In the hospital room.
“You fell in the toilet or what? Squatting in there for so long, Ling Xuan and I were about to go fish you out…” Zhong Ziang teased Yici while ladling soup for Jiang Fuyue. “Here, have another bowl. It’s still hot.”
Jiang Fuyue took the bowl and thanked him.
Yici ignored Zhong Ziang and eagerly leaned in, sitting down at the edge of the hospital bed and fussing over her: “What did the doctor say? Did they do a full check-up? When can you be discharged?”
Jiang Fuyue answered all his questions patiently.
Zhong Ziang pouted.
Ling Xuan said nothing.
After the three left, Jiang Fuyue received a new round of visitors—Jiang Han, Ge Meng, and Liu Sisi.
The day they learned she and Xie Dingyuan went missing, the girls had been too worried to eat, drink, or enjoy themselves.
“We’ll find another time and go again.”
“No way,” Jiang Han quickly waved her hands. “I’m already traumatized by Tianluo Mountain.”
Jiang Fuyue: “Then we’ll go somewhere else next time?”
“Hehe, that works. Honestly though… cough! I think your house is better than any scenic spot!”
Not only spacious and bright, but also elegant and luxurious, and most importantly—there’s food and drink! Ever since tasting Han Yunru’s cooking, Jiang Han found takeout completely tasteless.
She used to eat it just fine, but now it just didn’t do it anymore.
“Boohoo… my stomach’s been spoiled. What do I do now?”
Ge Meng suggested, “We can go to Jiang’s Private Kitchen.”
There, they could enjoy Aunt Han’s desserts and Uncle Jiang’s signature dishes—absolute perfection!
“Do you even need to say that?” Jiang Han snorted. “I already sent a runner to line up. Let’s feast later—hehe!”
Ge Meng jumped up in delight: “Long live Sister Han!”
Even Liu Sisi’s eyes lit up.
Only Jiang Fuyue could only lie on the hospital bed, gazing longingly.
Her left foot still couldn’t touch the ground.
“Make sure not to let anything slip when you’re at the shop.”
Jiang Han mimed zipping her lips: “I swear, mouth sealed tighter than a vault!”
Ge Meng nodded: “Me too!”
Liu Sisi: “I’ll… try not to talk to Uncle and Aunt.”
…
After they left, the sun began to set, and dusk quietly arrived.
In the best single-patient room in the hospital—with its own small balcony—Jiang Fuyue sat against the bedrest, gazing through the glass at the sunset view.
Orange light spilled diagonally across her face, playing beautifully with light and shadow.
Her eyes were clear and luminous, as if catching fallen stars or reflecting the cold moon.
A serene kind of solitary beauty radiated from her.
Xie Dingyuan pushed the door open, and the sight he walked into made his breath catch.
He froze, forgetting to step forward.
Then suddenly, the girl turned her head.
The light shifted across her face. Her profile caught the glow of twilight, the bridge of her nose casting a soft shadow on the other side. When she smiled, her peach blossom eyes shimmered like flowing light.
“You came?”
Xie Dingyuan took a moment before finding his voice, Adam’s apple bobbing: “…To check on you.”
“The sun’s already set.”
The man let out a low laugh, his voice resonating magnetically: “So, you’re blaming me for being late?”
Jiang Fuyue was momentarily speechless.
Xie Dingyuan walked over, picked an orange from the fruit basket and asked, “Want one? I’ll peel it.”
“Sure,” the girl smiled, playing along.
And he really did sit down and start peeling the orange with a knife.
Even just peeling fruit, he looked serious.
The skin came off in even spirals, all precisely the same width—clearly the work of someone with late-stage OCD.
The finished product wasn’t just an orange—it was practically a work of art.
No leftover pith, no damaged flesh.
He then sliced it into six equal parts, neatly arranged them on a plate, and inserted identical toothpicks into the same position in each piece, all aligned at the same angle.
After wiping his hands clean, he handed the plate to her: “You can eat now.”
Jiang Fuyue: “…”
This was the first time she felt too unworthy to take a bite.
“What’s wrong?” Seeing her frozen, he looked confused.
“Uh… do you always peel oranges like this?”
“I’ve seen others do it, but this is my first time. Why? Not good?”
“It’s great! How could it not be?” Honestly, it was too good.
“Then why aren’t you eating?”
“…”
Jiang Fuyue silently picked up a toothpick and put the orange into her mouth.
Xie Dingyuan: “How is it?”
“Sweet.”
At her reply, his slightly tense gaze softened with satisfaction.
“You eat some too.” Jiang Fuyue picked up a piece and handed it to him.
She meant for him to take it.
But instead, to her shock, he leaned in and took the fruit directly from the toothpick—straight from her hand.
Their eyes met. The orange piece was still in his mouth. Jiang Fuyue looked completely dumbfounded—
Who am I?
Where am I?
What did I just do?!
Xie Dingyuan: “…It’s very sweet.”
Boom!
Jiang Fuyue’s mind exploded.
“You—don’t you know how to use your hands?!”
He gave her a look: “I thought… you were feeding me.”
“Who said I was feeding you?!”
“You did.”
Jiang Fuyue: “Xie Dingyuan—!”
Xie Dingyuan: “Yes, I’m here. What would you like to say?” He smiled gently, voice as soft as water.
“You did it on purpose!”
“Mm.”
“You’re up to no good!”
“If liking you counts as that, then yes.”
“You—!”
“Want more? I’ll peel another.”
Suddenly, Jiang Fuyue had no comeback at all.
“As expected, your skin is so thick.”
Xie Dingyuan reflexively touched his cheek. Not only was he not annoyed, he actually looked… a bit smug?
He remembered Shen Qiannan once said: “To win a girl’s heart, you need a thick skin. Don’t fear hardship. Don’t fear rejection. That’s how you win her over.”
At the time, Xie Dingyuan scoffed.
Now? It kinda made sense.
Jiang Fuyue had no idea about the smug pride surging in his chest. She was still questioning how Professor Xie, known for being aloof and distant, had suddenly turned into this shameless flirt.
As the last sliver of sun dipped beneath the horizon, night descended.
Jiang Fuyue glanced out the window and clicked her tongue: “It’s dark already. Aren’t you leaving? The nurse will be making rounds in ten minutes.”
“I’m staying the night,” he said casually, like dropping a bomb.
“What did you say?!”
“I’m staying to keep you company.”
“I don’t need it!”
“That’s fine. Then I’ll call your parents and ask them to come.”
“Xie Dingyuan—!”
“You’ve got two choices: your parents, or me.”
Jiang Fuyue: “…”
“Then I’ll take it as you choosing me.”
“…Why didn’t I realize before how shameless you are?”
Xie Dingyuan: “I bet you’re cursing me in your head right now… saying I’m thick-skinned and shameless and whatnot…”
Jiang Fuyue: “!”
“So I was right.”
“…”
At 8 p.m., the nurse came by for rounds.
Xie Dingyuan stepped out to speak with her. Not long after, two attendants wheeled in a folding bed and set it up less than half a meter from Jiang Fuyue’s.
Since she didn’t want her family involved, she had no choice but to accept. She angrily grabbed the blanket into a tight ball.
Someone watched with delight, a grin tugging at the corner of his lips.
…
Even during her hospital stay, Jiang Fuyue didn’t get to rest.
She had to handle affairs from Yufeng Group, A-Camp was graduating a new batch of trainees and needed assignments—and on top of that, Xu Kaiqing gave her several stacks of math olympiad problem sets to complete.
Xie Dingyuan saw her alternating between laptop and worksheets, her tiny bedside table piled with materials, working non-stop.
Honestly, he was just as busy—his company had ongoing projects, his lab had urgent experiments, and there were backlogged academic papers to finish.
Before, he would’ve been buried in the lab, barely returning home.
But now he was thick-skinned enough to stay at the hospital just to keep her company through the long night.
Unknowingly, he’d changed.
Even Xie Dingyuan himself found it hard to believe.
“You’ve been staring at me. What for?” Jiang Fuyue finally couldn’t ignore the intense gaze.
He didn’t look away, eyes lingering on her face.
And honestly answered: “You’re beautiful.”
Jiang Fuyue twitched her mouth: “Corny pickup lines are so out these days.”
“Corny? Pickup line?” He blinked.
She turned the page and kept working, not replying.
But who was Professor Xie?
A top-tier scholar, solver of the century’s biggest math problem—how hard could a cheesy line be for him?
