Chapter 65

  The next morning, Qi Shu Fan handed a mobile phone to Yu Cai who was carrying a backpack and looked energetic, "Call me if something comes up".

  Yu Cai took over the phone and didn't say much, refusing Qi Shu Fan's proposal to drive her, and walked out with a map.

  Spent two days wandering around the Forbidden City, and on the third day, I found a quiet corner and got lost in thought for half a day.

  Looking at the four corners of the sky above the Forbidden City, Yu Cai rarely thought about anything, only feeling a sense of emptiness and tranquility in her mind, wanting to stay like this forever, forgetting time, forgetting everything...

  Time flies, and before Yu Cai realizes it, it's already time for them to head back. Since they have to leave the next day, Qi Shu Fan instructs Yu Cai to come out early, and he meets her at the Palace Museum entrance around 2 pm to go take a look at Wangfujing together.

  At two o'clock in the afternoon, Qi Shu Fan arrived at the entrance of the Forbidden City on time, but did not see Yu Cai's figure. She called her and no one answered, getting anxious, she parked the car and entered the Forbidden City.

  Qishu Fan searched for a way, calling out on the phone, but there was no sign of anyone answering on the other end. Qishu Fan regretted letting Yucai go out alone, if something really happened... Qishu Fan's heart skipped a beat, quickening his pace...

  At last, Ji Shu Fan found a familiar light gray color in a corner hidden by greenery and hastily searched for it. He then saw Yu Cai sitting on the cool steps, her back against the red palace wall, one leg stretched out and the other half bent, looking up at the sky with a lost expression. Although she was close at hand, she seemed to be thousands of miles away.

  Ji Shu couldn't determine whether Yu Cai was okay or not, so he called out to Xiao Cai in a probing manner. Yu Cai seemed oblivious and continued to gaze up at the sky with rapt attention.

  Qishu Fan raised his voice again, and this time Yu Cai heard him. She slowly lowered her head to look at him, but her expression didn't change. For a moment, Qishu Fan felt like she might disappear the next second. He quickly stepped forward, reached out to touch her forehead, "Little Cai, what's wrong?"

  Yu Cai gazed blankly at Qi Shu Fan's anxious face in front of her, his warm palm pressed against her icy forehead, bringing waves of warmth and reassurance. Suddenly, Yu Cai understood the emotions she had been deliberately ignoring and hiding for a long time...

  She has always been moved by his demeanor, captivated by his charm, delighted by his respect, heartbroken by his forbearance, and pained by his hardships. He dotes on her, cares for her, helps her, tolerates her, and respects her. In front of her, he plays the role of a friendly elder, but what he doesn't know is that the girl in front of him is not the little girl he has in mind, but a mature soul with a tender body...

  Yu understood her own secret affairs, Yucai leaned forward and tightly hugged Qishu Fan's neck, tears streaming down his face and into his collar.

  Qibook felt a chill run down her neck and became even more frightened, asking repeatedly, "Xiao Cai, what's wrong with you? What happened?"

  Yu Cai didn't make a sound, but her arms wrapped tighter around him.

  Qibook wanted to pry open her arms to take a look, but Yucai refused to let go, holding on tightly and not letting go at all. He could only let her hold him, his right hand gently stroking her back, "It's okay, nothing's wrong, nothing's wrong..."

  Just as Yu Cai was sobbing uncontrollably, Qi Shu Fan's phone rang. Qi Shu Fan held Yu Cai with one hand to prevent her from falling and reached for the phone with the other.

  A sudden ringtone in the midst of silence brought Yucai back to her senses, she quickly wiped away her tears with her hand, let go of Qi Shu Fan, took a few steps back, lowered her head and didn't dare look at him.

  Although Qi Shu Fan was anxious and depressed, he still had to answer the phone first.

  The phone call was from He Mu, asking why Qi Shu Fan hadn't arrived yet. Qi Shu Fan brushed it off with a few words, telling them to go ahead and he would be there soon.

  As soon as the phone hung up, Chi Shu Fan immediately asked in a worried tone, "Xiao Cai, what's wrong?"

  "Sorry, I was just lost in thought and you suddenly appeared. I didn't control my emotions well and let you see me like this."

  "Xiao Cai?" Qi Shu Fan's voice was filled with thick doubt.

  Yu Cai forced a smile, "Perhaps it's just that my fragile heart can't withstand the surprise of your sudden arrival, and it's malfunctioning."

  "Xiao Cai, tell me the truth, what's going on?"

  Yu Cai raised her head, "Really nothing, I was thinking of the tragic ending of my next book, you appeared and I just wanted to vent my emotions."

  "Really?"

  Yu Cai Zheng nodded heavily.

  "Why didn't you answer the phone?" Ji Shu Fan was still worried.

  "Uh, did you call me?" Yu Cai picked up the backpack that had been casually thrown not far away, took out her mobile phone, and was immediately startled by the more than 100 unconnected calls inside. She said apologetically, "I didn't think anyone would call me, and I was afraid the ringtone would disturb the tranquility here, so I put it on silent mode. I'm really sorry to have worried you."

  "I told you this morning, asking you to wait for me at the entrance at 2 o'clock."

  "Uh, is it already two o'clock?"

  "Everything seems normal when I see her responding normally. Putting his mind at ease, Hei Xian looked at her and said, 'It's already three o'clock, when did you start sitting here?'"

  "Uh, I just arrived here, probably around eight o'clock or so."

  Qishu Fan was so angry she had an urge to kick her to death, let alone these past few days she's been like this!

  Yu Cai picked up the book that had been thrown aside on the cement ground and put it in her bag, stood up and said "I'm really sorry, let's hurry".

  The next morning, He Mu called Yu Cai to get up. Yu Cai responded vaguely and He Mu went to the bathroom to wash up.

  When she came back, Yucai was still lying down and called out again. Yucai responded with a sound but showed no signs of getting up.

  He Mu couldn't help but smile, thinking that after all she was just a child. She reached out to push her, "Xiao Cai, get up, it's time to head back soon."

  Yu Caihuan murmured a response, showing no signs of opening her eyes. Mrs. He felt something was off and noticed Yu Caihuan's face was abnormally red. She reached out to touch Yu Caihuan's forehead and immediately jumped back in fright, as Yu Caihuan's forehead was burning hot.

  He Mu did not dare to slack off and immediately went next door to knock on the door. At this time, Qi Shu Fan had just finished washing up and was packing his things, hearing the knocking sound, he got up to open the door.

  "What's wrong?" Mother asked as soon as she saw the letter. "Quickly, Xiao Chai is seriously ill and needs to be sent to the hospital."

  Qishu Fan was startled as soon as he heard it, and hastily instructed, "Help her put on her clothes, I'll go tell them."

  When Qi Shu Fan arrived next door, He Mu had already helped Yu Cai put on simple clothes and socks. Qi Shu Fan wrapped Yu Cai tightly in his own coat and hurriedly carried her out.

  After a lot of trouble, Yu Cai finally administered the intravenous drip, and Fan Cai let out a sigh of relief. Looking at Yu Cai's face, which was flushed red, with pale lips and furrowed brows, he became even more puzzled in his heart... what exactly had happened yesterday?

  Yu Cai followed Qi Shu Fan out of the Forbidden City, and they wandered around Wangfujing in a daze. As soon as they returned to the hotel, she made an excuse that she was tired and went to bed.

  Lying on the bed, I couldn't sleep, memories of past events flooded my mind, finally turning into various faces, some smiling, some serious, some contemplative, or helpless...

  This is a hopeless emotion, Yu Cai is very clear. Not to mention that Qi Shu Fan only treats her as a younger sister with affection, even if they mutually adore each other, what can be done? Strictly speaking, she is still a minor, and if it gets out, Qi Shu Fan will inevitably be accused of abducting an underage girl, which would be a fatal blow to his career and reputation. And as for her, how could her parents agree to her liking a man 18 years older than herself? How can she face Qi Shi He and the others, can they forgive her for falling in love with Qi Shu Fan, who is of her father's generation?

  Qishu Fan's excellence, all these years of being single, apart from fearing Qishu Fan's inability to accept, there must be other reasons that are hard to mention. And Qishu Fan's strange attitude towards his father, as well as his early deceased mother, is definitely a complicated relationship.

  How can I change my image in Qishu Fan's mind, how to make him like the self that is as old as his son...

  A big bunch of problems tangled like a messy knot in Yucai's mind, eventually leading to what traditional Chinese medicine calls "excessive worry and contemplation", allowing evil wind to enter the body. Coupled with Yucai's poor physical foundation and a week of continuous exposure to cold winds, he inevitably fell ill.

  Yu Cai was badly burned, her body felt soft, but except for occasionally falling asleep, she was still conscious. Qi Shu Fan and He Xia brought her to the hospital, she naturally knew that at this time, the cold liquid entering her body, she only felt the scorching heat in her chest slowly dissipating, slowly turning into icy despair, close at hand, Qi Shu Fan who was anxiously watching her, but she felt distant, like they were separated by a vast distance...

  Time passed second by second, Yu Cai was awake but kept her eyes tightly closed until He Mu asked in a low voice, "How much longer will it take to finish?" She then realized that they had to rush back today, and tomorrow Qi Shu Fan would go to work while she went to class.

  She slowly opened her eyes and calmly said, "Uncle Biao, Aunt He, sorry to trouble you again."

  "Xiao Cai——" Qi Shu's voice was calm and almost indifferent, but his hand stretched out unnaturally to ruffle her hair, "Xiao Cai, don't say that, it's my fault for not taking good care of you."

  Yu Cai blinked her eyes, blinking back the tears that welled up in her eyes. "Uncle Biao, we start school the day after tomorrow, let's just finish paying our respects and then head back."

  "Xiao Cai, you're not feeling well, let's wait until you feel better before we head back."

  "It's okay, I get a fever like this several times a year, I'm already used to it, no big deal."

  "No way, you're burning fiercely in the morning..."

  Yu Cai interrupted him, "No need, I'm fine now, the college entrance exam is approaching, I don't want to miss class".

  Qishu Fan sighed helplessly and stopped talking, while Yu Cai closed her eyes again.

  Under Yucai's insistence, the group set off on their return journey. He Qi Xiaoyun repeatedly asked about Yucai as soon as she saw her. At this time, Yucai had already recovered from her fever and was only feeling weak in her limbs, but otherwise fine. She politely thanked everyone for their concern and apologized for delaying them.

  He Qi asked a few questions and saw that Yu Cai was fine, so he started teasing her again. She gets sick at the slightest breeze, how embarrassing.

  Yucai humbly accepted and slowly ate a bag of sour plums handed over by Xia Yunyun.

  Ji Shu had always felt that Yu Cai was not quite right, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was. Although Yu Cai was ill, her spirit was still good, and she would occasionally chat with the others, even saying before they set off that she was hungry and wanted to eat breakfast. But Ji Shu still felt that something was off about her. Although Yu Cai was smiling, there were a few threads of meaning in that smile that he couldn't quite decipher...