Suddenly, Lu Yanting's phone, which was on the coffee table, vibrated. He reached for it and saw that it was Qiu Mang calling.
"What's up?"
An urgent voice came from the other end of the phone: "Hello, is this Mr. Lu? This is the Sunshine Hotel. Miss Qiu has fainted, and we can't find her family. Luckily, we found your number in her recent contacts! We see you've been talking to each other a lot. Are you her friend? Would it be convenient for you to come over?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Yanting frowned deeply, his brows furrowing into a deep frown.
"I'm coming right away!"
After hanging up the phone, the man quickly got up, a jacket draped over his arm, and hurriedly headed out.
"What happened?" Lu Hui asked, frowning.
"I have something to do, I need to go out for a bit!" the man said, and then strode out of the hall.
"Yanting! It's New Year's Eve today. Put everything aside for now! Have your New Year's Eve dinner before you leave!" Mother Lu, wearing a fur coat, chased after him to the door.
"I'm not eating! You guys eat!" Lu Yanting opened the car door and got in.
Half an hour later, Lu Yanting arrived at the Sunshine Hotel.
The woman with the ramen-noodle-shaped hair looked at the expensively dressed man in front of her, paused for a moment, and then tentatively asked, "Um... are you Mr. Lu?"
Lu Yanting immediately spotted the girl lying half-reclined on the sofa. Her face was pale, and her lips were completely bloodless.
The man frowned slightly, took two steps to the girl, squatted down, and prepared to take her away.
The woman with the ramen-noodle hair panicked. These two people didn't seem to know each other at all. One was so poor that he could only afford to stay in their 90-yuan-a-night hotel, while the other looked like he had "rich" written all over his face.
The elderly woman, fearing the visitor might have ill intentions and something might happen, quickly stepped forward to stop him, saying, "Sir! You can't take her away!"
"Get out of the way!" The man had already picked the girl up horizontally, and when he looked at the old woman, his eyes were like sharp arrows.
The older woman was frightened by the man's gaze and unconsciously took a step back.
However, given the old lady's age and the fact that this small hotel was inexpensive, disputes often occurred, so she naturally had some ability to resolve conflicts.
The aunt cleared her throat and said, "Sir, for safety reasons, I cannot let you take her away! We have already contacted Miss Qiu's friend, and he will be here shortly!"
Lu Yanting looked at her like she was an idiot. "Then wake her up and see if she recognizes me? Or, you can call her friend!"
Seeing how arrogant the man in front of her was, the old lady quickly dialed "Mr. Lu's" number again.
A short while later, the phone rang. The old lady was so surprised that she opened her mouth wide as she watched the man slowly take his phone out of his pocket.
Finally, Lu Yanting carried Qiu Mang into the black Bentley. The old lady looked incredulous and muttered to herself, "These rich people nowadays are really something. Coming to stay in our cheap hotel that costs 90 yuan a night? To experience life?"
Before long, Bingli stopped at Shuiyue Huating. He settled the girl on the bed, touched her forehead with his hand, and frowned slightly as soon as his hand touched her skin.
The man took out a thermometer to measure his temperature. When he saw it read 39.5°C, he couldn't help but curse under his breath: "Damn it! He's practically burning up and still running around everywhere. He's such a worry!"
He got up to get her fever-reducing medicine, but found a note she had left next to it.
The man frowned, muttering softly, "Are you better? Not wanting to bother you?"
A mocking smile curled at the corner of his lips. So this is what they call being cured? The man casually crumpled the note into a ball and tossed it into the trash can.
He took the medicine, poured a glass of warm water, and went into the second bedroom. After feeding her the medicine, he took a damp towel and used it to cool her down.
The girl opened her eyes once during the middle of the journey, and was somewhat stunned when she saw him.
The girl slowly turned her head, and when she saw the familiar room, her eyes became even more unfocused. She raised her hand and gently tapped her head. "Looks like I'm delirious from the fever; I'm even hallucinating!"
Looking at her dazed expression, Lu Yanting clenched his fist and put it to his mouth, chuckling softly.
Qiu Mang frowned and reached out to pinch his cheek. "Why are you so annoying? You appear in my hallucination and then laugh at me!"
Lu Yanting didn't dodge. When her hand touched the man's handsome face, she rubbed her eyes in disbelief.
"Not a hallucination?"
Lu Yanting sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the girl's dazed and silly appearance, and snorted softly.
Suddenly, there was a "snap".
Lu Yanting felt a sharp pain on his face. He instinctively took a step back and glared at her angrily.
What are you doing?
The girl's voice was muffled as she said, "So it's true that you feel pain."
Lu Yanting's face darkened. "Why don't you hit yourself?"
Qiu Mang raised her hand and scratched her head. "I... am afraid of pain."
Lu Yanting "..."
Lu Yanting took a deep breath, trying to suppress the anger in his heart.
He looked at the woman in front of him, who was delirious with fever but still had the strength to hit him, and shook his head helplessly.
"Can't you just give me a break? You're sick and you're still running around everywhere."
Qiu Mang blinked gently, a hint of confusion in her eyes. "I thought I was fully recovered."
After a pause, she continued, "Back in my hometown, I was always in good health. Minor ailments like colds and fevers would just pass by on their own. I just never expected..."
"You're just going to tough it out when you're sick?" Lu Yanting looked at her, his eyes full of complicated emotions.
“Yes, my mom said that taking too much medicine is bad for your health. Only by relying on your own physical strength to overcome minor ailments can your constitution get better and better,” Qiu Mang explained.
"Are you sure that's your biological mother?" Lu Yanting raised an eyebrow as he looked at her.
He's always been known for his sharp tongue, but I never expected that a simple joke would cause the girl to have an emotional breakdown instantly.
Qiu Mang's eyes reddened, and large tears instantly welled up in her eyes.
She recalled that from childhood to adulthood, her mother had never given her a kind look; she was either working or on her way to work.
Once, looking at the thick calluses on her hands and then at the cattle and horses in her shed, she felt that she was no different from them.
No, there is a difference; she can fetch a higher price than cattle or horses.
She has an older sister and an older brother. Both her older brother and sister graduated from high school, but she went to university.
This wasn't because her parents loved her so much. Looking back now, the reason seems almost ridiculous.
She was admitted to university with excellent grades. Her family initially disagreed with her going to school, but they heard that she had good grades, received government subsidies, could be exempted from tuition, and could also receive scholarships. Depending on her family's financial situation, she could also apply for financial aid.
Zhang Guahua and Qiu Heping's eyes lit up. This pile of money added up to quite a bit; it was practically money to pay her to go to school.
Zhang Guihua considered that even if she went out to work, she wouldn't earn much money in a month, and it would be better to go to school and earn more. That's when she started to waver.
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