However, not long after Pei Jingyan left, a nurse came over, looked at Su Qingran’s medical chart, and said, “We have a new patient coming in, and your bed will need to be vacated.”

Su Qingran was confused. “Huh? Then where will I get my IV?”

The nurse smiled. “Don’t worry, our head nurse isn’t here today, so you can use her break room.”

Afraid Su Qingran didn’t understand, the nurse explained further, “The new patient is male and smells like smoke. Our head nurse would rather give you, a young lady, a more comfortable space.”

“Oh,” Su Qingran nodded, still feeling a bit puzzled but happy nonetheless. “Thank you so much!”

She then moved to the head nurse’s break room.

It was a suite. Outside, there was a spring bed in the office for the bodyguard to sleep on. Inside, there was a proper rest room with a bed, bedding, and a tiny bathroom.

“You can rest now. We’ll come back to remove the IV later,” the nurse said as she settled Su Qingran in and then turned off the lights and left.

Meanwhile, in the hospital corridor, Pei Jingyan hung up the phone and opened a flight booking app.

There was only one flight tomorrow afternoon that connected from Urumqi to Beijing. He immediately clicked to purchase a ticket.

That night, Su Qingran slept soundly, only vaguely remembering when the nurse came to remove her IV. The next morning, she felt refreshed.

After another test, the doctor confirmed that Su Qingran’s condition had improved rapidly and that she no longer needed IV treatment. A course of anti-inflammatory medicine would suffice, and she was discharged.

Under Jiang Chenlin’s supervision via video call, Su Qingran ate congee for breakfast, and at noon, she had congee with fish slices and a fried egg, though she wasn’t able to enjoy the lamb leg and spicy dishes she had been craving.

With a lingering sense of regret for the missed delicacies, Su Qingran attended the exchange meeting and then boarded her flight.

Her father had booked the tickets, so both she and the bodyguard were in business class, seated side by side.

Not long after she settled into her seat, a familiar figure appeared in her line of sight and sat across the aisle from her.

It was Pei Jingyan.

It seemed like Su Qingran had run into Pei Jingyan more times recently than in the past several years combined. Although she still felt a bit restrained around him, she wasn’t as nervous as before, like a schoolgirl facing the headmaster.

Given that there were only a few flights from Yutian to Beijing, Su Qingran wasn’t surprised to see him. After greeting him, she hesitated for a moment before offering him some pine nut candies she had bought. “Mr. Pei, would you like to try some?”

Pei Jingyan took two pieces.

Su Qingran thought she had guessed correctly—Pei Jingyan liked sweets.

When the flight attendant came by, Su Qingran asked for a cup and divided some of the pine nut candies into it for Pei Jingyan.

He politely thanked her, then glanced at her as she was grabbing the candies. “Miss Su, you just had acute gastroenteritis last night. Are you sure you can eat this?”

Su Qingran: “…”

For some reason, she felt like she was being scolded by a parent.

Quietly, she put the candies back into the bag and smiled. “I forgot. I won’t eat them.”

Pei Jingyan nodded, a hint of amusement flickering in his eyes.

After that, Pei Jingyan seemed to get back to work, reading through some documents.

Su Qingran flipped through the in-flight magazine, then closed her eyes to rest. Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep.

She vaguely heard a low male voice nearby, and shortly afterward, a flight attendant gently covered her with a blanket.

She half-opened one eye, murmured a thank you, and continued sleeping.

From Urumqi to Beijing, Su Qingran slept almost the entire time. After all, with her schedule flipped between day and night and school awaiting her during the day, she needed to catch up on sleep.

Later that night, when she went to the restroom and returned, the dim lighting in the cabin allowed her to catch a glimpse of Pei Jingyan on the other side of the aisle, his head slightly tilted back, eyes closed.

His sharp, chiseled features seemed even more defined in the soft light, though his usual cold aura had softened somewhat.

He really does look quite young, Su Qingran thought. Why do I always feel like he’s some unapproachable elder?

Besides a brief conversation about the pine nut candies when they first boarded, they didn’t really talk much for the rest of the flight.

When they arrived at the airport, their luggage appeared almost simultaneously, so as they exited the terminal, Su Qingran walked ahead, with Pei Jingyan following two or three meters behind her.

“Ranran!” A voice called out, snapping Su Qingran out of her post-flight drowsiness.

She looked up and saw Jiang Chenlin waiting for her.