She opened her phone, and the first thing she saw was a news article: "Hope Primary School Project Exposed as Falsified, the Truth is..."

Upon seeing this, Qiao Zhen's eyes widened suddenly, and her trembling fingers clicked on the link. She scrolled through the news articles, which contained the very thing Qiao Zhen had done wrong.

She couldn't help but feel her blood surging. Logically speaking, such a problem that occurred before construction had even begun should have been suppressed.

But now, instead of being suppressed, it has become a hot topic on Toutiao (a Chinese news and information platform).

Recalling Lu Zheng's words, Qiao Zhen gradually lowered her head.

She should have known.

This is what happens when you anger Lu Zheng.

Thinking of this, Qiao Zhen sighed, but then suddenly remembered something.

"Supervisor, I need to take the day off!"

After saying that, Qiao Zhen grabbed her bag and rushed out of the company.

Tang Yue observed Qiao Zhen's every word and action from the shadows and couldn't help but curl the corners of her lips into a smile.

"Mr. Lu, Qiao Zhen has taken leave. If you are interested, you can go and take a look."

A few seconds later, the text message sent to Lu Zheng showed as read.

After leaving the company, Qiao Zhen hailed a taxi and headed home.

Seeing that several hours had passed since the news was released, Qiao Zhen felt increasingly anxious.

Once home, Qiao Zhen ran quickly into the house and heard the television playing.

Qiao Zhen had a bad feeling. After entering the house, she indeed saw her mother lying on the ground.

"Mom!" Qiao Zhen panicked and rushed over, hugging her mother tightly while dialing the emergency number with her other hand.

Looking at her mother lying unconscious in her arms, Qiao Zhen felt a deep sense of self-blame.

The ambulance arrived quickly, and the paramedics hurriedly lifted Qiao's mother onto a stretcher. Qiao Zhen, sitting inside the ambulance, was still immersed in self-blame.

“Miss Qiao, your mother’s condition has stabilized and she should be out of danger. However, she is still under observation, so it would be best if you did not disturb her.”

Hearing this, Qiao Zhen felt relieved and nodded with heartache.

After the doctor left, Qiao Zhen sighed and sat down on the bench next to her.

"Zhenzhen!"

Suddenly, a sound pulled Qiao Zhen back to reality.

Qiao Zhen was a little confused. When she looked up, she was surprised to see Gu Xijue standing in front of her.

"Gu Xijue?" Qiao Zhen's voice was full of doubt: "Why are you here?"

"What, can't I come?" Gu Xijue said with a smile, and then sat down next to her very naturally.

"I know what happened. Don't worry, Qiao's mother will get better."

Upon hearing the words "Mother Qiao," Qiao Zhen's tears instantly burst forth. Her eyes were red, and her tone was full of self-blame: "It's all my fault... I shouldn't have angered Lu Zheng. If I hadn't provoked him, my mother wouldn't have gotten into trouble."

"Don't be like this, it's not your fault."

Gu Xijue's eyes showed heartache, and he gently patted Qiao Zhen's shoulder before hugging her.

Qiao Zhen felt herself being surrounded by a warm embrace. She sniffed and naturally nestled into Gu Sijue's arms.

"Thank you, Gu Xijue," Qiao Zhen said gratefully.

Gu Xijue always appeared when she was injured or needed him, giving her a sense of security.

"It's okay, Zhenzhen. Remember, I'll always be by your side."

Upon hearing this, Qiao Zhen suddenly remembered the question she had asked Lu Zheng earlier about who he was standing next to.

As the saying goes, there is no harm without comparison, and Qiao Zhenzhen felt it once again.

Thinking of this, Qiao Zhen couldn't help but glance at Gu Xijue in front of her.

Gu Xijue's eyelashes were very long. When the sunlight shone down, a small shadow appeared under his eyes, and his eye bags lay obediently under his eyes, making his peach blossom eyes even more charming.

Qiao Zhen couldn't help but stare intently.

"What, are you captivated by me?"

Qiao Zhen blushed instantly, then quickly lowered her head: "I'm sorry, I was being presumptuous."

Just as Qiao Zhen was feeling ashamed of herself for staring at other people's faces and being infatuated, Gu Xijue laughed and said, "What's wrong with that? If you want to see, I'll come to your house every day for you to see."

Qiao Zhen couldn't help but laugh at him: "What, you want to come into my house?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Xijue seemed to have thought of something and said with a smile, "It's not going to your and Lu Zheng's house, it's going to your and Qiao's mother's house."

Hearing this, Qiao Zhen couldn't help but be stunned for a moment. When she met Gu Xijue's eyes again, she saw him smiling broadly.

Qiao Zhen couldn't help but say with a sense of inferiority, "But..."

Gu Xijue knew what Qiao Zhen was hesitating about, and couldn't help but hug her tightly. "It's okay, Zhenzhen. I know that what's between you and Lu Zheng isn't what you wanted, so I'm willing to wait for you."

Hearing this, Qiao Zhen couldn't help but nod and smiled, "Thank you so much."

Presumably, in this world, apart from Qiao's father, there is no man who treats her better than Gu Xijue.

"Clap clap clap".

Suddenly, a sharp slap rang out in the quiet hospital.

Qiao Zhen was taken aback and turned to look at Lu Zheng, who was staring at the two of them with cold eyes.

Qiao Zhen couldn't help but shudder and was about to let go of Gu Xijue, but Gu Xijue seemed to hold her even tighter.

"What a show! You two are star-crossed lovers. It seems I'm the one who broke you up?"

Hearing Lu Zheng's teasing words, Qiao Zhen blushed. Just as she was about to retort, she heard Gu Xijue shake his head and say, "Lu Zheng, if you have any problems, come at me. Zhenzhen is innocent, don't hurt her."

Lu Zheng smirked and asked a question that left Qiao Zhen completely baffled: "Between the two of us, who is hurting her?"

Qiao Zhen could clearly feel Gu Xijue's body tremble.

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