one?
Thankfully, his sister didn’t know he was the one who chose it.
Blame Gu Jingchuan instead!
Lin Mo turned, expecting to see Xie Guanyan equally miserable.
But his stunning face showed no reaction—as if he’d eaten a perfectly normal orange.
Lin Mo was baffled. "Was yours not sour?"
Xie Guanyan shook his head. "Not really."
He hadn’t tasted anything at all.
Lin Mo frowned. Were some segments in the same orange sour and others not?
She tried another piece and nearly jumped from the tartness.
Then she gave Xie Guanyan a thumbs-up. "You’re a sourness champion! Want the rest? It’s all yours."
She handed him the remaining half. No point wasting it.
Again, Xie Guanyan couldn’t refuse. He took it. "Thanks."
Juice seeped into a cut on his left palm, the sting keeping him painfully alert.
"This one should be sweet, Sis. Try it—Xie Guanyan bought these!"
Shen Ji’an pulled an orange from the other bag.
After peeling it, he tested a segment first—sweet with just a hint of tartness.
A thousand times better than the last one.
He handed the peeled orange to his sister.
"Really?"
Lin Mo took a piece and confirmed it was delicious.
She then gave one to Auntie Zhen and Nurse Auntie.
Auntie Zhen nodded after tasting it, praising Xie Guanyan. "So good! You’ve got great taste!"
Lin Mo devoured two oranges and a box of blueberries, her exquisite features glowing with joy.
Xie Guanyan’s mood lightened slightly.
At least his fruit had made her happy.
That was all that mattered—her happiness above all else.
"I sent you the location. We’re having Sichuan food—sound good?"
Settling into the passenger seat, Lin Mo turned to Xie Guanyan.
Parking lot lights cast a glow on the man’s striking face, the tea-colored mole on his nose faintly shimmering.
His voice was refined and pleasant. "Sounds perfect."
Auntie Zhen was in stable health, so despite having eaten dinner, they brought her along for a change of scenery.
She and Shen Ji’an sat in the back, gazing out the window.
The sleek silver Alphard pulled out of the hospital smoothly.
None of them noticed.
Behind them, a scar-faced man in a baseball cap flagged down a taxi.
After getting in, he said, "Follow that car."
