"You're awake?" Ethan Jiang walked over, bending slightly as he reached out to gently touch her forehead under her quiet gaze.
Watching his movement, Elena Shen clutched the edge of her phone and blinked slowly.
"Do I still have a fever?" she asked.
"You did," Ethan replied. "You were burning up when you fainted, but the fever's gone down now."
As he spoke, he picked up a cup of warm water from the table and handed it to her.
Elena held the cup in both hands, uncertain whether Ethan had overheard her earlier phone call with Annie Gu.
Under his watchful eyes, she took a small sip—then winced softly, her breath catching.
The wound on her lower lip, bitten open in pain, stung sharply as it met the water.
She frowned slightly but didn't dwell on it. Her mind was still on Annie's chaotic confession over the phone.
She set the cup down and asked casually, "Who was here just now?"
Ethan, his eyes still fixed on the injury at her lip, stood up and inserted a straw into the cup before handing it back to her.
"It was Winston Gu," he said. "Apparently, Annie hasn't returned home. He came by to see if she might be here at the hospital."
Elena murmured an "Oh," but her heart skipped a beat.
She only relaxed after a few more indirect questions confirmed Ethan hadn't heard her call with Annie.
Eric Chen came in to report briefly on work. Elena sat quietly on the bed, straw between her lips, carefully avoiding the sore spot as she drank. Her clear eyes never left Ethan for long, following him wherever he moved in the room.
After Eric left, and Ethan remained seated instead of returning to work, she looked up and asked, "Am I... delaying your business trip?"
Back in the restroom, drugged and dazed, she hadn't had the clarity to think about timing. But now that her mind was clear, she could piece together the truth—Ethan must have rushed to her side just as he arrived at the overseas branch office. He hadn't even begun handling his work before being pulled away.
"Actually..." Her voice faltered under his gaze. That same quiet nervousness always surfaced when they were alone. She looked down and continued softly, "I'm fine now. I can go back to Yushan Residence myself. You should go handle your business trip."
But Ethan didn't move.
Instead, he took the empty cup from her hands, set it aside, and returned to sit on the edge of the bed. Under her slightly guilty gaze, he reached out to gently ruffle her hair.
His voice remained the same calm, reassuring tone he always used when soothing her.
"Elena, work will never be more important than family."
"I can delegate a business trip. But you—I can't entrust you to anyone else."
"Don't worry about anything. Just focus on getting better. I'll handle everything else."
Elena looked up at him.
In that moment of eye contact, her thoughts flashed back to something Annie had said when pushing her to marry Ethan:
"Ethan Jiang is a man who bears his responsibilities. Even if there's no love in the marriage, even if it's just a business arrangement, he'd still ensure your life is safe and secure."
Ethan handed over the business trip to Eric and the vice president of the group. Because the drug Grace Su used was potent and could have lasting effects, he brought in the best medical team available and stayed with Elena in the hospital for three full days.
Only when all tests confirmed she was no longer affected did he allow her to be discharged.
During her stay, Ethan remained by her side in the hospital room. Even for meetings he couldn't avoid, he opened video calls with her still in sight.
Mr. and Mrs. Jiang, along with Aurel Shen, visited frequently, bringing her things to help pass the time and lighten her mood.
Despite being in a hospital, Elena's days were, surprisingly, quite comfortable—if not for the lingering smell of disinfectant in the air.
Ethan noticed she disliked it and even had aromatherapy diffusers set up by her bed. Still, the sterile scent lingered faintly, impossible to entirely mask.
On the morning of the fourth day, once she was cleared to leave, Ethan escorted her straight back to Yushan Residence.
Annie Gu, still shaken from her one-night stand with a "duck" (male escort), had managed to keep it a secret from her family. But her guilt rendered her uncharacteristically obedient. Every visit to the hospital, she'd trailed behind Winston like a docile little sister, never once rebelling.
Back at Yushan, Elena remembered sending Annie a reminder via WeChat a couple of days ago—to take the morning-after pill. Not entirely reassured, she sprawled on the bed, opened their chat window, and typed again:
[Did you remember to take the pill?]
Annie replied quickly:
[Of course I did! You think I'd forget something this huge? Also—Elena babe, are you discharged?]
Elena leaned on her elbow, typing lazily:
[Yeah. Just got back.]
A few seconds later, Annie sent a photo—then unleashed a torrent of furious texts:
[I'm currently at Yujin Club, searching for that male model.]
[Damn it. I've been bottling this up for three days. The more I think about it, the angrier I get.]
[Fine, it was a drunken, crazy night—what's done is done, I can accept that.]
[But I was the one drunk! He wasn't drugged! Why was he so damn committed to the job?]
[My whole body is still sore, I could barely get out of bed! And I had to pretend nothing happened in front of my dad and brother!]
[No. I can't let this go. I need to track that duck down and question his professional ethics!]