Endless Fall

Chapter 4

Pei Zhi Appeared and Sent Her to the Hospital

The dense dark clouds were oppressive.

Lin Jiao, who had left Bo Yu Club, walked on the street in a daze. Her dress was completely wet, and her white shoes were stained with mud.

She watched as one car after another drove past. A few tears slid down the corners of her red eyes, but she couldn’t tell if they were tears or raindrops.

Gradually, her vision became blurry.

The headlight of a car shone on her face. In order to dodge the car, she staggered and fell towards the street bench that was covered in fallen leaves.

A burning pain swept through her body, but pain was nothing compared to coldness in her heart.

“Lin Jiao?” Someone called out from a distance, accompanied by the sound of footsteps approaching.

A faint fragrance of cypress entered her nose. A suit jacket was draped over Lin Jiao’s shoulder, blocking the wind and rain for her.

Lin Jiao looked up slowly to see a hand holding the umbrella.

The man was wearing a white shirt and had a noble aura.

His face was chiseled, and under his thick eyelashes, there was a pair of sharp eyes.

However, the worry on his face made those sharp eyes less intimidating.

“Did you get hurt from the fall?” His voice was deep and rich like a cello playing in her ear.

Lin Jiao came back to her senses. “Uncle…”

Perhaps it was because someone familiar was beside her, but she removed her disguise and stopped hiding her fragility. She burst out crying.

Pei Zhi brushed aside the hair on the side of her face.

He put his arm around her shoulder. When he helped her up, he tilted the umbrella towards her.

“Get in the car first.”

“Ok.” Lin Jiao limped towards the car under his help, her left hand gripping the corner of his shirt tightly.

The Mercedes parked at the curb still had its headlights on.

He opened the passenger door and placed his hand on the roof. After she got in, he walked around to the other side.

Pei Zhi turned on the AC in the car.

He stuffed the tissue into her hand and drove to the hospital without asking any questions.

The sobbing stopped a moment later.

Lin Jiao curled up into a ball and looked at the neon lights flashing by the street with her swollen eyes.

The rain seemed like it was going to continue forever.

It was as if she had fallen into a loop. No matter how hard she tried to shake off the thought, she would be pulled back to it eventually.

Buzz—Buzz—

In a quiet environment, the vibration of the phone sounded especially loud.

Lin Jiao took out her phone from her bag and looked at the caller ID. After hesitating for a long time, she pressed the answer button.

“Jiaojiao, where are you?” Gu Quan stood in the corridor in frustration with one hand on his waist.

As soon as he returned to the private room, he heard that Lin Jiao had gone to look for him. He wondered if she had heard their conversation.

An indescribable anxiety arose in his heart. He grabbed his phone and went out to make a call without even sitting down.

“I’m outside.” Lin Jiao’s voice was hoarse.

Realizing that her tone was abnormal, Gu Quan asked with a frown, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong.”

“Send me the location. I’ll come and find you.”

Lin Jiao suddenly fell silent.

In all her honesty, she did not want to see him now.

She wrapped herself tightly in that suit jacket to warm up. After mustering up her courage, she said, “Can we talk tomorrow?”

“Jiaojiao, you…” Gu Quan opened his mouth, wanting to explain, but he couldn’t say a word.

He pulled off the tie around his neck. “Sure.” After a two-second pause, he asked, “Aren’t you going home tonight?”

“No.” Lin Jiao hung up.

She threw the phone back into her bag and heaved a long sigh of relief.

At this moment, the soothing music entered her ears.

Lin Jiao, who was extremely tired, drifted into a deep slumber without her even knowing.

“Lin Jiao?” Pei Zhi stepped on the brakes.

Seeing an abnormal blush on her cheeks, he reached out to check the temperature of her forehead.

He quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car. He walked to the passenger door and carried her into the hospital.

In the VIP ward.

Pei Zhi rolled up his sleeves and leaned against the wall, waiting for the nurse to apply medicine and change clothes for Lin Jiao.

He cracked his knuckles and tapped his arm from time to time, looking worried.

“Mr. Pei.” The nurse came out with a silver tray with a few pieces of gauze stained with blood.

“Please keep an eye on the IV drip. After it runs out, press the call bell. I’ll come over and pull out the needle.”

“Alright.” Pei Zhi thanked her and walked into the ward.

He stood by the bed with his back to the warm light and stared at that pale face. Then he used a wet cotton swab to wet her dry lips.

Looking at Lin Jiao who was in such a vulnerable state, Pei Zhi felt like he could no longer keep his real feelings under control. He wanted to protect her even more and never wanted to see her end up like this again.

If he had known…

Pei Zhi let out a silent sigh.

He held the hand that was on the IV drip and, like a loyal knight, guarded her silently for the entire night.

*

The first rays of the morning sun refracted in and spread on the white bed like a golden veil.

Lin Jiao woke up from hunger and opened her eyes.

She looked around in confusion. When she saw Pei Zhi sitting on the sofa, working on his laptop, she recalled everything that happened last night.

“You’re awake?” Pei Zhi paused and looked up.

Their gazes met.

Lin Jiao lowered her eyes. “Uncle, thank you for last night.” She was a little embarrassed to be seen by him while she was in that miserable state.

“It’s fine.” Pei Zhi put the laptop away from his knees and walked to the bed with the thermos. “This is the porridge Qu Shao made for you.”

Qu Shao was his personal assistant and driver.

Lin Jiao had seen him a few times, but she did not expect that the fierce-looking big guy could cook too.

She slowly scooped up a spoonful of porridge. When she tasted it, her eyes lit up.

“Uncle, have you eaten?”

“Not yet.”

“Then let’s eat together.” She poured half of it into a bowl. “I can’t finish this much. Don’t waste it.”

Pei Zhi nodded with a gentle smile.

He looked at her face, which had regained its color. When she noticed his gaze and looked up, he looked away.

Halfway through the meal, Lin Jiao’s phone rang.

She did not even want to look at the phone. After filling her stomach, she opened WeChat. “Uncle, can I be discharged today?”

“Sure.” Pei Zhi pressed the call bell. “I’ll get you discharged after the last bottle of IV drip.”

“Sorry to trouble you.”

“Not at all. Are you in a hurry?”

“I agreed to talk to Gu Quan today.” At the mention of Gu Quan, Lin Jiao stopped smiling.

Pei Zhi rubbed her cheeks.

He smoothed out the wrinkles on his sleeve and said coldly, “Lin Jiao, love is not the only thing in life.”

Lin Jiao looked up and met his dark eyes.

She knew this, but love was oftentimes irrational.