Chapter 206: Who Are You Thinking Of?

Chapter 206: Chapter 206: Who Are You Thinking Of?

However, Lu Shixu soon realized he had misunderstood.

Nan Zhi wasn’t awake.

She was still in a hazy, semi-conscious state, trapped between dreaming and waking.

The eyes she opened were vacant, moist, and unfocused.

It was as if vines were silently, madly sprouting from them, twisting tightly around Lu Shixu’s mind, heart, and soul in the darkness—around his very being—leaving him unable to escape and willing to surrender.

"It’s you..."

she whispered to Lu Shixu.

It was as if she were seeing someone deeply, deeply familiar.

A torrent of emotion lay dormant beneath that single sentence.

This brought Lu Shixu no joy.

On the contrary, he fell into a brief silence.

His few meetings with Nan Zhi could be described as neither unpleasant nor pleasant.

He could feel the boundary Nan Zhi had deliberately drawn between them. They maintained a relationship that was slightly better than strangers but fell far short of friends, one that couldn’t be called familiar at all.

So that intense, inscrutable emotion...

’Nan Zhi, who are you thinking of when you say that?’

Lu Shixu silently pressed his lips into a thin line.

Jealousy raged silently within him.

But the way he reached out to lift Nan Zhi into his arms was still gentle.

It was as if he were holding a cloud, afraid to use even a little too much force.

Seeing that Nan Zhi’s nightgown was thin, Lu Shixu reached for a jacket from the head of the bed and wrapped her up snugly in it.

He got up and took two steps toward the exit, only to see Tao An, who had followed him, standing at the doorway.

Lu Shixu wasn’t surprised in the slightest. He said just one word:

"Go."

Tao An immediately draped a raincoat over Lu Shixu and opened an umbrella for him.

As they were nearing the car, Tao An saw the sorry state Lu Shixu was in by the light of the headlights—

His expensive, handmade sheepskin shoes were soaked through, his pant legs were covered in muddy water, and the shoulder not covered by the umbrella was drenched...

But he seemed completely oblivious.

Meanwhile, the person cradled protectively in his arms didn’t have a single strand of hair exposed to the elements.

Tao An sighed to himself. ’So even Mr. Lu can’t escape the trials of love,’ he thought.

"Tao An?"

Startled, Tao An snapped back to reality and quickly stepped forward to open the car door.

He didn’t forget to take off Lu Shixu’s raincoat at the same time.

As Lu Shixu stepped on the running board and ducked into the car, a small figure immediately barreled into him.

Even while holding Nan Zhi, he somehow managed to find a free hand to push Nan Yi away.

Nan Yi glared, his eyes seeming to demand what right Lu Shixu had to keep him from his mother.

Lu Shixu said, "The raincoat is dirty."

Only then did Nan Yi remember he was still wearing his own raincoat.

It was a little awkward.

He grunted an "oh" and quickly took off his wet raincoat.

Lu Shixu had already laid Nan Zhi down on the back seat, her head resting on his lap.

Fortunately, the SUV was spacious enough, and with Nan Zhi’s slender frame, the back seat didn’t feel crowded.

Even so, both Lu Shixu and Nan Yi instinctively retreated to opposite corners.

Lu Shixu pressed his back tightly against the car door, his hands never leaving their post guarding Nan Zhi’s head.

Nan Yi, taking advantage of his small size, crouched on the floor and leaned against the edge of the seat, gazing worriedly at his mother.

In her deep slumber, Nan Zhi seemed to sense his presence and groggily opened her eyes.

"Yiyi... Yiyi..."

Nan Yi lunged forward in delight.

"Mom! I’m here! Are you feeling better? Can you see me?"

Nan Zhi was clearly not lucid, but she subconsciously didn’t want to worry her child, so she said reassuringly,

"Mommy’s okay... Don’t worry..."

The rims of Nan Yi’s eyes quietly turned red.

He raised a hand to wipe away the moisture on his face—whether it was tears or rain, he couldn’t tell—and pursed his lips.

"It’s okay, Mom. Yiyi is here with you." 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

What a heartwarming scene of a loving mother and a devoted son.

Unfortunately, in Lu Shixu’s eyes, it wasn’t quite so pleasant.

For the first time in his life, he was actually jealous of a child.

Lu Shixu suppressed those ugly, clinging emotions and closed his eyes.

But the hands protecting Nan Zhi’s head never once moved.

-

Nan Zhi awoke to a harsh, clamorous noise—

"...You unscrupulous doctors only know how to scam people out of their money! You just put everyone on an IV drip no matter what! My grandson is perfectly healthy..."

Nan Zhi could tell what was happening. An old man was taking advantage of his age to throw a tantrum, trying to get out of paying his bill.

Suddenly, the voice stopped abruptly, as if someone had grabbed its owner by the throat.

A cool, indifferent voice floated over.

"If you want to argue, take it outside."

Hm?

’Lu Shixu?’

Immediately after, a young, innocent voice piped up,

"Grandpa, your precious grandson seems to have fainted."

The old man, who had instinctively fallen silent, suddenly let out a shriek.

After a flurry of chaotic activity, the noise finally faded from Nan Zhi’s ears.

She struggled to open her eyes.

The first thing she saw was a rather plain hospital room and the IV stand connected to the back of her hand.

Then, she saw Lu Shixu and Nan Yi standing side-by-side at the door.

One tall, one short, yet their auras had a strange sort of harmony.

But to Nan Zhi’s eyes, it was clear they were deliberately keeping their distance from each other.

They had been a little closer when stepping through the doorway, but as soon as they were inside, they quickly moved apart.

For some reason, Nan Zhi found it rather amusing.

Just then, the old lady in the next bed spoke to them gratefully.

"Thank you, to you and your son! That old man was about to drive me crazy with his shouting."

Lu Shixu and Nan Yi’s expressions turned strange, and they said in unison,

"We’re not father and son."

As if they couldn’t deny the relationship fast enough!

The old lady sounded confused.

"Hm? Not father and son? But you two..."

"Ahem."

Nan Zhi, from her hospital bed, chose that moment to cough.

Without a second thought, Lu Shixu and Nan Yi rushed over to her.

It was as if they’d made an agreement beforehand, with one standing to her left and the other to her right.

Their concerned expressions, however, were identical—

"How are you? Feeling any better?"

"Mom, are you still feeling sick?"

Nan Zhi pushed herself up on her arms, trying to sit up.

Nan Yi was the first to rush forward to help her.

Unfortunately, he was too small and weak to possibly support Nan Zhi.

In the end, it was Lu Shixu who reached out, carefully taking her by the shoulders and helping her sit up, not forgetting to smoothly tuck two pillows behind her back.

Nan Yi gritted his teeth and glared at Lu Shixu.

As if he hadn’t noticed at all, Lu Shixu went on asking Nan Zhi if the pillows were soft enough and if she was comfortable sitting up.

To Nan Yi, however, the gesture seemed to have a hint of smug showing off.

’Hmph! Men!’

Nan Zhi could see Nan Yi was unhappy, so she quickly took his small hand.

Only then did she ask,

"What happened to me?"

Lu Shixu paused, then began to explain the sequence of events from the previous day.

However, he glossed over the part where Nan Yi had braved the wind and rain to go out and find help.

Nan Yi, who had been about to jump in and explain, heard this and obediently kept his mouth shut.

’I can’t believe this annoying man actually knew I didn’t want Mom to find out about yesterday, that I didn’t want her to worry!’

’Does he understand me, or does he understand Mom?’

’Either way, he’s so annoying!’