Chapter 143: Enduring Hardship Is No Problem

After a long while, as if only just reacting, Shen Que walked over slowly to open the door.

As soon as the door opened, he was enveloped in a hug.

"..." Shen Que’s hands hung stiffly, not knowing where to put them. Listening to the quiet, choked sobs of the person in his arms, his mind failed to process the situation. A moment later, he stiffly pushed her away.

Ming An had come out wearing only her pajamas; her face was streaked with tears, and her eyelashes were soaked.

"You..."

Ming An disregarded his attempt to speak, grabbing his hands to inspect them. "You, how could you be so foolish?"

"Where did you cut yourself?" She looked up at him, her gaze direct.

Shen Que frowned. "What?"

Ming An stomped her foot in distress. "You—you’re still denying it... Luo Xing told me everything. She said you slit your wrists at home and then hung up the phone. How could you be so foolish? What could possibly be more important than your own life?"

Shen Que fell silent, meeting Ming An’s anxious eyes. He slowly raised his hands to show her. "I’m fine."

Ming An ran her hands up and down his arms, checking thoroughly. Finding not a single scratch, she finally realized the truth. "Then..."

She fell silent. Luo Xing had deliberately lied to her just to make her come find Shen Que, to make her worry. Once she was worried, she couldn't hide her true feelings.

"Come inside first, *cough, cough*." Shen Que stepped aside to let her in.

Ming An kept her head down, neither speaking nor moving. She turned and ran away. The automatic motion-sensor lights in the hallway clicked on; Shen Que watched her run quickly, her figure vanishing in an instant.

It wasn't safe for a girl to be out alone. With this thought, Shen Que gave chase.

"Ming An!"

Shen Que didn't know when she had become so fast; he couldn't keep up. Remembering where she lived, he headed in the direction of her home, needing to be sure she had arrived safely before he could set his heart at ease.

"Shen Que!"

Shen Que turned back. Ming An was running toward him from another direction.

"Why did you come out? Go back quickly." Ming An stood before him, grabbing his hand to lead him back.

"You..." Shen Que had run too hard; his throat hurt so much he could barely speak. "Cough, cough..."

"I bought you medicine." Ming An held up a transparent bag containing ibuprofen, fever-reducing patches, and metronidazole buccal tablets.

She tugged at his wrist, leading him back. "You have a fever, didn't you know?" Ming An looked back, her eyes filled with nothing but concern. "Did your toothache flare up again?"

She pointed to her own cheek. "Your face is a bit swollen on this side. I bought you these buccal tablets; you put them between your gum and your cheek..."

As she spoke, she had already opened one and handed it to Shen Que.

Shen Que paused, took it, and slowly popped it into his mouth, pressing it against his gum with his tongue. The tangy sensation of orange and mint flooded his mouth, making his tongue tingle.

Gradually, a hint of sweetness emerged.

Shen Que had a decayed tooth, hidden far in the back. No one had noticed it when he was a child, and it slowly rotted away until it started to ache. When he finally went to see a dentist, the doctor told him the crown was completely ruined. After asking about the price of an implant, Shen Que had taken the receipt and left, quite calmly.

It was fine when it didn't hurt, but when it did, it was agonizing. It was rarely visible, and almost no one knew about it.

"The fever medicine..." Ming An began explaining how to take the rest of the medication. When she didn't hear a response, she turned back to look at him.

"It’s not bitter, is it?" She studied his expression. "I specifically asked; this one shouldn't be bitter."

"Even if it were, it would be fine." Shen Que smiled slightly.

He watched as Ming An also popped one into her own mouth. He hadn't had time to stop her. "You..."

Ming An held it for a moment. "It's fine, not bitter."

"You shouldn't just take medicine randomly. Spit it out." Shen Que had no tissues on him, so he scanned the surroundings and pointed to a trash can in front of a mottled wall.

Ming An ran over to spit it out and then ran back.

Once they reached the apartment building, Shen Que finally regained his focus. "I'll take you back."

Ming An shook her head. "Let's go upstairs first." She knew that if she refused, Shen Que would just act like an overprotective father again.

Standing at the doorway, they realized Shen Que’s door was locked tight.

Shen Que’s keys were inside, too. He rarely made such a careless mistake, and for a moment, he was at a loss.

In the end, they went to a hotel. The money Shen Que had on him was just enough for one night, and they would figure things out in the morning. Ming An watched him take his medicine and didn't want him to go out into the night air, but Shen Que was adamant that he couldn't let a girl walk alone at night. In the end, neither could sway the other.

Shen Que still escorted Ming An home.

Back in her room, Ming An looked at the message Luo Xing had sent her. At the time, she hadn't thought, she had truly believed Shen Que was in danger.

After a moment's thought, she sent a "thank you" to Luo Xing.

In December, Luo Xing wore heavy winter clothes to the hospital to process the discharge paperwork. Upon entering the room, she found Ms. Jiang engrossed in her phone, not even noticing her arrival.

"Mom, didn't I buy you a phone stand? Why aren't you using it?" Luo Xing walked over, took the phone from her hand, and placed it on the stand.

"I only just started watching," Ms. Jiang said helplessly.

"What if you get too absorbed and holding it for so long hurts your hand?" Luo Xing had just finished adjusting the phone when her eyes froze on the screen.

A group of elites in suits were surrounded by reporters holding cameras and audio equipment. Microphones were thrust toward the man in the center; the reporters' questions were loaded and aggressive. Amidst the tense, stifling atmosphere, he wore a faint, indifferent smile.

Under the spotlights, he seemed to be encased in a golden glow, his cool, pale jawline appearing calm and resolute.

Profound and difficult words flowed from his lips, his relaxed tone diffusing the rigid, stagnant atmosphere. The media's hostility and deliberate provocation shifted toward Gu Ming.

The camera lens turned to focus on Gu Ming as well.

Only then did Luo Xing look away.

"And you say that to me? I think you're the one who’s mesmerized..." Ms. Jiang tutted a few times and shook her head.

"Why did you suddenly start watching these?" Luo Xing sat nearby to tidy up, not letting Ms. Jiang help. "You used to only look at medical reports."

"I'm looking at the son-in-law you picked for me." Heaven knows what Ms. Jiang felt when she woke up to find that her daughter had already registered her marriage with someone.

"But this child is working too hard, isn't he?" Jiang Ru looked at the phone and muttered to herself, "Look at the dark circles under his eyes—you can see the bloodshot eyes even from such a long-distance shot."

Luo Xing’s hands paused. "..."

A few days ago, Gu Shiyan had told her over the phone that he and Lu Yuanyi had joined forces, and with the help of Ji Rutang’s overseas connections, they had secured a major project that had been the focus of Ke Sheng's development in recent years. The scale of the project was massive, and with Ke Sheng's current stock volatility affecting foreign exchange, he had to fight battles both internally and externally. He was indeed extremely busy.