Fierce or Kiss? Part 1

Qin Fan was lying in a single patient room in the hospital, her knee tightly bandaged, receiving an IV drip.

Her slender, pale, and frail wrist dangled by the bedside, the clear medicinal fluid slowly flowing along a delicate blue vein, so quiet that her breathing was almost inaudible.

Jiang Rong lowered her voice to discuss Qin Fan's recovery time with Pei Feng.

Thinking about how Qin Fan's knee was injured, although the bone wasn't hurt, an injury in that spot was difficult to heal. Pei Feng generously decided: "Then let's have her rest for half a month."

When Qin Fan woke up, she vaguely heard them whispering and discussing over by the sofa. She propped herself up with her arms and sat up. "I don't need that long. It's just a flesh wound, three days will be enough."

She couldn't be overly delicate and hold back the film crew.

Jiang Rong looked at her disapprovingly. "No."

"My skin is thin, so it just looks serious. Really, I'll be fine after resting for three days." Faced with Sister Jiang's worry, Qin Fan gave her an ingratiating smile.

Then she looked at Pei Feng. "Director Pei, can you find the cause in three days?"

Pei Feng's face immediately turned serious. "Yes!"

With no outsiders around, he felt no burden in how he addressed Qin Fan. "Sister-in-law, don't worry, I will definitely give you and Brother Xie an explanation."

Pei Feng thought about the video he had sent to Xie Yanli. He hadn't received a reply since sending it and didn't know if he had seen it.

Such a beautiful, delicate, and pitiable fairy wife—if he could still be engrossed in work and not come to see her, it would be solid proof that he was a heartless, passionless man of stone.

Qin Fan lowered her eyelashes, not saying there was no need for an explanation to Xie Yanli, only replying, "Okay, thank you for the trouble."

"No trouble, after all, sister-in-law pays well." Pei Feng's fox-like eyes curved into a smile. "Well then, get some rest. I'll be leaving now."

Jiang Rong watched as Qin Fan and Pei Feng settled on the length of her break in just a few sentences, staring blankly, unable to do anything.

It wasn't until after she saw Pei Feng out that Jiang Rong sat down by her bed. "You, you, you're really going to be the death of me."

Looking at the knee that was bandaged up like a steamed bun, she said, "Still trying to be tough when you're like this."

Qin Fan held out her palm to Jiang Rong, righteously demanding, "Sister Jiang, this pitiful patient wants to play on her phone."

As Jiang Rong handed over the phone, she glanced at her side profile and said, "Don't you need to tell your husband about your injury?"

"President Xie is very busy. He only has time to sleep with his wife, no time to care if she lives or dies." Qin Fan's originally red lips had turned a pale cherry blossom pink due to the pain, but the words that flowed from those beautiful lips were mercilessly sharp.

Jiang Rong thought of President Xie's usual style and fell silent.

Seeing that Qin Fan's expression was off, she decisively changed the subject, pointing to the Weibo trending topics on the screen. "Based on my experience, this stuff online looks more like that socialite named Cheng is the one chasing after him."

"Her methods are quite high-level. The netizens are being used as pawns and are still happily shipping them."

Qin Fan's mind was very clear. From beginning to end, Cheng Xi had only posted one photo of Buddhist prayer beads and hadn't mentioned Xie Yanli's name at all, yet she had somehow managed to establish that their relationship was anything but ordinary.

Jiang Rong said thoughtfully, "Right now, the only way to clarify that President Xie has no relationship with her is for President Xie to post a clarification on Weibo himself."

Otherwise, whether they removed the trending topics or silenced the netizens, it would only make everyone more convinced of their relationship.

So, here came the problem.

Would President Xie personally post a clarification on Weibo?

Meeting Jiang Rong's obvious gaze, Qin Fan's nearly transparent fingertips tapped the edge of her phone, and then she dealt her a heavy blow: "Oh, President Xie doesn't have a Weibo account."

Jiang Rong: "..."

Qin Fan continued, "Besides, for all we know, she really might be his White Moonlight."

Jiang Rong: "..." A second critical hit.

She was rendered speechless.

Suddenly, there were three knocks on the door of the hospital room.

Jiang Rong stood up. "That should be Xiao Tu. I'll get the door."

She said casually, "When did she become so polite, actually knocking on the door properly?"

Qin Fan was just scrolling to Cheng Xi's Weibo post. Her fingertips paused for two seconds before she prepared to scroll down further.

The next moment.

She suddenly heard Sister Jiang's exclamation from outside: "President Xie!"

"You, why are you here?"

The President Xie who 'only has time to sleep with his wife' had arrived!!!

Didn't this little ancestor Qin Fan confidently say that her husband had no time to care about his wife? That he wouldn't even contact her? Yet here he was, right at the door of her room.

Jiang Rong tilted her head up, and what met her eyes was the man's handsome and cool face. The buttons of his shirt were meticulously fastened to the very top of his neck, making him look refined and proper, but his ink-black eyes held not a shred of emotion.

The sight made Jiang Rong feel a bit guilty, as she had failed to protect his wife.

Xie Yanli gave a calm "mn" and walked past Jiang Rong into the room.

Jiang Rong quickly prepared to follow, her heart in a bit of a panic. 'What does Boss Xie mean by that look? Could it be that he'll make Qin Fan quit the entertainment industry in the future?'

Although Boss Xie hadn't said a word, the more Jiang Rong thought about it, the more she felt it was a strong possibility.

Seeing Jiang Rong turn, Secretary Wen extended an arm to block her, his tone very polite. "Manager Jiang, there's a small matter I'd like to consult you about."

"It's regarding Madam."

Jiang Rong could only watch helplessly as the door to the hospital room was closed by two bodyguards in black, who then stood guard, blocking everything inside from view.

By the time she was led away by Secretary Wen, she hadn't seen a single other person on the entire floor, which only filled her with more question marks.

???

What was going on?

In an instant, she had gone from ordinary secular life to a scene from a drama about a wealthy family. Did one need bodyguards for protection even when staying in the hospital?

Was this the kind of treatment Fairy Fan received as Mrs. Xie? Had she been too casual with this ancestor from a prestigious family? Maybe she should apply to the company for a few bodyguards for Qin Fan in the future.

Qin Fan had subconsciously looked up when she heard Jiang Rong's exclamation.

When her peripheral vision caught sight of the Buddhist prayer beads on the screen, her movements froze.

Then, she turned off the phone screen, lay back down on the bed, and pulled the covers over herself.

Although the series of actions was slow, it was completed before Xie Yanli reached the bedside.

Xie Yanli clearly saw her silent rejection.

Thinking of the management meeting he had ended early, Xie Yanli's eyes darkened as he stood by the bed, looking down at her back wrapped in the quilt.

After learning about the raging rumors online, Xie Yanli had, for the first time, lost focus during a meeting to send her a message, only to find he had been blocked again.

Until that video from Pei Feng arrived.

Xie Yanli saw her on the screen, crying her heart out over the trending topics on her phone. Pei Feng said she had been accidentally injured and then saw his romantic scandal online, so he had, like a foolish king, ended the meeting early.

With one hand, he loosened the tie that constricted his throat and made his breathing heavy. Xie Yanli's eyes were deeply hooded; this was an act of irrationality he had never anticipated.

The man's long, fair fingers fiddled with the IV tube.

A clear, magnetic voice rang out in the quiet hospital room: "Crying in secret?"

"Who's crying in secret!" Qin Fan threw off the covers, her pair of clear peach blossom eyes glaring at him coldly.

"Your eyes are red." Xie Yanli nonchalantly caressed the outer corner of her eye, his voice lowering a few degrees. "Let me see the wound."

Xie Yanli had already learned about her injuries from the doctor.

Ignoring Qin Fan's resistance, he lifted her fragile, slender knee, which was wrapped in gauze.

Qin Fan felt the gentle and careful force under her knee. Her fingertips paused for a moment, her red lips pressed tightly together, and she stopped pushing him.

But her chattering mouth had no intention of letting him off. "President Xie must be managing a thousand things a day, yet you still have time to visit me, your future ex-wife who is about to be cast aside. I am truly, deeply moved."

Seeing she had so much spirit, Xie Yanli, after checking her knee, re-wrapped the gauze.

His voice was light yet serious. "Mrs. Xie, the Xie family does not permit divorce."

"Oh, no divorce, just changing to a new Mrs. Xie." Qin Fan sneered, her red lips parting slightly as sarcastic words flowed out. "After all, there are plenty of people who want to compete for the position of Mrs. Xie. A monthly salary of tens of millions, with occasional bonuses over a hundred million."

How could Xie Yanli not understand what she meant? He didn't sit on the stool Jiang Rong had sat on before, but instead sat beside Qin Fan, reaching out to half-embrace her, lifting her from the bed so they could lean against the headboard together.

His voice was unhurried. "If you don't like me having scandals, then from now on, no news about me will ever appear on the internet."

These words, which were almost a concession, did nothing to make Qin Fan happy.

Her fair, beautiful face became even more indifferent. "Oh, suit yourself."

The slender body leaning in his arms remained stiff, a silent rebuttal.