In the library, Su Yumian worked through two exam papers in a row but got stuck on the st question of both.

  She spent a long time calcuting but couldn’t find the answer. Remembering a simir problem she had seen in a book, she got up and went to the reading area to search for references.

  After a few minutes, she found what she needed and was about to leave when another book caught her attention.

  The title was The Recombination and Fusion of Gene Sequences. She recalled Shao Wenbai’s words and instinctively pulled the book from the shelf…

  Flipping through a few pages, she was surprised to find that the book’s theories closely aligned with her own ideas.

  She kept reading, growing more and more excited until she was completely immersed.

  Until her phone vibrated in her pocket.

  A WeChat message popped up on the screen.

  Shao Yuwei: Guess where I am?

  Su Yumian thought she was pying some word game and was about to reply when a thought struck her.

  Su Yumian: You came to school?!

  Shao Yuwei: Bingo!

  Outside the library.

  As soon as Su Yumian came downstairs, she saw a familiar figure standing under a tree.

  “You came all of a sudden?”

  “I was nearby and thought I’d drop off some good food for you.” Shao Yuwei lifted the bag in her hand, the fragrance spreading through the air.

  “Now that I’ve delivered it, I should go.”

  Su Yumian: “You’re not eating with me?”

  Shao Yuwei waved her hand. “I brought it just for you. I won’t eat. I’m too busy.” She sighed. “I just took on a new project. Three days in, I’ve only slept eight hours in total. I just woke up, and my dad summoned me immediately. Ridiculous!”

  Shao Yuwei was a designer who only accepted a few major projects each year. But each one was complex, so once she got busy, she had almost no time to rest.

  This time, she had been thrown into the deep end, which expined her current exhaustion.

  “Speaking of which, this project is a little connected to the Jiang family.” Her eyes flickered mischievously. “Interested?”

  “Nope.” Su Yumian cut her off before she could say more and shoved her umbrel into Shao Yuwei’s hands. “Aren’t you busy? Don’t forget sun protection.”

  Shao Yuwei raised an eyebrow, watching her leave. She hadn’t even said anything yet.

  Looking down at the bidding documents in her hand, she smirked. She wasn’t lying—one of Shao Corp’s competitors this time was indeed the Jiang family.

  Elsewhere, after sending Shi Muxi off, Jiang Yihuai also drove away Gu Yizhou and Cheng Zhou, who had been hanging around to watch the drama.

  The once noisy hospital room suddenly fell silent. He pinched the bridge of his nose, gnced at the IV needle in his hand, and pulled it out without hesitation.

  Blood instantly welled up from the needle mark. He frowned, grabbed a tissue to press on it casually, then reached for his coat, put it on, and prepared to leave.

  “Mr. Jiang! You can’t leave the hospital yet!”

  A nurse had just come in to change the IV bag and immediately stopped him when she saw him trying to leave.

  Jiang Yihuai frowned. “Move.”

  The nurse wanted to persuade him, but the cold, sharp look in his eyes made her freeze. She could only watch helplessly as he left, then hurriedly reported it to the hospital.

  Jiang Yihuai hated the smell of hospitals. Even more, he hated the feeling of powerlessness that came with staying in one. He just wanted to go home. Sure enough, within moments, Shu Yuqin’s call came through.

  Jiang Yihuai focused on driving and ignored it. But the person on the other end was relentless, calling over and over again. Annoyed, he finally pressed the answer button with one hand.

  Shu Yuqin’s urgent voice came through immediately: “The hospital just called me! You discharged yourself without permission—do you even realize what condition you’re in?! Get back there immediately—”

  Jiang Yihuai endured it for a few seconds before he lost patience, hung up, and put his phone on airpne mode.

  Finally, peace.

  Stepping into his home, Jiang Yihuai felt his irritation ease slightly. He exhaled a long breath.

  As he climbed the stairs, his feet unconsciously turned toward the kitchen. Inside, the neatly arranged kitchenware gleamed under the lights. His mind filled with images of Su Yumian bustling around. She always took her time making millet porridge—soaking the ingredients overnight, carefully preparing everything in advance.

  He used to find it troublesome and told her to stop. But the next evening, a steaming bowl of porridge was waiting for him again.

  Eventually… he stopped trying to convince her otherwise and simply enjoyed it. Enjoyed her care.

  Lost in thought, he suddenly heard the front door open.

  “Young Master?” Aunt Wang had been sent over by Shu Yuqin.

  Since Jiang Yihuai had left the hospital, Shu Yuqin, unable to control her son, worried about him being home alone and sent Aunt Wang to keep an eye on him.

  Jiang Yihuai gave a brief instruction: “Aunt Wang, make some millet porridge.” Then he headed upstairs.

  Aunt Wang: “…”

  Why millet porridge again?

  When was Miss Su coming back?

  This was exhausting…

  Despite her internal compints, Aunt Wang still tied on her apron and got to work. By the time the porridge was ready, Jiang Yihuai had already fallen asleep.

  His face was still pale, and even in his sleep, his brows remained furrowed. Aunt Wang quietly pced the porridge on the nightstand, cleaned up, and left without a sound.

  In the middle of the night, Jiang Yihuai drifted in and out of sleep, feeling like he was burning up. His entire body felt like it was being roasted over a fire.

  A cool needle pierced his vein, and liquid medicine flowed in, gradually easing the pain. But he was still unbearably hot.

  Standing by the bed, Shu Yuqin watched her son, both angry and heartbroken. She had tried calling him at ten, but no one answered. Worried something had happened, she rushed over to the vil. As expected, the moment she walked in, she found him burning up, already half-unconscious.

  Even when he was feverish, he kept murmuring “Mianmian… Mianmian…” but no matter how she called him, he wouldn’t wake up. She quickly contacted their family doctor.

  “Dr. Li, how is he?”

  “I just took his temperature. The fever is going down, but it’s caused by his old stomach issues again. I’ll prescribe some medication and have it sent over. Make sure he takes it on time.”

  Jiang Yihuai’s fingers twitched slightly. Not wanting to disturb his rest, Shu Yuqin followed the doctor into the hallway.

  After finishing the IV drip, a nurse came in to change the bag. As she did, Jiang Yihuai opened his eyes slightly. He shielded them with his arm and spoke hoarsely, “Can I borrow your phone? I need to make a call.”

  After getting the phone, he dialed a familiar number.

  “Beep— beep—”

  After two rings, the call connected.

  His throat moved, but the words stuck. His voice, rough and strained, refused to come out. On the other end, Su Yumian was fast asleep. Hearing the ringtone, she groggily reached for her phone and answered without looking. “Hello?”

  Silence.

  She struggled to open her eyes, thinking it was a wrong number. Just as she was about to hang up…