Su Junling spoke without thinking, "Just yesterday, we gave her a show of force, and today, you’re asking her to provide medical treatment. Dad, that’s not how you used to teach us."
"Allowing her into the Su Family was already giving her enough face. Besides, she left on her own yesterday."
"Kexin treated her like that yesterday. If she didn’t leave, would she have stayed to suffer?"
Su Jiang twirled his pen, tapping it against the Huanghuali wood desktop.
"Think from Kexin’s perspective. Kexin likes Qin Jinhai. What relationship do Fu Bing and Qin Jinhai have? Kexin felt upset, and that’s why she treated Fu Bing that way. As her brother, not only did you fail to stand up for your sister, but you even took that woman to the Golden Cauldron Award as your date!"
Su Jiang’s tone was unfriendly. "If you have feelings for Fu Bing, I advise you to drop that idea immediately. The Su family does not marry actors!"
"Dad, I’ve noticed that whenever Kexin is involved, you act very unlike your usual self."
"The Su family has only one daughter. If we don’t dote on her, who should we dote on?"
"The Su family indeed has only one daughter, and she has been lost for twenty years. The one we should be doting on is her. We shouldn’t give up on finding her for the sake of a replacement."
"We’ve been searching for so many years with no news at all. She might have died long ago."
"Alive, we need to see her; dead, we need to see her body. As long as there’s no definite news of her, I’ll continue searching!"
Agitated, Su Junling stood up and left.
Su Jiang waited until he was far away before saying, "Keep an eye on the Third Young Master. See if he goes to find Fu Bing."
Su Junling sped out of the Su Family estate in his sports car.
He drove around aimlessly for a while out of sheer boredom, then parked his car at the entrance of Fu Bing’s residential complex.
He dialed Fu Bing’s number.
It wasn’t Fu Bing who answered the phone.
The voice on the other end was deliberately lowered.
"My sister is sick. If there’s anything you need, tell me, and I’ll pass it on to her when she’s better."
Su Junling’s heart clenched painfully. "Why did she suddenly get sick?"
Xiaomei didn’t answer, instead asking, "Do you need something from my sister?"
"This is Su Junling. I’m at the entrance to your complex. I’m coming up to see her."
It must have been last night’s events that made her unwell.
She had just been released from prison, hadn’t rested for a single day, and yet she had to grit her teeth and endure all the overt and covert pressure.
She probably thought she could latch onto the Su family for support.
Unexpectedly, no one was willing to give her the time of day.
Su Junling shielded his stinging eyes with his hand.
If she had a family, how heartbroken they would be for her.
Yet, she was an orphan, with neither father nor mother.
Fu Bing was burning with fever, delirious.
It felt as if she were burning in a fire, yet also lying in ice and snow.
Su Junling sat by her bed.
Fu Bing was completely covered by the blanket, with only her head exposed.
Her palm-sized face was devoid of color; even her lips were as pale as her skin.
She looked like a fragile porcelain doll.
Xiaomei turned to fetch some water. When she returned and looked for Su Junling, he was no longer where she’d last seen him. Instead, he was by Fu Bing’s bedside. Standing at the doorway with a cup of water, Xiaomei said nervously, "Director Su, my sister doesn’t like other people in her room."
Su Junling withdrew the hand he was about to use to wipe Fu Bing’s sweat and walked to the door.
"Has she seen a doctor?"
"Not yet, but she has taken some medicine."
"She’s burning up . Why hasn’t she gone to the hospital?" Su Junling couldn’t understand.
"What’s it to you?" Qin Jinhai’s voice, as cold as an icy pond, resonated from the entrance.
"Qin Jinhai, you still dare to show your face?" Su Junling retorted angrily.
Xiaomei’s first reaction was to close the bedroom door.
Qin Jinhai and Su Junling faced each other across most of the living room.
Xiaomei watched them, trembling with fear.
"Could you both please leave? I need to take care of my sister."
Her words extinguished the brewing confrontation.
Qin Jinhai opened the main door wide. "Third Young Master Su, if you please."
"What right do you have to tell me to leave?"
"Because she’s my woman."
Su Junling scoffed, "You really have no shame. Where did you take her after she left the Su family home last night? You know perfectly well why she collapsed today, don’t you?"
"Third Young Master Su, so interested in other people’s bedroom affairs?"
"You bastard! Fu Bing is a living, breathing person, not your plaything!"
"That’s rich, coming from you, Third Young Master Su. If you Su family members had treated her like a human being, would she have left the Su estate all by herself?"
Su Junling was left speechless.
"You can’t even bring a guest into the Su Family home without others mocking her. What grounds do you have to contend with me?"
Qin Jinhai strode toward Fu Bing’s room.
Xiaomei, trembling all over, blocked the doorway, stammering, "M-my sister doesn’t want to see you."
"You’re wrong. Even if she hates me, she still has me in her heart."
With that, Qin Jinhai took the medicine and water from Xiaomei’s hands and twisted open the bedroom door.
After he entered, he locked the door from the inside.
Su Junling, resisting the urge to kick down the door, said, "I’ll have our family doctor come over to see her."
"Thank you for your kindness, Director Su. Uncle He and Aunt Ning will be here soon. It’s not convenient to have guests today. When my sister is better, we’ll invite you over." Xiaomei said this, trying to mimic how her sister usually spoke to guests.
She stumbled through the words, feeling quite discouraged by her own attempt.
Su Junling glared at the tightly closed bedroom door and left in a huff.
Qin Jinhai took off his shoes and jacket, rolling the sleeves of his white shirt up to his elbows.
He fetched a basin of warm water from the bathroom and gently wiped the sweat from her face and body.
He changed her into a dry set of pajamas before carefully settling her back into bed.
As soon as Fu Bing’s head touched the pillow, she shrank into the corner of the bed, curling up.
It was a highly defensive posture.
Qin Jinhai got onto the bed, gathered her into his arms, and gently patted her back.
During those years she was in prison, he had always found ways to see her, evading everyone’s notice.
In that room he had meticulously prepared just for her.
Only after he had thoroughly exhausted her could she manage to sleep for an hour or two.
Fu Bing’s fever persisted for three days, flaring up and receding repeatedly.
Uncle He and Aunt Ning stayed by her side the entire time.
Only when her fever had completely subsided did the two of them finally breathe a sigh of relief.
The little bit of weight Fu Bing had managed to gain since her release from prison had vanished again.
After taking a shower and eating a meal, Fu Bing began to busy herself.
Regarding the sale of the medicine, they could manage it this way in the short term, but for sustained long-term sales, they needed to partner with a company that had the proper qualifications.
Otherwise, if someone tampered with their medicine and problems arose from its use, she wouldn’t be able to handle the fallout with her current network of contacts.
After much deliberation, Fu Bing decided to collaborate with Yang Ningzheng.
When Yang Ningzheng received Fu Bing’s call requesting a meeting, he thought he was dreaming.
After all, Fu Bing had only recently rejected his offer of a villa.
Yang Ningzheng entered the café and saw Fu Bing sitting by the window, her chin resting on her hand, her gaze distant as if lost in thought.
Her delicate and spirited features possessed a tranquil beauty at this moment.
Yang Ningzheng suppressed his wildly beating heart and sat down opposite Fu Bing.
Fu Bing snapped back to attention. "Is the contract ready?"
"Yes." Yang Ningzheng couldn’t help asking, "Why have you lost so much weight?"
"I was sick for a few days, but I’m better now." Fu Bing meticulously reviewed each clause of the contract.
The contract was detailed, with one exception: there was no penalty clause for breach of contract.
"President Yang, you must have put a great deal of effort into drafting this contract."
Yang Ningzheng said, "The contract you drafted with the company back then didn’t pass through my hands. From now on, none of the contracts we sign will include a penalty clause for breach of contract."
Fu Bing lowered her gaze. "President Yang, you seem very confident about our cooperation."
"I have confidence in you," Yang Ningzheng blurted out, then realized it might have sounded inappropriate.
But since the words were already out, he decided to be forthright.
"When you became famous, I was in my senior year of high school. Two months before the college entrance examination, my father died of cancer. Suddenly, I lost all direction in life and didn’t even want to take the college entrance exams. One night, I saw you on television. At that moment, I thought to myself that someday, I absolutely had to stand by your side."
"The year you were imprisoned, I had just joined the company. I was a nobody and powerless to do more for you."
"Now it’s different. As long as you ask, I will do everything in my power."
Fu Bing hadn’t expected this connection.
"Thank you for thinking so highly of me. I’m sorry to have disappointed you."
From her fans, Fu Bing had mainly received kindness and warmth.
Even recently, most of the people she had encountered, both in her daily life and on set, had treated her with kindness.
"I don’t believe you’re capable of those things. I’ll be by your side as you prove your innocence."
After confirming there were no issues with the contract, Fu Bing signed her name on the last page.
Just as they were about to leave, a woman’s voice called out from behind them.