A Zhong escorted Zhan Bei Jue to the elevator entrance.
Zhan Bei Jue instructed him to take good care of Jiang Nan Fang.
"Remind her to eat and drink when it's time. She must eat and drink. If she doesn't, call me. Don't let her act out."
Seeing how things had turned out between them, A Zhong felt so guilty he wished he could die.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Zhan. It's all my fault for being incompetent."
"If we had investigated more thoroughly and cautiously back then, you and Miss Jiang wouldn't have ended up like this."
Was a grown man so easily discouraged by such a small matter?
Zhan Bei Jue's tone was unusually calm.
"I said, don't bring up the past. It's not your fault alone. Learn from your mistakes and look forward."
Mrs. Zhan had just been discharged from the hospital.
A valuable watch was left on the bedside table in the ward when she left. The nurse called for someone to come and retrieve it.
Zhou Jin Bei readily volunteered to run this errand for her.
A Zhong had just finished delivering food to Jiang Nan Fang and happened to run into Zhou Jin Bei in the hallway.
Seeing him, Miss Zhou smiled cheerfully.
"Auntie was discharged from the hospital, why are you only arriving now? Your news is too slow... Wait, could it be that my second brother is also sick?"
A Zhong looked dejected and replied casually, "No. I'm here to keep a friend company."
Seeing his state, Zhou Jin Bei's curiosity flared up.
"What's wrong? You look like you're about to die. Haven't you made up with your girlfriend yet? Did you really break up over that little thing?"
"..."
A Zhong glanced at her. "I've been too busy lately. I almost forgot about her until you mentioned it."
"We haven't been in contact. So, it's a real breakup then."
Zhou Jin Bei pouted.
"If you ask me, your girlfriend is quite heartless. They say women are long-lasting creatures. You two were together for so many years, and there were no fundamental issues, yet you just let go like that."
A Zhong sensed an underlying meaning in her words. "Just say what you want to say."
Zhou Jin Bei looked at him, a simple-minded man who was clueless outside of work.
"Then I'll be direct. Don't get angry."
"I've seen many people like your girlfriend. She's a typical gold digger who wants to seize every opportunity to climb higher."
"When you can provide her value, she'll obey your every command. But the moment a better stepping stone appears, you become nothing."
"Want to make a bet? You broke up with her, it was premeditated. She's definitely found a new target by now. Otherwise, she wouldn't have agreed so readily."
A Zhong had been working alongside Zhan Bei Jue since his internship and was now nearly 30.
Apart from a relationship during his student days, this was his second relationship.
He didn't understand women thoroughly, so he was quite displeased hearing Zhou Jin Bei speak about his ex like this.
"I also did things that weren't good enough. I really spent too little time with her. And I'm not anyone important, what could she gain from being with me?"
"If we broke up, we broke up. There's no need to think of people that way."
It seemed this woman had extraordinary methods.
Definitely a top-tier manipulator.
Even after breaking up, she managed to leave her ex without any fault to find. Tsk, tsk.
"Your girlfriend is so lucky to have a sucker like you. Anyone else, being dumped so inexplicably like this, might have caused a scene with her."
Breaking up was already unpleasant enough, and then to have Zhou Jin Bei speculate like this made A Zhong too annoyed to speak.
Zhou Jin Bei advised him.
"Since you're free now, why not finalize the breakup properly."
"I'm doing this out of kindness, purely and sincerely wanting to advise you. Don't be fooled and still help others count their money, only to cry later."
After speaking, Zhou Jin Bei swayed gracefully into the ward.
A Zhong was left alone, quietly reminiscing. Indeed, after years of a relationship, it ended without even a formal breakup, which was quite regrettable.
What if his girlfriend didn't mean it, and was just waiting for him to soften and coax her?
A Zhong decided to call his girlfriend.
Unexpectedly, when Zhou Jin Bei came out of the ward after collecting her things, she saw him looking even more dejected.
His thin and tall back stood by the window, his white shirt billowing in the wind in a pleasing curve.
The young, clean nape of his head was filled with questions of "why."
Zhou Jin Bei couldn't help but walk over again.
"Did the call not go through, or is she determined to break up with you with no room for reconciliation?"
"Perhaps you were right." He turned around slowly after a couple of seconds.
His sharply defined face was full of self-mockery.
"I was used as a stepping stone by her, and now she wants to discard me. She's blocked me on calls and WeChat. If she hadn't found a new target, where would she get such confidence?"
No man could tolerate being used as a stepping stone.
A Zhong was now experiencing an impulse of unbearable frustration.
"Are you busy right now? Can I trouble you with something?"
"Go ahead and say it."
"The patient in the ward at the end of the corridor is your former second sister-in-law. Could you do me a favor and look after her here? I need to go out for a bit and will be back soon."
"No." Zhou Jin Bei refused him outright.
"Are you going to argue with your ex-girlfriend? How can I miss such a spectacular scene? I'm going with you!"
A Zhong wasn't afraid of her coming to watch the spectacle, but he genuinely hoped someone could stay and accompany Jiang Nan Fang.
Zhou Jin Bei said, "She doesn't need me. A woman who can handle my second brother can't be an ordinary person, right? Her brain is much smarter than mine."
"Besides, this is a hospital. There are so many doctors and nurses on standby 24 hours a day, my presence isn't essential."
"Let's go. We'll be quick. If your girlfriend is showing affection with another man and it stimulates you, having me by your side can help you save face."
When A Zhong went to the ward, Jiang Nan Fang was eating.
She had no appetite, but to prevent her body from collapsing, she mechanically put food into her mouth.
A Zhong told Jiang Nan Fang that he was going out for a while, and Jiang Nan Fang didn't even look up.
"Go ahead. Actually, you don't need to stay and guard me. The children are grown up. I can manage on my own. Besides, they are all asleep."
"It must be hard for you to have no personal time at all every day."
But A Zhong still promised Jiang Nan Fang that he would return immediately after handling his business.
"Call me if there's anything urgent. I'll be with you all the time!"
Although his girlfriend had moved out and he didn't know where she went, finding people was A Zhong's forte.
With her company supervisor's contact information, he could easily find out her current address with a casual excuse.
It was past eight o'clock in the evening when he knocked on the door, and indeed, he saw his girlfriend's face, which he hadn't seen for several days.
She showed no signs of the憔悴 (qiáocuì - haggardness) or落寞 (luòmò - loneliness) that a normal person would have after a breakup.
Instead, she was wearing casual home clothes, her hair tied up, with exquisite makeup, and a radiant smile.
"You're back?"
Seeing A Zhong's face at the door, she clearly panicked and quickly tried to close the door.
"How did you find me? How did you get here?"
A Zhong pushed against the door panel. "Weren't you waiting for me? Then who were you waiting for?"
"It's none of your business who I'm waiting for! We've broken up, you have no right to control me!"
As his girlfriend spoke, she tried to forcefully close the door.
But A Zhong pushed it open with a little effort.