Can we even work together happily when talking like this? That guy deserved to be dealt with.

Such a shameless thing to do, I guess only someone as shameless as Chu Ge could pull it off? Could it be that the shameless guy in that story is actually Chu Ge?

Hmph, it would be nice if I could see Chu Ge getting a good beating someday!

Uh... Am I being too harsh thinking like this? If he really got beaten up, would I actually be happy? Probably, right? Would I really?

Unconsciously, Qin Ruojing found herself really tangled up in this, her thoughts completely enmeshed in the question, filled with "would I" and "wouldn't I".

While Qin Ruojing was pondering this, suddenly a phone rang in the quiet hospital room.

"Ah!"

The sound came without any warning, startling Qin Ruojing out of her daydreaming instantly. She straightened up with a start, and an involuntary scream escaped her lips.

Almost simultaneously as Qin Ruojing cried out, Chu Ge woke up immediately from his sleep, furrowing his brows as he quickly turned over, his gaze landing on Qin Ruojing's pale face, scared stiff.

Upon seeing her like that, he realized she seemed to be fine, and his tightly knit brows gradually relaxed, with an expression of bewilderment replacing it.

"Is there a cockroach in the room?"

"Uh... uh-huh... uh-huh."

Qin Ruojing took a few rapid breaths to calm herself and hurriedly responded.

"You screamed so loud I thought something happened to you. The phone's ringing, why not quickly take a look? A call at this hour is most likely from your sister."

Chu Ge said with a chuckle and yawned as he sat up against the bedhead, his gaze scanning the bed to make sure nothing was amiss, then nodded at Qin Ruojing.

Seeing the caller ID on her phone, it was indeed her sister Qin Ruoying calling. The complexity of Qin Ruojing's emotions was beyond words.

She felt somewhat relieved yet a bit flustered. Her sister's timing for this call was impeccable, wasn't it? Did she realize that frightening someone could be deadly!

"Are you done yet? Do you know how hard I work every day? Do you think I'm like you, with nothing much to do? Do you even know what time it is now?"

Answering the call, Qin Ruojing unleashed a barrage of questions without waiting for her sister to speak, half genuinely vexed and the other half venting her frustration, with Qin Ruoying coincidentally bearing the brunt of it.

"Hehe, sis, are you in a late-blooming adolescence or early menopause? Why are you so fiery today? Be careful, you might get pimples! Besides, haven't we been like this for over twenty years?"

Once Qin Ruojing finished speaking, Qin Ruoying's giggling voice quickly came through on the phone.

Holding the phone in one hand, rubbing her forehead with the other, Qin Ruojing felt a genuine sense of helplessness towards her eccentric sister, without a single viable counter.

"Spit it out, don't keep me and your brother-in-law from sleeping. We both have work tomorrow."

"Hehe, what else would I call you for? Of course, it's to check up on you. Your phone didn't suddenly lose power today, did it? Can you send me a MMS now?"

"Today, the battery is ample, but I tell you, can't you not make such a shady thing sound so reasonable?"

"Why not? Besides, what's shady about me checking up on you? If you haven't done anything wrong, you shouldn't worry about being haunted. If you've got nothing sneaky going on, why would you be afraid of me checking?"

"Not in the mood to argue with you, hanging up now. I'll send you a photo, then your brother-in-law and I are going to sleep."

Saying it in an exasperated tone, Qin Ruojing was about to hang up when Qin Ruoying's voice sounded again in her ear.

"Sis, wait a moment, didn't you say you had ample battery? How about a little video call with the two of you?"

"If you keep messing around, I won't even send you a photo. You can come over if you want, which do you choose?"

"Alright, alright, just send a photo, make sure my brother-in-law looks handsome, okay? Goodnight!"

Almost through gritted teeth, Qin Ruojing hung up the phone, rubbed her forehead, and let out a heavy sigh, seriously tempted to take a flight back to Kyoto and stuff a load of ice cubes into Qin Ruoying's bed while she slept.

Unfortunately, it was just a thought. After all, she had company matters to attend to and couldn't just do whatever she wanted like her sister could.

So now, Qin Ruojing could only let Qin Ruoying lead her by the nose and, as she requested, send her a photo.

Glancing at Chu Ge, who was reclining against the bedhead with an old sage demeanor and even a hint of schadenfreude in his eyes, Qin Ruojing couldn't help but feel more frustrated.

But given the circumstances, all she could do was glare furiously at Chu Ge before moving to his side.

"Please, can you not have such a stiff expression? If you send this kind of photo to your sister, what do you think she'll think when she sees it?"

Looking at Qin Ruojing, who looked as awkward as could be, Chu Ge couldn't help but remind her.

Qin Ruojing forced a smile.

"No, it's too fake. Even a pyramid scheme scammer smiles more naturally than you."

Qin Ruojing's lips curled up a bit more.

"Still not right. We're supposed to look like we've lived together for ages, an old married couple's look, so why smile so cheesy?"

"No, I said be natural, who told you to be cute?"

"Ah... relax, relax a bit, lean your head over, a bit more, yes, just like that, take the shot."

With a "click," Qin Ruojing finally had the photo taken.

In the photo, Qin Ruojing and Chu Ge sat side by side, her long black hair draped down, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned, looking like a little woman filled with happiness.

On Chu Ge's face was his signature smile, six parts mischievous, three parts steady, one part cheeky, lips slightly parted, showing two rows of white teeth Qin Ruojing had just helped him brush.

Letting out a breath, Qin Ruojing immediately got off the bed, her face returning to that former awkward expression, patting herself as if something dirty had stuck to her.

Seeing Qin Ruojing like this, Chu Ge couldn't help but find it amusing, "I say, CEO, is it that serious?"

At the same time, his gaze clearly conveyed unspoken words, as if saying: "It's just a photo, not a big deal, right?"

Qin Ruojing rolled her eyes at Chu Ge, "Serious or not, I'm just fine, okay? It's just a photo, what's the big deal?"

Skipping over this topic, Chu Ge chuckled and said "Good night," then lay down again.

With a frustrated glance at Chu Ge, Qin Ruojing returned to her companion bed. She wanted to take a shower, but realizing she hadn't brought any change of clothes, she had to dismiss the idea.

Lying in bed, Qin Ruojing sent the photo she just took to Qin Ruoying, then tapped the screen a few more times to reach the delete photo option.

However, when the "confirm delete" option popped up, her finger hovered without pressing.

Since she met Chu Ge, this was the first photo of them together in her phone. Looking at the photo closely, she had to admit, it turned out quite well.

After hesitating for almost a minute, Qin Ruojing ultimately chose to cancel, set an alarm on her phone, placed it by her pillow, and turned off the light. The room was instantly engulfed in darkness.

"CEO?"

Just as Qin Ruojing closed her eyes, Chu Ge's voice came again.

"What?"

"I mean, why do you work so hard every day chasing money?"

Although Qin Ruojing wasn't sleepy, it was already quite late. She intended to reply, "We'll talk tomorrow," regardless of what Chu Ge said and force herself to sleep immediately.

However, she never expected Chu Ge to ask this question. The words that were on the verge of coming out were swallowed back, and a feeling of sadness washed over her, leading her to let out a soft sigh.

As light and darkness alternated briefly, even with Chu Ge's adaptable eyes, he couldn't make out Qin Ruojing's expression, but he heard a barely perceptible sigh filled with helplessness and sorrow.

If he hadn't visited Qin Ruojing's place in Lido before, Chu Ge certainly wouldn't have asked this question. He had assumed Qin Ruojing's hard work was motivated by the pursuit of a better material life, wanting to adorn her life with luxury through her efforts, using her success as a high achiever to gain more respect.

But when he visited Qin Ruojing's place in Lido and found it was not a mansion, with decorations just average and lacking in luxury items, resembling more of an office space, he realized she might not be so focused on material wealth.

Then, upon seeing a photo of the Qin sisters with another girl, along with a note pressed under glass beside the frame, he became increasingly puzzled and, for the first time, somewhat intrigued by the question.

Now, hearing Qin Ruojing's complex sigh seemed to further confirm the shift in his thinking.

After the sigh, Qin Ruojing was silent in the dark for a while, then turned facing away from Chu Ge, and with a tone almost self-mocking, said, "Why chase money? Don't you think this question is funny? Let's sleep, I have to get up early tomorrow."

Having said that, Qin Ruojing pinched her slightly sore nose and bit her lower lip, yet even so, her eyes were beginning to mist.

Regarding this matter, it wasn't that she didn't want to confide in someone, nor that she didn't trust Chu Ge, she just felt that discussing certain things with him wouldn't have any meaning.

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