Perhaps it was because she hadn't watched a movie in a long time, or perhaps it was because Lu Qingxu gave off a comfortable vibe.
In any case, Melody went to watch a movie with him.
After the movie, unable to resist his gentle persistence, the two of them had dinner together.
They spent some more time together afterward, and the next day, Melody successfully overslept.
When her phone rang, Melody's first thought was that something had gone wrong.
This was because only Zhan Beijue knew her number.
He wouldn't call her for no reason.
She had been held in Lu Qingxu's arms when the ringtone sounded, and she jolted awake.
Seeing Zhan Beijue's name, she quickly grabbed her phone and went to the bay window, not even having time to put on her bathrobe.
"What's wrong?"
In her haste, she started speaking in English.
Zhan Beijue's tone was cold. "Where are you? Why aren't you at the hospital now?"
"I'm sorry, I'm still at the hotel. I slept in a bit late yesterday."
"The doctor said the test results aren't very good. They need to have a meeting now to formulate a treatment plan. Come over quickly."
"Understood. I'll be right there."
Lu Qingxu was naturally also woken up.
Seeing Melody looking flustered as she answered the phone, and now returning with a serious expression to find clothes, he quickly sat up.
"What's wrong?"
Melody, being a lawyer, had always held herself to high standards.
Although taking care of her mother wasn't solely her responsibility, since she had promised Zhan Beijue, she would do a good job and wouldn't allow herself any mistakes.
She was late today, and even without Zhan Beijue's reprimand, she felt bad about it herself.
Therefore, Lu Qingxu's question at this moment was like running into a loaded gun.
"I have important matters to attend to. I can't be fooling around every night and sleeping in all day."
"These past two days were an exception. It's in the past now, and we won't talk about it anymore. But from now on, you should leave."
"If I don't contact you proactively, don't message me. What happens between us must be kept strictly confidential."
"You've already signed the contract, right? I won't say anything more. Alright, hurry up and get dressed."
One moment they were sleeping in each other's arms, dreaming sweet dreams, and the next she was treating him with such an attitude.
Not only was she telling him to leave, but she also forbade him from messaging her proactively...
Lu Qingxu felt like he was just a... hired hand, doing a job and then leaving. Was he that unattractive in her eyes?
He got out of bed, wanting to say something. Melody sensed his attitude, raised her head, and cast a cold glance at him.
"I told you, I have important matters to attend to. I'm already late and don't have time to waste with you. Stop talking."
"Please hurry up and pack, and leave, okay?"
By the time Jiang Nanfang followed Zhan Beijue's movements to the hospital entrance, Zhan Beijue had already entered the ward.
The red dot on her phone stopped moving.
Although she didn't know exactly where he had gone, it was clear that Zhan Beijue had lied to her.
His trip to Beichen was not for financing at all, but why was he at the hospital?
If he had a friend or an important client who was sick and hospitalized, and needed care, or even needed Zhan Beijue's financial or personal support, Jiang Nanfang wouldn't have said a word. Why was he hiding it from her?
Standing at the hospital entrance, Jiang Nanfang hesitated.
She didn't know if she should go in to find Zhan Beijue's location and expose his lie face-to-face.
At this stage of their relationship, she believed they were open enough with each other, and nothing could stand in their way, but now...
The situation had arisen so unexpectedly, she didn't know the truth of the matter, and she wasn't prepared to face it.
If it was just a casual friend, and Zhan Beijue was trying to avoid worrying her, choosing to conceal it, wouldn't exposing him on the spot make him very embarrassed?
But if it wasn't a casual friend... she couldn't imagine that behind Zhan Beijue's daily sweet talk lay such a hypocritical and fickle side. How should she face it?
Suddenly, she regretted coming to Beichen.
Perhaps she shouldn't have been so smart, so sensitive.
As long as Zhan Beijue was willing to maintain a facade of gentleness for her, having children, money, reputation, and power, that would have been enough.
Was it really beneficial for her to investigate everything so thoroughly?
However, it was too late to regret it now.
Since she had followed him this far, there was no reason to give up halfway.
She wasn't someone who gave up easily, so after a moment of hesitation, she finally decided to go in and take a look.
At worst, she wouldn't expose him on the spot.
She needed to give herself an explanation.
Following the red dot, Jiang Nanfang searched through the hospital, taking many turns.
Several times the route was wrong, leading her further away from the red dot and wasting some of her time.
It wasn't until she stepped into Building Two of the inpatient department that the route finally seemed correct.
However, she didn't know which floor to go to.
The lobby was bustling with people, and a guide nurse in uniform sat behind the counter.
Just as she was about to approach and speak to the nurse, her shoulder was bumped hard.
Her phone almost fell from her hand. Jiang Nanfang steadied herself and instinctively turned to look at the person who bumped her.
It was a tall, slender, and very beautiful young woman.
Melody, wearing sunglasses, was walking in a hurry to catch the elevator and accidentally bumped into the person next to her.
She almost made the woman drop her phone. The woman turned to look, and Melody felt very apologetic.
She quickly pulled her sunglasses down her nose and said sorry to her in English, "Are you okay?"
Seeing each other's faces, both of them froze for a moment.
Although Jiang Nanfang wasn't tall, her features were sharp and three-dimensional, and her attire was more business-like, often giving people the impression of a modern-day Mulan.
Melody was tall with long legs and flowing hair. Although her personality was rather cool, overall, she was the type who exuded more femininity.
Both of them were exceptionally beautiful, especially in the hospital, which was filled with numbness and pain, making them both light up.
People are always more forgiving of beautiful things.
This is true even between people of the same sex.
Moreover, her English was so fluent, and her demeanor was so good, she didn't seem like an ill-mannered person.
"It's okay." Jiang Nanfang smiled at her gently.
Melody returned her smile, patted her shoulder, glanced at the elevator, and lightly ran off.
Only after the elevator doors slowly closed, and her outstanding figure completely disappeared from sight, did Jiang Nanfang retract her gaze.
She no longer wanted to go upstairs.
For some reason, she felt as if she had found an answer in her heart in an instant.
Following the nurse's instructions, Melody entered the conference room. The experts and Zhan Beijue had already begun their discussion.
Looking at the information handed to her by the doctor, she learned that her mother had a very serious illness, advanced breast cancer, and the cancer cells had already spread throughout her body.
No wonder she had been feeling groggy and having fevers intermittently recently.
Upon hearing this news, both of them, as her children, felt ashamed and guilty.