His only response was the relentless slam of the door shut.

Chi Li won't be getting any sleep tonight; as long as Gu Qingyan is there, he'll have to stay by his side.

Seriously...that damned couple!

Although Xu Zhaozhao didn't care about Chi Li, the first thing she did after entering the ward was to check if Gu Qingyan had taken his medicine.

Her phone screen was still lit up, displaying her chat with "Little Pig".

Piglet: Baby, where did you go?

Piglet: The medicine tastes so bitter.

Seeing the medicine still untouched on the small table, Xu Zhaozhao felt helpless.

"You didn't eat any, so how can it be bitter?"

Sometimes I really want to call the police.

"It looks bitter."

Gu Qingyan pulled her hand and warmed it in his own, taking her hand that had gotten a little cold from the wind by the window.

The nights in the capital city in early autumn are always a bit chilly.

Xu Zhaozhao lowered her eyes and looked at his bandaged wound. The Buddhist prayer beads on her right wrist were pulled up a little to avoid touching his wound.

She looked away, raised her other hand that wasn't being held, and patted Gu Qingyan's head.

"Take your medicine, and I'll give you a reward after you finish."

It must be said that Xu Zhaozhao knows how to manipulate Gu Qingyan.

Upon hearing her words, he paused while covering her hand, then quickly took the small pills.

He threw eight pills into his mouth, took a sip of water, and swallowed them all.

Then he took Xu Zhaozhao's hand, looking at her with a barely perceptible expectation in his eyes.

Xu Zhaozhao raised her hand and pinched his chin. "Open your mouth, let me see if you swallowed it."

He obediently opened his mouth.

They did indeed swallow it all.

The next second, a strawberry candy slid into his mouth, and Xu Zhaozhao gently lifted her hand to close his mouth.

Her smiling voice fell at the same time, "A reward."

Click.

Gu Qingyan bit into the strawberry candy in his mouth, and the rich strawberry flavor diluted the bitterness that had just lingered.

Even so, it couldn't dispel the pent-up frustration in his heart.

As if she had suffered a great injustice, she turned her head away and refused to look at Xu Zhaozhao.

His reaction amused Xu Zhaozhao, who poked his cheek and said, "You can suffer a little, but I don't want to suffer."

"Then we can kiss on the cheek."

Gu Qingyan retorted without mincing words.

*Smack*

Xu Zhaozhao kissed him on the cheek with lightning speed, "I'll grant your wish, baby."

It was Gu Qingyan who made the request, and now he's the one who's standing there dumbfounded.

If Chi Li saw him now, his face flushed red, she wouldn't know how to laugh at him.

He wouldn't let Xu Zhaozhao see, but pulled her into his arms, covered her with the blanket, and enveloped her in a warm space.

Xu Zhaozhao didn't react much, but she found it strange to hear Gu Qingyan's noticeably faster heartbeat.

How can such a great actor get shy so easily?

I yawned lazily, and after all that fuss, a lingering drowsiness surged over me.

Gu Qingyan's large hand was still covering hers, and Xu Zhaozhao's gaze could see his Buddhist prayer beads as she looked down.

The biggest barrier between the two may have begun to loosen.

Xu Zhaozhao placed her hand over the beads and couldn't help but ask, "Gu Qingyan, why are you wearing these Buddhist beads?"

After she finished speaking, she looked up and met Gu Qingyan's gaze.

She had asked Gu Qingyan this question before, and she remembered his answer: atonement.

Seeing that this was clearly a tale of secrets within wealthy families, and not wanting to get involved, Xu Zhaozhao didn't press the matter further.

But now... she had a strong desire to understand Gu Qingyan, so she asked him the same question again.

Gu Qingyan's reaction this time was much calmer than last time.

Even his hand gestures remained unchanged as he gently stroked her soft black hair. "Didn't I tell you? Atone for your sins."

"You know, that's not the answer I want to hear."

Xu Zhaozhao grew impatient and shook off his hand, saying, "Fine, don't talk about it if you don't want to."

The relationship between the two had just begun to improve, and Gu Qingyan was extremely cautious, afraid that he might make a wrong move and cause their relationship to deteriorate again.

"No."

A second after Xu Zhaozhao said that, he quickly denied it, "I just don't know how to say it."

To make a long story short...

Xu Zhaozhao retorted.

Gu Qingyan stopped what he was doing, remained silent for a moment, and then said softly, "My existence is a mistake."

"I am atoning for my sins in coming into this world..."

Those beautiful peach blossom eyes became empty, and paired with his hospital gown, he looked like a beautiful but broken doll.

"Enough!"

Xu Zhaozhao interrupted him, frowning as she looked at him, "Do you believe me or them?"

I believe you.

He answered without hesitation.

“You can wear the Buddhist prayer beads if you like, but you don’t need to atone for your sins for coming into this world.”

Xu Zhaozhao wriggled out of Gu Qingyan's arms, straightened up, and pulled him into her embrace.

His vision was blocked, and he was in complete darkness, but Xu Zhaozhao's voice was exceptionally clear in his ear.

"Existence is not a crime, nor is being loved."

She touched the back of his head, comforting him.

In fact, Gu Qingyan wasn't sad. He had been like this for so many years, but he felt a little secretly pleased that Xu Zhaozhao cared about him.

Taking advantage of the situation, she snuggled closer to Xu Zhaozhao and responded softly with a nasal tone.

Before I could even stay for a short while, drowsiness began to creep in.

"Baby, I'm so sleepy."

He usually can't sleep, and he wouldn't normally feel sleepy in this kind of atmosphere.

That would mean something abnormal is happening.

Those pills must have been mixed with sleeping pills.

"Go to sleep, I'll stay with you."

Xu Zhaozhao knew exactly what he was up to, so she lay down beside him, his eyes half-closed.

Even though the medication was making him almost drowsy, he still managed to pull Xu Zhaozhao into his arms.

He was sleepy, but Xu Zhaozhao was not sleepy.

By the light of the night lamp, Xu Zhaozhao looked at him and whispered, "Gu Qingyan, I will try to love you."

Gu Qingyan heard it, but the next second he couldn't resist the drowsiness and fell asleep.

Xu Zhaozhao's hand then landed on his eyebrows and eyes.

It turns out that she and Gu Qingyan weren't entirely without similarities.

Before she transmigrated into the book, she was also a "mistaken" child.

In a remote rural village, a girl's birth was considered a sin, and she was repeatedly cursed and insulted.

You are a girl, you should not have been born.

It took her a long time to get rid of the negative influence of her family of origin.

But not everyone can escape it, and Gu Qingyan in front of her is a living example.

She understood Gu Qingyan's feelings all too well.

But things were different in this world. The original owner was pampered and spoiled as she grew up, and she got the life she dreamed of.

She was saved.

Then...who will save Gu Qingyan? Her?

The more she thought about it, the more chaotic it became, and Xu Zhaozhao couldn't fall asleep at all.

Once she fell asleep, Gu Qingyan couldn't care less about her. She put on another hospital gown, stood back out the window to look out, and lit the cigarette that hadn't been lit earlier.

Chi Li strode over to her from his office. "Grandma, why are you up so late at night keeping us working people company?"

Xu Zhaozhao slowly exhaled a smoke ring, which was quickly dispersed by the evening breeze.

Her almond-shaped eyes shifted slightly as she looked at Chi Li. "Dr. Chi, tell me about Gu Qingyan's condition."