New York, the top-tier, high-tech private rehabilitation center.
Rong Jingyang, clad in athletic shorts, was sweating it out on the rehabilitation therapy equipment.
Drop by drop, his sweat glistened on his bronzed skin.
Every muscle was adorned with crystal-like perspiration, an exquisite temptation of life and beauty.
He had received and read the message from Old Qin.
But he hadn't gone.
Du Ruoxin… carrying his child, what could she possibly do?
At most, she would go to watch, to entertain her eyes. He wasn't anxious or flustered at all.
Besides, wasn't Christie Noah keeping an eye on her?
Even, Rong Jingyang had a premonition—that hickey he saw on Du Ruoxin's neck a few days ago was deliberately placed by Christie Noah to provoke him, to make him misunderstand.
Du Ruoxin was pregnant, her condition unstable. She couldn't possibly exert herself.
He believed her.
Deeply!
Moreover, the doctor had said Du Ruoxin couldn't tolerate any stimulation and needed to rest well.
During this period, since she didn't want to see him, since she always avoided him, he would be "sensible" and not push her too hard.
So, after sending Dou Dou away that evening, he let the driver leave.
There would be plenty of time in the future.
Therefore, Rong Jingyang wasn't in a hurry to appear by her side, nor was he in a hurry to explain.
His most important task now was to strengthen his legs and recover his ability to walk normally as soon as possible. He was tired of the wheelchair.
Du Ruoxin, wait for me. I will stand before you with dignity.
---
"Grace, Brother Qin truly likes you. Why won't you give him a chance?"
Grace didn't answer the first time. She kept her head down, not looking at anyone.
Du Ruoxin touched her face and asked softly for the second time.
The two of them met eyes.
Grace's eyes were veiled with a mist. She tried to push the mist back, but it only grew more abundant, burning her eyelids.
Du Ruoxin: ...
Was Grace crying? Crying for... Brother Qin?
"I'm fine," Grace quickly wiped away her tears and leaned weakly against the wall, covering her profusely bleeding wound. Her face was pale as she said, "My shoulder just hurts a bit."
Du Ruoxin: ...Hurts, and she's crying?
Brother Qin had almost bitten off a piece of Grace's flesh; it was indeed painful.
But—
Looking at the tears Grace couldn't wipe away, and the two streams of tears that slid down like a clear spring, Du Ruoxin was stunned.
This wasn't just physical pain... it was also heartache?
Heart?
Du Ruoxin was shocked. Grace... liked... Brother Qin?
Then why, just now?
She couldn't understand, couldn't comprehend, couldn't figure it out. A myriad of thoughts swirled in her mind. Du Ruoxin gently wiped Grace's tears and asked again, "Since you like him, why won't you give him a chance?"
Grace: I don't like him.
Who said she liked Qin Yunxi? He was so scummy, so shameless, so despicable. She would never like him.
Grace pursed her lips, but for some reason, these words felt like cement stuck in her throat, unable to be spoken.
Lowering her eyes, as if summoning all her strength to break free from the shackles, she said heavily, "He likes so many women. I won't be the only one."
Du Ruoxin sighed deeply. She was both happy and annoyed. Happy that her good friend's cold heart had finally been warmed by someone, and annoyed that she had driven Brother Qin away.
Alas—
It was heartbreaking.
"How do you know you won't be the only one?" Du Ruoxin felt a lump in her chest, almost suffocating with anger. "If you don't even give him a chance, how do you know that in the rest of your life, you can't be his only one?"
Grace bit her lower lip—there was no need to give him a chance; the answer was obvious—how long could the affection of a playboy like Qin Yunxi last?
A month? Two months? Or a year?
She had no intention of trying with him, nor would she gamble her future happiness and sorrow on such a man.
Rather than parting ways in the end, it was better not to get involved from the start.
Grace took a deep breath, wiping away her vulnerability. Only coldness and determination remained in her eyes. "Sister Xin, for someone like Qin Yunxi, liking is the cheapest thing. I don't want to get involved with him."
She didn't want to live a good life only to end up shattered and in unbearable pain because she got involved with someone she shouldn't have.
Du Ruoxin: ...
She couldn't refute Grace's words at all.
Brother Qin's affection... was indeed quite cheap... indeed...
"But—" Du Ruoxin was about to persuade her, but Miranda interrupted, "Sister Xin, this is Grace's choice. I respect her."
"If you know you're not from the same world, why force yourselves together? Why insist on crashing your heads until they bleed, getting covered in wounds, before you're willing to admit it was a mistake?"