Care

But her decisive manner and icy personality made it impossible for anyone to harbor such irreverent feelings toward her!

She was the city's famous female CEO, and Song Mu's mother—Ye Mingyan!

Just moments ago, the company had signed a partnership deal with a renowned corporation!

The whole company was celebrating.

Even the normally cold Ye Mingyan couldn't help letting a faint smile tug at her lips.

Her smile was breathtaking, and for a moment, it was as if time had stopped in the conference room!

As long as nothing went wrong...

Once they completed the deal, there was no doubt the company's market value would reach new heights!

But just then,

Ye Mingyan's phone began buzzing.

Notifications from all kinds of social media platforms were pouring in.

A news story had already shot to the top of every trending list!

When Ye Mingyan saw the headline, she nearly passed out!

"Famous female CEO Ye Mingyan failed to raise her son properly! Her son, Song Mu, is a tyrant who brazenly plotted against a classmate at school!"

Clearly, Ye Mingyan wasn't the only one who had seen the news.

Every company member in the conference room turned toward Ye Mingyan with questioning looks.

The CEO's son had gotten into trouble, and news like this could seriously damage the company's reputation!

Sure enough, not long after the story appeared, the corporation sent a message saying it was considering canceling the deal!

Ye Mingyan was shaking with rage. Her slender fingers gripped her phone so tightly her knuckles had gone white, as if she were gripping Song Mu's throat instead!

Ye Mingyan had never liked her good-for-nothing son. If he'd just behaved like a rich kid and spent every day eating, drinking, and waiting to die, she could have let it go.

But he just had to cause trouble for her!

Ye Mingyan hurriedly called Song Mu, but that little brat wouldn't answer. In the end, he even turned off his phone!

Ye Mingyan's expression grew colder and colder. Anyone who knew her understood that the angrier she got, the calmer she appeared!

After going through quite a bit of trouble, Ye Mingyan finally got in touch with Song Mu through Captain Zhao...

On the other end of the call, Song Mu's legs nearly gave out.

Ye Mingyan had never reached out to him before. Now she wasn't just calling—she'd answered in a furious tone.

Song Mu knew he'd really messed up this time!

"Song Mu, look at you! You're trending now. What are you trying to do, become a celebrity?!"

"Trending?"

Song Mu froze for a second, then one of his underlings quickly brought him a phone.

When Song Mu saw the trending headline, his face turned pale!

He suddenly realized that he'd been so focused on Lin Che that he'd overlooked someone else in the classroom!

"Luo Xue!"

Song Mu pointed at Luo Xue with a trembling finger.

Luo Xue simply raised the phone in her hand.

At last, a smile appeared on her cute, delicate face!

Lin Che had prepared for both possibilities from the very beginning!

He'd not only contacted the school's security department.

He'd also asked Luo Xue to secretly take photos and post them.

Luo Xue was active on Little Red Book as well as in the cosplay community. She uploaded the pictures to the internet, and the incident quickly blew up across social media!

Scandals involving rich people always attracted traffic!

Before long, it had shot straight to the top of the trending list!

"Song Mu, do you have any idea how much this will cost the company in market value?"

"The longer this stays trending, the worse it'll be for the company!"

"Go apologize to them right now and ask them to take the post down!"

Ye Mingyan's alluring voice brimmed with anger over the phone. Song Mu felt as if he were facing a lion that could tear him to pieces at any moment!

But apologizing...

Song Mu looked at Lin Che in front of him. He'd just cut Lin Che's arm. The wound wasn't deep, but the blood running down it made it look terrifying.

If he said he was sorry now, would Lin Che forgive him?

Even an idiot could see the answer was no!

"Mom, but I didn't just hit him—I also pulled a knife on him..."

Song Mu gritted his teeth and finally decided to tell the truth.

Silence fell on the other end of the call.

Silence was often the calm before the storm.

In the stillness, Song Mu began to feel a chill creeping over him.

After a long while, Ye Mingyan finally spoke again.

"You little beast... I'll come apologize in person..."

The call ended. The arrogance vanished from Song Mu's face. Just thinking about that woman made him shudder!

"Young Master Song, are we still beating him up?"

The punks hadn't heard what was said on the call. They could only see Song Mu's face shifting through a variety of expressions—now ingratiating, now terrified, now furious...

They couldn't tell what their boss wanted, so they kept holding Lin Che in place.

"Beat him? Beat you over the head!"

Song Mu went berserk and slapped every punk holding Lin Che.

"Let go of Lin Che—no, wait! Let my bro Lin go!"

Song Mu's attitude had done a complete 180.

He'd angered Ye Mingyan, and now Lin Che was the only one who could save him!

"Go get my Porsche! We're taking my bro Lin to the hospital right now!"

Song Mu knew a top-notch private hospital.

The nurses there all wore tight, very short pink skirts with white thigh-high stockings.

Their intimate examinations every day were enough to make anyone's thoughts wander.

As long as Lin Che went with him, Song Mu was confident he could make him lose himself in comfort.

"Heh."

But Lin Che only gave a cold laugh.

Of course he knew how badly the trending story would affect their company.

Now Song Mu would have to rack his brains to win him over.

He'd be begging Lin Che to take down the post, or even to publish a "clarification" statement.

But...

Lin Che wasn't about to let Song Mu off that easily.

He'd heard all about it...

Song Mu's mother was a famous female CEO in this city!

Pain throbbed from the wound on Lin Che's arm, but the slight sting made his heart pound.

A thrilling sense of facing a challenge swept through him!

Song Mu... Why not let your mother pay for the mistake you made?

Lin Che had gone dark!

He refused Song Mu and headed straight for the exit.

There was no way he'd go with Song Mu to some so-called private hospital.

That was their home turf.

Lin Che was going to keep the initiative firmly in his own hands!

Taking Care

At the hospital.

"It's only a cut on the skin. There's no need to stay in the hospital, is there...?"

Lin Che looked helplessly at Gu Yilan and Luo Xue.

As soon as Gu Yilan heard Lin Che had been hurt, she rushed to the hospital.

His arm was only cut. They just needed to disinfect it, apply some medicine, and wrap it in gauze. But Gu Yilan and Luo Xue insisted on dragging him through a whole battery of tests.

When Luo Xue took out her money to pay, even the nurse couldn't help wondering—who in their right mind spent money like that?!

And now Lin Che was lying in a hospital bed in the inpatient ward.

Luo Xue had arranged for him to be admitted, saying it would make it easier to change his dressing.

"Lin Che got hurt saving me. I'll stay and look after him tonight... His hand won't be much use..."

Luo Xue twisted her fingers together behind her back.

She'd had her own little scheme in mind when she arranged for Lin Che to be admitted.

With one hand wrapped in gauze, Lin Che would have trouble doing all sorts of things. Then she could deliberately put on a gentle act and take care of him.

Lin Che would think she was a delicate little fairy who'd never lifted a finger around the house!

That contrast would leave him completely bewildered, wouldn't it?

Then she could use hypnosis to brainwash him. Sooner or later, Lin Che would be hers!

"Luo Xue? You... You're willing to stay and look after Lin Che?"

Gu Yilan opened her beautiful eyes wide and stared at her best friend.

Luo Xue and Lin Che had never gotten along.

Why was Luo Xue volunteering to stay and take care of him today?

"He saved me today and got hurt because of it. I feel bad... Little Yilan, don't get the wrong idea. There's nothing going on between Lin Che and me!"

"Mm-hmm, I know. I'm happy that you and Lin Che are getting along better, Xiao Xue!"

Because Luo Xue was there, Gu Yilan didn't dare make her relationship with Lin Che public.

Gu Yilan could just imagine how Luo Xue would lecture her with the kind of advice she picked up on Little Red Book if she told her about her relationship with Lin Che!

So...

If this gave Luo Xue and Lin Che a chance to improve their relationship and get along, that would be a good thing for Gu Yilan, too!

"Well... I'll leave Lin Che in your hands!"

"Leave it to me..."

Gu Yilan winked at Lin Che, then left the hospital room.

Only Luo Xue and Lin Che remained in the room.

The pure white hospital room smelled of disinfectant. Outside the window, the distant wail of an ambulance siren could just barely be heard.