How could it be... him?
Mei Ran squeezed her eyes shut, suspecting she was hallucinating. She had seen this man several times before, and each time he had buttoned his shirt all the way up, so unlike now with his chest slightly exposed. However, when she opened her eyes again, the mirage not only did not disappear, but seemed to keep magnifying before her.
The man's short black hair was slightly disheveled, the ends seemingly still dripping with water. Those deep, somber brown eyes seemed to hold a thousand mountains and rivers, now hazy, now clear.
The voice coming from above her was low, seemingly tinged with an alluring quality. "How are you feeling now? Are you all right?"
The girl's eyes were wide open, their bewilderment and surprise fully reflected in Fu Shijin's gaze. He couldn't put into words what he felt in that moment, only sensing something indescribable welling up from the depths of his heart.
Soft and warm.
His hand slid under her slender waist, supporting and holding her steady before picking her up.
It was only in the instant she was lifted off the ground that Mei Ran fully snapped back to reality. "M-Mr. Fu?"
The man tilted his head slightly to look at her, his gaze profound. "Yes."
Instantly, Mei Ran's heart was thrown into chaos.
There was only one reason that could explain why he would appear here at this hour: she had mistakenly dialed him instead of her cousin.
No wonder he had mentioned not being able to get in without a key...
Mei Ran was mortified, instinctively wanting to find a place to bury herself. But after burying her face, she realized something was off.
Her forehead was pressed against a warm surface, and with every breath, she was filled with the pleasant, clean, slightly crisp scent of him, like invisible hands lightly applying a blush of rouge to her cheeks. From this angle, she could see the man's stern side profile, his thinly pressed lips. With every step he took, light seemed to dance on the bridge of his straight nose, and his Adam's apple bobbed faintly...
Even in his stillness, this man exuded a low-key sensuality. Mei Ran suddenly felt her ears heat up and immediately looked away. Unexpectedly, the motion was too abrupt, making her dizzy again.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Mei Ran replied, averting her gaze somewhat flustered.
Yet, that gaze seemed to have a mind of its own, tunneling down the open collar of the man's shirt, going deeper bit by bit, and simply refusing to retreat.
Oh no, Mei Ran thought. Am I secretly a pervert?
But faced with such beauty, what woman could resist?
Besides... she had once harbored improper thoughts about him.
Half an hour later, the two arrived at City People's Hospital. At night, there weren't many people. After examining her, the doctor said, "Just a mild concussion. Stay overnight for observation. If nothing's wrong tomorrow, you can be discharged."
Mei Ran's foot was also slightly sprained, but nothing serious — no bone or tendon injury. A nurse was disinfecting and applying medicine.
The doctor was acquainted with her and couldn't resist teasing, "Working days isn't enough, huh? You have to come in for work at midnight too?"
Mei Ran smiled. "It's a long story."
Doctors can't heal themselves.
Due to being premature at birth, her constitution had always been weaker than average. Plus, that past incident had also been a significant injury. Anytime she had a minor illness or ache, Mei Ran paid extra attention.
Fu Shijin returned after paying the fees and, seeing her chatting with the doctor, stood politely to the side, waiting.
The doctor glanced sideways at him, seeming to understand something. "I won't disturb you then. Get some rest early. I need to make my rounds."
Leaving the room, the nurse sighed softly. "Looks like our hospital's prized flower is about to be picked soon! They look so well-matched! But, when did Dr. Mei get a boyfriend? We never heard a thing about it."
The doctor shot her a sidelong glance. "And you know he's the boyfriend?"
The nurse pursed her lips into a smile. "Isn't it obvious? If they were just ordinary friends, would he send her here in the middle of the night? They might even be living together."
"Alright," the doctor waved a hand. "Stop gossiping. Get ready for rounds."
Fu Shijin went to wash his hands in the bathroom. When he returned, the person on the bed had already fallen asleep. Under the soft light, her dark hair was fanned across the pillow, her long eyelashes casting quiet shadows. His gaze drifted further down, landing on her faintly pinked cherry lips...
His fingertips still seemed to hold the warmth of her, pressed against the spot over his heart, burning enough to quicken his heartbeat.
The nurse had changed her out of her previous silver-white, sleeveless silk nightgown into hospital pajamas. Recalling the moment he had picked her up, the sensation still felt somewhat unusual — too soft, unbelievably soft.
Had his hand pressed somewhere it shouldn't have? At the time, he'd been stunned for several seconds, his gaze instinctively dropping. Under the soft fabric, there were two distinct, noticeable protrusions...
Instantly, his ears burned as if on fire.
Fu Shijin took a deep breath, calming the sudden surge of heat within him. He reached out, gently tucking the strands of hair covering her cheek behind her ear. The moment his fingertips touched her skin, he couldn't bear to pull away.
There was still an hour and a half until dawn, and she was still sound asleep. Though it might seem like taking advantage of her situation, he could wait no longer.
Some things needed an outlet, some matters needed confirmation.
No, this is an invasion. You must respect her. There is still a very, very long road ahead.
Outside the window, a hazy, dim light was seeping in. The rain continued to fall.
Just one kiss, quickly over and done with. She won't notice. Ansel, she is MR. This woman before you is the MR you've been thinking about for seven years and can't forget to this day!
His lips slowly pressed down. Very, very soft. Fu Shijin closed his eyes and pressed a little deeper, tasting only briefly like a dragonfly skimming the water's surface.
He clenched his fists, struggling to calm his runaway breathing and heartbeat, while another voice seemed to whisper in his heart, "It felt amazing. You can have another."
Mei Ran slowly opened her eyes. Meeting each other's gaze at such close quarters, she saw a flash of surprise and panic in those deep eyes.
She couldn't quite believe it. "Mr. Fu, you stayed here all night?"
She had somehow fallen asleep last night, completely unaware he had been sitting by the bedside, keeping watch until dawn. And also... Mei Ran thought distractedly. Had he leaned in so close earlier because he wanted to kiss her?
Fu Shijin's gaze grew extremely dark, and only after a long pause did he let out a low "yes."
During the interval when the man went out to buy breakfast, Mei Ran finally had a chance to piece together the memories from last night and this morning: she had fallen, dialed the wrong number, he brought her to the hospital and even stayed with her almost all night. Something was off, wasn't it? She tried hard to recall, her gaze falling on the hospital pajamas she was wearing...
Ah! Mei Ran buried herself deep under the covers. She never wore a bra to bed, and naturally, she hadn't last night either. So when he carried her, wouldn't he have...? And then she had spent the entire morning with him, completely "exposed."
How mortifying!
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. Before Mei Ran could respond, her assistant rushed in with a bag of fruit. "Senior Sister! I heard from Dr. Liu you fell last night and were hospitalized! Are you okay? Are you okay?"
Mei Ran slowly let out a breath. "There's one more check-up later. If nothing's wrong, I can go home."
"That's good," Tian Tian placed the fruit on the table. "Senior Sister, I also heard that last night it was your boyfriend who brought you here. When did you start dating... huh?" Her eyes stared dumbfounded at the stern man in the doorway. "F-Fu... God!"
If Mei Ran hadn't reacted quickly and grabbed her, this little assistant might have truly prostrated herself in adoration.
Fu Shijin merely gave a slight nod, his attitude somewhat aloof. He walked over, placing a paper bag on the table. "I bought some light porridge for you. Drink it while it's warm."
The man's voice still carried a touch of the rain's chill, but to Mei Ran's ears, it somehow sounded unusually gentle. "Thank you."
"Mm," he responded in a low voice, slightly bending down in a motion that, from an outsider's perspective, seemed to enfold her in his embrace. "Don't forget, you owe me two meals now."
Mei Ran: "..."
The assistant: "!!!"
When only the two of them remained in the room, Tian Tian could no longer contain the blazing fire of gossip in her heart. "Senior Sister, is Mr. Fu the legendary boyfriend? Was it him who brought you to the hospital last night? When did you two start seeing each other?"
Mei Ran rubbed her temples. "It all started with a wrong call last night..."
While she was digging herself into a hole, with the story getting murkier and more suggestive by the minute, Fu Shijin had already returned home. Probably due to the lack of rest last night, the first signs of a migraine were beginning to stir.
Seeing him like this, the old lady was heartbroken again. "Driving out in the middle of the night in heavy rain! What matter was so urgent it couldn't wait?"
She grumbled while going to brew his medicine. Fu Shijin half-reclined on the sofa, eyes shut tight, face pale, a thin layer of sweat beading his forehead.
After taking the medicine and sweating it out a bit, the headache finally eased somewhat. Unable to bear the sticky feeling on his skin, Fu Shijin took a shower and came downstairs wearing only a black robe.
Seeing this, the old lady naturally started her well-meaning lecturing again, which inevitably circled around to another topic. "Shijin, you're already 29. Don't you have a girl you fancy? At your age, your mother already had you in primary school. Though she's the one to blame too, not caring about your lifelong plans, going off traveling the world all the time. This old woman thinks..."
"Aunt," Fu Shijin raised his eyebrow slightly. "Don't worry so much. I have my own sense of proportion."
"Meaning?"
He looked relaxed and at ease, his brows and eyes smoothing out. "I'm still working on it."
"Really?! Which family's daughter? When will you bring her back to meet us?" The old lady was overjoyed. "I need to hurry and tell Old Yang, make him happy too!" Old Yang was the family driver who had worked for the Fu family for most of his life.
Fu Shijin had just finished a cup of hot water when his assistant called.
"Mr. Fu, your Weibo account has gained approximately five million followers in recent days," the assistant briefly explained the reason. "Ms. Mei Mengran also sent you a private message. As it involves personal privacy, I wasn't comfortable handling it without instructions. I'm not sure..."
Fu Shijin didn't have a deep impression of this name, his tone indifferent. "What did she write?"
"Mostly expressing her admiration and reverence for you. She also stated she would keep your identity confidential and hoped to have the honor of collaborating with you in the future, and so on."
"Reply with a 'thank you' on my behalf."
"Understood," the assistant responded, then hesitantly asked, "And... should we follow her back?"
After all, she was also a well-known figure, and the topic was still trending, but knowing this man's temperament, he had deliberately sought instructions.
"No need."