On the other end, Su Yumian froze for a moment, an image surfacing in her mind—the photo of him and Shi Muxi holding hands and smiling.

  She spoke calmly, "If you're sick, go to the hospital. I'm not a doctor."

  With that, she hung up. Her indifferent tone made it seem like the person on the other end was just a stranger. Jiang Yihuai clenched his jaw, his whole body trembling with anger. He smashed his phone against the wall, shattering it into pieces.

  Beside him, Aunt Wang: "?"

  That was her phone!!!

  Fueled by rage from Su Yumian's words, Jiang Yihuai felt his stomach ache even more. Out of sheer stubbornness, he went upstairs and locked himself in his room.

  Did she really think he couldn't live without her?!

  Ridiculous!

  Aunt Wang gnced at her destroyed phone, then sighed as she recalled the conversation just now.

  She really didn't understand the young master. Miss Su was such a good girl, and yet he had the heart to push her away...

  —

  That afternoon, after finishing her cleaning, Aunt Wang knocked on Jiang Yihuai's bedroom door. "Young Master?"

  No response. Thinking he was still sulking, she didn’t dwell on it and left.

  Later, Jiang Qiting drove to the vil, unlocking the door effortlessly with her fingerprint.

  "Brother, I'm here to deliver Mom’s message. This time, it's about the Qin family’s daughter—PhD from Columbia University... Brother? Are you here?"

  She frowned and dialed Jiang Yihuai’s number, only to hear the ringtone nearby. Looking down, she saw his phone lying on the coffee table. The phone was here, so he should be home too. After a brief pause, she headed upstairs.

  "Brother? Are you in there? Mom wants you to have dinner with the Qin family. Do you hear me?"

  She knocked repeatedly, but there was no response.

  What the heck? Not even a single sound.

  Frowning, she called Aunt Wang.

  "...Young Master has been home the whole time. His face didn’t look good—probably his stomach acting up again. He hasn’t moved at all. What if he passed out inside?"

  Armed, Jiang Qiting quickly grabbed the spare key and unlocked the door.

  Sure enough, as soon as she stepped in, she saw Jiang Yihuai lying motionless on the floor, his face as pale as a sheet.

  "Brother—!"

  —

  The cold IV fluid entered his veins, slightly easing the pain that weighed on him.

  Jiang Yihuai opened his tired eyes, his throat dry and burning. "Water..."

  Cheng Zhou, seeing him awake, quickly poured him a gss. After taking a sip to relieve his parched throat, Jiang Yihuai shook his head, signaling Cheng Zhou to put the cup away.

  "Huai-ge, are you feeling better? Qiting called us earlier, saying you colpsed. We rushed over."

  "Yeah, Huai-zi, you always act like you're fine, but suddenly you're in the hospital? You nearly scared us to death."

  Jiang Yihuai scanned the room. There were quite a few people in his hospital room—Shen Shiyan, Gu Yizhou, and others. Jiang Qiting stood by his bed, her face full of worry. Even Shu Yuqin had come. But...

  Su Yumian was nowhere to be seen.

  Jiang Yihuai curled his lips bitterly. She was really ruthless.

  Cheng Zhou hesitated before speaking, "The doctor said your irregur eating habits, plus all the alcohol tely... ahem, caused a stomach perforation."

  Jiang Qiting pouted, "Brother, you have no idea how scared I was! When I walked in, you were just lying there like a corpse. Thank God you're okay. The doctor said you need proper rest—don't take this lightly!"

  From the moment he woke up, Shu Yuqin had been standing there with a stormy expression, as if she was about to explode. Now, seeing him in this weakened state, she couldn't hold back anymore.

  "Where is Su Yumian? How could she not be here after something this serious?!"

  Jiang Qiting was puzzled too.

  If this were before, the moment her brother got hospitalized, Su Yumian would have been right by his side, serving tea and crying her eyes out. But now... she hadn't even shown up?

  The moment Shu Yuqin asked, an eerie silence filled the room. Jiang Yihuai remained expressionless, saying nothing. Those in the know, like Cheng Zhou and Gu Yizhou, also kept their mouths shut.

  Finally, Shen Shiyan spoke indifferently, "They broke up. You guys didn’t know?"

  Shu Yuqin frowned. "Still fighting? How long has it been? She’s really growing bolder!"

  Jiang Yihuai’s face darkened even more.

  "Cough! Aunt Shu, this time… it won’t be that easy to fix," Shen Shiyan said, gncing at her.

  "What do you mean? That Su Yumian is putting on airs now?!"

  "Mom," Jiang Yihuai interrupted coldly, his voice even icier than his expression. "It’s over. I broke up with her."

  "...What?" Shu Yuqin was stunned. Jiang Qiting looked equally shocked.

  Thinking back, Su Yumian had been dragging this out longer than usual this time…

  —

  Shu Yuqin left the hospital room and didn’t even wait until she was out of the building before dialing Su Yumian.

  The moment the call connected, she sneered, "Su Yumian, who do you think you are? Do you know how lucky you were that my son even looked at you? You should be grateful for eight lifetimes!"

  "For years, he spent so much money on you, and how did you repay him? Ungrateful little wretch! Even a stray dog on the street knows how to be grateful!"

  She gritted her teeth. "My son is sick right now! When the hell are you coming back—"

  On the other end, Su Yumian listened quietly, not interrupting. When Shu Yuqin finally paused, she replied calmly, "Sorry, but your son is no longer my concern."

  She hung up.

  Then, without hesitation, she blocked Shu Yuqin. Opening WeChat, she deleted her contact.

  Confirm.

  After doing all this, she exhaled deeply, feeling an unprecedented sense of relief.

  Meanwhile, Shu Yuqin stared at her phone in disbelief.

  She called again, only to hear, "the number you have dialed is currently unavaible..."

  She was so furious she stomped her foot.

  "Fine! Fine, Su Yumian! Just great!"

  —

  He Songcheng noticed a faint smile at the corner of Su Yumian’s lips. "Something good happened?"

  She shook her head. Just finally dealt with some unnecessary trouble.

  By the time they finished studying, the sky had turned dark. The two left the library together. The night breeze carried a slight chill, and the dim yellow street lights cast a glow over the sidewalk. The leaves rustled in the wind.

  He Songcheng gnced at Su Yumian’s profile—fair, fwless, with a hint of cool detachment.

  Summoning his courage, he asked, "Yesterday, you mentioned having dinner together sometime. How about today? Of course, if it’s inconvenient, we can do it another day."

  Su Yumian thought for a moment. He Songcheng had helped her a lot recently—she should’ve treated him to a meal earlier.

  "Sure. I have ingredients at home. If you don’t mind, I’ll cook for you."

  He Songcheng was taken aback. "Huh? Your… your pce?"

  She nodded. "It’s only a ten-minute walk. But if you'd rather eat out, that’s fine too. You pick."

  Realizing she hadn’t thought much about it, He Songcheng felt both disappointed and relieved.

  "No, no, home is great! Clean and hygienic. Then… I’ll have to trouble you."