A Zhong saw Zhan Bei Jue off at the elevator.
Zhan Bei Jue instructed him to take good care of Jiang Nan Fang.
"Remind her to eat and drink when it's time. She must eat and drink. If she doesn't, call me. You can't just let her do as she pleases."
Seeing how things had turned out between them, A Zhong felt so guilty he wanted to die.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Zhan. It's all my fault for being incompetent."
"If the investigation back then had been more thorough and cautious, you and Miss Jiang wouldn't have ended up like this."
Was a grown man so easily defeated by such a small matter?
Zhan Bei Jue's tone was unusually gentle.
"I've said it before, don't bring up the past. It's not all your fault. Learn from your mistakes and move forward."
Mrs. Zhan had just been discharged from the hospital.
A valuable watch was left on the bedside table when she left. The nurse called for someone to come and collect it.
Zhou Jin Bei volunteered to make the trip for her.
A Zhong had just finished delivering food to Jiang Nan Fang and happened to run into Zhou Jin Bei in the corridor.
Seeing him, Miss Zhou smiled brightly.
"Auntie has already been discharged, why are you only arriving at the hospital now? Your news is too slow... Wait, could it be that my second brother is also sick?"
A Zhong looked dejected and casually replied, "No. I'm here accompanying a friend."
Seeing his state, Zhou Jin Bei's curiosity was piqued.
"What's wrong? You look like you're about to die. Did your girlfriend not make up with you? Is it really over just because of that little thing?"
"..."
A Zhong glanced at her. "I've been too busy lately. I almost forgot about her until you mentioned it."
"We haven't been in touch at all. So it's really over, then."
Zhou Jin Bei pouted.
"Honestly, your girlfriend is quite heartless. They say women are long-term creatures. You two have been together for so many years, and there were no fundamental issues, yet she just let go."
A Zhong heard the implication in her words. "Just say what you want to say."
Zhou Jin Bei looked at him, who was just a simple and direct man outside of work.
"Then I'll be direct. Don't get angry."
"I've seen many people like your girlfriend. She's a typical gold digger who wants to climb higher by any means necessary."
"As long as you can provide value, she'll follow your every command. But if a better opportunity arises, you become nothing."
"Want to make a bet? She planned to break up with you long ago. She's definitely found someone else by now. Otherwise, she wouldn't have agreed so readily."
A Zhong had been working by Zhan Bei Jue's side since his internship and was now nearing 30.
Besides a relationship during his student days, this was his second girlfriend.
He didn't understand women thoroughly enough, so he was rather displeased hearing Zhou Jin Bei talk about his ex-girlfriend like that.
"I also did things that weren't good enough. I really spent too little time with her. And I'm not exactly someone important, what could she gain by being with me?"
"If we broke up, we broke up. There's no need to think of people that way."
It seemed this woman had extraordinary methods.
Definitely a top-tier manipulator.
She managed to break up and still make the ex-boyfriend unable to find fault, tsk tsk.
"Your girlfriend is truly blessed to have a sucker like you. If it were anyone else, being dumped so inexplicably like this, they might have made a scene with her."
The breakup was already upsetting enough, and then to have Zhou Jin Bei speculate like this made A Zhong annoyed and unwilling to talk.
Zhou Jin Bei advised him.
"Since you have nothing to do now, why not finalize the breakup clearly."
"I'm doing this out of kindness, purely and simply to advise you. Don't let people take advantage of you and then count the money for them. You'll only cry when it's too late."
After speaking, Zhou Jin Bei elegantly entered the ward.
A Zhong stood alone, quietly reminiscing. Indeed, a relationship of several years had ended without even a formal breakup, which was quite regrettable.
What if his girlfriend didn't mean it that way, and just wanted him to soften up and coax her?
A Zhong decided to call his girlfriend.
Unexpectedly, Zhou Jin Bei came out of the ward after collecting her things and saw him looking even more depressed.
His thin, tall back stood by the window, catching the wind, his white shirt billowing in a pleasing arc.
The young, clean nape of his head was filled with questions.
Zhou Jin Bei couldn't help but walk over again.
"Did the call not go through, or is she determined to break up with you with no room for reconciliation?"
"Perhaps you were right," he replied after a moment, slowly turning his head.
His chiseled face was filled with self-mockery.
"She used me as a stepping stone and wants to discard me after she's done. She's blocked me on phone and WeChat. If she hadn't found someone else, where would she get such confidence?"
No man could tolerate being used as a stepping stone.
A Zhong felt a surge of uncontrollable impulse now.
"Are you busy right now? Can I trouble you with something?"
"Go ahead."
"The patient in the end ward is your former sister-in-law. Can you look after her here for me? I need to go out for a bit and will be back soon."
"No," Zhou Jin Bei refused him outright.
"Are you going to argue with your ex-girlfriend? How can such a spectacular scene happen without me? I'm going with you!"
A Zhong wasn't afraid of her coming to watch the drama, but he truly hoped someone would stay to accompany Jiang Nan Fang.
Zhou Jin Bei said, "She doesn't need me. Can a woman who can handle my second brother be ordinary? She's much smarter than I am."
"Besides, this is a hospital. There are so many doctors and nurses on duty 24 hours a day; they don't need me."
"Let's go. We'll be back quickly. If your girlfriend shows affection with another man to provoke you, having me by your side can help you save face."
When A Zhong went to the ward, Jiang Nan Fang was eating.
She had no appetite, but to prevent her body from collapsing, she mechanically put the food into her mouth.
A Zhong told Jiang Nan Fang he needed to go out, but she didn't even look up.
"Go ahead. Actually, you don't need to stay and watch over me. The children are all grown up. I can manage on my own. Besides, they're all asleep."
"It must be hard on you, not having any personal time every day."
But A Zhong still promised Jiang Nan Fang that he would return immediately after handling his business.
"Call me if there's anything urgent. I'll stay with you the whole time!"
Although his girlfriend had moved out and he didn't know where she had gone, finding people was A Zhong's strong suit.
With her supervisor's contact information, he could easily find out her current address with a casual excuse.
It was already past eight in the evening when he knocked on the door and, as expected, saw his girlfriend's face, which he hadn't seen for several days.
She showed none of the exhaustion or loneliness that a normal person would after a breakup.
Instead, she was wearing casual home clothes, her hair tied up, wearing exquisite makeup, and smiling brightly.
"You're back?"
Seeing A Zhong's face at the door, she clearly panicked and quickly tried to close the door.
"Why is it you? How did you find this place?"
A Zhong pushed the door panel. "Weren't you waiting for me? Then who are you waiting for?"
"It's none of your business who I'm waiting for! We've broken up, you have no right to control me!"
As his girlfriend spoke, she tried to force the door shut.
But with a slight push from A Zhong, it swung open.