After ninety-nine online romances, I finally met my ex in person when school started.

The top-floor VIP ward of Tianjin First Hospital has been completely cleared out.

The corridor was lined with bodyguards in black suits, half from the Jiang family and half from Dinghe Group, staring at each other, neither willing to back down an inch. The air thick with tension, more so than the smell of disinfectant in a hospital.

However, in the most spacious ward at the far end, number zero, the atmosphere was eerily silent.

Zhu Xun Chuan sat back on the rocking hospital bed. He was wearing a loose blue and white striped hospital gown, and his right foot was wrapped in thick white gauze. There was a faint smell of blood in the air.

The wound required eight stitches. It didn't damage any bones or tendons; it was just a superficial flesh wound.

Jiang Yao held a stainless steel basin and knelt on one knee on the white tiles next to the hospital bed.

This female demon, who could kill without batting an eye in the North, didn't even dare to raise her head at this moment. The black motorcycle trench coat she casually draped over her shoulders was wide open, revealing a men's white shirt underneath that hadn't been buttoned up yet.

She wrung out the hot towel, her movements extremely gentle, even trembling slightly, as she gently wiped away the dried bloodstains remaining on Zhu Xunchuan's ankle.

After wiping her down once, she threw the towel into the basin and limply rested her hands on her knees.

"Brother Chuan, you can scold me a bit." Jiang Yao's voice was hoarse, and her eyes were red and swollen.

Looking at her, who resembled a little girl who had suffered a great injustice, Zhu Xun Chuan's initial coldness at being schemed against vanished completely. He ignored the foot and instead reached out his right hand, pinched Jiang Yao's thin cheek, and gently pulled it outwards.

"Now you're scared? Where did that crazy drive you had when you held a knife to your own neck go?"

Jiang Yao let him squeeze her palm, tears streaming down her face again. She leaned forward, pressing her cheek against Zhu Xun Chuan's warm hand and rubbing it against it a couple of times.

"I'm a jinx. Being with me means even going out the door will result in bloodshed." Jiang Yao gritted her teeth, a ruthless glint in her eyes. "Once I find out who put the knife at the door, I'll skin their whole family alive!"

Zhu Xun Chuan paused, just about to tell her about the unusual characteristics of the knife from last night.

"Bang!"

A loud crashing sound suddenly came from outside the ward.

"Get out of the way!" A chilling female voice pierced through the heavy solid wood door.

Immediately following was the voice of the Jiang family's security captain: "President Xia, Miss has ordered that no one is allowed to enter..."

"roll."

There was only one word. Then, the double doors to the ward were suddenly pushed open from the outside.

Xia Wanying strode in, her ten-centimeter heels bringing with them a gust of icy wind. She wore an extremely tailored white haute couture suit, exuding competence and power; the aura of a billionaire female tycoon was released without reservation at this moment.

Wearing a baseball cap and a mask, Su Mucheng followed closely behind Xia Wanying like a frightened rabbit, and closed the door behind her as she entered.

Hearing the noise, Jiang Yao stood up as if she had been electrocuted.

The tears in her eyes vanished instantly, replaced by the wildness and ruthlessness of the daughter of the Northern King of Hell. Instinctively, she reached for her waist, only to find nothing. The butterfly knife wasn't on her.

Jiang Yao took a step forward, directly blocking Zhu Xun Chuan's hospital bed with her body, her chin slightly raised, staring intently at Xia Wan Ying who was getting closer and closer.

"Xia Wanying, you've got some nerve, daring to disrupt the Jiang family's territory." Jiang Yao's voice was icy cold.

Xia Wanying didn't even look at Jiang Yao's face. Her gaze swept over Jiang Yao—disheveled long hair, wearing only a large white shirt that clearly belonged to a man, an open trench coat, and an extremely glaring dark red hickey on the side of her neck.

These are all irrefutable evidence of last night's indulgence.

Xia Wanying's hands, hanging by her sides, clenched tightly. Her high heels came to a stop on the tiles.

Normally, given her pride and temper, she would have slapped him long ago. But her gaze went past Jiang Yao's shoulder and landed on Zhu Xun Chuan leaning against the headboard, on the thick bandage on his right foot, which was faintly soaked with blood.

Xia Wanying felt a tightness in her chest, and the words she was about to say to confront him got stuck in her throat; she couldn't utter a single word.

Su Mucheng peeked out from behind Xia Wanying, and the moment she saw the gauze, tears welled up in her eyes.

"Brother Chuan..." Her voice trembled. She wanted to step forward, but Jiang Yao's murderous gaze kept her rooted to the spot, and she didn't dare to take a step.

The atmosphere in the spacious VIP ward was extremely tense.

The smell of disinfectant was completely masked by the cool, sophisticated woody scent on Xia Wanying's body and the rich, wild perfume emanating from Jiang Yao.

"Impressive tactics, Miss Jiang." Xia Wanying suppressed her emotions and sneered, "Is this the confidence you have, the confidence to entrust your life to someone back-to-back? Is this how you protect him? He only spent one night with you, and he ended up in the emergency room needing eight stitches?"

This sentence accurately struck Jiang Yao's most vulnerable spot.

"You're asking for death!" Jiang Yao roared in fury, her right hand instantly clenching into a fist, her whole body arching, ready to pounce on Xia Wanting.

Xia Wanying neither flinched nor avoided her gaze, coldly meeting it.

The tension between capital and violence is palpable, ready to erupt at any moment.

"cough."

A weak cough, not loud, even slightly feeble, rang out between the two.

Zhu Xun Chuan frowned slightly, placed his left hand on his stomach, and closed his eyes.

Just one action.

The oppressive atmosphere that had filled the hospital bedside, enough to lift the roof off, vanished instantly.

Jiang Yao's fist suddenly clenched, and she spun around abruptly, her knee slamming against the edge of the bed. "Brother Chuan! What's wrong? Does it hurt? Doctor! I'll go get the doctor!"

Xia Wanying no longer cared about maintaining the demeanor of a female tycoon. She bypassed Jiang Yao and quickly walked to the other side of the hospital bed. She took off her cumbersome suit jacket and casually tossed it onto the back of the chair. She then extended her slightly cool fingers and accurately pressed them onto the back of Zhu Xunchuan's hand.

"I'll go get the doctor," Xia Wanying said softly.

"No need." Zhu Xun Chuan grabbed Xia Wan Ying's hand with his other hand, while simultaneously grabbing Jiang Yao's wrist as she turned to run away with his left hand.

The two women, who had just been fighting to the death, now stood on either side of the hospital bed.

Zhu Xun Chuan opened his eyes and his gaze swept across the two faces.

"I didn't die by someone else's knife, but I'm getting a headache from all this arguing between the two of you," Zhu Xun Chuan said calmly.

Jiang Yao bit her lip and looked down at her toes. Xia Wanying turned her head away, but let Zhu Xun Chuan hold her hand and didn't pull it away.

Seeing that the situation had stabilized, Su Mucheng cautiously approached the foot of the bed. She didn't dare ask anything, but silently picked up an apple and a peeler from the fruit basket, moved a small stool to the corner, and sat down, head down, to peel the apple carefully.

The positions of the patients in the ward formed an extremely delicate and balanced isosceles triangle.

Zhu Xun Chuan rubbed Xia Wan Ying's hand with his thumb, looking at her cold and beautiful face.

"Your medical team arrived quite quickly," Zhu Xunchuan revealed the secret.

A flicker of panic crossed Xia Wanying's eyes, but she quickly regained her composure. Far from feeling guilty, she tested him with a certain self-assurance.

"Dinghe Group has businesses in Tianjin. You've caused such a commotion here, I can't just ignore it." Xia Wanying stared at him. "What, are you blaming me for having people watching you?"

Jiang Yao, who was standing to the side, sensed something was wrong and was about to lash out.

Zhu Xun Chuan tightened his grip on both of their wrists slightly.

"Good watch." Zhu Xun Chuan looked at Xia Wan Ying, a smile curving his lips. "I don't blame you. On the contrary, I'll borrow your eyes for a bit."

Xia Wanying and Jiang Yao were both stunned.

"The knife from last night had a deep blood groove, and the handle had a diamond-patterned anti-slip strip. This isn't a style commonly used by the Jiang family, nor was it designed for chopping." Zhu Xun Chuan slowed his speech, his eyes turning cold and sharp.

Jiang Yao, who had been involved in the underworld for many years, reacted instantly.

"That's a standard-issue short knife from the security company..." Jiang Yao gasped. "Someone's infiltrated?"

"Not only did they sneak in, but they also accurately predicted my route downstairs this morning." Zhu Xun Chuan looked at Xia Wan Ying. "You left spies outside. Between last night and this morning, besides Jiang Yao's people, who else approached that beach?"

Xia Wanying's heart was in turmoil. She had originally thought that Jiang Yao had just gone mad and accidentally injured Zhu Xunchuan, but she never expected that there was such a deep water behind it all.

She gripped Zhu Xun Chuan's hand tightly in return, her palms damp with a fine layer of sweat. It was from lingering fear.

"I'll have the security department check the surveillance footage immediately. Block off all major traffic arteries in the surrounding area." Xia Wanying gave the order decisively. She even forgot about Jiang Yao's presence, focusing entirely on her instinct to clear obstacles for Zhu Xunchuan.

Zhu Xunchuan released their hands.

"Don't go out and make a fuss until things are clear." He leaned back against the pillows, maintaining control of the situation. "Everyone stay here."

"Let me pour you a glass of warm water." Xia Wanying turned around to get a disposable cup.

Seeing this, Jiang Yao also stepped forward to tuck him in, muttering, "I'll have someone investigate those security companies in Tianjin right away."

What was originally a powder keg that could explode at any moment was defused by Zhu Xun Chuan with just a few words. He not only defused the tense situation but also used Xia Wan Ying's controlling nature to restrain Jiang Yao's impulsiveness.

In the corner, Su Mucheng silently peeled a long strip of unpeeled apple skin and put it into the trash can.

She cut the cleanly peeled apple into small pieces, stuck toothpicks in them, and was just about to stand up with the plate in her hand.

"Da...da...da..."

Suddenly, a series of very rhythmic footsteps came from outside the corridor.