Shen Muzhi withdrew his gaze and opened the door to the guest room.

Xiang Zhilan lay quietly on the bed, looking thin and frail.

The swollen, red handprint on her face was particularly glaring. Shen Muzhi pulled Jinji closer and sat down on the edge of her bed.

He looked down at her eyes and brows, and the more he looked, the less she seemed like Su Yan. Su Yan was mostly a tomboy, cheerful and carefree, but even with her hair cut, she still looked like a bright and charming woman.

However, her personality was nothing like her gentle and charming appearance; she even dared to raise her fist at him.

Moreover, that punch was so fierce and heavy; it was not the kind of strength a girl should have.

Shen Muzhi looked at her hand, the hand that had punched him, which was now connected to an IV drip and looked weak and powerless.

He noticed that the tips of her fingers were covered with a thin layer of calluses, which seemed out of place with her radiant appearance.

Suddenly I remembered that she was a photographer for a geography magazine, and she often had to travel to some very difficult places.

This woman was far more complex and contradictory than he had imagined, possessing a stubbornness that was completely opposite to her outward appearance.

"Jinji, you can't get on the bed." Shen Muzhi gently pulled Jinji off the bed and onto his lap, saying in a low voice, "She's sick."

Jinji seemed to understand his words, let out a soft groan, and drooped her head.

Shen Muzhi stroked Jinji's head, looked at Xiang Zhilan, and murmured, "Jinji, do you think she's strange?"

Jinji naturally couldn't answer him; its eyes were half-closed, and it looked a little drowsy.

Shen Muzhi took Jinji off his lap, moved his chair closer to the bed, and reached out to touch her flushed cheeks.

The scalding temperature made him frown. He removed the ice pack from her forehead and took another one from the mini-fridge and placed it on her forehead.

"Xian..." Xiang Zhilan was delirious with fever. She opened her eyes slightly and felt someone moving in front of her. She called out instinctively.

Shen Muzhi frowned, not having heard what she said clearly, and then brought his ear close to her lips.

"Don't go..." A weak and feeble voice came from her mouth.

Shen Muzhi was taken aback. Was she telling him not to leave?

"Don't go..."

This time he heard it more clearly: she didn't want him to leave.

He looked up at her with a complicated expression. He thought she would hate him to death after the slap tonight, but he didn't expect that she would still want to rely on him when she was sick and vulnerable.

Shen Muzhi sat back in his chair, quietly watching the woman fall into a deep sleep once more.

Jinji nestled on the carpet, already asleep with her eyes closed.

Throughout the night, Shen Muzhi timed each ice pack change perfectly, and by around 5 a.m., her forehead was no longer as hot.

He stood up, left the guest room, and returned to his own room.

It's rare to feel sleepy like this; I don't need alcohol or sleeping pills, I just fall asleep the moment my head hits the pillow.

Xiang Zhilan woke up at nine o'clock. When she opened her eyes, she saw the maid standing by her bedside. She moved her arm, feeling weak and powerless all over from the high fever.

"Miss Xiang, you're awake." The maid looked at her happily and helped her sit up. "Are you feeling any better?"

Xiang Zhilan nodded to her and smiled slightly: "Thank you, you worked hard last night."

The maid paused for a moment, then smiled and shook her head. "The master took care of you last night; he only went back to his room to sleep this morning."

Xiang Zhilan didn't believe her, but she was stunned when Jinji suddenly popped out from under the bed.