Lu Xi was holding her phone, engrossed in a drama—one of Yang Yihan’s old shows.
The scene on the screen depicted the long-awaited reunion of the main characters, who had been separated due to a tragic human-caused disaster. Yet, after all those years, they had changed beyond recognition, leaving them unable to speak a word and parting once again with regret. Lu Xi was deeply moved, her nose tingling with emotion.
Suddenly, she heard some movement beside her. She immediately turned her head and saw Xie Heng’s eyes fluttering open as he mumbled something.
Was he awake?
Lu Xi didn’t catch what he said at first, so she leaned in closer to check on him.
As she did, the phone screen tilted toward Xie Heng, allowing him to see the scene playing out on it. His eyes widened in disbelief.
“…You’re watching a drama?” Xie Heng suddenly felt like coughing up blood.
She! Was! Too! Much!
He had thought she was crying out of concern for him. It had even made him accidentally call her… But it turned out she was crying over one of her melodramatic shows?!
Xie Heng’s little heart turned ice cold.
Was he some stray kid she and Old Xie picked up off the street back then?!
Seeing that he was fully awake and speaking clearly, Lu Xi nodded and was about to call the nurse. Unexpectedly, the boy shot her a resentful glare and grumbled, “I thought you were worried about me, but it turns out I was just overthinking it.”
Lu Xi was momentarily stunned.
She glanced down at her phone, suddenly feeling a little guilty. She quickly locked the screen and innocently said, “I was worried about you! But since you’re fine now, I just got… a little bored.”
Xie Heng let out a weak humph. Without his usual arrogant demeanor, he somehow looked a bit soft and adorable.
An explanation is just an excuse. And an excuse is just a made-up story!
Lu Xi belatedly realized something and blinked at him. “Xiao Heng, what did you just call me?”
Xie Heng’s face instantly flushed red, his ears practically burning. He regretted it so much. He opened his mouth to explain but, after struggling for a moment, could only force out, “You misheard! I didn’t call you anything!”
Then he immediately shut his eyes tightly, pretending not to hear her no matter how many times she called his name.
Lu Xi chuckled helplessly.
Had no one ever told him that when pretending to be asleep, one’s eyelids shouldn’t twitch so much? It was way too obvious.
She decided not to expose him. Instead, she gently patted his blanket and lowered her voice. “I’m not lying. I was really worried about you just now. I even cried. If you don’t believe me, you can ask your Dad.”
Xie Heng peeked through a tiny slit in his eyelids.
…Really?
She looked completely serious, not like she was lying. Plus, he was still lying in a hospital bed. She was an adult—there was no reason for her to lie to him at a time like this.
Only then did Xie Heng open his eyes and, as if nothing had happened, purse his lips. “Alright then, I’ll forgive you for now.”
Lu Xi squinted at him with a smile.
Considering that Xie Heng had just undergone surgery and needed proper rest to keep his mood stable, she resisted the urge to tease him further.
Even though it was a minor procedure, if she annoyed him too much and he ended up reopening his wound, he’d suffer for it.
Still…
Lu Xi turned away, unable to suppress a sly grin. Thinking about the way he had just sleepily and softly called out to her, she felt as if warm water had melted her heart. She felt overwhelmed with joy and somewhat emotional.
She wanted… to hear him say it again.
But now wasn’t the time. There would be plenty of chances in the future.
Xie Heng was still too shy, as his ears were still red.
Lu Xi pressed the call button, and soon, a doctor and nurses arrived. After checking Xie Heng’s condition, they assured that there was nothing serious.
The doctor said, “He’ll need to stay in the hospital for at least seven days for observation. For the first few days, he can only have liquid food.”
Lu Xi nodded. “Got it. We, as his guardians, will take care of it.”
The doctor, a middle-aged man who had performed Xie Heng’s surgery, had been in the operating room earlier and hadn’t seen Lu Xi sign the paperwork. Now, seeing her by the patient’s side, he assumed she was Xie Heng’s older sister. But when he heard her refer to herself as a guardian, he hesitated and asked, “You are…?”
Lu Xi glanced at Xie Heng before calmly introducing herself. “I’m his mother.”
The doctor’s confusion deepened.
But after a moment, he seemed to understand the situation and didn’t press further. He simply gave a few more instructions before leaving with the nurses.
It was now close to 5 p.m.
The hospital room returned to silence.
The effects of the anesthesia had worn off completely, and Xie Heng could feel a dull pain in his lower abdomen where the surgery had been done. When the doctor had checked his wound earlier, he had taken a quick look himself. There was nothing major, but since Lu Xi had been watching, he had felt a little embarrassed.
“Oh, right. You should rest. I’ll call your Dad to see when he’ll be here,” Lu Xi suddenly said.
Xie Heng paused. “My Dad’s coming?”
Yesterday, he remembered the butler mentioning that his Dad was leaving for a business trip today.
Lu Xi raised an eyebrow, as if he had just asked something foolish. “Of course. You’re sick. He’s your father, why wouldn’t he come?”
Xie Heng let out a small ‘heh’ and mumbled, “I’ve been sick and injured before, and he never made a special trip to see me.”
“…”
Lu Xi found it both amusing and exasperating. He was already sixteen, yet he was still acting so clingy? Clearing her throat, she said, “That’s because you never had surgery before. Otherwise, he definitely would’ve come.”
Xie Heng wanted to say that he didn’t care. But when he looked at Lu Xi, the words got stuck in his throat.
Honestly… if his Dad was coming, then so be it.
It wasn’t like he was going to refuse.
Lu Xi stepped out of the hospital room to make the call.
She knew Xie Yizhao had gone on a business trip. He had left for an important negotiation regarding a contract he had explained to her before, one that she had only half understood. It was a major international collaboration for the Xie Corporation in the coming year.
This morning, when Lu Xi received a call from the teacher, the teacher didn’t explain the situation clearly, which startled her. She immediately called Xie Yizhao and told him that something had happened to Xie Heng. Upon hearing this, his tone became tense as well, but he wasn’t as panicked as she was. Instead, he spoke steadily, reassuring her.
“I’ll come back as soon as I can,” Xie Yizhao said.
Later, when Lu Xi rushed to the hospital, she learned that it was appendicitis and that Xie Heng had already been taken to the operating room. Only then did she feel relieved.
She quickly updated Xie Yizhao so that he wouldn’t worry too much.
There had been too much going on earlier, so she hadn’t had time to explain everything. Now that Xie Heng was awake and out of danger, she planned to call Xie Yizhao to let him know all was well, so he wouldn’t have to rush back, and that coming back tomorrow would be fine.
Just as she stepped out of the ward, she saw two teenage boys approaching.
It was Xu Jiaming and Song Siyang.
She wasn’t surprised to see them at all. Smiling, she said, “I knew you two would come. Xiao Heng is awake, you can go in and see him.”
Xu Jiaming responded with a simple hum, “We came right after our exams. How is he?”
Before Lu Xi could answer, Song Siyang blurted out, “He’s definitely fine! It’s just appendicitis. With my Brother Heng’s physique, he’ll be back to normal in a few days.”
Lu Xi was speechless. The more she looked at this jokester, the more she felt he was an absolute fanboy of Xie Heng.
The kind who unconditionally believed ‘My Brother Heng is always right’ and ‘My Brother Heng is the best at everything.’
It was a little silly, but also kind of cute. After all, he genuinely cared about Xie Heng.
As for Xu Jiaming, there was no need to say much. He was the model student, the kind other parents wished their children could be. Even Yang Yihan had mentioned that he had never been a source of worry for his family. His grades, personality, everything was steady. Even his parents’ divorce hadn’t seemed to affect him.
Recently, Xie Heng had been behaving better, and Lu Xi wondered if it was influenced by Xu Jiaming.
But today, for some reason, he had gotten into another fight.
Lu Xi frowned slightly.
Song Siyang pushed open the ward door, and Xu Jiaming followed behind him, about to enter.
“Xiao Xu.”
Xu Jiaming suddenly heard Lu Xi call him. He turned back and looked at her quietly. “What’s up?”
Lu Xi asked, “Do you know who Xie Heng fought with today? And why?”
The boy’s gaze flickered briefly. He looked at the faint redness at the corners of her eyes, then shook his head apologetically and said in a gentle voice, “I’m not sure yet, but it shouldn’t be someone from our school.”
“I see… Alright, go on in.”
Lu Xi didn’t press further.
The main issue today was the acute appendicitis. Whether or not Xie Heng had fought, the appendicitis would have flared up sooner or later. The doctor had already treated his external injuries, his face and hands were fine.
With the two boys there, the hospital room instantly became livelier. And with Song Siyang around, there was never a dull moment.
Before long, three teachers from school arrived.
Lu Xi recognized Xie Heng’s homeroom teacher and Teacher Mo Qing. The last one was a young woman dressed in professional attire, exuding a sharp and commanding presence. She was the academic director
They brought flowers and fruit. Seeing that Xie Heng was alright, they were partially relieved.
Although it was just acute appendicitis, it had happened during an exam at school. If something serious had happened to Young Master Xie, they feared Xie Yizhao might hold the school accountable.
After exchanging a few pleasantries with Lu Xi, they reassured Xie Heng to focus on recovering and return to school once he was well.
The homeroom teacher, probably forgetting who was lying in the hospital bed, slipped up. With a serious tone, he said, “Don’t worry about missing classes. I’ll have the class monitor take notes and send them to you.”
As soon as he said that, he froze for a moment. The expressions of everyone in the room shifted slightly.
Xie Heng’s lips twitched.
He was speechless.
Did the teacher even hear himself? Had his brain gotten stuck in a door or something?
Did he really think Xie Heng was the type to worry about missing classes?
The homeroom teacher suddenly felt nervous. He sneaked a glance at Lu Xi, worried that Lu Xi might think she was being sarcastic.
But Lu Xi wasn’t angry at all. She kept a gentle smile on her face. The last time she met this teacher was during the Ruan Tian incident, and the teacher had defended Xie Heng then. Their previous interactions in the group chat had also been pleasant, so she didn’t overthink it.
“That’s great. Thank you for caring about my child’s education,” Lu Xi said with a smile.
The homeroom teacher forced an awkward smile.
Now, he felt like Mrs. Xie was the one being sarcastic.
Sensing the subtle shift in atmosphere, Xu Jiaming spoke at the right moment. “Teacher, no need to trouble the class monitor. I’ll organize the notes for Xie Heng.”
The homeroom teacher nodded. He had noticed that Xu Jiaming and Xie Heng had been getting closer lately. “That’s very kind of you, Student Xu.”
“It’s no trouble,” Xu Jiaming replied, glancing at Xie Heng, who was subtly giving him a look. He ignored it and instead turned his gaze briefly toward Lu Xi. Then, in a calm tone, he said, “There’s something else I’d like to discuss with the Teachers.”
“Go ahead.”
Xu Jiaming said evenly, “Xie Heng missed the afternoon exam because he was sick. Would it be possible for him to take a makeup test?”
He added quickly, “We didn’t give him any answers in advance, don’t worry.”
The academic director hesitated.
It wasn’t that she suspected anyone would leak the exam questions to Xie Heng. It was just that… She looked at Xie Heng, deep confusion behind her glasses. “What about you, Student Xie? Do you want to take the makeup exam?”
Xie Heng frowned in distress.
So annoying…
With so many people in the room, how was he supposed to say it out loud? It would make him seem like he actually cared about school.
So embarrassing.
At that moment, Song Siyang slapped his thigh and jumped in to say, “He wants to! He really wants to! Teacher, let me tell you, this exam is super important for my Brother Heng. Please, just help him out.”
Xie Heng : “…”
He really wanted Song Siyang to shut up.