Qiao Zhen was always polite and courteous to people, so many people in the sanatorium liked her and became her friends.

It was the first time they had seen her with a young man, and they were very interested in finding out.

Qiao Zhen quickly went upstairs.

Lu Zheng followed behind her with a smile, staring at her hands, and asked, "What's in your bag? Why is it so heavy?"

"It's none of your business." Qiao Zhen quickened her pace and, when she reached the corner platform between the first and second floors, said, "If you can't carry it, put it down quickly and leave."

Lu Zheng shook the travel bag, as if it were an empty bag, and said, "It's not heavy."

His well-tailored suit accentuated his muscular arms, exuding the charm of a strong man.

Qiao Zhen turned her head away and continued upstairs until she reached the next corner platform. She stopped again, held out her hand to Lu Zheng, and said, "Give it to me. Thank you, Mr. Lu. You can go now."

Lu Zheng looked at the indifferent woman, whose face practically screamed "we don't know each other." He raised an eyebrow, walked straight past her, and stepped onto the stairs leading to the third floor.

"Hey!" Qiao Zhen exclaimed anxiously and chased after him.

Taking advantage of his long legs, Lu Zheng quickly climbed the stairs to the third-floor corridor, looking around. "Where is Auntie's ward?"

Qiao Zhen did not answer.

Lu Zheng actually knew, but after pretending to think about it for a moment, he walked to the right.

Qiao Zhen's heart was pounding in her throat.

She didn't want her mother to see Lu Zheng, didn't want to explain their relationship to her mother, and didn't want Lu Zheng to feel sorry for her, so she used the guise of "concern" to take advantage of the situation.

"Lu Zheng, stop!" Qiao Zhen shouted uncontrollably, chasing after him breathlessly.

People in the corridor looked over curiously.

An old man in a blue and white striped hospital gown looked displeased. "Keep your voice down!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Qiao Zhen apologized repeatedly, barely daring to breathe loudly. She tiptoed after Lu Zheng, who was standing outside a hospital room, and glared at the culprit. "Can you please stop making a scene?"

“Since we’re already here, it would be very impolite of me not to visit Auntie,” Lu Zheng said.

"It's already very rude of you to come without saying a word," Qiao Zhen said in a low voice, sounding annoyed.

I really want to punch him a couple of times, just like his smug little face.

Lu Zheng said, "Because you left without saying goodbye, I had no choice but to come out and look for you."

Qiao Zhen was so angry she choked. Was it really her fault?

"Zhenzhen, you're here?"

At that moment, a slightly weak yet gentle female voice came from the ward.

"You brought friends along?"

Unexpectedly, Lu Zheng stopped right outside his mother's hospital room. Qiao Zhen looked at Lu Zheng with suspicion and disgust.

"Hello, Auntie." Lu Zheng, carrying a travel bag, strolled into the ward and stood by the bedside near the window, politely bowing to the pale-faced middle-aged woman.

Now that things had come to this, Qiao Zhen had no choice but to bite the bullet and go in. "Mom, the company is on holiday, so I came to keep you company."

Qiao's mother was nearly fifty years old. The ups and downs of her life had prematurely turned her hair white, and her eyes were somewhat cloudy. However, her demeanor remained dignified and elegant. She looked at Lu Zheng with a gentle yet curious expression and asked, "Zhenzhen, is this your classmate?"

Lu Zheng placed the travel bag on the chair, and Qiao Zhen paused in her busy unzipping of the bag. "...No, he is General Manager Lu of my company. He just joined the company and wants to show concern for the employees and their families, so that they can integrate into the team as soon as possible and make it easier to carry out their work."

She offered a grand explanation, while giving Lu Zheng a warning look not to speak carelessly.

Qiao's mother nodded, still looking at Lu Zheng, "Oh, he looks a little familiar. I thought he was your classmate."

Qiao Zhen glanced at Lu Zheng, who had softened his sharp edge and become gentler, and picked up the thermos next to the bedside table. "Please have Mr. Lu bring back a kettle of hot water."

"Okay." Lu Zheng readily agreed and went out.

Qiao Zhen followed Lu Zheng to the door, worried. She watched as Lu Zheng and the nurse asked about the location of the hot water room and headed in that direction before she hurriedly returned to her mother's bedside and found that her mother's smile had deepened.

"Zhenzhen, you care about him a lot, don't you? He's more than just your boss, isn't he?"

Qiao Zhen's breath hitched, and she quickly denied it, "They're just concerned about the company employees and trying to win people over, Mom, don't overthink it..."

She didn't know how to ask Qiao's mother why Lu Zheng looked familiar, or if she had actually seen him before.

By lingering too long on Lu Zheng's issues, she appeared to care about him, which would surely lead Qiao's mother to believe that her relationship with Lu Zheng was unusual.

The doctor specifically instructed that because of the blow she suffered from the family tragedy, her mother was mentally fragile and sometimes experienced mental confusion. She absolutely should not think too much and needed to rest calmly.

That's why she couldn't ask, and she wanted to tear Lu Zheng to pieces.

That scoundrel keeps barging into her world unreasonably. What will it take for him to stop?!

"Mom, I brought you some things." Qiao Zhen didn't have the guts to "kill" after all, so she could only try to divert her mother's attention. "Mom, Luo Sheng is doing well at school and he's studying very hard. I'll bring him to see you after he finishes his college entrance exam."

Mrs. Qiao nodded with a smile.

"I brought your favorite snacks, cookies, milk... And since the weather is getting warmer, I bought you new pajamas and a handheld fan." Qiao Zhen's travel bag was like a treasure chest, from which she pulled out all sorts of food, drinks and other necessities.

Lu Zheng stood outside the ward door, carrying a thermos, watching silently.

She even brought a light blanket for summer, along with several simple women's dresses and matching jewelry, which quickly piled up into a small mountain at the foot of the bed.

Finally, she brought out two large bags of apples and oranges.

He finally understood why the travel bag was so heavy. The conditions at the sanatorium weren't very good, and if patients wanted to live comfortably, their families had to prepare their own things. Qiao Zhen had considered everything in detail, as if she wanted to bring the whole supermarket with her.

When Qiao Zhen noticed that Lu Zheng had returned, she quickly picked up an apple from the plastic bag. "Mom, this is your favorite sugar-heart apple. I'll peel one for you."

"I'm so shy, afraid that Mom will ask me more questions," Qiao's mother said with a smile, covering her mouth.

Qiao Zhen was on the verge of tears, "Mom..."

“You’ve never brought a man to see me before,” Mrs. Joe remarked. “The first time, it must be someone very important to you.”

Qiao Zhen pursed her lips. It was clearly Lu Zheng who shamelessly forced his way in.

Seeing her mother's earnest gaze, Qiao Zhen could no longer refute. She lowered her head to peel an apple, childishly trying to escape all questions with silence.

"Qiao Zhen." Lu Zheng walked in at this moment, put down the thermos, and tossed over a small gauze bag. "This is for you."

As soon as it landed in her hand, Qiao Zhen felt a chill to the bone. Upon closer inspection, she saw that the gauze bag contained ice cubes.

Her fingers were red and swollen from being pressed down by the oversized travel bag, and the coolness from the ice cubes provided just the right relief.

While she was still in a daze, Lu Zheng took the apple and knife, skillfully and efficiently peeled them, cut them into small pieces, placed them on a plate, added a small fork, and then handed them to Qiao's mother.

Mrs. Qiao smiled, and her sickly complexion seemed to disappear considerably. "Thank you for your trouble, Mr. Lu."

Lu Zheng said, "Auntie, just call me Lu Zheng."

"Lu Zheng?" Qiao's mother murmured, as if recalling something.

Qiao Zhen jolted awake and abruptly looked up.