The day of Li Rongliang’s heart bypass surgery was drawing near, and everyone was growing increasingly tense.
Li’s mother stayed by his side every day, never leaving his bedside.
Li Yaru came to visit her father at noon as usual, bringing along a variety of premium imported fruits, fish oil supplements, and a packed portion of Crab Roe Soup Dumplings from Dexing Zhai.
The aroma of delicious, warm food filled the ward, dispelling the cold scent of disinfectant.
This Yinggang Joint Venture Hospital was a long-established hospital on Hong Kong Island with a good reputation and relatively high fees.
It was always crowded, with beds in constant short supply.
At first, Li Rongliang was admitted to a shared room— crowded and inconvenient.
Now, thanks to Zhuang Qiting, he had been moved to the most luxurious suite, complete with a bed for caregivers, a private bathroom and kitchen, and a dedicated nurse on call twenty-four hours a day.
After lunch, Lin Baojun went to the kitchen to wash the fruits, while Li Rongliang held his daughter’s hand and spoke earnestly, “I haven’t seen you and Xiao Fang together much lately. He came to visit recently with a whole bunch of gifts. Xiao Fang is an honest boy; don’t bully him.”
“Why would I bully him?” Li Yaru pouted, looking listless. She was the one being bullied every day now—how could she dare to bully others?
“Are you two having a fight?”
“……”
“Broken up?”
“Daddy.” Li Yaru gave him a glare, unhappy, and muttered, “I’m only nineteen. Whether dating or breaking up, it’s perfectly normal, okay? It’s not like dating someone means you have to marry them right away. This isn’t the old days anymore; don’t be so old-fashioned.”
Li Rongliang was exasperated. Was his own daughter scolding her father now?
When Fan Zizhuo visited Li Rongliang last week, he had already picked up on some hints from their brief conversations.
The young people’s relationships were their own business, and as an elder, he shouldn’t interfere.
But Xiao Fang was a good boy, and he didn’t want his daughter to throw away something valuable for something trivial.
“Ah Mei, even so, Xiao Fang is a decent kid— loyal, principled, and well-mannered. Boys like him are rare these days.”
Li Yaru didn’t dare reply and only let out a quiet sigh while folding her fingers absentmindedly.
Zi Zhuo didn’t force her with all kinds of weird rules, didn’t forbid this or that, and didn’t come up with strange reasons to spank her.
Around Zi Zhuo, she was confident and unrestrained; around that certain someone, she was like a wilted little chick being strangled by the neck.
Thinking of the recent torment, Li Yaru’s fists clenched. She had been too naive — rich people’s quirks were unimaginable.
Not only did he want to sleep with her, but he also wanted to spank her like a father. In bed, a beast; out of bed, a gentleman— a seamless switch.
What angered Li Yaru the most was that he had shaved her completely bald with his own hands.
Before shaving, he massaged a circle of essential oil soap on her.
He was cold and stern, dressed in a white suit, holding the razor like a detached surgeon about to dissect her.
As he shaved, his warm breath brushed her skin, making her itch and nervous.
She grabbed the armrests tightly, her little mouth trembling and blowing bubbles, which he gently wiped away.
“Be good, baby.” He kissed her.
Her hair was never thick to begin with—a sparse, curly little tuft— but he shaved it all off!
He himself had a thick, prickly beard that must have been unbearable; why didn’t he shave that off?
…………
“Did you sleep well last night?” Li Rongliang looked carefully at his daughter, noticing a faint bruise under her eyes.
Li Yaru turned her face guiltily and pretended to fuss with the curled leaves of a pink carnation in a vase. “Oh, last night? I was busy catching up on homework… The professor always assigns homework for every class.”
Li Rongliang was an honest man but not a fool; he could tell at once that her story was full of holes and obviously a lie.
His gaze swept over the new bracelet on her wrist—a diamond bracelet, each stone sparkling brightly. It was clearly not cheap.
Her new clothes, shoes, and bag, and even this overly luxurious private hospital room, plus the sudden breakup with Xiao Fang— all these signs were too obvious.
He sighed deeply and said gravely, “Ah Mei, just tell your father honestly— is there a new boyfriend?”
And one who’s very wealthy.
Li Rongliang feared his daughter might fall for the schemes of those rich playboys and earnestly lectured her, “Nowadays, especially rich young masters, they’re all womanizers. You’re young and innocent-looking; don’t get fooled. If you need pocket money, just tell me. Your parents can support you.”
A warm current flowed in Li Yaru’s heart. This was a real father.
She didn’t regret insisting on saving the Wangzhen Restaurant.
It was her father’s lifelong effort and her future foundation— more important than anything else. The saying goes, with risk comes reward.
She had come through unscathed and had the entire Wangzhen Restaurant in her hands.
She was never the type to be intimidated. As for his weird fetish for spanking, she was sure he’d get tired of it—maybe a year without it even.
Endure one year.
“All right, Daddy, I’m not even dating boys yet. You’re worrying too much. Your surgery is in two days; you should save your strength!”
Li Yaru stood up and glanced at the clock. The driver would arrive in ten minutes to pick her up. Zhuang Qiting had said she wasn’t allowed to be late.
“I’m off, Daddy. Tomorrow I’ll come visit you and Mom again.”
“Ah Mei! Li Yaru! Wait!”
Li Yaru sped up like a rabbit and disappeared in an instant. Once outside the ward, she breathed a sigh of relief.
She had successfully fooled them for another day— she just didn’t know how long she could keep it up.
The restaurant, Zhuang Qiting— maybe they’d scare her father unconscious.
Her mind was in a mess as she stepped out of the hospital building, when suddenly an even more awkward sight appeared.
She ran into Fan Zizhuo just as he was entering the hospital.
Li Yaru stared at him, stunned. They hadn’t seen each other since that hasty breakup, and suddenly meeting like this left her speechless.
Fan Zizhuo held a bouquet of pink carnations in his left arm and a box of imported cookies in his right hand. He awkwardly smiled at Li Yaru. “Arou, long time no see.”
That shy and gentle “Arou” made Li Yaru’s heart flutter. It had only been a little over a month, but it felt like a lifetime.
“Zi Zhuo, what are you doing here?”
“My roommate injured his leg, so I came with him for physiotherapy. I thought I’d visit Uncle while I was here.”
Li Yaru had just learned from her father that Zi Zhuo had been visiting frequently — probably when she wasn’t around.
Her mood was complicated. Her voice lowered as she struggled to make small talk, “Daddy said you come every week and bring flowers and gifts. You’re too generous, Zi Zhuo. When you have time, bring Auntie and the others to the restaurant. The chef has created some great new dishes that Auntie loves.”
“Sure.” Fan Zizhuo nodded, the corners of his lips softening to subtly mask the sadness in his eyes.
The girl before him was still beautiful, even more so than a month ago.
She seemed to have crossed from girlhood into womanhood, like a camellia soaking up the sun — vibrantly and passionately blooming.
The scorching sun made the diamond bracelet on her wrist shine dazzlingly. The bracelet he gave her was nowhere near as splendid as this.
Fan Zizhuo gripped the carnations tightly, trying not to let his bitterness show. In a gentle voice, he asked, “Does he treat you well?”
Li Yaru was surprised. “Zi Zhuo, you…”
Fan Zizhuo said, “Qiu Mei said you have a new boyfriend, a very powerful figure.” He tried to sound casual and smiled, “Thanks to him, those thugs no longer dare to cause trouble at the restaurant.”
“Yeah, that’s all thanks to him.” Li Yaru didn’t want to hide it and faced her old lover frankly. She felt a slight sting in her heart on this sweltering day, an inexplicable irritability.
But she still squinted and smiled, a little sweat beading at her nose. “Don’t worry, Zi Zhuo. He treats me well.”
“That’s good.” Fan Zizhuo said softly.
He didn’t dare to ask too much — he knew being nosy would make the girl look down on him.
He knew Li Yaru only ended up with that Zhuang Sheng out of necessity. He hated his own weakness for not protecting her, for not protecting her all along.
Those rich heirs born at the top of the pyramid treated women with casual disdain and loose morals.
He couldn’t imagine how much suffering Arou would endure with a man like that.
Perhaps the topic was too heavy, so the two naturally changed to lighter chat.
The young couple standing together made a charming sight— a refreshing breeze in the heat of summer.
Inside the approaching Rolls-Royce, Zhuang Qiting tilted his head, cold and sharp eyes penetrating the dark car window, precisely spotting Li Yaru walking along the green corridor.
That morning, he had thoroughly “watered” her like a little stray dog, buried under the covers refusing to get up for breakfast, giving him a tongue-lashing for being inhuman.
After spanking her into obedience, she was now energetic and happily chatting away with that random kid.
Zhuang Qiting disliked Li Yaru talking to others like that, especially to anyone but him.
He also disliked her wearing such a short skirt, flaunting those long, pale legs. Her legs were only for his appreciation, caressing, sucking, and biting.
In the distance, Li Yaru was still chatting away, oblivious to the danger silently approaching.
Zhuang Qiting took a deep breath and told the driver to pull over. The car was cool and comfortable inside, the sun glaring outside.
He took off his suit jacket, wearing only a finely woven striped shirt in refreshing light blue— making him look refined and elegant rather than austere.
Lately, he preferred light colors— perhaps because of the scorching weather; black and gray would be too hot.