He looked at her and added, “Everything else is fine, but I’m concerned about your work here. It might be inconvenient for you to move.”

Ning Qiuxiu’s company was based here.

Although her work took her across the country, her roots were in City A.

A sudden change of location would bring many inconveniences for her.

However, as a major metropolitan area, City A was busy and lacked the picturesque and tranquil environment suitable for recovery.

Zhan Laoye’s friend’s rehabilitation center, with its superior environment and equipment, was a far better choice for Zhan Qingyue’s rehabilitation.

So, when considering relocating Zhan Qingyue, Zhan Laoye’s first thought was about Ning Qiuxiu.

“Hmm? Where is it located?” Ning Qiuqiu was taken aback.

She had anticipated a change in location, but moving to a private hospital, while offering good conditions, meant living in a place associated with illness and death daily.

Over time, the stress of such an environment might affect her mental state before her body had fully recovered.

The change of city was unexpected.

Zhan Laoye replied, “City G.”

“……” That was quite a coincidence. “I’ll be working in City G soon and will be staying there for a while.”

With that, Ning Qiuxiu had no objections. Zhan Laoye promptly arranged for everything to be moved and prepared the necessary arrangements for caregivers and household staff for their stay.

Since Ning Qiuxiu had just finished filming, Qu Hua generously gave her a week off without any assignments.

This gave her time to tend to the talismans she had been nurturing by Zhan Qingyue’s side.

Ning Qiuxiu took advantage of the time when neither Zhan Laoye nor Zhan Qingyue was around, sending away Jingjing and Chen Yi, locking the door, and pulling out the talismans she had been working on.

Most of them had failed, with only three or four successfully completed.

“I thought you’d see fewer failures after waking up,” Ning Qiuxiu grumbled as she crumpled the failed talismans into a bag, feeling a pang of disappointment.

These talismans were all painstakingly drawn by her.

Even though she was skilled, each one took several minutes to complete.

After so many, her hands and neck ached, and they broke so easily.

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Seeing her face crumpled in frustration, Zhan Qingyue felt no sympathy.

Instead, he smiled faintly and took the blame. “It’s my fault.”

“No, no, no, not your fault!” Ning Qiuxiu quickly denied.

She didn’t want him to take the blame and preferred to blame herself, wanting to live a few more years. “It’s my fault for not trying hard enough!”

Zhan Qingyue didn’t push back but asked, “The principle behind nurturing talismans?”

Well…

Ning Qiuxiu thought for a moment and explained, “It’s quite specific. Your body is of a very strong and Yang nature, which deters all malevolent spirits.

Talismans are just ordinary paper and don’t have this kind of power, so they need to be placed around someone with your kind of physique.

The idea is that the talismans absorb the Yang energy from you over time.

Naturally, not every talisman can withstand this intense energy, so some of them end up being damaged.”

Zhan Qingyuan: “……”

Quite the fabricator.

He didn’t call her out on it but nodded thoughtfully and said, “My birth chart doesn’t seem to align with being of a very strong Yang nature.”

“……” Ning Qiuxiu was surprised that he, someone who believed in science rather than superstition, knew about his birth chart’s attributes.

She quickly clarified, “It’s about your physical constitution, not related to your birth chart!”

Speaking of which, in order to avoid delving deeper into the issue, Ning Qiuxui pulled out a lighter from her bag, burned one of the carefully prepared Tianshang symbols, and handed the resulting solution to Zhan Qingyue. “Drink up, Mr. Zhan.”

Zhan Qingyue: “……”

He really had a psychological barrier towards these things.

Especially considering the cup now had a layer of paper ash settled at the bottom…

Ning Qiuxui noticed his frown, looking like a reluctant child who doesn’t want to take medicine, and thought that this was finally a sign of some human warmth, rather than the imposing devil who had been so demanding after waking up and still unable to move.

She then pulled out a piece of chocolate from her bag and, with an air of restraint, handed it to him. “After you finish drinking, have a piece of chocolate. It’ll make you feel better.”

Zhan Qingyue again: “……”

At that moment, a knock came from the door.

Ning Qiuxui was startled and quickly stashed the talisman paper back into her bag, zipped it up, and watched Zhan Qingyue hastily finish the water to completely cover up their little secret.

She then took a deep breath and went to open the door.

It was her mother.

“Mom, didn’t you say you’d come over in the afternoon?” Ning Qiuxui let her in and saw her carrying a bunch of bags, laughing and crying at the same time. “What have you bought now?”

“Rehabilitation supplements. They’re all from reliable sources. I bought them because they’re super effective!”

“……Reliable sources?”

“From trusted friends and reputable drugstores. What kind of look is that? Everything Mom bought is very expensive and even brought back from abroad. They’re not those scammy health supplements. They’re guaranteed to be good.”

Ning Qiuxui was speechless.

Knowing that Wen Ling was only trying to help Zhan Qingyue, she decided not to comment further. “Right now, Zhan Qingyue’s diet and equipment are strictly regulated by the doctor. Even if you bought these, he won’t need them right now.”

“Even if he doesn’t need them now, it’s the thought that counts. I’m happy to buy them for my son-in-law,” Wen Ling said nonchalantly.

Ning Qiuxui: “……”

Sigh, forget it. Ning Qiuxui decided not to try changing Wen Ling’s ways.

As long as she’s happy.

Wen Ling, pleased that Zhan Qingyue was awake, went into the room to chat with him.

In front of Wen Ling, Zhan Qingyue maintained his serious demeanor, but compared to his earlier attitude towards Ji Weiliang, he was less formal and more amiable.

“Mother-in-law,” Zhan Qingyue addressed her calmly, “please have a seat.”

Wen Ling, hearing him call her that for the first time, couldn’t help but smile broadly, her eyes nearly squinting shut. “Oh, how are you feeling now? I heard from Qiuxui that you’re recovering well and can even sit up.”

“Yes,” Zhan Qingyue replied, “thank you for your concern.”

“The one who’s most concerned is still our Qiuxui,” Wen Ling seized the opportunity to boost her daughter’s image. “When you were unconscious, she took such good care of you. My daughter, who’s always been pampered, never had to care for anyone before. Her dedication to you is beyond measure.”

Ning Qiuzhi: “……”

Mom, can you be more shameless?

“Is that so,” Zhan Qingyue glanced at Ning Qiuxui, who was trying hard to keep her composure, and smiled lightly. “Thank you, Qiuxui.”

Ning Qiuxui, expressionless: “No need to thank me.”

Wen Ling chatted animatedly with Zhan Qingyue for quite a while.

Probably because last time Ning Qiuxui wasn’t around, Zhan Qingyue had extracted all the information from Wen Ling.

This time, their conversation was quite ordinary and devoid of any traps, just small talk.

After a while, seeing that Zhan Qingyue looked tired from sitting too long, Ning Qiuxui said to Wen Ling, “Mom, it’s getting late. You should head back and rest. Zhan Qingyue needs to rest now.”

“Oh, alright. Take care, Qingyue. I’ll come back with your father later.”

“Sure,” Zhan Qingyue subtly complimented Wen Ling, saying, “It was a pleasure chatting with you. Qiuxui is quite interesting. Is it from being around you since childhood?”

Wen Ling, flattered by the praise, said happily, “Yes, Qiuxui has been with me since she was little, deeply influenced by me.”

Ning Qiuxui didn’t want to comment anymore.

She helped Wen Ling pick up her bag and prepared to see her out.

“Qiuxui is remarkable,” Zhan Qingyue said. “She must have had some expert guidance when she was young, right?”

Ning Qiuxui: “???”

She wanted to stop Wen Ling, but it was too late.

Wen Ling continued, “Oh, there was no expert. When she was very young, she almost got kidnapped by human traffickers, which left me with a psychological scar. I was too scared to let her interact with strangers. Ah, why am I even talking about this? I’ll leave now. Rest well and don’t overexert yourself.”

Zhan Qingyue glanced at Ning Qiuxui with a smile and said, “Alright.”

Ning Qiuzhi was completely at a loss.

The Zhan and Ning families had longstanding ties.

Zhan Qingyue must have heard about the incident where she nearly got kidnapped.

She had previously claimed that her ability to draw talismans was due to guidance from a mentor when she was young.

Now, with Wen Ling’s revelation, it was clear that her earlier explanation had been exposed as a lie.

Zhan Qingyue had likely noticed the inconsistency and was now letting Wen Ling reveal the truth.

Ning Qiuxui suddenly felt a chill.

Zhan Qingyue was a deeply perceptive person; she realized she couldn’t deceive him.

It seemed that while she thought she had been fooling him, Zhan Qingyue had been watching her closely all along.

When she returned later, Zhan Qingyue would surely confront her with questions, determined to uncover the truth.

And considering how he viewed her, he would probably dismiss any explanations as lies, especially since everything couldn’t be explained by science.

Feeling a cold shiver, Ning Qiuxui thought, “Zhan Qingyue is too shrewd; I can’t outwit him.”

As Wen Ling left, Zhan Qingyue started packing his belongings from the hospital with a heavy heart.

Noticing Ning Qiuxui’s expression, he asked with a frown, “What’s wrong?”

“I’m not playing along anymore!” Ning Qiuxui yanked the zipper of her bag and said fiercely, “I want a divorce!”