The moment he heard this, Ning Zhizhong’s expression soured: “His broken ribs have nothing to do with us. My daughter merely bumped his forehead by accident; she didn’t touch his ribs at all.”

The doctor remained silent. Only then did Ning Yuncheng open his eyes, his handsome face clouded with gloom: “It has nothing to do with you. This is my own affair.” With that, Ning Yuncheng picked up his phone and began dialing. Just as the impatient voice of Gu Yingyu crackled on the other end, she had already rolled her eyes and hung up.

“Damn it!” Ning Yuncheng was about to throw the phone, but he immediately recalled his current predicament and forced himself to put it down. He then said to Ning Zhizhong and the others, “Thank you for bringing me to the hospital. Could you advance the cost for setting the bones for now? I’ll contact my parents later and repay you.” Hearing this, a gentle smile spread across Ning Lianlian’s face. Just as Ning Zhizhong was about to refuse, she readily agreed, “Of course! But what is your name?”

The doctor standing nearby also nodded, “We need your ID card to process the admission procedures.”

Ning Yuncheng took out his ID card. Ning Lianlian casually took it and exclaimed with pleasant surprise, “Oh, what a coincidence! I didn’t realize you were also named Ning.” Only then did Ning Yuncheng look up with some astonishment at the girl who had broken his face by kicking a stone. He noticed she was very young, with a healthy blush on her smooth, soft cheeks, exuding a vitality that Gu Yingxi lacked.

Thinking of Gu Yingxi, a tearing pain gripped Ning Yuncheng’s heart. He had sacrificed so much for her, yet now that he was in the hospital, she hadn’t even come to see him. He wondered if Gu Yingyu had even told her about his hospitalization. If she knew and still refused to visit, a trace of resentment involuntarily surfaced in Ning Yuncheng.

“Yes, my surname is Ning too. Is yours also Ning?”

There were certainly others named Ning in the world, but meeting like this felt too coincidental. Ning Zhizhong abandoned his previous impatience and carefully inquired, “Your surname is Ning? Do you happen to know the Ning family who lives in the Purple Garden on the east side of the capital?” Upon hearing the location of Madam Ning’s residence, Ning Yuncheng’s eyes widened: “That’s my parents’ home. Who are you people?”

Once their connections aligned, Ning Zhizhong’s eyes lit up, and his heart warmed: “Could my cousin-in-law be your mother? It seems the Dragon King’s temple was flooded—we never expected such a coincidence today! Thank goodness Lianlian bumped into you, otherwise, we’d never have known we were all family.” With that, he proceeded to explain his own identity. He had initially worried that a young master from a distinguished family like Ning Yuncheng would be reluctant to acknowledge such a relative. Unexpectedly, perhaps because Ning Lianlian was the one who had bumped into him, Ning Yuncheng was even more enthusiastic than Ning Zhizhong had imagined, instantly accepting him as his convenient paternal uncle.

Ning Yuncheng hadn’t expected to find a relative so easily. His life was already miserable enough. This time, Father Ning seemed resolute, not even answering his calls. He had waited outside their complex for two days without sighting Father Ning. He couldn’t help but ask Ning Zhizhong, “Uncle, do you know what my father has been busy with lately? Why won’t he even answer my calls?”

Ning Yuncheng’s unquestioning acceptance of him as a relative surprised Ning Zhizhong, but now, when Ning Yuncheng asked about his father, Ning Zhizhong began to doubt him: “What? You don’t know your father has passed away?” Not even knowing his own father was dead made Ning Zhizhong suspect whether Ning Yuncheng was truly the son of the Ning family. Otherwise, how could he have visited Madam Ning these past two days without ever seeing Ning Yuncheng? Moreover, Ning Zhizhong had been too overjoyed initially and hadn't considered the other details. Now, looking at Ning Yuncheng in his tattered clothes, he showed none of the bearing of the Ning family’s young master.

Suspecting he might be getting swindled, Ning Zhizhong’s expression turned cold: “Are you perhaps not the Ning family’s Eldest Young Master?”

“How is that possible?” Being told he wasn't the Eldest Young Master of the Ning family was now more unacceptable to him than if someone said he wasn't a man. He was close to losing everything. The love he had dreamed of was no longer what it once was. His parents currently cared nothing for him. With no money in hand, the only thing he seemed able to hold onto was the title of the Ning family’s Eldest Young Master, especially since Ning Zhizhong’s look just now had significantly stroked Ning Yuncheng’s vanity, making him even more unwilling to relinquish the last thing he possessed.

Seeing Ning Zhizhong’s disbelief, Ning Yuncheng recited several details about the furnishings in his home and, unable to restrain himself, finally mentioned Ning Yunhuan’s name.

Ning Yunhuan was quite famous now, but her family life had always been meticulously protected. Seeing that Ning Yuncheng might genuinely be the Young Master of the Ning family, despite his current state, Ning Zhizhong’s attitude warmed slightly.

In contrast, Ning Yuncheng hadn't anticipated that he would now need to rely on Ning Yunhuan’s name to prove himself. The feeling in his heart was naturally indescribable.

It wasn't until two days later that Gu Yingxi learned Ning Yuncheng was hospitalized with injuries—and that was only because Gu Yingyu accidentally let it slip. She immediately called Ning Yuncheng’s mobile number, but her belated concern did nothing to comfort him; instead, it stirred up a fresh wave of resentment. Ning Yuncheng’s state of mind was like a demon trapped in a bottle. On the first day, he desperately hoped Gu Yingxi would come to him. On the second day, he vowed that if Gu Yingxi knew he was hospitalized and appeared before him, he would swear eternal, loyal servitude to her. But after this expectation went unmet, resentment bloomed in his heart. Any subsequent visit from Gu Yingxi now seemed like blatant hypocrisy to Ning Yuncheng.

Therefore, when Gu Yingxi rushed to the hospital, seeing Ning Yuncheng laughing convivially with a beautiful young woman standing by his bedside, her heart ached so much that tears almost spilled.

“Yuncheng, are you alright?” Gu Yingxi asked, carefully removing her sunglasses. Seeing the dressing wrapped around his head, she couldn't help but cry again. In stark contrast to Gu Yingxi’s distress, Ning Yuncheng appeared profoundly indifferent, continuing his conversation with Ning Lianlian as if Gu Yingxi didn’t exist.

Gu Yingxi had several men in her life, and those men could tolerate jealousy, willing to coexist peacefully with other men for her sake. But when it came to her own man, Gu Yingxi couldn't bear to see him speaking intimately with another woman. Seeing Ning Yuncheng speak and laugh with another woman with a gentleness she had never witnessed before felt like knives slicing through her. She bit her lip and stormed out in a huff.

Ning Yuncheng’s eyes grew cold, and Ning Lianlian became visibly nervous. She was a carefree and somewhat clumsy girl. These past two days, Ning Zhizhong, trying to curry favor with Ning Yuncheng to regain proximity to Madam Ning, had sent his daughter to attend to him. Though Ning Lianlian appeared sweet, she was constantly making small blunders and causing minor trouble. Ning Yuncheng had initially only suffered broken ribs and an injury to his forehead, but in the last two days, while no major wound had occurred, minor ones kept accumulating. He had grown somewhat familiar with Ning Lianlian, understanding her actions were unintentional, and even found her occasional absentmindedness rather endearing. Now, although Gu Yingxi’s departure left Ning Yuncheng somewhat troubled, seeing Ning Lianlian’s frightened expression, he prioritized comforting her first.

Gu Yingxi felt utterly desolate and hurt lately. She had become a pariah; the company that once strongly supported her now rarely called, and dog-like reporters lurked everywhere, desperate for an interview. Song Minran had been sentenced to death, her sister Gu Yingnuo had been missing for a long time, and now, even Yuncheng, who had always been so good to her, had someone else.

Thinking of all this, Gu Yingxi fled the hospital in a daze. Looking back, she saw Ning Yuncheng hadn't followed her out. She managed a bitter, weak laugh, feeling completely drained of energy. At that moment, the omnipresent paparazzi seemed to have spotted her. She heard the rapid click-click of shutters, causing her body to tense, followed by a shout: “Over there!”

A series of rapid footsteps echoed. Gu Yingxi instinctively started to run, glancing backward as she fled. When she heard the distinct sound of a car horn, she gasped in terror, trying to dodge, but it was too late.

Gu Yingxi felt her body lift weightlessly. After everything spun violently, she crashed heavily onto the ground. Vaguely, she seemed to hear a faint, detached male voice ask, “Are you alright?” But Gu Yingxi could no longer open her eyes and fell into unconsciousness.

“Young Master, she has soft tissue injuries all over, no major wounds. Her fainting was likely due to shock. She will certainly wake up within half an hour.” A somewhat flat male voice spoke. The light overhead seemed blindingly bright, forcing her to open her eyes. Gu Yingxi groggily opened them to see a large lamp directly above her and the vague shapes of two tall figures nearby, their faces obscured.

“You’re awake?” the same voice that had predicted her waking within half an hour asked her. Gu Yingxi nodded instinctively. Only then did she realize the searing pain engulfing her body. Trying to sit up, she asked, “Where am I?”

“This is our Young Master’s place. He saved you; you ran into his car while you were running blindly,” the man replied. Gu Yingxi clutched her face with a bitter smile, her shoulders trembling slightly, her voice weak: “Why did you save me? Why didn’t you just let me die?” She genuinely felt life was excruciatingly painful; reality pressed down on her like a heavy burden, suffocating her.