0160 Cold-hearted

"Hey, miss, you haven't paid yet!"

As Jiang Jifan hurriedly got out of the car, he suddenly heard the taxi driver shouting behind him. He grabbed his phone and ran back to scan the QR code to pay.

On the way, she grabbed a nurse at random and hurriedly asked for directions to the emergency room.

The door to the emergency room was suddenly pushed open, startling the people inside.

Jiang Jifan looked at the man sitting on the hospital bed, letting the doctor treat his wounds, and immediately felt relieved.

"Ji Fan..." Upon seeing the woman standing at the door with a bare face, Tantai Qing's eyes sparkled with surprise, and she called out from afar.

"Hey, don't move yet, let me finish treating your wound." The doctor was focused on treating the wound on his forehead, and when he saw him trying to get up, he quickly pressed him down and reminded him.

She looked up at Jiang Jifan standing in the doorway and casually asked, "Are you his family member?"

Jiang Jifan didn't answer, and walked straight up to them.

The man in front of me looked haggard, his hair was disheveled, and he had obvious dark circles under his eyes. There were also some bloodstains on his white shirt.

Her face was tense, she pursed her lips, and turned her head to ask the doctor, "Where is he injured?"

The doctor sensed something was off about the atmosphere between them, but didn't have time to ask. While securing the bandage on the man's forehead, he replied, "The X-ray results show a mild concussion. He needs two stitches on his forehead, and there are some minor superficial injuries. Overall, the injuries aren't serious, but I still recommend that you stay in the hospital for a few hours for observation, so that any problems can be dealt with promptly."

"Okay, thank you," she said.

After the doctor finished treating the wound, he packed up his tools and trash and left, leaving only the two of them in the room.

Tantai Qing reached out his hand, the one without the injection, to take her hand, but she dodged it.

He paused, looked up at her, and saw that her face was pale, as if she was suppressing her anger.

Jiang Jifan stared coldly down at him, his voice laced with anger: "Why were you driving while fatigued? Are you out of your mind?"

She had already gone to sleep, but she was instantly awakened when Xiang Nannan called her in a panic to say that Tantai Qing had an accident.

Tantai Qing was stunned. She hadn't expected her to be angry with her. Faced with her repeated questioning, she suddenly felt a surge of joy.

He had just finished his work abroad and was eager to get back to see her. However, due to several days of insomnia, his body had reached its limit. On his way from the airport to her, he momentarily lost focus and accidentally crashed into the highway guardrail.

Tantai Qing rarely made an exception to do something like this, knowing it was impossible. He maliciously thought to himself, "Although the process wasn't pleasant, I was able to get her attention, so it didn't seem so bad."

"Jifan, I'm so happy that you still care about me."

"Crazy." Seeing that he was genuinely happy, Jiang Jifan was speechless, his lips twitching as he cursed inwardly.

She sneered and said, "Don't overthink it. Even if it were just some random cat or dog on the street today, I would still be worried."

Tantai Qing knew she had a sharp tongue but a soft heart, so he didn't take it to heart and replied, "That's fine, just treat me like any random cat or dog on the street."

"I haven't seen you in so long, Ji Fan..." The man's tone was aggrieved and pitiful as he looked up at her with tears in his eyes, as if he missed her terribly.

He sat on the bed and tentatively leaned in to embrace her. Jiang Jifan tried to dodge but couldn't. Thinking of the child in her belly, she pursed her lips and froze on the spot, afraid that he would notice. She pushed him away and reminded him, "Tantai Qing, what are you doing?"

Don't tell me you didn't know we've broken up.

When he heard her say the words "break up," Tantai Qing felt as if he had been struck hard and forced to wake up. He straightened up, put some distance between himself and her, looked up at her, his expression serious and firm.

"Jifan, I said that if we really come to this point one day, I will win you back."

Jiang Jifan's heart skipped a beat. Not daring to look at his slightly reddened eyes, she turned her head away.

She once said that if they broke up, she would return the money to him immediately.

Although it was just a joke at the time, Tantai Qing took it very seriously and kept repeating, "I don't need you to pay me back, and we won't break up."

Seeing how serious he was, Jiang Jifan wanted to laugh, but she suppressed the urge and teased him by asking, "What if?"

Because the memory is so vivid, she still remembers his answer.

At that moment, he touched her face and said softly, "If that day ever comes, I will win you back."

"Jifan, please, give me another chance, okay?"

The man's sincere pleas brought her back to reality.

Tantai Qing had never begged anyone so humbly before; this was only the second time he had pleaded with her in such a low voice.

Hearing his choked voice, Jiang Jifan almost couldn't help but soften for a moment, but when he thought of the insurmountable gap between the two of them and all the other things, he was immediately brought back to reality.

"Impossible." She uttered the three words with a dry throat.

"If you say another word, I'm leaving immediately."

Tantai Qing was terrified of her leaving, so he immediately shut up and repeatedly agreed, "Okay, okay, I won't say anything more."

He held her tightly in his arms, as if afraid she would leave as resolutely as she had that morning.

"Don't go, stay with me a little longer..."

In a corner unseen by her, Tantai Qing slowly wiped away her tears, her expression calm and profound, a stark contrast to her pitiful tone.

Jiang Jifan suddenly felt that he shouldn't have come, as it would only make their relationship more complicated and difficult to resolve.

"Let go, I'm tired of standing." She looked down at his messy hair, her voice weary.

She wasn't lying; since becoming pregnant, her health had been deteriorating. Despite not doing any physical labor, she often felt weak.

Having just experienced a fright, I now feel completely exhausted after calming down.

She glanced up at the remaining third of the IV fluid on the stent and decided to leave immediately after he finished the drip.

Afraid of upsetting her, Tantai Qing reluctantly let go of her hands.

A few minutes later, the nurse came in and changed the IV fluid, saying that the needle would be removed after the last bottle was finished.

Tantai Qing immediately feigned weakness, saying that she still felt a little unwell and felt she needed to have a few more bottles of medicine injected.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Jifan immediately and decisively told the nurse, "Give him another twenty bottles, let him continue until tomorrow and the day after!"

Knowing that she had seen through his little scheme, Tantai Qing lowered his head sheepishly and cautiously looked up at her.

The nurse stood there, stunned, looking at the two strange-looking people, feeling somewhat at a loss.

Jiang Jifan rolled his eyes in annoyance, his voice cold and hard, leaving no room for argument: "I'll leave after I finish this bottle. Nan Nan and the others should be here by now."

She turned her head away from his face because she knew in her heart that he would definitely look at her pitifully with those innocent, manipulative eyes, like a green tea b*tch.

Jiang Jifan didn't want to compromise because of his momentary soft-heartedness and impulse, so he had no other choice.

Seeing this, Tantai Qing dared not be "outrageous" anymore and obediently lay back on the hospital bed to receive an IV drip.

Time flew by, and seeing that the medicine was almost gone, Jiang Jifan pressed the call bell to notify the nurse to remove the needle.

The temperature was already low at night, and the air conditioning was on in the emergency room. She rushed over wearing only a loose sleeveless knitted dress, without a coat, and her plain face was tired and pale.

After the nurse removed the IV, she saw that the woman was only wearing a thin long dress and had a pale face. For a moment, she didn't know who was sick.

"Miss, you don't look well. Should we see a doctor?"

"Thank you, I'm fine," Jiang Jifan politely declined.

Fearing she might faint and then have to do more work, the nurse quickly brought over a chair for her to sit down and poured her a glass of warm water to drink.

Seeing her excellent service, Jiang Jifan felt a warmth in his heart and thanked her again.

Tantai Qing noticed her unusual behavior and casually picked up the suit jacket that was hanging to the side and draped it over her shoulders.

Seeing her frown, fearing it was because she was disgusted, he immediately explained, "The clothes are clean."

The man's cautious demeanor startled Jiang Jifan, leaving him with mixed feelings.

In the blink of an eye, she saw blood flowing continuously from the back of his hand. Her heart skipped a beat, and she subconsciously reached out and pressed on the bleeding injection site.

Before Tantai Qing even realized it, she had already taken action.

"I'll keep it to myself."

She pressed down briefly and then quickly let go. Seeing his blood on her fingertips, she felt extremely uncomfortable and turned to wash it off. But the next second, he grabbed her hand and carefully wiped the two blood-stained fingers onto his clean white shirt.

Tantai Qing hadn't forgotten that she had obsessive-compulsive disorder related to cleanliness.

Jiang Jifan felt a little uneasy and used a bit of force to pull his hand out of his palm.

"I'm leaving."

A voice inside her told her to leave this place of trouble as soon as possible.

After saying that, she turned and left swiftly.

Tantai Qing hurriedly went to chase after her, but as soon as he got up, he felt dizzy and then fell heavily back onto the hospital bed.

The unstable hospital bed made a loud "crack" sound from his movement.

Jiang Jifan turned around upon hearing the sound and saw him hunched over, covering his head. He was immediately startled.

"Taiqing! What's wrong?" She rushed forward to support him.

Tantai Qing took the opportunity to snuggle into her arms.

"I'm in pain, don't go..."

Seeing this, Jiang Jifan felt compassion and dared not leave.

The doctor came in after being notified, checked on him, and added two more bottles of medicine to his IV drip.

Tantai Qing finally got his wish and kept her there.

After the doctors and nurses left, the emergency room returned to its original quiet state.

Jiang Jifan sat on the edge of the bed, some distance away from him, playing on her phone. He looked at her beautiful profile, pondering what to say.

"Ji Fan, are you still living at Miss Xing's house?"

She gave a perfunctory reply without even looking up.

"May I come visit you when I have time?"

Jiang Jifan paused in his typing, looked up at him, and said firmly, "No."

Sick people should talk less.

Without batting an eye, Tantai Qing lied, "The doctor said that I need to communicate more with people to help with my recovery."

She countered with a quick reply: "Really? Which doctor said that? I'll go ask them right now."

Fearing she might never return, Tantai Qing could only change his mind and say that perhaps he had misheard her, and told her not to go.

Jiang Jifan snorted coldly in his heart, but didn't expose him. He simply said, "If you say another word, I'm leaving."

The man immediately fell silent.

If he can't say, then he'll just watch.

Tantai Qing traced her features with his eyes, his fingertips moving back and forth along the edge of the bed, finally gently taking her hand that was resting on his thigh.

Jiang Jifan immediately looked up and shot him a sharp glare.

"Your hands are too cold, let me warm them for you." Facing her sharp gaze, Tantai Qing remained calm and composed, as if she hadn't seen it at all.

She glanced down at their intertwined hands, their intimate and ambiguous appearance seeming as if it were yesterday.

"No need." Jiang Jifan coldly withdrew his hand, turning his back to him in a detached manner.

Seeing her so resistant and unyielding, Tantai Qing's heart sank, but he quickly comforted himself and cheered up.

It's okay, take your time.

Half an hour later, Jiang Jifan heard soft breathing behind him, turned around and saw that he had fallen asleep on his side on the hospital bed.

The man's sleeping face was calm and peaceful. She stared at the blanket draped around his waist, hesitated for a long time, and after much struggle, she finally reached out and tucked the blanket around him.

After tossing and turning for most of the night, Jiang Jifan was exhausted and sleepy, and quietly yawned while covering his mouth.

After a long while, Tantai Qing, who had been fast asleep, opened his eyes, glanced down at the woman lying on the side of the bed, sat up quietly, and after thinking for a long time, removed all the monitoring devices from his body before getting out of bed and carefully carrying her up.

Her face, untouched by makeup, was pure white and flawless. He wanted to steal a kiss from her, but he was afraid of waking her. In the end, he could only suppress his thoughts and quietly lie beside her, watching her.

"Sir, if you..." The nurse suddenly pushed the door open and entered.

Noticing the woman beside him tremble, Tantai Qing quickly raised his hand to comfort her.

"Shh." He put his index finger to his lips to signal her to be quiet.

The nurse saw the woman lying on the hospital bed, realized what was going on, and whispered, "Call us if you need anything," before quietly leaving.

She was startled and instinctively snuggled into his arms. Tantai Qing's heart softened, and he raised his arm to embrace her slender body and kissed the top of her head.

The next day, Jiang Jifan was awakened by the smell of disinfectant. When she opened her eyes and saw the unfamiliar facilities around her, she didn't react for a moment.

She felt a strange sensation in her chest. She looked down at the large hand pressing tightly against her chest, and her face instantly darkened.

She tried to pull his hand away, but he squeezed it hard as if in response.

"Mmm..." A sudden groan escaped her throat.

As Tantai Qing gradually regained consciousness, he noticed the soft touch in his palm. He immediately realized what was happening, and his ears turned slightly red as he released his hand.

“Ji Fan…”

Knowing that he was awake, Jiang Jifan immediately threw off the covers, got out of bed, put on his shoes, and left without saying a word.

Seeing that she was about to leave, Tantai Qing hurriedly followed her.

"Jifan, I'll take you back."

This guy is probably still half asleep and has forgotten that his car is in the repair shop and he's not with him anymore. Jiang Jifan thought to himself as he coldly said, "No need."

Then I walked straight to the roadside and hailed a taxi.

Tantai Qing was about to speak again when a nurse who had caught up with him stopped him.

"Sir, your bill hasn't been settled yet!"

Jiang Jifan got into the car, saw the man being stopped by the nurse not far away, and turned away without hesitation, closing the car door.

The taxi sped away.

As the nurse launched into a long, rambling monologue, Tantai Qing took off her glasses, pinched the bridge of her nose, and sighed softly, feeling her head starting to spin again.