Chapter 57: Fainting

Li Qingji and the others exited through the door, and the surrounding staff members slowly came back to their senses. 

Although they knew about the relationship between the boss and Jiang Nai, they had never seen any signs of intimacy between the two in the company. This was the first time they had witnessed such a scene in a work setting. 

“What happened to Jiang Nai? Why did she suddenly faint?” 

“I’m not sure.” 

“Maybe she’s just exhausted, low blood sugar?” 

“The boss must have taken her to the hospital. Hey, you guys, send someone to keep an eye on things. Yao Qi and the others aren’t here.” 

“Got it.”

The team quickly assigned tasks, and suddenly someone remarked, “The boss has such sharp eyes. He could see from over there and notice right away.” 

“Is it possible… that the boss has been watching his wife the whole time?” 

“Damn…” 

Xu Yan’s segment on stage ended for now, and the performers came out to perform next. She headed backstage to change into a new outfit. While retouching her makeup, Xu Yan remembered the scene from earlier and smiled slightly. She then sent a message to Jiang Yao. 

By the time Jiang Yao received the message, she had already left the venue and was sitting in her car. 

[Didn’t they say Li Qingji and Jiang Nai were getting a divorce? I just saw Li Qingji looking really worried about her. It didn’t seem like a divorce was happening.] 

[Looks like your information was wrong. They’re doing just fine.] 

Jiang Yao’s chest tightened as she read the two messages.

*Not like they’re getting divorced? He’s really worried about her?*

*Is this really Li Qingji?*

*And what about Jiang Nai?*

It felt as if she had been slapped hard across the face. Jiang Yao gripped the steering wheel, and with a frustrated thud, threw her phone onto the passenger seat. 

—

Meanwhile, Li Qingji was still holding Jiang Nai as he walked out, his steps never faltering. 

From his seat in the audience, he could see where she was sitting, partially hidden behind some equipment, watching the stage. He had been keeping an eye on her and had clearly seen her frown and then place a hand on her forehead. 

Her face was pale, and she didn’t look well. 

His brow furrowed as he stood up to go to her, but then he saw Jiang Nai turn and walk toward the stairs. The equipment obstructed his view of her, but he could see Xu Xiao and Yao Qi, their faces suddenly filled with alarm. Xu Xiao then rushed forward with urgency. 

A bad feeling surged in him, and his heart tightened. 

Sure enough, the next moment, he saw her fall. In that instant, his mind went blank, and he suddenly couldn’t think about anything else. He stopped caring about finishing other matters first, about space, about consideration— nothing else mattered anymore. 

He should have been keeping her by his side, no matter how she felt or how unhappy she was. No matter whether she truly wanted a divorce or not, he should have kept her close. 

Only when she was by his side could he keep an eye on her and feel at ease.

“Key, if you can drive, drive,” Li Qingji said, tossing the keys to Xu Xiao, then picked up Jiang Nai and got into the backseat.

Yao Qi didn’t know how to drive, so Xu Xiao took the driver’s seat. “I’ll drive.”

“The nearest hospital,” Li Qingji instructed.

“Got it!” Xu Xiao quickly started the car.

The four of them got into the car, and Xu Xiao drove off.

“Mm…” Jiang Nai had felt a moment of dizziness earlier, and now she was groggily coming to, but she couldn’t make out who the person in front of her was, her eyes too heavy to fully open.

Li Qingji let her rest her head on his lap. “Jiang Nai?”

Jiang Nai mumbled in response.

Li Qingji’s voice was filled with urgency. “How are you?”

“It hurts…” she murmured.

Li Qingji looked at her leg; there was a scrape on her knee, but the rest of her injuries were hard to see due to her pants.

He lowered his head and asked, “Where does it hurt?”

Jiang Nai couldn’t see him clearly, but she vaguely felt that the person in front of her was familiar. She felt inexplicably aggrieved, and her nose tingled. “My foot… my head hurts too…”

Li Qingji reached out to touch her forehead, which was burning with fever.

“Didn’t you realize you’re sick?” he asked.

Jiang Nai replied weakly, “It didn’t feel this bad before…”

Li Qingji restrained his frustration and said, “Even if it’s just a little uncomfortable, you should rest. There’s a whole department, do you think it can’t function without you? Should I fire everyone and leave just you?”

Yao Qi, sitting in the passenger seat, suddenly felt a chill on her back at the mention of layoffs.

Jiang Nai furrowed her brows, her head aching terribly. “No, stop saying that…”

Li Qingji was both anxious and angry, but when he saw her looking so uncomfortable, his voice softened. “Okay, I won’t say anything else. Just rest, don’t talk.”

He then turned to Xu Xiao. “How much longer to the hospital?”

Yao Qi checked the GPS and immediately replied, “Boss, we’ll be there in about ten minutes!”

“Okay.”

Li Qingji lowered his gaze back to Jiang Nai, gently stroking her face before sighing deeply. Yao Qi, worried about Jiang Nai, turned her head to look back at them. What she saw shocked her. Li Qingji was holding a half-conscious Jiang Nai carefully in his arms, his hand gently caressing her face. His usual indifferent, cold expression was replaced by a softness she had never seen before.

Yao Qi froze in shock and quickly turned away. 

*What the hell? This isn’t the boss I know.*

*This scene definitely isn’t something I should be witnessing!*

They finally arrived at the nearest hospital, but Jiang Nai couldn’t hold on any longer. She smelled the familiar antiseptic scent of the hospital and then passed out completely. When she woke up again, the sky outside had darkened. She was lying in a hospital bed, her head heavy, her feet heavy, her entire body feeling like a weight.

Jiang Nai slightly turned her head and barely opened her eyes. She locked eyes with the person sitting beside the bed.

He was sitting on a small couch, clearly waiting for her to wake up.

Jiang Nai stared at him, suddenly experiencing a strange sense of déjà vu. She remembered a long time ago when she had eaten bad seafood and ended up with stomach issues. He had also brought her to the hospital, and when she woke up, he was sitting beside her in exactly the same way.

But back then, what he had said was that legally, he needed to be responsible for her because of their relationship.

And now… who knows what he would say.

Jiang Nai looked at him in silence. After a moment, she saw him lean forward and reach out to touch her forehead. It wasn’t as hot anymore.

Li Qingji’s furrowed brows relaxed slightly. He lowered his gaze to her. “How long has it been since you’ve had a good night’s sleep?”

The hospital room was quiet, with only the faint sound of footsteps and wheels rolling outside the door. Jiang Nai felt her heart tighten. The distance between them over time made her feel uneasy and uncomfortable now.

“I’ve been sleeping,” she muttered.

“You’re lying. You’ve caught a fever from exhaustion and lack of rest,” Li Qingji replied, his voice sharp.

Jiang Nai closed her eyes. She couldn’t think of any more lies to tell, so she fell silent instead.

After a long pause, she finally asked, “How’s the event going?”

Li Qingji replied, “You don’t need to worry about that right now.”

“But it’s our team’s matter. Of course I should care,” Jiang Nai said, her voice a little stubborn.

“What else would you care about besides work?” Li Qingji asked, his voice tinged with dissatisfaction. “Is work the only thing on your mind?”

“Yes, what else should I be thinking about?” Jiang Nai felt a flare of frustration rise within her. She spoke in a muffled voice, “I need to be independent. I want to work hard. What’s wrong with that?”

Li Qingji’s expression grew serious. “Independent? So in your plan, there’s no place for me? Jiang Nai, have you already decided to divorce me and are just making excuses for me to consider it?”

“What excuses? That’s a separate matter. Whether you’re here or not, I’ll be independent, alright?” 

As she spoke, she reached for her phone, thinking if he wouldn’t tell her about the event, she could just call and find out for herself.

Li Qingji saw her intentions and took her phone from her. But then he relented. “The event ended successfully without any issues. Now, focus on resting and don’t worry about it.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Nai relaxed a little. She pulled her hand back and said, “…I understand. So, once I finish this IV drip, can I leave?”

“Yes,” Li Qingji replied, “But you have to come home with me tonight.”

Jiang Nai froze. “Why?”

Li Qingji looked at her seriously. “Your leg is in this condition. I’m not comfortable letting you go back alone.”

Jiang Nai slightly raised her head and looked at her foot, now wrapped up like a bundle. Earlier, when she had lost her balance and hurt her ankle, it had felt like a sharp, stabbing pain, but since she was half-conscious and her whole body ached, she hadn’t paid much attention to it.

“…I don’t live alone. My friend can help me.”

Li Qingji looked at her with a deep gaze. “She’s not tall enough to carry you. Don’t make trouble for others.”

“I don’t need anyone to carry me—”

“Jiang Nai.” Li Qingji interrupted her. “We haven’t divorced, and I haven’t said anything about preparing to divorce you! I’ve been letting you do things your way, but now that you’re injured, you have to come home with me.”

“……”

Half an hour later, the IV drip was finished. Although Jiang Nai’s head was still foggy, her body no longer ached from the high fever. Li Qingji eventually took her back home, and she really didn’t have the strength to resist anymore. She let him place her on the bed in the master bedroom.

Sitting at the edge of the bed, she gazed at the familiar room. She felt a bit awkward, but mostly, there was a pang of bitterness.

It had really been days since she last returned.

“Take the medicine first.”

Li Qingji came in from the living room, holding a cup of warm water and the medication prescribed by the hospital. He held the medicine up to her lips, along with the water. Jiang Nai pressed her lips together and looked up at him.

Li Qingji said, “It’s not bitter, just take it.”

Did he think she was a child? Afraid of the bitterness of medicine.

Jiang Nai lowered her gaze. His words made her heart feel as if it were being tightly wound by a thin string, each pull making it constrict, pulling all her unease and anxiety of the past days along with it.

She really hadn’t been sleeping well lately. Sometimes it was because she dreamed of her mother, sometimes it was because she dreamed of him…

In her dreams, her mother didn’t want her anymore.

And Li Qingji was the same…

She often dreamed of him being kind to her, only for him to eventually look at her one day and say, “Jiang Nai, we’re just not suited for each other.”

Waking from the dream, panic would hit her again. Jiang Nai lowered her eyes, took a sip of water, and swallowed the medicine.

“It’s getting late, you need to get a good night’s sleep tonight,” Li Qingji said.

Jiang Nai thought to herself, whether or not she could sleep well wasn’t up to her. Seeing that she didn’t respond, Li Qingji leaned down and gently pulled her further into the bed, avoiding her injured foot, then turned and grabbed her pajamas from the closet.

“Change into your clothes,” Li Qingji knelt on one knee beside the bed, reaching for her button.

Jiang Nai froze and immediately pressed his hand down. “I’ll do it myself.”

“You’re not in a state to manage your foot. Let me help you take off your pants,” Li Qingji raised an eyebrow. “What are you shy about?”

He looked at her with eyes that clearly said, “We’ve done everything already, seen everything, what’s there to be shy about?”

There really wasn’t anything to be shy about, but Jiang Nai still felt uneasy.

“I can change my clothes myself…” She took the pajamas from his hand. “Go do your own thing.”

Li Qingji was left with no choice but to stand back by the bed. “I’ll take a shower. Once you’ve changed, just leave the clothes by the side and lie down to rest.”

“Okay…”

Li Qingji went into the bathroom. When he wasn’t by her side, Jiang Nai finally reached for her top, then carefully slid off her pants and changed into the nightgown. The fever had already subsided quite a bit, but she still felt hot and dizzy. After placing her discarded clothes aside, she lay back on the familiar bed.

Though exhausted, she couldn’t fall asleep right away. After about ten minutes, she heard the sound of the bathroom door. Instinctively, she looked over. Li Qingji emerged, his waist wrapped in a towel. In the soft light, his bare, pale chest was fully exposed. The lines of his muscles were smooth and flawless, his abdomen firm, extending down to where the towel covered him.

Jiang Nai froze for a moment, her ears turning red. Her physical reaction to his body was entirely involuntary, something she couldn’t control.

So, she quickly averted her gaze.

He didn’t approach her but left the master bedroom. Jiang Nai guessed he was going to the closet to get dressed. As expected, after a while, he returned wearing his pajamas. Jiang Nai closed her eyes and gently turned over to face away from him.

There was a faint sound as he switched off the light.

The bed beside her shifted slightly as Li Qingji lay down next to her.

Jiang Nai paused for a second, inhaling the familiar light scent of his body wash…

“Can’t sleep?” he asked, leaning toward her, carefully avoiding her injured foot, and pulling her into his arms.

He must have taken a cold shower because his skin felt cool against hers. Jiang Nai, who was still warm, shivered slightly as their bodies made contact.  He seemed to understand her comfort, as his hand tightened around her waist. Her back pressed against his chest, their bodies close enough to share warmth.

Jiang Nai silently rested in his arms.

Actually, she was a little drowsy, likely because of the medication’s effect.

But she couldn’t fall asleep easily; her mind was constantly on edge.

“Jiang Nai, I’m still here with you,” Li Qingji’s voice came softly from behind her.

Jiang Nai stiffened slightly, her gaze fixed on the black void, her eyes suddenly moistening.

“If you really want a divorce and are serious about it, I won’t agree. If you’re not truly sure and just feeling uncertain, I’ll show you that your worries are unnecessary.” Li Qingji’s voice was calm, but his words were unlike anything he usually said.

Jiang Nai froze, unable to respond.

Li Qingji sighed softly and said, “I’ll stay with you. I won’t leave you. So, please, don’t mention divorce again.”

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