Chapter 38 reveals, "Doesn't that mean I'm still having a secret relationship with you?!"...

He Hongmei held her daughter's hand, which was receiving an IV drip, with heartache. "How is she?"

Cheng Sijie said, "I'll be fine after another day of IV drips. You guys came at the wrong time. If you had come two days later, I would have been lively and energetic and could have taken you out to have some fun."

He Hongmei smiled helplessly, gave her daughter a wink, and Cheng Sijie understood. She turned to Jiang Hui, who was standing next to her, and said, "Jiang Hui, could you go and buy some fruit for my parents?"

Jiang Hui understood immediately, went out, and said, "Okay."

He Hongmei: ...

She's not someone who's never been in a relationship before. She's not some clueless kid. These two young people seem so in sync. If they didn't already have feelings for each other, she'd be walking backwards!

As soon as Jiang Hui stepped out, He Hongmei's expression changed immediately, and she glared at him coldly, "What's going on?"

Cheng Sijie was pinched and cried out, "Ouch!" "What else could it be? I'm an adult and in college, what's wrong with dating!"

She grinned and tried to get away with it by being coy, without letting He Hongmei ask any questions. She just stood there with her forehead creased and confessed, "Don't worry, Mom, we haven't done anything out of line. And you know, Jiang Hui was going abroad before, and I wasn't even sure if it would last. Would I let myself suffer? I was sick, and when he found out, he flew back specially. I saw that he was quite sincere, so I thought I'd give it a try."

He Hongmei said slowly, "Let feelings develop naturally; taking precautions is more important than anything else."

How could Cheng Sijie not understand her personality? This is far too open-minded. It would be unreasonable for parents to be too open-minded about the things young couples do. This is an attempt to get information out of her!

Cheng Sijie said, "We've only kissed twice, so please tell my dad not to overthink it."

He Hongmei glanced at her, sighed, and said, "Don't worry, I agree that your father wouldn't dare say anything."

She was also trying to calm her daughter down, afraid that she would overthink things.

Cheng Sijie understood, grabbed her arm, and swayed it while saying, "How amazing my mom is, how capable she is!"

He Hongmei was amused and took out a gold necklace from her bag, putting it on Cheng Sijie's wrist. "Your grandma always nags about it, and I thought she was superstitious. But now that she's actually in the hospital, your grandma specially bought this necklace and donated money to the temple in our area to have it blessed. Wear it every day and don't take it off."

The gold necklace was pure gold, and the style was a bit old, but it looked quite elegant on Cheng Sijie's neck. Cheng Sijie examined it for a while and then laughed, "My grandma is truly a genius."

"And the pocket money your grandma gave you, she insisted I give it to you, I'll transfer it to your card in a bit. I'll also transfer three thousand for medical expenses, don't forget to treat your roommate and Lingling to a nice meal, and buy them a gift or something. Also, Jiang Hui..."

He Hongmei was actually secretly worried. No matter what, she knew that Jiang Hui's family background was not ordinary, and she had heard that the child was rather arrogant and aloof when he was in school.

However... judging from the way he treats his daughter, it doesn't seem like he's not serious about it.

Sigh, He Hongmei thought: Doesn't she know her daughter's personality? Besides, what difference does it make whether they believe her or not? She's a college student, studying alone in another city. If she really did something, wouldn't they be able to fool her? They can't watch her 24/7.

Alright, don't make things difficult for yourself. Just be an enlightened parent and go about your business smoothly.

She went over these words in her mind and finally convinced herself, "Okay, you two have reported your relationship to me. Remember, your parents are open-minded and not old-fashioned. If anything happens in the future, don't hide it from your family and make us worry."

She was implying something, clearly thinking far ahead.

Cheng Sijie nodded vigorously: "Don't worry, Mom, I definitely won't do anything stupid."

He Hongmei patted her head and couldn't help but mutter, "Oh, it must be from eating takeout. Just imagine how much suffering you endured. Acute gastroenteritis, vomiting and diarrhea, and you even had to go to the ambulance. Your grandma was so old and never went to the ambulance. Never mind, ptooey! That's bad luck, I can't say that."

Cheng Sijie said, "Pah! Pah! Pah!"

He Hongmei chatted with her for a while. She originally wanted to stay with her at the bedside, but Cheng Sijie persuaded her to go back. She said, "You've just arrived in C City, you're all travel-worn. Not only will you not be able to take good care of me here, you'll also be a burden. Go back to the hotel quickly. As you can see, I'm fine now except for an IV drip."

The couple went home first, looking back every few steps.

On the way back to the hotel, Cheng Jianjun kept sighing. He hadn't smoked in a long time, and when he checked his pockets, they were empty.

Seeing his expression, He Hongmei asked, "What's wrong? Are you worried?"

She repeated the words of comfort she had given herself to her husband. Cheng Jianjun wasn't a stubborn old man, and upon hearing this, he simply nodded and said in a hoarse voice, "Ahem, you know that other girl's family is not ordinary, and our Sijie has a bad temper. What if she gets bullied?"

He Hongmei raised an eyebrow: "So what? Today, my daughter was sick in the hospital and he was taking care of her, all meek and submissive. I thought he was quite good. Our child was holding her hand and pinching her, not offering herself up to be bullied. We live in a society governed by law. At worst, we can break up. If things don't work out, we can get a divorce!"

"Alright, Lao Cheng, these days, as long as the kids don't cause any trouble, it's not a big deal. Compared to those troublesome kids, you know what kind of person your Sijie is."

Cheng Jianjun nodded.

They were both quite open and easygoing, and they came to terms with it as soon as they said they would. The next day, they went to Cheng Sijie's school and brought some local specialties for Cheng Sijie's teachers. The old classmates were very enthusiastic to see each other, and He Hongmei said with a smile, "If I hadn't seen your child's WeChat Moments, I wouldn't have known it was you!"

The counselor kept saying, "I knew Sijie looked familiar, I never imagined she was your daughter!"

At the time, the two had a good relationship. The couple hosted a meal for the teachers and also made a special trip to visit Yu Lingling. She and Cheng Sijie had been friends since childhood, and in He Hongmei and Cheng Jianjun's eyes, she was like their own niece.

They said they came for sightseeing, but their main purpose was actually to visit their daughter. Sightseeing was secondary. Yu Lingling was very generous and accompanied them on a trip over the weekend before the couple returned to their hometown.

Before leaving, He Hongmei told Cheng Sijie, "Don't tell your grandma and grandpa. I'll keep it a secret for you. Don't let them worry about your health anymore."

That's when it's finally over.

After seeing them off, Cheng Sijie was finally ready to be discharged from the hospital.

In that short time, Cheng Sijie turned his back on her.

She could assure herself that Jiang Hui's ability to fly across the Pacific Ocean wasn't because he had developed superpowers that allowed him to open any door; there must be something fishy going on.

She racked her brains, sending messages to Yu Lingling to vent about the matter while trying to calm herself down. Actually, she wasn't stupid; she already had the answer in her heart, setting aside unreliable telepathic connections and mystical reasons like being unable to sleep on the other side of the ocean.

Cheng Sijie's brain, like a 1990s code typewriter, slowly typed out a line of text:

What kind of [illegible]?

From the moment they found out to taking leave, booking tickets, and arriving at the hospital, how could they possibly have done it if they hadn't known immediately? It's easy to guess then; apart from certain software, there's simply no way to perform such an operation.

Two voices debated in his mind: "Hey, Cheng Sijie, this is the Chai Nation, not some fictional world. He doesn't have the guts."

Another voice sneered, kicking the small figure who had spoken in front of him away, "What is he afraid of? How could he possibly be afraid?"

Cheng Sijie's eyes were bloodshot with rage, and she wished she could tear him to pieces... Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration.

Yu Lingling continued her analysis: "I think you two are a really good match. The fact that he always manages to reply to you whenever you need something means that your magnetic fields are in a state of quantum entanglement."

She seemed quite pleased with Jiang Hui's sincerity in rushing to Cheng Sijie's side as soon as she fell ill, dropping everything to come to her aid. She earnestly advised her, "Sister, I think this boy is extremely loyal to His Majesty. Why don't you take him into your harem? He'll be a wonderful addition to your life."

Cheng Sijie: "..."

She really didn't know what to say for a moment.

It evokes a sense of helplessness and speechlessness, as if the lord has discovered that his advisor is plotting a rebellion, but all the surrounding ministers believe that the advisor is utterly loyal.

The ward smelled faintly of disinfectant. Jiang Hui busied herself, moving her to a single room.

The dripping sound continued. He asked, "Who are you chatting with? Are your hands cold?"

Cheng Sijie was listless and weak.

She closed her eyes, her thick eyelashes trembling. She was almost about to soften her heart and give up the investigation, but in the end, she hardened her heart and looked at Jiang Hui's face, which was already twenty-one years old, with increasingly defined and firm features, and slightly haggard due to jet lag, and asked, "How did you know I was sick?"

Jiang Hui changed the subject, "You're on many dietary restrictions right now, and the hospital meals are too unpalatable. I'll go to the city to order food for you and bring it back. What would you like to eat?"

Cheng Sijie's hair was a mess. She covered her head and said, "Jiang Hui, I'm asking you a question. Are you doing this on purpose?"

Jiang Hui put down his phone and stared at her. "What do you want to ask?"

Cheng Sijie straightened her messy hair. "I'm asking you if you're eavesdropping on me."

Jiang Hui calmly and objectively retorted, "Is that important?"

Cheng Sijie: "..."

Jiang Hui said, "You're not thinking of breaking up with me because of this, are you?"

Cheng Sijie was dumbfounded. "You still have the nerve to talk back?"

Jiang Hui sneered: "You're too heartless. It's been over a year, and I risked my life to protect you before you finally gave me a proper status. If it weren't for your parents, wouldn't I still be having a secret relationship with you!"

"Wait a minute." Cheng Sijie sensed something was off. "Are you just being unreasonable? I think the point right now isn't that you installed some kind of device on me. When did you do it? In high school? Or after my college entrance exam? Oh wait, when we first met you said you knew I was on my period..."

Jiang Hui said, "That was because of your live stream content, which you mentioned yourself."

Cheng Sijie felt a bit nauseous.

Jiang Hui thoughtfully poured her some warm water. "Don't be angry, okay?"

Cheng Sijie's face was as cold as ice: "You better tell me the truth."