Zhang Qingyue was pondering where things went wrong, leading Ning Qiuxui to mistakenly believe that he was incapable.

However, after much thought, he realized that he had not shown any signs of inadequacy.

He chuckled, thinking that maybe young girls just didn’t understand men’s nature.

Ning Qiuxui felt uneasy under his gaze, which reminded her of their first meeting. Back then, his gaze had made her feel exposed and wanting to hide.

She wondered if being criticized would make him angry, so she raised her hands in assurance, saying, “I don’t mind you. I’ll wait for you.”

“…” He should probably thank her.

Although Zhan Qingyue wasn’t the type to be crude, if the situation were different, he might have responded in a much less civilized way.

But this did not stop him from proving himself in his own way.

He turned to embrace Ning Qiuxui, and before she could react, he kissed her soft, sweet lips passionately.

As she melted into his embrace, his lips traveled to her ear, his warm breath tickling her.

Ning Qiuxui instinctively tried to cover her ears, but Zhan Qingyue held her hand, preventing her from doing so.

He whispered in her ear, “Who said I’m incapable?”

“I don’t need anyone to tell me,” she replied defiantly.

“Then let me show you what you don’t know.”

“What?”

Zhan Qingyue didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he guided her hand downward.

Ning Qiuxui realized his intention too late, and the sensation caused her entire body to tense up.

Despite having read countless erotic stories and having a thick skin, Ning Qiuxui found herself blushing deeply, unable to hide her embarrassment.

She tried to pull her hand away, but Zhan Qingyue’s grip was firm. Without her powerful talisman, she was too weak to resist.

Seeing the feisty girl turn into a shy and inexperienced one in this context brought Zhan Qingyue a sense of satisfaction.

“Do you think I’m capable now?” he whispered teasingly.

Ning Qiuxui could only feel overwhelmed, thinking, “What a bad person, a complete jerk!”

Even when her assistant came in for dinner, Ning Qiuxui’s face remained flushed.

She felt a bit regretful for her shyness.

As a girl who had read countless erotic stories, she thought she should have been bolder and teased him, saying, “Tsk, such a small thing.”

Zhan Qingyue probably held a grudge that would last until next year.

Xiao Chi, who delivered their dinner, was both crying and laughing when she saw Ning Qiuxiu awake.

She had been terrified for the past three days.

That day, while she and Jia Huanxu’s assistant were waiting outside for Ning Qiuxiu and Jia Huanxu to finish their scene, someone suddenly covered her mouth, and she lost consciousness.

When she woke up, she found herself in the hospital, and only then did she learn what had happened.

Ning Qiuxiu had been in a coma for three days, and Xiao Chi had been anxious the entire time, fearing that if something happened to Ning Qiuxiu, she would never forgive herself.

Thankfully, she was awake now.

The next day, since Ning Qiuxiu needed to rest, only Director Xiao came from the crew to visit her.

Soon after, Song Chu arrived, just as Zhan Qingyue happened to be out of the room.

Song Chu, usually arrogant and annoying, now appeared genuinely remorseful. “I’m sorry, Qiuxiu. I shouldn’t have left you alone there with her. Seeing her state that day, I should have guessed she was up to something.”

Ning Qiuxiu adjusted her hair and said, “It’s okay. This isn’t your fault. No one could have predicted this. I should have been more careful.”

Song Chu said, “That woman has disappeared. I’ve sent people to look for her but can’t find her anywhere.”

“You don’t need to waste manpower,” Ning Qiuxiu said. “Once we find out who’s behind her, she’ll show up on her own.”

Song Chu was shocked. “The mastermind? Who?”

Ning Qiuxiu briefly described the situation. Song Chu was furious. “Damn it, it’s that idiot again. I’m going to make him pay. Just because he didn’t leave evidence doesn’t mean he’s safe. I’ll make sure he gets what he deserves.”

“Don’t get involved yet,” Ning Qiuxiu said, glancing nervously at the door of the hospital room.

She was worried that a reporter might burst in and expose this side of Song Chu. “He’s likely increasing his defenses against retaliation from us. We need to be careful and not alert him. He will face legal consequences soon. We need to set up a trap to catch him!”

Though Song Chu was skeptical of Ning Qiuxiu’s words, thinking about her boyfriend made him feel a bit more confident.

He asked, “Do you have a plan?”

“Of course. Don’t forget who I am.”

Song Chu couldn’t resist teasing, “Who are you?”

“I’m your mom, kid.”

Song Chu: “…… Get lost. Don’t take advantage of me!”

After Song Chu left, San Tiao arrived.

Since Ning Qiuxiu was taken to the hospital by security and there were no strict confidentiality measures in place, although Zhan Qingyue’s people quickly intervened, various rumors about her injury started appearing online.

Many media outlets and fans flocked to the hospital where she was staying, seriously disrupting the care of other patients.

The hospital’s phone lines were overwhelmed, causing significant problems.

Until Zhan Qingyue arrived and secretly moved her to a private local hospital, things had calmed down.

However, news of her injury was hard to contain. Various rumors and false reports spread uncontrollably, and even though her studio tried to clarify the situation, it was useless.

Some marketing accounts even started rumors saying Ning Qiuxiu was in the ICU and still in danger.

Ning Qiuxiu didn’t want to make a public statement, which left her fans worried. So, her team pushed for her to post a message to reassure everyone.

Seeing the rumors, Ning Qiuxiu was really annoyed.

Fortunately, her parents usually don’t follow entertainment news closely, or they might have been scared out of their minds.

So, Ning Qiuxiu posted on Weibo:

[Ning Qiuxiu]: “Thank you for your concern. I’m fine now, just had a minor injury. Brush off the dust; I’m still the fiercest girl on this mountain!” (with a selfie)

San Tiao, her team member, laughed at her post and said, “You told me not to give you a strong persona, but you’ve built one yourself!”

Ning Qiuxiu meant to write “the most beautiful girl on the mountain” but was too shy, so she changed it to “the fiercest.”

Thinking about her strong persona, Ning Qiuxiu recalled the dream-like scene where a man mentioned that her special ability wouldn’t be lost.

Later, she learned that Zhan Qingyue had a special physique that could heal, and she was curious if it was true or not.

Although her special ability was not very useful, it helped her in critical moments and, most importantly, helped Zhan Qingyue wake up.

She was a bit reluctant to let go of it.

With just over a week left of filming for “Campus Bully,” the schedule was disrupted by Ning Qiuxiu’s accident.

Originally, Jia Hanxu had more scenes, but after the accident, Jia Hanxu was unreachable.

Now, Ning Qiuxiu had learned that Jia Hanxu had betrayed her, but since the filming was almost finished, recasting was unrealistic.

Director Xiao and the scriptwriter decided to adjust the storyline, adding voiceovers to Jia Hanxu’s role for the later scenes and editing earlier footage to make it work.

Since Ning Qiuxiu was injured, Director Xiao decided to finish shooting all the other supporting roles first.

Ning Qiuxiu’s scenes were to be concentrated in a few days, and once she recovered, they would film all her remaining scenes in one go.

After observing Ning Qiuxiu for a day in the hospital and confirming she was okay, she was discharged.

Zhan Qingyue originally wanted her to return to A City to rest for a week before resuming filming.

However, Ning Qiuxiu preferred to finish filming first, as she didn’t want to delay the schedule and couldn’t relax until it was done.

Zhan Qingyue agreed to her decision, but he had work to do and needed to return to A City to deal with other matters, including how to eliminate Fan Yanliang decisively.

After her discharge, Zhan Qingyue stayed with Ning Qiuxiu in the hotel for one last night.

During her hospital stay, Xiaochi had helped her clean up, and she felt quite dirty. So, the first thing she did when she got to the hotel was to take a thorough bath.

Since her finger wounds hadn’t healed yet and couldn’t get wet, Zhan Qingyue wrapped each of her fingers in plastic wrap.

He was meticulous and patient, wrapping her five fingers tightly without causing her any pain.

The wrapping even looked quite artistic and didn’t look bad at all.

“Go wash up,” Zhan Qingyue said as he finished wrapping her fingers.

Ning Qiuxiu wiggled her fingers wrapped in plastic wrap in front of him and asked with a smile, “Do they look like something?”

Due to Ning Qiuxiu’s teasing in the hospital, Zhan Qingyue, normally upright, couldn’t help but think that the wrapped fingers resembled something rather suggestive.

Zhan Qingyue’s throat tightened. Was she hinting at something?

“Five dwarfs,” Ning Qiuxiu added with a grin.

Zhan Qingyue: “……”

After Ning Qiuxiu washed up, Zhan Qingyue helped her dry her hair and then removed the plastic wrap from her fingers.

Her beautiful fingers were white and slender, and although the wounds from the pushpins had scabbed over, they still looked quite severe due to the depth of the injuries.

Thinking about how she had been alone, drugged, and surrounded by brutish men, and how she had used the pain of her self-inflicted wounds to stay alert, Zhan Qingyue’s heart ached.

He couldn’t help but lower his head, placing her fingers near his mouth, and gently kissed the tips.

Ning Qiuxiu shifted uncomfortably.

“Did I hurt you?” Zhan Qingyue asked, looking up.

“No,” Ning Qiuxiu’s face was flushed, whether from the steam or embarrassment, she buried her head and said, “It’s just… this action is a bit suggestive.”

Her mind was all over the place!

Zhan Qingyue looked at the glimpse of her figure that her loose nightgown couldn’t completely cover and said in a husky voice, “There are even more suggestive things, Qiuxiu.”

Ning Qiuxiu buried her head deeper into her neck, deliberately asking, “What more suggestive things?”

Zhan Qingyue took her fingers, gently entwined them with his, and smiled, “Daughter’s fans want to know, let me tell you right now.”

Ning Qiuxiu: “……”

Ah, this guy! Why does he always bring up such embarrassing topics in such suggestive situations?

Annoyed and embarrassed, Ning Qiuxiu tried to pull her hand away, but Zhan Qingyue lifted her up and placed her on the bed, then leaned over her.

He looked deeply at Ning Qiuxiu and said, “I planned to wait until we were at least engaged, but Qiuxiu, I can’t wait any longer.”

With so many people eyeing his little treasure, he couldn’t wait to make her his own and keep others from getting close.