The next morning, Nan Chu, Qiao Yu's best friend, rushed to the hospital as soon as she heard Xiangsi was sick. She arrived carrying a large bag of snacks and toys. "Oh, my little Xiangsi, you've gotten so thin!" "Godmother!" Nan Chu had been Xiangsi's godmother since she was born. "Come here, give your godmother a kiss! Oh, you poor thing. Look at your little hand, all swollen from the IV drip!" Nan Chu proceeded to smother Xiangsi’s face with affection, and the little girl gasped, "Godmother! You're too much! My cheeks hurt!" "Sorry, sorry! Here, look at all the treats and toys Godmother brought you. Do you like them?" "You bought way too much," Qiao Yu said. "It’s not like she's seriously ill. Don't spoil her." Nan Chu waved her off. "Kids are meant to be spoiled. Right, Xiangsi?" Xiangsi's bright eyes curved into crescents as she smiled, blowing Nan Chu a wink. "I love you, Godmother! Mwah!" "Love you too!" Nan Chu shot back, forming a heart with her fingers. While Xiangsi was busy changing her Barbie doll's clothes, Nan Chu pulled Qiao Yu out of the hospital room. "You ran into Bo Hanshi at the nightclub last night?" Qiao Yu froze. "How did you know?" "Jiang Yuchuan told me. He said Bo Hanshi forced you to drink until you had an allergic reaction, and he told me to check on you. I mean, how could Bo Hanshi be so cruel? He knew you were allergic to alcohol, and he still..." "I'm fine. I've already taken the medicine. Besides, I made thirty-five thousand dollars from that bottle. I'd say it was worth it." Nan Chu’s brows knitted together as she glared at her. "Are you kidding me? If you weren't lucky, that allergic reaction could have killed you! You idiot! I never should have told you about this way to make money. If you hadn't taken that part-time job at the nightclub, you never would have run into that bastard again!" Qiao Yu sighed. "What's meant to be will be. If it wasn't this time, it would have been the next, right?" Nan Chu looked at her, her heart aching. "So what are you going to do now? For the past six years, even without seeing you, he's managed to ruin your career and get you blacklisted from every company in our field. Last night was the first time you've seen him again, and he almost killed you. What do you think he'll do next time?" She shook her head. "I don't know. I'll just have to deal with whatever comes my way. I can't worry about it right now." "What about Xiangsi? Are you going to keep her a secret from Bo Hanshi forever?" A bitter smile touched Qiao Yu's lips. "What's the alternative? Introduce her to him? He'd just think I was using our daughter to emotionally blackmail him into forgiving me. It was over between us six years ago. I know Bo Hanshi's personality better than anyone. Anyone in the world could betray him, but not me. For me to betray him... the fact that he hasn't killed me already is an act of mercy." A chill ran down Nan Chu's spine. "That man is terrifying." Qiao Yu spoke as if it were common knowledge. "He's always been that obsessive. When he loves someone, he loves them to the bone. And when he hates someone, he hates them with just as much intensity." Six years ago, when Qiao Yu was working a summer job at a bar, a drunk customer had touched her hand. When Bo Hanshi found out, he dragged the man into a dark alley and broke his hand. Terrified the man would remember Bo Hanshi and seek revenge, Qiao Yu had wrapped her arms around his waist, crying and begging him to stop. If she hadn't, she had no doubt Bo Hanshi would have beaten the man to death. After that, he forbade her from working part-time jobs ever again. He held the hand the drunk had touched under the faucet, washing it over and over until her skin was raw. Only then did he lift her fingers to his lips and kiss them as if they were a precious treasure. That night, his possessiveness had been overwhelming. He had pinned her to the bed and kissed every inch of her body. "Qiao Yu," he had said, "don't ever let anyone but me touch you. I can't stand it." That was the kind of obsessive man he was. He loved to the extreme, and he hated to the extreme. "Chu Chu, I'm scared he'll take Xiangsi away from me. That he'll use her to get back at me." Nan Chu's eyes widened. "He's twisted enough to do it!" Just then, Nan Chu's phone rang. It was her office. "Hello, Editor-in-Chief?" "Where the hell have you been? Bo Hanshi's scandal is the number one trending topic! Our rival agency snatched this month's big scoop from under our noses again!" Bo Hanshi's big scoop? After hanging up, Nan Chu immediately opened Weibo. Number one on the trending list: "Bo Hanshi and Song Yiyi Engaged!" The headline was followed by a bright red "EXPLOSIVE" tag. "Holy crap! What the hell is this?" Nan Chu swore in shock. Thinking something had happened at her friend's company, Qiao Yu asked, "What's wrong?" Nan Chu handed her the phone. "Bo Hanshi's big news. See for yourself." Qiao Yu didn't recognize the name Song Yiyi. But still... "He's engaged. That's great. I wish him well." Nan Chu's eyes widened in disbelief, searching Qiao Yu's face for any sign of sadness, but her expression was perfectly calm. There was nothing. "Why are you looking at me like that?" "This... this isn't a normal reaction. You and Bo Hanshi used to be so head over heels in love, you even stood up to your father for him. And now..." Qiao Yu offered a faint smile. "What's a 'normal' reaction supposed to be? Crying isn't going to bring Bo Hanshi back, is it? Besides, the fact that he's getting engaged means he's trying to move on. That's good news for me. Maybe he'll be so caught up with his new fiancée that he'll forget all about getting revenge on me." Nan Chu’s mouth twitched. "Yeah, I guess that’s one way to look at it." Summoned back to the office by her editor-in-chief, Nan Chu left in a hurry. Qiao Yu walked back into the hospital room. Xiangsi asked, "Mommy, why are your eyes red?" "Oh? It must be the wind. The hospital air conditioning is so strong in the hallway. Xiangsi, are you cold?" Qiao Yu quickly changed the subject. "Nope!" But Qiao Yu's mind was elsewhere. A moment later, while pouring Xiangsi a glass of water, she dropped the cup and it shattered. ... That evening, Xie Jun was on the night shift. Qiao Yu asked him to keep an eye on her daughter while she went back to the Fousheng Nightclub for her part-time job. In the hospital room, a hungry Xiangsi rummaged through the large bag her godmother had brought, looking for a snack. Instead, her fingers found a rolled-up magazine. Her godmother was a reporter; she must have tucked it into the bag when her hands were full. With nothing else to do, Xiangsi unrolled the magazine. She was six years old and not yet in first grade. She didn't know many characters, but Qiao Yu had taught her quite a few simple ones. "Shi... Dai... Zhou..." She didn't recognize the last character, *Kan*, and scratched her head. Still, the uncle on the cover was so handsome! More handsome than Uncle Xie! Xiangsi's eyes lit up, and her small, milky-white finger tapped the man on the magazine cover. "He's a perfect match for Mommy!" By nine o'clock, Xiangsi had nearly worn out the magazine, but her mother still hadn't returned. She was getting bored alone in the room, so she kicked off her blanket, slipped on her little yellow duck slippers, and padded out of the room. Uncle Xie had told her he was on the second floor and that if she needed anything, she should ask a nurse to take her to him. She was just about to go to the nurses' station when she saw a handsome man standing by the glass window, talking on the phone. She looked from the man to the magazine and back again, nearly gasping in shock. Wasn't that the handsome uncle from the magazine?