Chapter 40, "Xu Jialan".

After considering it for a few days, Chen Yaoan finally decided to send Zhou Yao to the hospital.

On the day Zhou Yao was admitted to the hospital, Chen Yaoan packed her things in advance, without Zhou Yao knowing anything about it.

Until I was admitted to the hospital's inpatient department.

Unlike the inpatient department Chen Yaoan remembered, all the windows here were surrounded by iron bars, and the main door was always locked.

The oppressive atmosphere is suffocating, leaving one nowhere to escape.

Just looking at it makes me feel uncomfortable.

After completing Zhou Yao's hospitalization procedures, two nurses came to take Zhou Yao away, and Chen Yao'an had no choice but to hand over her belongings to them.

Faced with two complete strangers on either side, Zhou Yao clutched the doll tightly in her hands, looking extremely uneasy and pleadingly at Chen Yao'an.

Chen Yaoan gripped the hem of her clothes tightly, but ultimately couldn't resist taking a step forward. Seeing this, Zhou Yao broke free from their hands and pounced on her.

Chen Yaoan held Zhou Yao's hand tightly and looked at the two nurses, "Can we take her in?"

"this……"

Xu Jialan stepped forward and said, "We asked Dr. Zhao, and he said it's okay to move the patient to a ward. Besides, we're staying in a private room, so it shouldn't have much of an impact."

Upon hearing this, the nurses exchanged a glance but didn't make things difficult for them. They led them to the ward together, and Zhou Yao cooperated fairly well.

After spending some time with Zhou Yao in the ward, the nurse reminded them that it was time to leave, and Chen Yaoan reluctantly let go of Zhou Yao's hand.

"Mom, you stay here and wait. I'll come pick you up in a while."

Zhou Yao didn't react until they walked out of the ward. She chased after them but was stopped by two nurses.

The iron door to the ward was closed, and Zhou Yao helplessly pounded on the iron door that separated them, crying, "Don't go! Don't go!"

Chen Yao'an didn't turn around and continued walking forward, but her fists were clenched tightly and tears welled up in her eyes.

She put her fist to her lips, trying to hold back her tears.

Even after leaving the hospital, Chen Yao'an kept turning back to look at herself. The weather in northern Beijing was already very hot this time of year, and she was already sweating after standing in the blazing sun for just a short while.

Xu Jialan pulled her into the car, "Let's go, we'll come see Auntie again in a few days."

"Um."

Once inside the car, the air quickly cooled down.

Xu Jialan somehow managed to get a car, saying it would be convenient for getting around; he always managed to find a way in northern Beijing.

The two drove back to the hotel.

It's still unclear how long Zhou Yao will need to stay, but it won't be short. They can't stay in the hotel indefinitely, so they'll need to rent a place later.

Chen Yao called Yan Shumei and explained the situation.

Fortunately, things are relatively stable on Yan Shumei's side, but Yan Shumei has some objections to them staying in Beijing for such a long time.

After hanging up the phone, Xu Jialan returned with food from outside. "Let's eat."

With Zhou Yao on his mind, Chen Yaoan had little appetite and put down his chopsticks after taking a couple of bites.

"You're not going to eat anymore?"

Chen Yao'an wiped her mouth. "I'm not eating anymore."

She got up and sat on the small sofa in the room. With nothing to do for a while, she picked up the remote control and turned on the TV. She tried all the channels but couldn't find one she liked, so she started changing channels again from the beginning.

Xu Jialan looked up and glanced at her, then at the TV, suspecting she was going to smash it.

He looked away and was about to lower his head to continue eating when his phone rang.

He glanced at it; the person making the call was Xu Qingbang.

He picked up his phone and left the hotel room.

The room door closed, and Chen Yaoan glanced at it suspiciously. What kind of phone call had to be answered behind her back?

Unconsciously, she walked to the door and pressed her ear against it to listen to the sounds in the hallway.

Xu Jialan didn't go far; he stood in the corridor answering his phone, pressed against the door, so Chen Yaoan could hear him talking on the phone.

As soon as the call connected, Xu Qingbang began to interrogate, "I heard you went back to Beijing?"

The news travels fast. "Yes, I'm back."

Xu Qingbang was full of dissatisfaction. "You called me before and said you were going to work there. How long has it been? Less than two months, and you've already come back. What exactly are you trying to do?"

The shout was so loud that Xu Qingbang couldn't help but cough a few times.

Although she couldn't hear the voice on the other end of the phone from inside the room, Chen Yao'an still knew that Xu Jialan had been scolded by her father.

"I didn't intend to do anything, I just came back to take care of some things."

"What's up?"

"You don't need to worry about that."

Xu Qingbang didn't keep pressing for answers. "Now that you're back, come back again in a few days."

"We'll see," Xu Jialan said dismissively.

"Can't your father order you around anymore?"

Seeing that Xu Qingbang was about to get angry again, Xu Jialan simply hung up the phone.

Chen Yao'an guessed that he had hung up the phone and quickly sat back down on the sofa.

Xu Jialan had said he had something to do when he came back, but he has never gone out alone in all these days.

In the end, it was she who dragged him down.

Xu Jialan opened the door and came in. Chen Yaoan pursed her lips but ultimately said nothing.

After finishing her meal, Xu Jialan stayed in her room for a while before getting up to leave.

"We're going to look at houses tomorrow, so go to bed early. I'll wake you up tomorrow."

"So fast?" Chen Yao'an was somewhat surprised.

"The agents here are indeed very efficient."

"good."

Xu Jialan left, and Chen Yaoan went to the bathroom to take a shower.

Everything around quieted down, except for the sound of rushing water.

Chen Yao'an's thoughts turned to Zhou Yao. Would she be able to adapt to the hospital? Would other patients bully her? Would she be unable to sleep on her first night?

All the worries surged up like a tide at this moment.

Chen Yao'an squinted as she reached for the shower gel on the shelf, but her hand slipped and the bottle fell to the ground.

She sighed, squatted down to pick up the bottle, and tightened the cap that had already been opened.

After taking a shower, Chen Yaoan walked out of the bathtub, but did not notice that there was a puddle of shower gel on the floor. She stepped directly on it.

"ah!"

When she fell, she reached out and knocked over a pile of bottles and jars next to her, making quite a noise.

She fell quite hard and sat on the ground for a long time without getting up.

Fortunately, the hotel's soundproofing wasn't very good, and Xu Jialan next door heard the noise coming from here.

He walked to Chen Yao'an's room and knocked on the door.

"What's wrong?"

Fortunately, the bathroom was right outside the room, and Chen Yao'an heard his voice, "I fell in the bathroom."

Xu Jialan was getting anxious.

She didn't come to open the door for him, clearly she had fallen quite hard. "Wait a minute, I'll go find someone to open the door."

Xu Jialan went back to her room and called the front desk, asking them to bring her room key up. She then waited outside Chen Yaoan's room.

"Please wait a moment, the front desk will bring the room key up shortly."

There was no movement inside.

Xu Jialan raised her hand and knocked on the door, the knocking sounding somewhat hurried.

With a click, the door opened, and Chen Yao'an opened it for him.

"I'm fine."

Xu Jialan looked her up and down. Her hair was wet and she was only wearing a bath towel.

Chen Yao'an also realized that he had knocked on the door too quickly, so she just opened it.

She covered her chest with her hand, turned and walked into the room, limping as she went.

Seeing this, Xu Jialan entered the room, stuck out one leg to close the door, and then bent down and picked up Chen Yaoan.

Suddenly lifted into the air, Chen Yao'an instinctively grabbed Xu Jialan's neck, "What are you doing?"

Xu Jialan didn't say anything, but continued walking forward with her in her arms.

Her gaze fell on his jawline, where his bluish stubble was clearly visible.

Chen Yao'an was immediately at a loss and awkwardly looked away.

Xu Jialan carried her to the bed before asking her if she was hurt.

"It's nothing serious, just a bruised butt." They probably didn't break any bones.

Xu Jialan nodded.

The receptionist came up quickly, and seeing that no one was at the door, she knocked.

Chen Yaoan hurriedly pulled the blanket over herself.

Xu Jialan went to open the door, explained the situation to the receptionist, and the person left quickly, but he returned.

Chen Yao'an felt a little uncomfortable. "Could you go out for a bit? I want to change my clothes."

Xu Jialan stared at her for a while, then suddenly smiled and said, "Don't worry, I won't look."

Chen Yaoan threw a pillow at him, but he dodged it by turning his head.

As a result of her movement, the blanket piled on her shoulders slipped down, revealing her fair skin, smooth and delicate, like an enticing fruit.

Xu Jialan's gaze fell upon it, and she couldn't help but swallow hard.

He quickly turned around and went out.

After he changed his clothes, Chen Yao'an let him in.

Seeing that she was still having trouble walking, Xu Jialan began to doubt her own judgment. "Are you sure you're really okay?"

Chen Yaoan went to get a hairdryer, intending to dry her hair.

"It's really nothing."

Xu Jialan took the hair dryer from her hand and forcefully pressed her back onto the bed. "Sit still, I'll dry your hair."

"No need."

Xu Jialan ignored her, plugged in the hairdryer, and started drying her hair.

His fingers lightly traced her scalp, warm and dry, making Chen Yao'an feel a little uncomfortable, and she shifted her body.

"What are you moving?" Xu Jialan asked, somewhat displeased.

Chen Yao'an had no choice but to sit up straight. To ease the awkwardness, she took the initiative to start a conversation, "Xu Jialan, are you really not going home?"

"Why aren't you replying?"

"Does your father know you're back?"

Xu Jialan's fingers paused. "How did you know?"

"I heard you on the phone."

"Hey, when did you develop this habit?" he said casually.

Chen Yao'an frowned. "I'm serious."

"I'm serious with you too."

Chen Yao'an didn't continue speaking; she just didn't want Xu Jialan to be criticized by others because of her.

She knew that Xu Jialan was starved for love at heart. He longed for his father's affection, but his father was not a good father and would only blame him when things went wrong.

The two then fell silent, each lost in their own thoughts.

After drying her hair, Xu Jialan went to the bathroom to put away the hairdryer, and when she came out, she turned off the light for her.

Go to bed early.

Darkness suddenly descended, and Chen Yao'an felt uneasy. She sat up abruptly in bed.

"Xu Jialan".