When Ye Qiu arrived home, his mother had already prepared dinner.
Seeing that he was soaking wet, she smiled and asked, "Qiu'er, how did you get all wet? Did you fall into Jinghu Lake by any chance?"
"Mom, you're amazing. You guessed it right away."
"You really fell in?" His mother's expression turned serious. "Tell me what happened, quickly."
Ye Qiu told her everything about saving the boy at the lake.
After listening, Qian Jinglan nodded and praised him. "You did the right thing. Saving a life is better than building a seven-story Buddhist pagoda. But promise me, Qiu'er—if anything like this happens again, be extremely careful. Put your safety first."
"I will, Mom."
"Go change into clean clothes first, then come eat."
"Okay."
Ye Qiu's mother was named Qian Jinglan, a native of Suzhou-Hangzhou. He knew very little about her family background, only that she had once mentioned coming from a prominent clan.
He had no idea how powerful that clan was, nor did he care. In fact, he deeply resented them.
If that heartless clan hadn't disowned and expelled his mother, their lives wouldn't have been so bitter and miserable.
But more than that, Ye Qiu hated his own father.
All these years, his father had never once come to see them. He didn't care if his mother and son lived or died.
In Ye Qiu's eyes, a man so irresponsible didn't deserve to live.
Qian Jinglan had raised Ye Qiu all by herself, suffering endlessly through the years. At just over forty, strands of white hair had already appeared at her temples.
During dinner, Ye Qiu nearly spoke up several times, only to hold back.
He desperately wanted to ask: who exactly was his biological father?
But when he saw the white hairs at her temples and the deep crow's feet around her eyes, he swallowed the question.
"Qiu'er, I haven't seen Lili lately. Did you two have a fight?" Qian Jinglan asked.
"No, we're fine. She's just been really busy with work." Ye Qiu lied. He couldn't bring himself to tell her that Zhang Lili had betrayed him.
In his mother's heart, Zhang Lili was already her daughter-in-law. If she learned the truth, she would probably faint from anger.
"Qiu'er, bring Lili over for dinner soon. I have something to talk to her about," Qian Jinglan said.
Ye Qiu looked at her in confusion. "What do you want to talk to her about, Mom?"
"What else? Your marriage, of course!" Qian Jinglan smiled. "You two have been together for two years, ever since university. Your relationship is stable. I was thinking we should meet her parents soon and settle the marriage. What do you say?"
I say it's a terrible idea, Ye Qiu thought to himself. Aloud, he said, "Mom, Lili and I just graduated. Our jobs aren't even stable yet. Marriage can wait."
"Why wait? Aunt Wang's son next door is the same age as you, and he already has a grandson!" Qian Jinglan insisted. "This is my call. Bring her home for dinner soon, and I'll talk to her."
Ye Qiu felt a splitting headache coming on.
After dinner, he went to bed early.
Lying there, he couldn't fall asleep at all. Everything that had happened that day replayed in his mind like a movie. The thought of Zhang Lili sleeping with Guo Shaocong made his blood boil.
"Someday, you'll know that betraying me was the biggest mistake of your life."
Since he couldn't sleep, he might as well absorb the knowledge in his head.
Along with the Complete Collection of Maoshan Talismans, the Old Ancestor of the Ye Clan had also passed down countless medical skills, martial arts, cultivation techniques, Qimen Dunjia, and more.
Ye Qiu closed his eyes and began practicing.
…
The night passed.
When he opened his eyes the next morning, Ye Qiu didn't feel tired at all. Instead, he felt refreshed, as if his body was brimming with endless energy.
After breakfast, he reported for duty at the care worker station.
Jiangzhou Hospital was a large hospital, and the care worker station had more than thirty staff members—mostly middle-aged men and women in their forties and fifties. Ye Qiu was the only one his age.
As soon as he walked in, he saw two women wiping away tears.
"What's wrong?" Ye Qiu asked a nearby man.
"They got yelled at by a patient," the man replied. "A difficult patient moved into VIP Ward 301 yesterday. She's already chased off four care workers, cursing each one out horribly. She's impossible to deal with."
Just then, the head nurse in charge of the station spotted Ye Qiu.
"Care Worker Ye, you take Ward 301."
Ye Qiu's heart skipped a beat. He looked up at the head nurse.
"What are you staring at? Move! If the patient complains about you, you can pack your things and leave!" she snapped harshly.
"Understood." Ye Qiu nodded and turned to leave.
Behind him, he heard the head nurse scoff mockingly.
"Who does he think he is? Daring to offend Young Master Guo. He really has no idea how high the sky is."
Ye Qiu ignored her and walked straight to Ward 301. When he entered, he saw a woman sitting on the hospital bed.
A flash of astonishment crossed his eyes.
This woman was simply…
Incredibly sexy.
She wore a light purple, three-quarter sleeve blouse with a low neckline, revealing large swathes of fair, delicate skin—smooth and glowing like a freshly peeled lychee. Her waist was slender, and even sitting on the bed, her perfect curves were obvious from the side.
Most strikingly, her left leg was stretched out from under the blanket—long, shapely, and pale. Her skin was flawless, and her dainty, delicate feet stirred the imagination. With such a stunning figure and complexion, what kind of face could possibly match it?
Ye Qiu instinctively lifted his gaze to her face.
At that exact moment, the woman also noticed him.
Their eyes met.
Ye Qiu's breath caught in his throat.
Only one thought raced through his mind: How could a woman be this breathtakingly charming?
She looked about thirty years old, with black hair cascading like a waterfall, a delicate heart-shaped face, and large, grape-like eyes. She exuded a natural, irresistible allure—one word instantly came to mind:
Seductress.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" she spoke first. Her voice was beautiful, but icy cold.
Ye Qiu snapped back to his senses, slightly flustered. "Hello. I'm your new care worker."
"A care worker?" The woman looked him up and down. "Let me see your identification."
Ye Qiu quickly pulled out his ID card.
The woman glanced at his care worker certificate, then fixed her eyes on him again. "What were you looking at just now?"
Ye Qiu blushed. He couldn't exactly say he'd been staring at her.
Unexpectedly, she said it for him. "You were looking at me, weren't you?"
Ye Qiu had no choice but to nod awkwardly.
"Am I pretty?" She blinked playfully.
"Very pretty."
"Then which part do you think is the prettiest? My face… or…"
At that moment, she suddenly made a move that made Ye Qiu's heart race.