Chapter 44: Chapter 44 - 44 Irregular 044

Chapter 44: Irregular 044 Chapter 44: Irregular 044 Nan Qing was indeed very interesting. She had been painting since primary school, and her talent was not just a hobby; she had a natural gift for it. Now she had become quite a well-known painter.

But she was a painter with a very distinct personality (lazyness), not willing to traverse mountains and rivers or endure hardships just for the sake of painting, even unwilling to toil from dawn till dusk. She painted solely based on her mood.

Perhaps it was exactly because of this pure and clear laziness, people described her work as—the least worldly paintings, the cleanest works of art in the world.

Su Cheng stared blankly at Fu Han, whose smiling presence exuded a kind of magic, drawing all eyes to her like a magnet.

“Hey, watch where you’re looking,” He Xing’s voice was like a bucket of cold water poured over him.

Su Cheng’s face turned completely red, especially when Fu Han turned her head upon hearing the voice, letting her gaze sweep over Su Cheng.

Fu Han’s indifferent voice rang out, “Young Master He, it’s best to think about yourself before talking about others.”

“What’s wrong with me?” He Xing said, while pouring hot water into a cup, “I look at my own fiancée openly and aboveboard, who dares to say anything.”

Fu Han couldn’t stand it anymore and rolled her eyes. Unconsciously, she had accepted He Xing’s change; three years ago, he never mentioned publicly that she was his fiancée, but now, three years later, these words had become his catchphrase.

“Take your medicine.” He Xing handed Fu Han two black pills, checking the water temperature, “It’s not hot, just right.”

Fu Han seriously suspected that He Xing was doing this on purpose, but she had no proof. As a patient, she couldn’t be too much of a bother to others, so she turned the cup to avoid the spot where He Xing had drunk from and frowned as she forced down the bitter pills.

“Open your mouth.” He Xing’s command was as simple as it could get.

With a pained expression, Fu Han opened her mouth, and a piece of soft candy was tossed in, immediately washing away much of the medicinal taste.

From a young age, she didn’t like taking medicine. Every time it felt like a march to the scaffold. Whenever it was time for her to take medicine, He Xing would always prepare soft candy in advance, and she didn’t expect he would still remember this habit.

Once the bitterness in her mouth faded, Fu Han paused and then spoke up, “Thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank me,” He Xing said, with a faint smile on his face as he reached out to Fu Han, intending to stroke her forehead.

Fu Han’s heart leapt suddenly. Just as his hand was about to touch her, she abruptly turned away.

He Xing’s hand awkwardly hung in the air for a while before he withdrew it.

If Fu Han turned back at that moment, she would surely see the hurt look on He Xing’s face; regrettably, her reason didn’t allow her to turn back, just as there was no turning back in her relationship with He Xing.

Several hours had passed since Fu Han fainted in the bathroom. With autumn days growing darker earlier, the sky outside the window had already turned a dim grey, as if veiled by a translucent black gauze.

The blurred scenery made it difficult to discern clearly, with the flying birds appearing as vague black dots.

Fu Han’s long eyelashes trembled as she looked expressionless at the ceiling, “I’d like to rest for a while, please leave.”

Su Cheng was already upset by Nan Qing’s sudden appearance, and witnessing the tacit understanding between He Xing and Fu Han as he fed her aggravated his unease even more.

Thinking that out of sight meant out of mind, he said, “I’ll come and see you tomorrow,” and then left right away.

Fu Han stared at the ceiling for a full three minutes. When her eyes started to hurt, she turned away, only to catch the unexpected gaze of a pair of dark pupils.

“Why haven’t you left yet?” Fu Han’s brow furrowed deeply, every cell in her body resisting the idea of being alone with He Xing, always feeling that something bad would happen.

He Xing stood, towering at the bedside, looking down at Fu Han, “You have a rival in love now.”

“I know.” Fu Han rolled her eyes. From her childhood, hadn’t everyone considered Xia Ning her romantic rival? Did He Xing need to tell her this?

“Good that you know.” He Xing said curtly, swiftly leaning down to peck a kiss on Fu Han’s lips then standing up and heading towards the door before she could even react.

He Xing had one foot out the door when he suddenly looked back, “I’ll be right outside. Just call me if you need anything.”

By the time Fu Han came back to her senses, she was alone in the ward.

Instinctively, she raised her hand to touch her numbed lips, but this tugged at the wound on her shoulder, causing such sharp pain that she gasped for air, “Damn you, He Xing, I knew nothing good ever comes from being alone with you.”

…

After leaving the hospital, Su Cheng drove straight to Huating No.1. He didn’t wait long at the gate of the community before he saw Nan Qing, heavily laden with bags, and he quickly got out of his car to help.

Nan Qing’s eyes lit up at the sight of Su Cheng. Even after she was seated in the passenger seat and the car had started, her heart was still pounding wildly.

Actually, Su Cheng’s feelings were also in turmoil. At a red light, he finally gathered enough courage to face Nan Qing’s gaze and said, “Nan Qing, I… I appreciate that you like me, but I… I like Fu Han.”

The word ‘sister’ hit Nan Qing like a hammer, shattering the few fanciful thoughts in her head into oblivion.

Fortunately, she was good at putting up a front, so her true feelings couldn’t be read from her expression.

Nan Qing gave Su Cheng’s forehead a flick, “You’re really annoying, you know that? If we go by the due date, I’m actually two months younger than you, so why do you always call me ‘sister’?”

“It’s not the same,” Su Cheng said earnestly as the light turned green and he started the car again. “Even if by some accident, we were both born on the same day, you’re still one hour older than me, and that makes you my sister.”

He added, “You’re the one who said that.”

“You sure remember clearly the things you shouldn’t,” Nan Qing said with a thicker smile as she recalled their childhood days, but there was a faint bitterness lurking in her round, darting eyes.

Su Cheng’s smile deepened. He leaned back comfortably in his seat and said, “How could I forget? When we were kids, you always said that younger brothers should listen to their older sisters, and because I was born an hour later, I’ve been following you around for so many years.”

Nan Qing covered her mouth and laughed, “It can’t be helped, both your mom and mine wanted daughters, who told you to be a son?”

“That’s not something I had a choice in,” Su Cheng chuckled helplessly, his laughter revealing a youthful, immature face reminiscent of a college student.

Nan Qing watched him, utterly captivated.

Su Cheng, laughing, felt something was off. He dared not look at Nan Qing, but he didn’t miss the expression on her face from the corner of his eye.

He cleared his throat and put away all smiles, “Nan Qing, I have something I want to talk to you about.”

“Go ahead,” Nan Qing’s expression went through several changes before she finally fell in with Su Cheng’s lead.

“We grew up together, and you know my parents have arranged everything in my life. I don’t want to be a marionette my whole life, which is why I left home. I hope to call the shots in my life from now on, including marriage.” Su Cheng hurriedly spoke the words he had rehearsed, without a single pause, yet he couldn’t bring himself to look into Nan Qing’s eyes.

A moment of silence filled the car, and the atmosphere grew increasingly awkward.

The outline of the hospital was already in sight far away when Nan Qing shifted in her seat and said, “Su Cheng, you want to say that you know your parents and mine wish for us to be together, right? Let me tell you, just a few days ago, I told my parents that I don’t like men who are younger than me, and that they should drop any plans of playing matchmaker with mandarin ducks as soon as possible.”

“Really?” Su Cheng braked hard in excitement, leaning over to hug Nan Qing, “You’re the best, truly a brother worth years of friendship.”

“Alright, aren’t you going to visit the one you love?” Nan Qing patted Su Cheng on the head, just as they had done when playing house as children, but her eyes were now brimming with tears.

“Exactly, exactly,” Su Cheng let go of Nan Qing and the car zoomed off again.

As they were about to enter the ward, Su Cheng tugged at Nan Qing’s clothes and whispered, “I need to ask you another favor, please don’t tell Fu Han about all this.”

“Do you think you need to tell me that?” Nan Qing huffed, shaking off Su Cheng’s hand and heading into the ward first.

…

In the clear waters of the Villa area, at the Xia Family home.

Xia Ning was half-reclining on the sofa admiring her freshly done nails. The sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows fell on her, making her fair, translucent face look as beautiful as a flawless angel.

Suddenly, the ringtone of a phone broke the silence, she lazily glanced at the mobile phone, and as soon as she saw the incoming number her excitement surged, “Hello, how did it go?”

“We were so close to success when someone barged in unexpectedly,” a sharp female voice came through, and with careful listening one could also discern the sound of her panting.