Chapter 1 Su Mo Makes a Call

Su Mo picked up his phone and tried calling Lin Zinuo.

Beep, beep!

"Hello," Lin Zinuo answered, sounding a little tired.

Su Mo was taken aback, not expecting the call to go through so quickly.

"I'm at the Capital Central Hospital. Where are you?" Su Mo asked directly.

"Why are you here? I'm about to go to the payment hall on the first floor of Building C2." Lin Zinuo sounded surprised on the phone. She didn't expect Su Mo to come.

"Okay, I'll head over now."

Su Mo looked around for the signs and walked towards Building C2.

A moment later, Su Mo arrived at the lobby of Building C2 and saw Lin Zinuo completing the payment procedures.

He walked over and asked, "All done?"

"Yes." Lin Zinuo had just finished.

"How is your father doing?" Su Mo asked after a moment's hesitation.

"So-so. It's just his old problem acting up. But this time it's a bit more troublesome, and he'll probably have to stay in the hospital for a while," Lin Zinuo said to Su Mo helplessly.

Su Mo hesitated for a moment, then took out the cash check from his pocket and handed it to Lin Zinuo.

"Here, take this and use it."

"You're lending me money again?" Lin Zinuo looked up at Su Mo in surprise.

"Didn't you take out a loan to buy a car? You probably don't have much money on hand, right? I don't need it anyway, so take it and use it." Su Mo thought that this explanation should work.

Lin Zinuo's eyes slightly moistened when she heard Su Mo's words. She hadn't expected Su Mo to remember her casual mention of the loan.

She was touched, so she playfully punched Su Mo in the chest and said with a smile, "Alright, you're decent enough. I'll take it then."

Lin Zinuo put away the cash check.

At that moment, Lin Zinuo's phone rang.

Lin Zinuo answered it.

"Hello, Mom, I've finished things here. I'll be right up."

After saying that, Lin Zinuo hung up the phone.

"I'm going upstairs. Do you want to come with me?" Lin Zinuo turned to look at Su Mo and asked.

"I'll wait a bit. Xue-jie (older sister Xue) is here too. She went to buy some fruit. I'll wait for her and then we'll go up together to visit. Which room is your father in?"

"Ah! Xue-jie (older sister Xue) is here too?"

"Yeah!"

"My father is in room 503, which is on the fifth floor."

"Okay, I got it," Su Mo nodded.

"Alright, I'll go up first."

Lin Zinuo ran towards the elevator.

Su Mo took out his phone and sent a message to Qian Chengxue, then waited where he was.

On the other side, Lin Zinuo took the elevator to the fifth floor and entered the inpatient area, walking along the hospital corridor.

A well-dressed, intelligent, and gentle middle-aged woman was waiting there.

"Mom, I'm done!" Lin Zinuo jogged over.

"You child, why did you run so fast? I haven't even given you the bank card yet, and you ran off." Lin Zinuo's mother, Lin He, took out a bank card and scolded her gently.

"No need, Mom. I have money. I can earn money now," Lin Zinuo replied with a smile.

"Alright, if you run out of money, tell Mom. Don't carry everything alone. I know it's not easy to earn money these days."

"Don't worry. By the way, is Dad any better? Should I go in and see him?"

"Oh, I don't think so. You know your dad. He's stubborn and pigheaded. Last time you argued with him and ran away from home, he almost had a heart attack. Wouldn't you be provoking him if you went in now?"

"Well, wasn't he being too much? Forcing me to find a boyfriend. I'm only 24, okay?"

"I understand you're upset, but he's doing it for your own good. Like he said, you're at the prime of your life now. If you don't find someone now, won't you be less desirable later? Forget it. You shouldn't go in. You'll just end up arguing again."

"So I can't even see him?"

"This..."

"Wait, Mom, do you mean I just need to bring a boyfriend?"

"You have a boyfriend?" Lin He looked at Lin Zinuo in surprise, with an incredulous expression.

"Mom, never mind that. Go in first." Lin Zinuo urged Lin He to go in.

Lin He had no choice. She couldn't win against her daughter, so she turned and walked towards the ward.

Lin Zinuo paced back and forth, also with a headache. How should she coax her father? How should she deceive him?

Just then, Su Mo and Qian Chengxue arrived, each carrying a fruit basket.

"Zinuo," Qian Chengxue greeted Lin Zinuo.

"Xue-jie (older sister Xue)! It's already so nice of you to come, why did you bring gifts?"

"It's just a small token. Which room is it?" Qian Chengxue asked.

Lin Zinuo was embarrassed. She was in a dilemma. She couldn't tell Qian Chengxue that she couldn't go in, could she?

That would be too embarrassing. Just then, Lin Zinuo inadvertently looked at Su Mo.

A thought flashed through her mind. Why not temporarily use Su Mo as a shield, just to get by! Anyway, with Su Mo's emotional intelligence, he definitely wouldn't notice anything amiss.

"This way!" With that thought, she led them towards the ward.

Soon, the three of them pushed open the ward door and walked in.

It was a high-end single-person ward, very spacious, like a private room, with a separate bathroom, kitchen, and balcony.

All kinds of appliances were readily available!

In the middle was a soft hospital bed, on which lay a middle-aged man who looked very stern.

"Dad, we've come to see you. This is my boss, Ye Xue," Lin Zinuo said with a forced smile.

"Hello, Uncle," Qian Chengxue said, placing the fruit basket beside her.

"Thank you for your concern," Lin Wei, Lin Zinuo's father, said seriously from the bed.

Then, Lin Wei turned to look at Su Mo, who had come with them, a hint of doubt in his eyes. Lin Zinuo never brought any boys over. And Su Mo's clothes and appearance were too different from Qian Chengxue's; it was clear they weren't a couple.

At this moment, Lin Zinuo naturally took the fruit basket from Su Mo's hand, looking very intimate as she introduced him.

"This is Su Mo!"

Lin He's eyes lit up when she heard the name and sized up Su Mo in disbelief. She remembered that Lin Zinuo had mentioned this person to her before. She hadn't expected him to be brought here. Could it be that the two of them were interested in each other? So she asked, "This is the Su Mo you mentioned?"

"Hello, Uncle, hello, Auntie," Su Mo greeted politely.

Lin Wei frowned slightly at Lin Zinuo's action of taking the fruit basket and his wife's reaction. Could this young man be the one his daughter had found?

Thinking of this, Lin Wei felt worse. He wanted Lin Zinuo to find someone, but he didn't mean for her to just find anyone.

"Oh, the young man looks quite handsome," Lin He praised with a smile.

Su Mo stood there, feeling even more awkward.

Lin Wei glared at Lin He and asked seriously, "Su Mo, where are you from?"

"Me? I'm from the Demon City (Shanghai)." Su Mo answered truthfully.

Hearing Su Mo's answer, Lin Wei nodded slightly and continued to ask, "You look very young. How old are you?"

"21, I guess," Su Mo replied after thinking for a moment.

"Young is good. There's a saying, 'A woman three years older is a golden brick.'" Lin He was more and more pleased with Su Mo.

Lin Zinuo almost fell over. She awkwardly said to her mother, "Mom, what are you talking about?"