"Only half a month left?" she repeated softly, head down.

Aunt Lan took the medicine and handed it to Qin Yan, while she combed Qin Yan's hair with a comb on the table next to her.

"Nuan Nuan can choose to stay at home or in the hospital. We'll come a few days in advance to make preparations. Would you prefer to stay at home or here?"

Aunt Lan asked her casually, her hands moving gently, like a mother tying her hair when she was a child. At that time, she wasn't sick yet, and everything was harmonious.

After Qin Yan finished preparing the medicine, she got up to pour some warm water. There were so many pills that she usually had to take one pill with a sip of water to swallow them.

So many pills will require a lot of water.

“I want to go back to Sandalwood Palace, is that alright?” She looked at Qin Yan, who nodded as he walked back. “Of course you can. We’ll go home to rest, take our medicine, and have one more check-up before we go home.”

Her hands, hidden under the covers, twisted together, a hint of unease in her expression. Half a month, half a month—it seemed she was completely unprepared.

The sudden shortening of time made everyone anxious, but in order to keep Yun Nuan from getting nervous, everyone pretended to chat and talk in a relaxed manner.

He greeted Yunnuan with a smile every day. Especially Acheng and the others; they were the ones who came to pick her up from the hospital today, as everyone hadn't seen each other for a long time.

Ah Cheng scratched his head and said with a smile, "Miss Yun, it's been a long time. It's so boring without you around."

The others nodded; "Yes, yes, that Pekingese next door comes to the villa gate every day to wait for you. We've been waiting for a month and haven't seen him. We heard he hasn't left the house for more than half a month."

Jiang Miao returned two days later than them. Back when Qin Yan and Yun Nuan returned to S City, many people started talking about it again. Qin Yan hadn't attended any events for two months, and no one even knew his whereabouts.

Some people were eager to curry favor, but no opportunity arose. However, as soon as Qin Yan returned, he went straight to the hospital, where someone saw him and Yun Nuan.

Those idle people started spreading rumors that Yun Nuan's health was failing. The socialites who had been waiting for two months wanted to find out more, so they spent money to hire people to inquire at the hospital.

All those who came to investigate were dealt with by Acheng and his group. Until Yunnuan returned to the Sandalwood Palace, no one knew what had happened.

The return of Jiang Miao and her group also aroused everyone's curiosity. Mainly, it felt strange to be bored when they were not around. In the past, everyone would watch Jiang Miao fight with the Yun family, but now Yun Xue was silent every day for some reason, and Jiang Miao and Guan Mingyue were both not in S City.

Some banquets and occasions lost their appeal, and everyone became depressed.

The "Sorry, this room is taken" group is full of rich second-generation heirs or socialites from S City. When they can't find enough people for parties or other events, they just shout in the group and they're guaranteed to have enough people.

[Miss Jiang, it's been so long since we've heard from you both. Ever since we found out you and Young Master Lin were together, you've both disappeared. Now that you're finally back, aren't you planning to get together?]

Some people in the group couldn't contain themselves and started organizing a get-together, just wanting to see what Jiang Miao and the others had been up to for the past two months. According to rumors, they had gone out with President Qin, but where did they go? Why did they go? And why did President Qin specifically go with them? Everyone was very curious.

They tagged Jiang Miao directly in the group chat, but after a long time, Jiang Miao didn't respond, and the others were unsure what to do.

[Miss Guan, Miss Xie, it's been a long time! I'm hosting a party tonight, how about we all come out and have some fun?]

Guan Mingyue had just returned home and tidied up, having her family put away the medicine the old man had prepared for them. Then, the group planned to go to the Sandalwood Palace.

The medicine the old man prescribed for Yun Nuan was something they didn't have time to bring with them, so they simply took it back. Her phone rang twice; she picked it up after drying her hair.

She had forgotten to mute this group, and there had been no news from her for the past two months. Today, someone tagged her in the group, and she frowned as she clicked on it.

She scoffed at their cautious, tentative ways. If Nuannuan's health hadn't been so bad, she would have definitely taken a hammer and started hitting them on the head one by one.

"They're all delusional. What schemes haven't I seen before? They just want to curry favor with President Qin, humph."

She complained, not wanting to reply to the messages, but a second later Jiang Miao and Lin Yu replied in the group.

Jiang Miao: [“No need for the dinner party. I have a donation channel here that you can check out. Extend a helping hand and make the world a better place.”]

She launched a charity project called "Every Lunch," which aims to help provide lunches for children in impoverished areas.

After living in Huaxi Village, they realized that many children have to walk a long way to school every day, and many left-behind children cannot eat on time every day.

Guan Mingyue chuckled and then forwarded it as well.

Guan Mingyue: [Um, you guys must have reserved a seat for me at your get-together, so how about this, you can donate my portion for me, don't waste it.]

Xie Huaqin: [Considering the limited funds, I'll contribute a little more from my own pocket. Thank you all for your support.]

The three of them clearly refused and took the lead in donating money, which silenced those who had initially been clamoring for a get-together in the group. But Guan Mingyue had no intention of letting them off the hook.

She tagged all those people and then posted the link again. She wasn't good at scamming other people, but she was very good at scamming these rich, clueless kids.

Despite everyone's reluctance, "Every Lunch" achieved its goal for the day, and an official thank-you note appeared at the bottom of the page.

They couldn't get anyone to help them and were forced to donate money. Everyone was angry but couldn't express it publicly; they were just secretly waiting for their downfall.

Yunxue has not returned since she left the Yun family that day, and Zhou Yue left behind a vague apology before disappearing without a trace.

She knew Zhou Yue had gone to see Yun Shanhe, and when Yun Zhou heard about it, he just sneered and told her not to get involved. She felt a sense of estrangement, a deep sense of unfamiliarity, everything felt so strange.

Yun Zhou had become unusually independent at some point. He had always been kind to Yun Nuan and would protect her whenever he couldn't stand Zhou Yue's methods.

She was angry at that time, wondering whether they were the family or he and Yun Nuan were the family. Yun Zhou neither refuted nor spoke.

Later, he only said that he felt guilty, but Yunxue didn't care what he was doing. Kindness shouldn't be directed at Yunnuan.

Zhou Yue gets angry when she sees Yun Nuan, and Yun Shanhe doesn't like Yun Nuan either. Only by kicking her out can things get better for the family.

But now that the people have been driven away, her family has fallen apart.