Married in a Daze - Chapter 116

Chapter 116

Breakfast was millet porridge bought by Ji Lu. Qin Zhenzhen leaned against the pillow, while Lu Ruyun busied herself nearby. Watching her slender figure, Qin Zhenzhen asked, "How did you get here?"

Lu Ruyun opened the takeout container, and the aroma of porridge immediately filled the hospital room. Qin Zhenzhen hadn't been able to eat properly the entire previous day and had been feverish for half the night. Now that her fever had subsided, her appetite had improved considerably. Her stomach growled at the smell.

"I drove here."

Lu Ruyun stirred the porridge with a spoon, wisps of steam rising. Qin Zhenzhen couldn't quite see her expression clearly and didn't know if she was angry. After all, she had driven several hours to the hospital only to find Jian Mu sitting in the room.

That feeling.

Probably felt just as uneasy as when she saw Zhang Yiyao in Lu Ruyun's room.

Qin Zhenzhen pressed her temples, biting the corner of her lip, wanting to say something but staying silent.

After breakfast, the doctor came to examine Qin Zhenzhen. There were no other issues; she had a mild case of the flu and needed another two to three days of intravenous fluids. After a few instructions, the doctor left with the nurse. Qin Zhenzhen frowned. "Two to three more days?"

Lu Ruyun hummed in affirmation, cleaning up the food remnants on the coffee table. "Rest here for now. Or we can transfer back to City A this afternoon."

"But I was supposed to go to Country J this afternoon."

Her original plan was to finish the morning promotional event, fly to City A in the afternoon, meet up with Meng Xin, and then fly to Country J. Who could have predicted she'd suddenly catch the flu? Thinking of this, Qin Zhenzhen called Meng Xin.

Meng Xin said she already knew and told Qin Zhenzhen to rest there for a couple of days. She had already contacted the advertising client and rescheduled for two days later.

Qin Zhenzhen relaxed, relieved that Meng Xin had everything arranged, and agreed.

Around noon, Sun Qin and the others arrived. Some were carrying fruit. Song He asked with concern, "Feeling better? You didn't even tell us you were unwell."

Qin Zhenzhen smiled and lowered her head. "It's nothing, just a little cold."

"'Just a little cold'? I heard from Ji Lu you had a fever for hours. Aren't you afraid of ruining your health?"

Although her tone was accusatory, the care in her words was genuine. Sun Qin had always treated Qin Zhenzhen like a junior in the crew, giving her extra care. Qin Zhenzhen naturally knew Sun Qin's goodwill towards her and bowed her head, letting her scold.

When Lu Ruyun returned to the room with a bag of clean clothes, she saw several people standing inside. Sun Qin opened her mouth. "Ruyun is here too?"

"Teacher Sun." Lu Ruyun walked over to Sun Qin, placing the items on the sofa. "Is your promotional tour finished?"

Sun Qin nodded. "It's over in City K. We're leaving this afternoon. Thought we'd come see Zhenzhen before we left. This girl didn't even tell us she was unwell, just toughed it out herself."

Lu Ruyun chatted with Sun Qin for a few sentences. Hu Jing's gaze rested on her, and after a moment, he called out, "Teacher Lu."

"Hm." Lu Ruyun responded lightly.

Song He, sitting on a stool, asked curiously, "Teacher Lu, how did you get here? A morning flight?"

Before Lu Ruyun could answer, Ji Lu spoke up. "No, Teacher Lu drove over last night."

Everyone's expressions showed understanding. She must have learned of Qin Zhenzhen's hospitalization last night and rushed over immediately. Hu Jing's gaze lingered on Lu Ruyun's calm face before he lowered his head.

Not long after, the group had to leave. Qin Zhenzhen slipped on her slippers, wanting to see them out, but Director Hu stopped her. "Rest well."

Sun Qin also said to Lu Ruyun, "Ruyun, we're heading off. Zhenzhen, see you later."

Qin Zhenzhen nodded, sitting on the edge of the bed. "See you later."

Only after everyone had left the hospital did Qin Zhenzhen sit bored on the bed. Ji Lu, seeing neither she nor Lu Ruyun were speaking, scratched her head. "Zhenzhen, I'll head back to the hotel first, come back tonight?"

Lu Ruyun glanced at her. "No need. You go back and rest. I'll take care of Zhenzhen here."

Ji Lu looked at Qin Zhenzhen, saw her slight nod, and agreed. "Alright."

After Ji Lu left, Qin Zhenzhen sat on the sofa. Lu Ruyun, having put away the clothes, sat beside her and reached out to feel her forehead. Qin Zhenzhen pulled her hand down. "I'm fine. How about we go back to the hotel too?"

Her eyes held a pleading look, presumably because staying in the hospital was too boring. Lu Ruyun shook her head. "No, you're not fully recovered. And moving back and forth might attract media attention."

Qin Zhenzhen sighed. "Fine—"

She drew out the word, leaning against Lu Ruyun. The TV was playing an unfamiliar movie. Both remained silent. After watching the movie for a while, Qin Zhenzhen lowered her head to look at her phone. The later ratings for Cold Palace were holding up well. Halfway through its run, the ratings were about to break 2, something she had never dared imagine before. Her previous best-performing drama had broken 2.5, but that show's ratings had been stable from the start, never dropping, unlike the significant fluctuations in Cold Palace.

But this was also a strategic move by the network for publicity, a kind of gimmick to make people more curious about Cold Palace.

Qin Zhenzhen had gotten used to seeing various push notifications on her phone these past few days.

Weibo was the epicenter. The official account's follower count was multiplying rapidly. When Cold Palace first started airing, the official Weibo had less than 300,000 followers. Now it had added a zero. New stills were released daily.

Qin Zhenzhen pursed her lips and opened the comments, seeing a stream of confessions. Feeling slightly cheered, she prepared to put her phone down.

A Weibo push notification happened to arrive just then. Her previously smiling face changed as she read the notification—"Director with surname D's affair leads to ex-girlfriend's suicide?"

Qin Zhenzhen froze for a moment upon seeing this Weibo, instinctively thinking of Zhang Yiyao. She quickly tapped in and saw it was indeed about Duan Qiuhan and Zhang Yiyao. Some netizens had even directly named names.

—Is it the A-City Cheating King, Duan Qiuhan?

—Miss Zhang is so pitiful. Why would she think of suicide over a scumbag?

—Duh, they've been together for so many years. Why do you think?

—I still don't believe Duanbao is that kind of person. Waiting for Duanbao to explain.

—Me too. Someone who hasn't had a scandal in years suddenly becomes the Cheating King? Ridiculous.

—You fans, I'm telling you, you love deceiving yourselves. Duan Qiuhan's usual persona is sold so well. No scandals? Then what's Lu Ruyun?

—Piss off! Did you pay the appearance fee for dragging our Cloud Fairy into this? Cloud Fairy and Zhenzhen are doing great and very happy now, stop talking nonsense!!

Seeing this, Qin Zhenzhen bit her lip and called out, "Ruyun."

"Ruy..."

She looked up and saw Lu Ruyun had already fallen asleep on the sofa. There were faint dark circles under her eyes. Having driven half the night, she must have been exhausted to fall asleep so easily.

Qin Zhenzhen tilted her head, looking at Lu Ruyun's sleeping face. It was very peaceful. She reached out and touched Lu Ruyun's cheek. It had much better color than the pale complexion from their first meeting; now it had a hint of rosiness.

Lu Ruyun's breathing was steady and even. Qin Zhenzhen whispered, "Ruyun, go sleep on the bed."

As she spoke, she tugged Lu Ruyun's arm. Lu Ruyun obediently opened her arms, using a bit of force to pull Qin Zhenzhen into her embrace. Qin Zhenzhen nestled against her neck, her nose filled with a familiar scent, her ear catching Lu Ruyun's sleep-talking murmur. "Zhenzhen."

Qin Zhenzhen lifted her head and hummed in response, only to realize she was just talking in her sleep. She sighed, carefully extricated herself from Lu Ruyun's arms, helped her lie down on the sofa, and pulled the blanket from the hospital bed to cover her. Lu Ruyun hugged the blanket and fell into a deep sleep.

The movie on the TV continued to play. Qin Zhenzhen sat beside the sofa, placing Lu Ruyun's head on her lap, her fingers smoothing Lu Ruyun's long hair. Lu Ruyun slept soundly, moving slightly every now and then, nuzzling against Qin Zhenzhen's waist, smelling the familiar scent, and wrapping her arms around Qin Zhenzhen's waist, holding her tight.

Qin Zhenzhen sat watching the movie. In the afternoon, a nurse came for rounds, and she quietly cooperated.

Lu Ruyun slept for several hours. She woke up as dusk approached. Qin Zhenzhen was still sitting on the sofa, though her back was aching from sitting, so she had changed her posture, leaning sideways against the sofa armrest. When Lu Ruyun opened her eyes, her vision was filled with white. Her pupils contracted. Qin Zhenzhen's hand waved in front of her eyes. "You're awake."

Hearing Qin Zhenzhen's voice, Lu Ruyun's expression returned to normal. Her voice was low from just waking up. "Hm."

Qin Zhenzhen rubbed her lower back; sitting for so long had made it sore. Hearing her movement, Lu Ruyun turned to look, seeing her frown in discomfort. "What's wrong?"

Qin Zhenzhen pointed at her back. "Hurts. Been sitting too long."

Lu Ruyun looked at her, slightly exasperated. "Why didn't you go lie on the bed for a while?"

Qin Zhenzhen played the victim first. "I wanted to, but you wouldn't let me go."

She even pointed at Lu Ruyun's arms. "You were holding me the whole time, wouldn't let me leave."

Lu Ruyun pursed her lips and didn't say anything.

After a moment, Qin Zhenzhen lay prone on the sofa while Lu Ruyun gave her a massage, the pressure just right. Qin Zhenzhen relaxed completely. Her gaze fell on her phone, and she suddenly remembered something. "Ruyun."

Lu Ruyun hummed lightly, looking down at Qin Zhenzhen. "Too hard?"

Qin Zhenzhen shook her head. "No, I just saw a Weibo post earlier."

She bit the corner of her lip. "It's about Director Duan."

"The internet knows about Miss Zhang's previous suicide attempt."

Lu Ruyun's hands on her waist paused for a moment, resuming the massage after a few seconds. Her voice remained as usual. "How did Qiuhan respond?"

Qin Zhenzhen turned her head to look at her. "Director Duan hasn't responded yet."

Lu Ruyun lowered her eyelids. "Hm."

The two didn't continue the topic. Qin Zhenzhen felt the warmth of Lu Ruyun's fingertips through her hospital gown on her skin. After thinking for a moment, she spoke again. "Ruyun, were you angry today?"

Lu Ruyun looked up, her pupils dark. "Angry?"

Qin Zhenzhen nodded. "Yeah. I know you must have been unhappy seeing Jian Mu."

Lu Ruyun didn't expect her to still be dwelling on the Jian Mu incident. She parted her red lips slightly. "Zhenzhen, when I saw him off this morning, I was genuinely thanking him. There were many paparazzi at the hotel last night. If you and Ji Lu had gone down, you definitely would have been photographed."

"In dealing with paparazzi, Mr. Jian is far more professional than Director Hu."

"So don't overthink it. I wasn't angry."

Qin Zhenzhen listened to her clear explanation and pouted. "Oh, I see."

Lu Ruyun smiled faintly, pursing her lips. "See what?"

Qin Zhenzhen put on a dejected face. "I see that you weren't even angry seeing him appear in my hospital room. You must not love me anymore."

Lu Ruyun: ...

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