Mr. Liang, you mustn't covet other people's fiancées!

"Is there any explanation for this?" Wen Li asked seriously.

The driver answered seriously: "People who have a cold and are drunk are prone to recurrent fevers, and even the risk of hypothermia."

Wen Li listened in silence.

The password for the gate of Yuhe Mansion has not changed.

Wen Li and the driver helped Liang Chaoxu into the house and put him on the sofa.

"Aunt Wang?" Wen Li looked around but couldn't find Aunt Wang.

She glanced at Liang Chaoxu on the sofa, then went upstairs to the bedroom to get a blanket.

As Wen Li covered Liang Chaoxu with the blanket, she casually touched his forehead; it was burning hot. She couldn't tell for a moment whether it was from a fever or from being drunk.

"You have a cold and you still drink alcohol, so you can't take your medicine." Wen Li said, then turned and went to the bathroom to wring out a wet towel to wipe his face.

"Cough cough cough"

Liang Chaoxu, who was on the sofa, coughed violently.

Wen Li quickly returned to the sofa, bent down, took a cushion in one hand and supported the back of his head with the other, preparing to place the cushion under his head, thinking that this would make it easier for him to breathe.

Liang Chaoxu opened his eyes, stared at Wen Li for a while, then suddenly reached out and grabbed the back of her neck, pulling her forward with a sudden force.

Caught off guard, Wen Li stumbled and fell to her knees, which throbbed painfully.

Immediately afterward, before she could struggle, Liang Chaoxu slightly raised his head and pressed his forehead against hers: "Wen Li, why didn't you choose the first one?"

What's the first one?

Wen Li didn't understand.

Wen Li tensed up, looked up to meet Liang Chaoxu's gaze, and noticed the heat emanating from his forehead. She couldn't help but frown: "Liang Chaoxu."

Liang Chaoxu didn't speak, but his hand on the back of her neck tightened. Finally, he gritted his teeth, propped himself up, and kissed her lips directly.

Wen Li froze in astonishment. By the time she came to her senses, Liang Chaoxu had already breached her tightly pursed lips.

After the kiss ended, Wen Li's calves went numb, and she collapsed to the ground.

Liang Chaoxu stretched out his long arm, put his arm around her waist, lifted her from the ground onto the sofa, and pulled her into his arms.

He lowered his head slightly, resting his chin on her shoulder, his voice hoarse: "I had everything planned out, but you just wouldn't play by the rules."

Looking at the person in front of her with a flushed face, Wen Li felt that Liang Chaoxu was probably delirious from the fever, which was why he was speaking in such a pitiful manner.

"Liang Chaoxu, lie down, I'll go find you a fever-reducing patch." Wen Li reached out to pull the arm around her waist, but it only tightened.

Wen Li frowned: "You're hurting me."

"I'm sorry," Liang Chaoxu said, loosening his grip on her arm, but still refusing to let go.

Wen Li tried to reason with him: "Liang Chaoxu, you're acting like a scoundrel. You..."

"My head hurts." Liang Chaoxu nuzzled Wen Li's neck.

Wen Li sighed and gave up.

The living room fell silent, and just when Wen Li thought Liang Chaoxu was asleep, he spoke again.

"I don't know what Jiang You said to you, but I never intended to hurt you from beginning to end."

Wen Li was slightly taken aback and turned her head to look at him.

Liang Chaoxu tightened his grip on Song Yu's arm: "I took Song Yu with me because he's still useful. I didn't intend to protect him."

Wen Li asked, "What are you going to do?"

Liang Chaoxu replied irrelevantly, "I'm so sleepy, let's go to sleep. Okay?"

Before he finished speaking, Liang Chaoxu pulled Wen Li into the sofa, holding her tightly to prevent her from falling.

Wen Li propped herself up on her arms, struggling to sit up, and turned her head to speak to him: "Liang Chaoxu, you're sick and need to rest. Can you let go of me?"

Liang Chaoxu ignored her and reached out to pull her back into his arms, his voice thick with emotion: "Go to sleep."

The two were very close, and Wen Li felt a sharp pain in her lower back from the metal buckle of his belt. She moved forward slightly and reached behind her to separate them.

"Don't move your hands." Liang Chaoxu's voice rang out above her head.

Wen Li's ears burned, and she quickly withdrew her hand, explaining, "It was your belt buckle that was digging into me, that's why..."

"Is it still uncomfortable?" Liang Chaoxu pulled a blanket over them and placed it between them, asking her.

"It's not uncomfortable anymore," Wen Li shook her head.

Liang Chaoxu let out a deep breath: "Hmm."

A dozen minutes later, Wen Li noticed the pressure on her waist lessen. She turned her head and softly called out, "Liang Chaoxu?"

The people behind him did not react.

Wen Li gently pulled his arm away, got up from the sofa, and went to find the family medicine box.

After applying a fever-reducing patch to Liang Chaoxu, Wen Li glanced at him a few times, frowned, removed his tie, and unbuttoned two buttons on his shirt collar.

Seeing that his breathing gradually became even and deep, Wen Li took her phone and sat down on the single sofa next to her to send a message to Tian Miao.

Miaomiao, are you home yet?

Tian Miao replied very quickly: "Just arrived, about to wash up and go to bed. What about you?"

Wen Li glanced at Liang Chaoxu, then lowered her head and replied, "No one's home with President Liang, so I'll stay here tonight to look after him."

A few minutes later, Tian Miao replied: "Okay, consider it reciprocity. Mr. Liang stayed up all night at the hospital last night, so you should take care of him tonight. It's perfectly fair."

Wen Li wholeheartedly agreed: "That's right, one time each, nobody owes anyone anything."

Tian Miao sent a high-five emoji that matched her thoughts.

Putting down her phone, Wen Li rested her head on her arm and leaned against the sofa armrest, her gaze unconsciously drifting towards the sleeping Liang Chaoxu.

Perhaps due to his illness, his sharp features had softened, and his eyes lacked their usual sternness. His bangs fell softly over his forehead, making him look somewhat like he did when he was in college.

Back then, he didn't yet know how to comb his hair back in a mature way. On the few days she saw him, he always wore a white shirt with a light khaki trench coat, and when he smiled, his eyes were relaxed, and he looked spirited.

As she gazed at him, she couldn't help but recall the first time she saw him in a suit and with his hair neatly styled.

It was mid-July 2013 when the two set off from Jingzhou in the height of summer, crossed the ocean, and landed in Sydney in the depths of winter.

On the day he sent her to school, he was dressed in a suit and tie with a black overcoat, his hair neatly combed. Standing next to her, he really did look like a parent.

Wen Li glanced at him several times, thinking to herself: No wonder Song Yu said that his uncle was very serious and intimidating when he got serious, it turns out it was true.

"Buzz—"

The phone kept vibrating, and Wen Li's thoughts returned instantly.

She picked up her phone, looked at it, got up, and walked out of the living room to the backyard before answering the call.

"Hey, senior."

Jiang You's voice came through the receiver, slightly muffled by the cold night wind: "Wen Li, let's go back to Sydney together."

Wen Li was stunned: "What?"

"Will you come back to Sydney with me and settle down?" Jiang You said again.

After the conversation ended, both ends of the phone fell silent.

Wen Li's intuition told her that something must have happened. Otherwise, Jiang You wouldn't have said such strange things out of the blue.

Jiang You waited a long time for an answer, then spoke again: "Wen Li?"

"Senior, what happened?" Wen Li asked.

Jiang You's tone turned serious: "This matter is a bit complicated and can't be explained in a sentence or two. In short, I will not lie to you or hurt you."

Wen Li pursed her lips: "Senior, I'm not going."

"Wen Li, you can still do the work you love in Sydney. I promise, nothing will change." Jiang You said earnestly.

"I don't……"

Before Wen Li could finish speaking, Liang Chaoxu in the room started coughing again.

She turned to look into the room and saw that all the blankets on him had fallen to the floor, and he was lying on his side, his brows furrowing more and more tightly with each cough.

Wen Li turned and walked into the house, saying to Jiang You, "Senior, I have to go now, I have something to do."

"Wen Li..."

"beep--"

After hanging up the phone, Wen Li quickly walked over, bent down to pick up the blanket from the ground, and covered Liang Chaoxu with it again. She then reached out and touched the side of his neck to see if his temperature had gone down.

On the other side, at the Jiang family home, Jiang You stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, his fingers gripping his phone tighter and tighter.

"Does Wen Li agree?" Jiang Gu asked as he came downstairs.

Jiang You turned to look at his older brother and shook his head dejectedly.

Jiang Gu sighed softly, "Then let's try another method."