Chapter 210: His Joy
Chapter 210: Chapter 210: His Joy
Ever so thoughtful and meticulous, Nan Yi scooped up a spoonful of scalding porridge and gently blew on it a couple of times.
His cheeks puffed out like a little blowfish, which was absolutely adorable.
Watching him, Nan Zhi’s heart swelled with affection, her gaze becoming unbelievably soft.
Even the bland, undercooked vegetable porridge in front of her suddenly seemed infinitely delicious.
But before she took a bite, she instinctively glanced at the people around them.
Fu Chao and the others hadn’t left.
More than a dozen people were crowded into the small hospital room, making the air feel thin.
Even though she had already experienced being watched by hundreds of thousands of people during a livestream.
But there was a world of difference between being watched online and in person.
Nan Zhi chose her words carefully.
But Lu Shixu noticed her discomfort and beat her to it, speaking in a cold tone:
"The doctor said she needs quiet rest."
It wasn’t hard to guess who he was talking about, or who he was talking to.
Most of the people in the room were staff. Since the one who spoke was Mr. Lu, Xu Lin didn’t dare hesitate for a second. He nodded quickly.
"Then we’ll go out to the hallway. Nan Zhi, you focus on getting better. I’ll take care of the livestream."
Nan Zhi thanked him.
Once the dozen or so people left, the whole room felt spacious and quiet.
Fu Chao and the others, however, didn’t leave.
But she was closer to them, so she felt more at ease. As she began to eat the porridge Nan Yi was feeding her, she naturally invited Fu Chao and the others to share the breakfast.
Lu Shixu’s eyes narrowed slightly, a subtle hint of displeasure in them.
Fu Chao saw it.
"...Ooh! In that case, I’ll have the scallion pancake! It smells delicious!"
Fu Chao shot to his feet, took a dramatic sniff, and snatched the scallion pancake.
At the same time, he didn’t forget to pass the extra food on the little table to Xie Yu, Qi Pei’er, and the kids.
Of course, he only shared it after asking if Nan Zhi wanted any.
How could Lu Shixu not see that Fu Chao was deliberately provoking him?
He lifted his gaze, a mocking glint in his eyes.
But then his gaze drifted uncontrollably to Xie Yu.
When it came to anything involving Nan Zhi, Lu Shixu always lost his usual coldness and became much more perceptive.
So it wasn’t hard for Lu Shixu to detect the faint, barely perceptible romantic feelings the man harbored.
An eyesore.
Combined with the gleefully provocative Fu Chao, he was the ultimate eyesore.
Lu Shixu’s brow twitched as he struggled to suppress his irritation.
He put on an act of nonchalance and generosity:
"Help yourself."
Fu Chao scoffed. ’Hah! I knew you were secretly fuming!’
Fu Chao took a huge, satisfying bite of the scallion pancake, his mood instantly brightening.
However, Fu Chao and the others didn’t stay for long.
Nan Zhi could rest, but their livestream had to continue.
Besides, based on the roles they’d drawn for the show, a ton of tasks awaited them back in the village.
As they were leaving, Fu Chao was tempted to drag Lu Shixu along with them.
But he had to admit that with Lu Shixu standing guard, he didn’t have to worry about Nan Zhi getting her rest. Lu Shixu would undoubtedly arrange everything for her perfectly.
Shaking his head, he abandoned the thought. As Fu Chao walked out of the town hospital, he noticed Xie Yu beside him, his expression dark and unreadable.
So Fu Chao just came right out and asked:
"Are you worried about their relationship? Don’t worry, the two of them are definitely not dating!"
At first, he had indeed guessed their relationship wrong.
But he quickly realized that, judging by Nan Zhi’s attitude alone, there was no way they were a couple!
So, Fu Chao’s words were also a blatant hint—
’That’s right! Xie Yu, you still have a chance!’
Xie Yu suddenly said:
"But she’s different with him."
Fu Chao didn’t get it at first:
"He’s different with her? You mean Lu Shixu with Nan Zhi? Well, yeah, he is. Everyone says he’s as desireless as an immortal who’s achieved enlightenment, so who would’ve thought he’d have such good taste and set his sights on our Zhizhi..."
"No. I mean Nan Zhi is different with him," Xie Yu said slowly.
Now Fu Chao was even more confused.
"Is she? How is she different? How come I didn’t see it?"
Xie Yu silently shook his head.
’Some things don’t need words. You can see them in a person’s eyes.’
Xie Yu was known as a genius director with outstanding creativity, and his intuition in this area was more developed than an ordinary person’s.
So, just from that one glance earlier, Xie Yu had seen the difference—
It wasn’t just that she was "different." When Nan Zhi looked at Mr. Lu, her eyes held so much more: intimacy and coldness, playfulness and distance... The more contradictory the emotions, the deeper they ran.
But Xie Yu hadn’t expected Fu Chao to be so dense.
’Then again, considering Fu Chao’s acting career, it sort of made sense.’
"I seem to recall your romance films doing terribly at the box office?"
Xie Yu’s tone held an "ah, that explains it" sort of realization.
Though Fu Chao was an award-winning actor, his career hadn’t been a perfectly smooth ride without any setbacks.
He’d starred in many films and television series, but the handful of romance movies among them were the Waterloo of his career.
One sharp-tongued critic had written a scathing review, proclaiming that his "eyes were vacant; he looked at his love interest as if she were a block of wood—he showed more affection to his own dog." The quote became an industry-wide joke, a humiliation that hadn’t faded to this day.
So, dense as he was, even Fu Chao could put two and two together.
"Why do I get the feeling you’re insulting me?"
Xie Yu thought, ’You’re not wrong.’
But he didn’t say it out loud and simply walked away.
Fu Chao grew more and more puzzled, finally dragging the reluctant Qing Xi along with him as he left.
「In the hospital room.」
The old woman in the neighboring bed watched as the room was suddenly filled with bouquets of flowers and fruit baskets.
The town was remote and supplies were limited, so the fact that Nan Zhi’s visitors had managed to scrounge up so many beautiful flowers and rare fruits showed how much they truly cared.
Even the old woman was envious.
"You have so many relatives, and they’re so good to you!"
Nan Zhi was at a loss for words.
Not wanting to complicate things, she didn’t bother explaining, simply telling Nan Yi to take some fruit over to the old woman.
Nan Yi was very generous, especially since the old woman had given him an apple earlier.
It’s like they say in the classics: repay an apple with bananas, pears, durian, and cantaloupe...
"Oh my, that’s enough, that’s enough! This is more than I can eat!"
Though the old woman was protesting, she was grinning from ear to ear.
It wasn’t that she felt she was taking advantage; she was simply happy that her small act of kindness had been met with such a grand gesture in return.
This made the old woman shower Nan Zhi and Nan Yi with another round of praise.
She also didn’t forget to include Lu Shixu, who had stepped out to wash a cup.
Nan Zhi listened as the old woman once again mistook Lu Shixu for her husband, gushing about how well he treated her and what a rare find he was among men.
Nan Zhi tried to explain again, but the old woman gave her a look that said, "Don’t you try to fool me, I know what’s what," and refused to listen.
Resigned, Nan Zhi had no choice but to let the misunderstanding continue.
They chatted on and off, so the time in the hospital room wasn’t too boring.
But Nan Zhi didn’t know—
While they were talking, Lu Shixu was standing in the hallway right outside the door and had heard everything.
He leaned against the wall, his eyes downcast, but he couldn’t hide his joy.
’So... she didn’t deny it.’