12 Hugs

What is this? Humanitarian concern?

Song Qinggui never shied away from admitting that all three of her relationships stemmed from her "gold-digging" mentality.

But Xue Lu was different after all.

Cheng Wuliang was her boyfriend during her school days, and also the first time she tried to love someone of the opposite sex. If Cheng Wuliang hadn't made his choice, she wouldn't have broken up with him. So she believed she had done her best for Cheng Wuliang.

As for Yan Fengqian, she devoted herself to helping him start his business, and she deserves some credit for his current business empire. Moreover, even though he was surrounded by many women, she never betrayed him, and she has a clear conscience.

But Xue Lu is different.

He lacked nothing and wanted nothing. This marriage was an unequal transaction. Xue Lu paid money, but he seemed to get nothing in return from her.

Seeing that Song Qinggui was lost in thought again, Xue Lu couldn't help but feel dazed.

He had just clearly heard her say that he was different from them. It was an ambiguous statement that made one want to investigate further.

But her calm and composed expression seemed to be reminding him that his expectations were nothing but wishful thinking.

Even if it was just a fleeting thought, Xue Lu wanted to hold onto it.

"What did you say?" he pressed.

Song Qinggui snapped out of his daze and slowly repeated what he had just said: "You are different from them."

Xue Lu's Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily.

Song Qinggui: "Cheng Wuliang and Yan Fengqian have done things for me, but they also have ulterior motives towards me, which is fair. But Xue Lu, you are different. You leave me with no way to repay you. I don't like this feeling."

"How do you know I have no ulterior motives towards you?" Xue Lu's gaze was intense.

Song Qinggui's pupils trembled slightly: "Hmm?"

Xue Lu had some words on the tip of his tongue, the urge so intense that it made his throat ache. But his pride forced him to swallow them back.

Song Qinggui, a woman who had ignored him for ten years, he couldn't continue to lose; he had to win her back.

He wanted her to bow her head, to bend her back, and for her to one day look at him with burning desire and longing. He wanted her to be just like him, just as conflicted, just as tormented.

This is what she owes him; she owes him a deep connection and a meeting of minds.

Xue Lu's gaze gradually turned cold, and Song Qinggui saw his cooling attitude, which made him feel powerless again.

In the year since they got their marriage certificate, she had gotten used to Xue Lu's unpredictable moods and his hot and cold attitude. It was like they had kissed in the car in the afternoon, but when they met at home in the evening, he was still a cold stranger.

She couldn't understand Xue Lu, and because she couldn't understand him, she didn't know what he wanted; because she didn't know what he wanted, she felt increasingly indebted to him.

Once Xue Lu had completely calmed down, he looked at Song Qinggui with a nonchalant expression: "I'll ask for your honesty first. I need to know at least what kind of person my legal wife is. Tell me about your past in Cangcheng, such as... your relationship with Meng Yuxing."

Song Qinggui remembered that she had promised Xue Lu that she could ask her any questions today, and she would answer them.

“Meng Yuxing…” Song Qinggui slowly uttered the name: “She raised me from the age of five.”

This answer surprised Xue Lu. He had originally guessed that Meng Yuxing might be Song Qinggui's cousin or aunt, an ordinary family member who had given Song Qinggui warmth when she was a left-behind child. He never expected that Song Qinggui would use such a heavy word as "raising".

Lawyer Xue didn't understand: "Your parents..."

“Didn’t you investigate me?” Song Qinggui smiled. “When I was less than three years old, my parents went out to work. Later, they divorced and each found their own love in the big city, started new families, and never returned to Cangcheng.”

Xue Lu was still confused: "But you're living with your grandparents..."

Song Qinggui: "My father also has a younger brother, my uncle. My uncle had a son, and my grandparents had to take care of him. The family was poor, and they favored boys over girls. When I was five years old, they took my brother and me to Changli Island to play, digging in the sand and collecting seashells. I was very happy that day. My grandfather bought me street snacks for the first time, the same ones as my brother's. But when they went home that day, they didn't take me with them."

Xue Lu's heart clenched.

Song Qinggui's tone was calm, even with a hint of a smile: "I thought they were careless and had forgotten about me. I waited at the ferry for two days, but several boats came and went without a trace of my grandparents. I was starving, and that's when I met Xingxing. She took me with her, and I became her burden."

Xue Lu felt a tightness in his chest and couldn't speak.

Song Qinggui noticed his emotional fluctuation and deliberately teased him as a way of comforting him: "What, didn't the Xue family find out about this?"

Xue Lu looked up and met Song Qinggui's almost "comforting" gaze.

“It’s not surprising.” Song Qinggui laughed again: “Xingxing was also abandoned by her family. She was only sixteen when she picked me up. So when I started school, the school collected family information, and I always wrote my grandparents. After the exam, the report card needed to be signed by the parents, and Xingxing always signed my grandfather’s name. When there was a parent-teacher meeting, Xingxing would say that her grandfather was too old to come, and that she was my cousin and came in his place. It’s normal that you can’t find it.”

A thousand emotions surged within Xue Lu's heart. He couldn't imagine how a family with a sixteen-year-old girl and a five-year-old child could possibly survive...

"You..." Xue Lu began with difficulty, "How do you make a living?"

Song Qinggui stood up and patted the dust off her skirt: "There are many ways to survive. That's how the world of the poor is. It's not easy to live, but it's even harder to die. In any case, I grew up safely."

Song Qinggui tried her best to hide it, but Xue Lu still caught the evasive look in her eyes. She seemed reluctant to talk about this part.

"clear……"

Xue Lu wanted to press further, but Song Qinggui interrupted her, abandoning her usual aloof demeanor and firmly stating, "Xue Lu, I will save Meng Yuxing, no matter the cost."

Xue Lu also stood up: "She will get better."

Song Qinggui gave a bitter smile and nodded.

...

When the two returned to the Cangcheng Hotel, it was already 10 p.m.

After turning off the lights, the two lay back to back on the bed, about a foot apart.

Song Qinggui couldn't sleep, and Xue Lu also kept his eyes open.

"Lawyer Xue," Song Qinggui called softly, "Are you asleep?"

"without."

Xue Lu turned around and looked at Song Qinggui's back, but she didn't move.

“Let’s sign the property agreement after we return to Lancheng,” Song Qinggui said.

Lawyer Xue frowned: "I've said it before, we are a legally married couple. As long as the marriage continues, mine is..."

“What’s yours isn’t mine,” Song Qinggui retorted. “Lawyer Xue, a transaction needs to be reciprocal to be dignified. You may not care, but I don’t want to be too humiliated. Signing the agreement will make me feel better.”

"you……"

“When I beg you,” Song Qinggui insisted.

There was silence behind her. After a long while, Song Qinggui felt a strong chest press against her back. Then, an arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her into an embrace.

In the deep of night, Song Qinggui's surprised gaze, trembling shoulders, and irregular heartbeat seemed to be swallowed by the darkness. She was unaware that Xue Lucha hadn't noticed.

She feigned composure: "What's this? Humanitarian concern?"

Sensing Song Qinggui's tense body, Xue Lu suppressed his emotions and replied, "Yes, humanitarian concern."

The person in my arms gradually relaxed her shoulders, and her breathing became slow and even; she had fallen asleep.

Xue Lu sighed. "Song Qinggui, what am I going to do with you?"

...

The next day, Song Qinggui and Xue Lü boarded a plane back to Lancheng.

As soon as he boarded the plane, Song Qinggui put on an eye mask and forced himself to fall asleep.

She didn't want to face Xue Lu. Last night's embrace had left her with lingering emotions, and she felt uncomfortable looking at Xue Lu's face until she had completely calmed down.

On the other hand, she also didn't want to face Xue Lu's questions about her past life anymore.

Yesterday at Yucai School, Song Qinggui told the truth, but not the whole truth. Although she and Xingxing are only eleven years apart, their relationship is like that of a typical East Asian mother and daughter, and the grudges and affections between them cannot be summarized by a simple "love and hate".

Many times, Song Qinggui felt that it was Xingxing's serious illness that forced her to make a choice—to stand by Xingxing. If Xingxing had been completely healthy, the two of them might not have ended up in an even worse situation.

Xue Lu looked at Song Qinggui, who had fallen asleep as soon as he lay down, and felt somewhat helpless.

He still had many unresolved questions in his mind, but Song Qinggui seemed uninterested in continuing the conversation.

Having no other options, he could only close his eyes and join in her silence.

The flight from Cangcheng to Lancheng took four hours. As soon as the plane landed, Xue Lu unlocked his phone, and a flood of WeChat messages and missed call notifications came in.

Just like his phone, Song Qinggui's phone was also beeping incessantly.

Xue Lu's most missed calls came from his secretary Chen An, while Song Qinggui's most missed calls came from his colleague Xiao Qian in the medical department.

The two walked out of the airport while returning phone calls, but they were actually talking about the same thing.

A while ago, Song Qinggui handled a medical dispute involving a middle-aged couple who had a child at Jingtian Hospital. The child died at seven months old due to a complex congenital heart defect. The couple returned to Jingtian Hospital to seek compensation.

However, the prenatal ultrasound examination before the child was born revealed that the fetal heart structure was abnormal, and at that time all the doctors advised the couple to give up the child.

However, since they already had three daughters, and this time they consulted a fortune teller who said it would be a boy, the couple ignored all advice and were determined to have the baby.

The entire prenatal check-up and delivery process was conducted at Jingtian Hospital, and all medical documents were complete and signed.

The couple argued for a while until Song Qinggui presented them with the signed informed consent form, at which point they calmed down. In the end, Song Qinggui took the initiative and gave them 20,000 yuan as a small consolation from the hospital for their lost child.

However, the couple was not convinced and produced another paternity test report in the past two days. They claimed that a blood sample from the child, taken while he was being treated for heart disease at a large hospital, was used for DNA testing, proving that the deceased child was not their biological child, and that Jingtian Hospital had switched their healthy son with another baby. They demanded compensation from Jingtian Hospital.

The couple tearfully posted the video on major social media platforms, and the trending topic exploded. The public was outraged and demanded an explanation from Jingtian Hospital.

After hanging up the phone, Song Qinggui and Xue Lu exchanged a glance.

Song Qinggui: "If I want to drive traffic on video websites, what is the maximum budget a hospital can afford?"

Upon hearing this, Xue Lu knew that Song Qinggui had a solution.

"It concerns the hospital's reputation." Lawyer Xue replied, "There's no upper limit."

Song Qinggui nodded: "Okay, I'm going to the hospital now. Wait for my call."