8. Why Must He Convince Her to Love Him?

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Ji Qingran’s medical report was brought over by Lu Tingyuan. His expression was grim as he saw her and immediately asked, “You never told me you had surgery on your lumbar spine again.”

Ji Qingran was in considerable pain and too weary to discern whether his question was out of concern or reproach. She simply replied with a faint, “Hmm,” and said, “It relapsed once before I returned to the country. I mentioned it to you.”

Lu Tingyuan frowned deeply. “When did you mention it?”

“When you told me it was your responsibility to take care of Su Yiyi,” Ji Qingran said, her tone indifferent as she stared at the corner of the bed. She didn’t dislike the sterile scent of the hospital—it was something she had long grown accustomed to. Her body had carried the burden of illness from an early age, with ailments flaring up from time to time; hospital stays were a routine affair.

“Then I mentioned it again when I was preparing for surgery. The risk disclosure said I might never be able to stand again. I was terrified and called you, hoping you could come see me. And what did you say? Oh, right—you said Su Yiyi was hospitalized and you couldn’t leave her alone. You were afraid something would happen if you left her.”

She spoke calmly, as if discussing someone else’s affairs, without a flicker of emotion.

Lu Tingyuan sat by her bedside, his gaze fixed on her pale face, and for once, there was a trace of guilt in his eyes.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were ill. I thought you just missed me.”

Ji Qingran turned her head to the side, avoiding his gaze.

“If you had known, would you have left Su Yiyi to come to me?”

Lu Tingyuan opened his mouth but could not utter a sound.

She understood then. “You worry about me, but you wouldn’t leave Su Yiyi. In your heart, I come after her.”

After a moment of silence, Lu Tingyuan sighed. “Qingran, don’t think like that. Yiyi was in serious danger. If the surgery had failed, she might never have woken up…”

Ji Qingran sneered silently. Every surgery carries risks; if one had to compare, the only thing she had over Su Yiyi was that even if her spinal surgery failed, she wouldn’t die—she would merely never stand again. How could that compare to a healthy, lively Su Yiyi?

Not wanting to continue the conversation, she took the medical report from his hand and examined it closely. She didn’t understand most of the medical terms but could grasp the conclusion—

Lu Tingyuan’s collision had caused her a mild concussion.

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“I think Su Yiyi did it on purpose,” she said, eyes fixed on the words “concussion” on the report, enunciating each word clearly, “If she hadn’t been standing so close to me, you wouldn’t have bumped into me.”

Lu Tingyuan strongly disagreed. “Yiyi is innocent. I was the one who bumped into you. If anyone is to blame, it’s me—not Yiyi.”

As he spoke, he reached out and twirled a strand of Ji Qingran’s hair around his finger—a habitual gesture when they were together.

But now, Ji Qingran did not want any intimacy. She took her hair back and turned away, no longer paying him any mind.

Lu Tingyuan sighed, tone tinged with compromise as he tried to reason, “Qingran, don’t be childish and sulk. I’m the one who hit you; I’ll give you whatever compensation you want. Yiyi doesn’t have any ill intentions. She’s always been well protected by her teachers. Now that the teacher is gone, I hope she can remain pure and kind.”

In other words, wasn’t he implying she was scheming and deliberately throwing dirt at Su Yiyi?

Ji Qingran felt even less inclined to talk to him and said simply, “I’m dizzy and want to sleep.”

Behind her, Lu Tingyuan frowned, watching her for a long moment before finally saying nothing and leaving swiftly.

She never knew if he left because he couldn’t bear to disturb her peace or because he was worried about leaving Su Yiyi alone in the ward.

In the days that followed, Lu Tingyuan came to see her in the hospital room—always bringing Su Yiyi along.

Perhaps because of Lu Tingyuan’s mention that Su Yiyi had done it deliberately, every time they came, Su Yiyi would hurriedly apologize, saying over and over, “Sister Qingran, you can push me hard too. Seeing you like this makes me feel so guilty.”

Ji Qingran was dizzy and lacked the energy to deal with her, usually just waving her off.

Su Yiyi would then sit obediently on the sofa, waiting for Lu Tingyuan to inquire about Ji Qingran’s condition before linking her arm with his and chattering away.

Sometimes she asked about schoolwork, sometimes about daily trivialities, and sometimes, she would simply share a song through earphones in silence.

Ji Qingran couldn’t join their conversations; most of the time, she lay on the bed in a daze or chatted about work with Jiang Yao on her phone.

She couldn’t understand how Su Yiyi managed to come back and forth twice a day from another inpatient building across a sizable garden. Given Su Yiyi’s congenital rheumatic heart disease and fragile condition, especially during a flare-up, how did she persevere with such unwavering determination?

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Once, Lu Tingyuan brought a lunchbox to see her, saying the family chef had specially prepared a nutritious meal for her. It was mealtime, so he brought Su Yiyi’s portion along to Ji Qingran’s room.

Su Yiyi took two bites, then suddenly choked, coughing for a long time before recovering. The episode triggered her illness; clutching her chest, she turned pale and cried out in discomfort.

Lu Tingyuan was distressed and wanted to take her back. She shook her head, biting her lip resolutely. “We came to see Sister Qingran. Leaving immediately wouldn’t be right. I know my illness—I’ll be fine in a little while. Senior Brother, don’t worry too much.”

Then she smiled brightly. “I’ve never tasted Senior Brother’s family cooking before. I want to try it.”

Lu Tingyuan couldn’t refuse but worried about her choking again, so he fed her spoonful by spoonful.

Su Yiyi blushed softly and said, “This is too much trouble for Senior Brother.”

Then she glanced cautiously at Ji Qingran and asked, “Sister Qingran, I’ve taken up Senior Brother’s time. Will you be angry?”

Ji Qingran looked up just in time to see Lu Tingyuan holding a spoon, waiting for Su Yiyi to eat. Somehow, it reminded her of the year she had been expelled from the Ji family, penniless, her future ruined, utterly despondent, and had done something to harm herself.

He had taken her to the hospital and stayed by her side for two days and nights without leaving.

Later, when she was out of danger, she still lacked the will to live.

Back then, he was not as composed as he was now. Seeing her desperate for death, he became frantic and threatened fiercely, “Ji Qingran, since I saved you, your life belongs to me. I won’t allow you to die. There are a hundred ways to keep you alive.”

He forced her to eat, feeding her spoonful by spoonful, promising, “You eat one bite, I’ll give you ten thousand yuan. When you’ve saved enough money, I’ll send you abroad, where no one knows you.”

Eventually, she got her wish and went abroad. He followed her there, coaxing her to fall in love with him, so deeply and desperately.

They had promised forever. Why had he suddenly stopped loving her?

Recalling Du Mingqian’s words, “He’s long since grown tired of you,” she couldn’t help but shed tears, swallowing them with her rice, bitterness flooding her mouth.

She allowed herself only a few seconds of sorrow, sniffed, and when she spoke again, her voice was void of emotion.

“Lu Tingyuan, I have something to say to you.”