Before they had been hugging for long, Tang Ning felt Fu Yin's arms loosen their grip on her. Their eyes met, and the man smiled as he touched her dirty cheek, chuckling softly, "It's good that you're alright..."
The word "okay" had barely left his lips when Tang Ning watched helplessly as he coughed uncontrollably. That slight cough actually produced blood. Before the smile on his face could even fully fade, he swayed slightly and crashed headfirst into her...
"Yinze! Fu Yinze!"
Fu Yin hugged Tang Ning tightly, staggered a bit, and called out in disbelief.
"Doctor! Doctor, help! Someone has fainted! Please come quickly, please help me..."
Tang Ning cried out.
Fu Yuankai, who was standing not far behind the two, was about to leave when he heard Tang Ning's call and quickly ran over.
"What happened?"
Upon seeing him, Tang Ning's tears immediately fell.
"Yuan Kai, help me..."
Just then, Qi Lie, who had just gotten into the ambulance, heard Tang Ning's voice and had just gotten up when he saw Fu Yuankai, who had appeared out of nowhere, carrying the completely unconscious Fu Yinze on his back and putting him into another vehicle.
A strange feeling flashed through Qi Lie's mind so quickly that he didn't even realize it before he was drawn to Tang Ning's tear-streaked face. But since she probably didn't have time to pay attention to him right now, he could only suppress his thoughts and decide to wait until they got to the hospital.
After accompanying Tang Ning to take Fu Yinze into the operating room, and then helping her clean and bandage her wounds while she was still in a daze, Fu Yuankai sat with her on the bench in front of the operating room, watching her stare intently at the red light of the operating room, her eyes so focused that she forgot to blink.
I couldn't quite describe the feeling in my heart; it was sour, bitter, and astringent, with intense, unbearable pain.
Even though his beloved girl was sitting so close to him, he felt as if an insurmountable chasm had been drawn between them, leaving him only able to watch from afar as she worried about, felt sorry for, and shed tears for someone else.
Is this his retribution?
The retribution for his impure initial approach, his easy acquisition, and his lack of appreciation after obtaining the goods meant that he had no chance to regret it after losing them.
Seemingly unable to bear being by Tang Ning's side, watching her wait so anxiously and earnestly for another man, Fu Yuankai slowly stood up.
"I still have some work to do, so I'll be leaving now..."
"Okay, be careful on the road."
Tang Ning's voice was soft and calm.
Upon hearing these words, Fu Yuankai's mind flashed back to the past, when he would leave their little house for work, and Tang Ning's eyes would be filled with reluctance, and she would eagerly ask him when he would come back next time, promising that she would definitely wait for him at home.
Thinking of this, Fu Yuankai closed his eyes slightly, trying hard to suppress the bitterness in them.
Then he heard his voice ask softly, "Is there really no chance?"
All that was met was silence.
Fu Yuankai finally couldn't stay any longer. If he stayed any longer, he felt that he might not even be able to breathe.
Using all his strength, he tried his best not to look at Tang Ning below, turned around and walked away, walking faster and faster until he was running, as if a demon was chasing him. He did not look back, nor did he dare to look back.
As soon as Fu Yuankai left, Tang Ning stared at the bandage in her palm for a long time, pursed her lips, and then, out of the corner of her eye, saw Qi Lie standing on one leg with a cast on, who had been standing there for who knows how long.
Upon seeing him, she slowly smiled.
"How's your leg? It should be alright, right?"
Upon hearing this, Qi Lie was about to hop over on one foot while holding onto the wall when Tang Ning quickly got up and went to help him. She helped him all the way to the bench on this side before letting go of his hand and sitting down next to him.
"It's nothing serious. I've had an X-ray, it's just a fracture, not too serious. With some rest, I should be able to walk again in about a month or two."
"That's good."
Tang Ning smiled with satisfaction.
He didn't know if it was because they were too close, so close that Qi Lie could almost smell her faint fragrance, or because Tang Ning's pale face and smile were too soft and gentle, or perhaps it was because the boy's first crush was too overwhelming. It was like an old house catching fire.
In an instant, Qi Lie's heart began to pound again, and a blush slowly crept onto his face.
"Ahem." He coughed lightly. "The contract we signed before still stands, right? How about we continue filming the music video once my leg is healed?"
"So soon?" Tang Ning turned to look at him in surprise. "But I'm not famous, I don't have much work, so it should be fine. You..."
She suddenly extended her unbandaged finger to check Qi Lie's forehead temperature. "I can't quite feel it. Do you have a fever? Your face is so red. Could the wound be infected? Should we see a doctor? The infection is quite serious..."
Tang Ning's sudden approach, the touch of her fingers on his forehead, and her caring words were all factors that caused Qi Lie's heart to race.
"I...I..."
Before I could get any results, the operating room lights went out.
Tang Ning, who was constantly watching the lights, stood up instantly. Breathing rapidly, she watched as the operating room door was opened from the inside and hurriedly went over to ask about the results.
"The patient has a severe stomach ulcer. The bleeding has stopped, but the family must take good care of him. This kind of stomach ulcer is quite serious, so they must monitor him closely. Also..."
The doctor gave instructions with a somewhat serious expression.
Tang Ning nodded earnestly, and when she saw Fu Yinze sleeping soundly on the hospital bed, his face frighteningly pale, her eyes immediately reddened.
After that, she started jogging towards the ward along his hospital bed. As for Qi Lie, whose favorability had increased by 3 points and whose current favorability had reached 88, she didn't care.
On the other side, Qi Lie, who had stood up while leaning against the wall, watched Tang Ning's departing figure with the hospital bed, his face filled with undisguised loneliness.
He regretted it.
He regretted being so naive and foolish on the set of "The Long Life Sword," and regretted not inviting Tang Ning to participate in his music video back then. She wasn't Fu Yinze's girlfriend then, was she? Fu Yinze was visiting the set of "The Long Life Sword" for Ye Xi, wasn't he? How could he have acted so quickly!
Qi Lie resentfully observed Fu Yinze's speed.
The night was bright with a clear moon and few stars. The window of the ward was slightly ajar for ventilation, and a cool night breeze blew onto Fu Yinze's face on the hospital bed. The man's long, dark eyelashes trembled slightly, and he slowly opened his eyes.
The moment he opened his eyes, he felt his right hand being gently supported by a small head.
Turning his head, Fu Yinze saw Tang Ning, her cheek pressed against his palm, asleep on the edge of the bed.
Upon seeing her appearance, Fu Yinze couldn't help but smile.
Gently withdrawing his hand from under her face, Fu Yin then reached out and gently touched Tang Ning's hair and cheek.
Tang Ning, who wasn't sleeping deeply, opened her eyes groggily when she felt the touch on her face. She met Fu Yinze's smiling eyes and exclaimed excitedly with a look of surprise on her face, "Yinze, you're awake? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere? I'll call the doctor right now!"
Stopping Tang Ning from pressing the call button, Fu Yin gently removed the oxygen mask with his other hand and smiled weakly, "I feel fine anywhere. Being able to see you the first thing I see when I wake up, I feel perfectly comfortable."
Old Fu is Old Fu after all. She's different from Fu Yuankai, that coward who doesn't even dare to look at her, and Qi Lie, that greenhorn who gets butterflies in his stomach and whose affection for her skyrockets with the slightest bit of close contact with her.
She had just woken up after surgery, and the anesthesia hadn't completely worn off, yet she could still spout sweet nothings.
Despite teasing him in her heart, Tang Ning couldn't help but smile and said, "The surgery just ended, and you're already talking nonsense!"
"I wasn't talking nonsense. What time is it now?"
"Hmm, it's 12:20, what's wrong?"
"Are you tired? After what happened during the day, and now you're watching over me... Come on up."
He gently pulled back his blanket.
Tang Ning glanced at the hospital bed, which was only big enough for one person to lie down, and Fu Yin's abdomen, which was wrapped up tightly.
"Are you kidding me? You just had surgery, how can I lie in the same bed as you? There are beds for patients here. The nurses saw that my books were not easy to read, so they set them up for me. I can rest on them for a while."
Tang Ning said irritably.
Upon hearing this, she was certain that she had caught a fleeting glimpse of regret in Fu Yinze's eyes.
She was speechless.
Then Fu Yinze spoke again, "Could you..."
"Um?"
"Push the bed closer to me."
Tang Ning: "..."
About five minutes later, Tang Ning, lying on the cot, let Fu Yinze reach out and hold her bandaged hand before giving him a teasing smile and saying, "Is this alright, President Fu?"
"Hmm." Fu Yin actually nodded seriously.
This immediately made Tang Ning laugh out loud, and after laughing, she couldn't help but yawn.
Seeing her like this, Fu Yin gently squeezed her fingers, "Go to sleep if you're sleepy, don't push yourself..."
Upon hearing this, Tang Ning glanced at him sleepily, nodded almost imperceptibly, and then fell into a deep sleep shortly afterward.
Meanwhile, Fu Yin kept staring at Tang Ning's sleeping face, his fingers constantly stroking her fingertips, as if he couldn't get enough of looking at her.
Tang Ning...
The next day, as soon as she woke up, a look of surprise flashed across Tang Ning's face.
She deliberately hid in the bathroom of the ward, and looking at 54088 beside her, she asked in her mind, "54088, my drowsiness last night came too quickly and was too strange. I'm not a careless person or someone who is prone to sleepiness. Fu Yin was right next to me, so it was impossible for me to fall asleep so quickly, even though I don't have the habit of talking in my sleep. Do you know what's wrong with my body?"
Upon hearing Tang Ning's words, 54088's little face immediately turned serious. It quickly scanned Tang Ning's body and then cried out in panic, "Tang Bao, Tang Bao, something's wrong! You were fine before, but I just scanned and found that your body is slowly weakening. If this continues..."
"He won't live more than three months."
Tang Ning took over its words without hesitation.
"Huh? Tangbao, how did you know?"
"Because in the story, the original owner died three months later."
"Is that so? What happened? Tangbao, wait for me, I'll go ask my boss right now."
As soon as she finished speaking, Tang Ning immediately noticed that 54088, which had been flying around her and was lively and energetic, suddenly froze in mid-air like a robot doll that had lost power. Even its once vibrant black eyes had turned into a lifeless gray.
Seeing this, Tang Ning didn't pay too much attention and started washing up at the sink.
Just as she dried her face, 54088, which had been suspended in mid-air, came back to life and looked at her apologetically, "Tangbao, Tangbao, I did something wrong..."
"What's wrong?"
"Actually, you only have three months left to complete the conquest. I... I didn't even know that before... because none of the eight hosts before me were able to complete the entire conquest. The best one only managed to conquer two worlds, conquering one target in each world, before being sent to the operating table by one of the targets in the second world, almost being dissected. The others were basically bewitched by the scumbags in the mission worlds, voluntarily giving up their role as conquest hunters and willingly staying in one world to live the life of a scumbag. I've never encountered a host as outstanding as you, who actually managed to conquer all the targets. So I never knew there were limitations, which is..."
"The timeframe for the conquest is limited to before the original owner's life ends."
"How do you know? Yes, this is a three-way contract that our company, the original owner, and the other world signed together. The original owner voluntarily gave up her body in exchange for happiness and well-being in her next life. Just like Tang Ning in this world, in her next life she can not only be reborn as the child of her current parents, but also find a fulfilling love. The other world doesn't interfere or reject her; it can even help her completely integrate into the original owner's body and then obtain a portion of the profits from our company. As for the company, it mainly uses the original owner's body as a medium to let employees in and gain the favor of scumbags."
"However, the use of the body is limited to a certain period of time. The contract will terminate when the original owner dies."
"I'm so sorry, Tangbao, I really, really didn't mean it. Please don't be angry with me..."
DouDou's eyes instantly filled with tears.
Seeing this, Tang Ning chuckled and gently flicked its little head. "Why did I blame you? It's okay, I can completely conquer all my targets in less than three months."
She smiled nonchalantly at her reflection in the mirror.
She hadn't known about this before, but now that she did, she felt she might need to change her plans slightly, even though she hadn't intended to stay in this plane of existence for very long anyway.
Two months later.
As soon as Qi Lie was able to get out of bed and walk, he immediately called Tang Ning to come over and continue filming.
Before Tang Ning arrived, the MV director discussed with Qi Lie, "Today's scene mainly involves the female lead of 'New Life' recalling all the sweet moments of her relationship with her ex-boyfriend. The female lead has already been confirmed as Miss Tang. I wonder who will play the boyfriend?"
Even if Qi Lie's music video wasn't particularly outstanding, it was still a great opportunity for widespread exposure, especially for recent film school graduates like Tang Ning, and for newcomers with few acting credits. Almost every time Qi Lie announced it, the number of people auditioning would only increase.
Upon hearing the director's question, Qi Lie's face flushed strangely, then he feigned composure and said, "Me."
"Oh, so it was... uh, uh?"
The director, like a rooster being choked, looked incredulously at Qi Lie to the side and stammered, "The filming... the filming schedule includes a kissing scene..."
Even though it was just a kiss on the cheek.
But who is Qi Lie? He's a top-tier celebrity and musical talent who has declared since his debut that he would never act in any intimate scenes. So this is very likely Qi Lie's first on-screen kiss.
Just like that... just like that...
The director was so excited that his nostrils flared.
Upon hearing the words "kissing scene," Qi Lie's face turned even redder, and he said in a fierce but weak voice, "Of...of course I know! But well, sacrificing for art is only right, and as an actor, I should have been aware of that long ago."
He turned to the director beside him with a look of disbelief, and continued, "Besides, I'm doing this so that I can better interpret my work. Yes, so that my work can reach its most perfect state."
He had an expression of utter selflessness.
This made the director, who was standing to the side, start to doubt himself. Was it really because he lacked awareness?
So we didn't see Qi Lie drinking water to relieve his nervousness, while his eyes were fixed expectantly on the entrance. When Tang Ning suddenly appeared, his eyes lit up, and he quickly put down the water and went over.
"You've come..."
"Hmm, wasn't it supposed to be a shoot? Am I the only one here today? I heard from the director that a male lead would be coming..."
Tang Ning took the bottled water from Qi Lie's assistant, unscrewed it, took a sip, and looked around.
But she accidentally caught sight of Qi Lie, whose chest was puffed out high, face flushed, and who looked proud and self-satisfied. She immediately spat out her saliva and pointed at Qi Lie, "No...no, it's not you, is it?"
"Wh...what? Is it not allowed? It's my new song, I'm the male lead, what's wrong with that?" Qi Lie looked at him as if he were making a big fuss. Of course, he would never admit that he secretly kicked out the male lead he had already found so that he could have closer contact with Tang Ning.
Seeing him like this, Tang Ning gently wiped the water from her mouth with a tissue and tentatively said, "Recalling our romance, there will be a lot of intimate scenes. I heard from the director that there's even a kissing scene, you..."
"I have always been the most professional actor."
He told so many lies that he started to believe them himself.
Seeing this, Tang Ning placed the mineral water bottle on the table beside her and nodded slightly, "Okay..."
"What? Are you reluctant? Are you losing out by having me play your male lead?"
"No loss, no loss! I made a huge profit! You have so much traffic!"
Tang Ning quickly stroked his fur, then picked up the bottled water next to her and drank it again.
Qi Lie, seeing that she had picked up the bottle with less water, realized that if he wasn't mistaken, it was the very bottle he had casually placed on the table. Even though he knew she had picked the wrong one, Qi Lie simply held his breath and didn't expose her, letting her unscrew the cap and take a sip.
They are...this is...
Qi Lie felt his mouth was extremely dry. He glanced at the table and saw the bottle of water that Tang Ning had drunk from was sitting there peacefully. He reached out his hand shakily, but before he could touch the bottle, Tang Ning's voice rang in his ears.
"They're all ready over there, filming's about to start. Let's go over there."
Upon hearing Tang Ning's voice, Qi Lie's hand trembled.
Seeing that Tang Ning had already started jogging towards the filming location, Qi Lie closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, reached out and grabbed the bottle of water that belonged to Tang Ning, hugged it tightly to his chest, and followed her.
Catching a glimpse of the other person's movements out of the corner of her eye, Tang Ning slightly raised the corners of her mouth. Was he really just a greenhorn, inexperienced in love, experiencing his first stirrings of affection? And once his heart was stirred, he truly…
Tang Ning accidentally picked up the wrong water bottle, which led to an increase in his favorability towards her.
Qi Lie's current favorability rating: 90.
Their subsequent interactions gave Tang Ning an exhilarating feeling, as if she had cheated in a game. Due to filming requirements, she received 3 kisses on the cheek, 2 more while sitting on the sofa nestled in his arms watching TV, and 2 more while he carried her barefoot on his back and spun her around on the beach...
In just one day, she instantly raised Qi Lie's favorability rating to 98, and then it remained unchanged. Compared to Fu Yinze, who was stingy and whose favorability rating was still at 95, Qi Lie seemed like a rich, foolish, and generous tycoon, so generous that Tang Ning was amazed.
As the day's filming came to an end, Tang Ning looked at Qi Lie, who was still holding the almost untouched mineral water bottle, his eyes seemingly glued to her, his intense emotions transparent, allowing her to see right through him. She was about to say something.
Out of the corner of my eye, I suddenly caught sight of a person hiding behind a wall not far away, who showed half of their face before quickly retreating back inside.
Tang Ning's eyesight was so good that even a quick glance was enough for her to recognize the other person instantly.
Ye Xi.
Sure enough, she had sent the message to the other party using an unfamiliar phone card, indicating that she and Qi Lie were filming a music video, and specifically noted that the two were the male and female leads with intimate scenes.
The other party really didn't disappoint her and came over!
After finishing her conversation with Qi Lie, Tang Ning pretended not to care and went to the corner where Ye Xi had peeked out earlier, where she saw a piece of Black Forest cake that had been smashed.
Seeing this, Tang Ning smiled knowingly.
If her guess was correct, the key to completing her strategy lay with Ye Xi. She really hoped Ye Xi wouldn't disappoint her! After all, in the story, with the combined efforts of Fu Yinze, Fu Yuankai, and Qi Lie, she… oh no, the original owner of this body didn't have much time left…
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