The voice that came through wasn't Fu Yanshi's, but a call back from his personal assistant. Disappointment pricked at Xu Qinghuan, but she had to try. “I'm a former classmate of Mr. Fu's, my name is Xu Qinghuan. Could you please let him know I called? I’d appreciate it if he could call me back.” “Of course, Ms. Xu. Is there anything else?” “...No, that’s all. Thank you.” As she hung up the phone, a chilling understanding washed over her—she could suddenly fathom the despair that had driven her own mother to leap from that building. When every emergency imaginable backs you into a corner, with nowhere left to turn, the thought of just ending it all becomes a terrifying relief. ... The hospital was cold. In the small hours of the morning, Xu Qinghuan jerked awake from the visitor's chair, realizing she had been so exhausted she’d fallen asleep. She got up, checked on her still-sleeping mother, and gently tucked the blankets around her. On her phone, a flood of messages from Fu Jiajia had arrived. 【Qinghuan, don't panic. I've already called my parents, and they agreed to lend you another two hundred thousand! That gives you four hundred thousand! We can piece it together. I'll call some other friends tomorrow, we can definitely raise enough!】 【Don't scare me like this, just send one reply! Don't do anything stupid!】 【Qinghuan, where are you? I just got to Beizhen City. I'm on my way to my parents' place to get the money now. We're already up to four hundred and fifty thousand!】 Xu Qinghuan quickly got up and stepped out of the ICU to call her back. “You have no idea how worried I was!” “I’m sorry... I was in the ICU, my phone was on silent.” “I was just so afraid you’d do something rash. Don't lose hope. Who said it's all over? You know what they say: if money can solve it, it’s not a real problem!” Xu Qinghuan forced a tight-lipped smile, but as she was about to speak, a tall figure materialized at the other end of the long hospital corridor. The sight was so sudden, so surreal, it felt like a savior descending from the heavens. In her ear, Fu Jiajia's voice was a distant buzz. “Hello? Qinghuan! Hello? Why can’t I hear you?” The man closed the distance with long, purposeful strides. Reaching her, he furrowed his thick brows, shrugged off his coat, and draped it entirely over Xu Qinghuan's slight frame. “The night air is cold,” he said, his voice as cool as ever, his deep, dark eyes fixed on her. “You’ll catch a cold like this.” For a moment, Xu Qinghuan was convinced she was hallucinating, a mirage born from her desperation. “Whose voice is that? Hello, Qinghuan!” Fu Jiajia was still talking on the other end. Snapping back to reality, Xu Qinghuan hastily muttered that something had come up and ended the call. “What… what are you doing here?” “You were looking for me, weren't you?” She quickly moistened her dry lips, her hand instinctively rising to smooth her hair. “Yes, I was… I needed to see you.” Now that the words were on the tip of her tongue, Xu Qinghuan found she didn’t know how to say them. It was Fu Yanshi who broke the silence after a few seconds. “Have you made your decision?” Xu Qinghuan nodded without a moment’s hesitation. “I’ll marry you! No, I mean—I'm willing to help you. Can you... can you save my mother?” He had never seen her so flustered. The corner of his mouth twitched in an almost-smile before he seemed to remember something. “And your boyfriend?” “…” “I don’t do third parties. You’ll have to break up with him first.” Now. Immediately. Xu Qinghuan was about to blurt out that she didn't have a boyfriend, but that would mean admitting she had deliberately rejected him earlier in the day. Changing her tune so drastically… wouldn't Fu Yanshi think she was playing him? So, after a moment's hesitation, she simply nodded. “I'll break up with him right now.” “Good. It’s too late tonight. We'll get our marriage license tomorrow morning.”