After Lu Qingze and his son left, Su Ailian called Su Mo to her bedside and began talking.

Su Ailian had just had surgery and wasn’t feeling very well. It was clear she was struggling to talk, but she stubbornly refused to sleep, instead holding onto Su Mo and asking her all kinds of questions.

After a long pause, Su Ailian finally asked the question that had been on her mind.

“Mo Mo, what’s the deal with that man and that child just now?”

Su Mo smiled helplessly. “Granny, can we stop beating around the bush? Ask directly so you can get some sleep.”

“The man just now, Professor Lu, is from Ke’er’s school. The little boy is his son. I helped him out a few days ago on my way to a performance, and that’s how we met. There’s nothing else to it.”

“Oh, I see.” Su Ailian finally felt reassured.

Once Su Ailian fell asleep, Su Mo sat by the bed with a small light on, reading a script. She was deeply focused, making notes and sketches as she read.

Around 10:30 PM, her phone buzzed. Su Mo picked it up to see a message from the CV studio contact.

[Huo Bing: Mo, are you finally considering taking on a commercial drama?]

[Mo: Hmm, I’m in need of money recently. Do you have any suitable offers?]

[Huo Bing: Actually, it’s quite unfortunate. A few days ago, there was a character in a really popular IP radio drama that would have been perfect for you. But at the time, I thought you weren’t interested in commercial projects, so I didn’t ask you. Now, that show is already fully cast. However, don’t worry, I’ll keep looking for other roles that might suit you, though they’re probably small roles and won’t pay much.]

[Mo: It’s fine, I’ll take whatever I can get. Small steps add up.]

[Huo Bing: Alright, I’ll keep an eye out for you.]

[Mo: Thank you, Huo Bing.]

[Huo Bing: No problem. I’ve been hoping you’d consider commercial dramas. Listen, Mo, how about you stop dancing? You can’t make much money from dancing. Come work with me professionally as a CV. I promise I’ll make you famous. You have such a versatile voice. Trust me, you’ll definitely hit it big.]

Su Mo bit her lip and still politely declined Huo Bing’s offer. She wasn’t focused on dance anymore, and for now, CV work wasn’t her goal either.

Late into the night, Su Ailian suddenly developed a fever.

Hearing Su Ailian’s faint groans, Su Mo quickly got up and felt her forehead. It was burning hot.

She took her temperature—it was 38.8°C.

Su Mo hurried to find the on-call doctor, but the doctor wasn’t in the office, possibly called away by another patient.

“Miss Su, Dr. Qiao had to go downstairs for something. I’ll arrange for another doctor to come take a look at your situation,” the head nurse explained when she saw Su Mo rushing to the office.

Su Mo thought for a moment. “Nurse, can you give me some alcohol? I’ll wipe Granny down with alcohol and warm water while we wait for Dr. Qiao to return.”

“Okay, please wait a moment.”

The head nurse quickly handed over some alcohol. Just as Su Mo took it, she heard someone ask from behind, “What happened? Is there an issue?”

The head nurse was startled and nearly dropped the alcohol bottle. She turned around and shot a glare at the man standing nearby.

Su Mo also turned around and saw two men standing not far away.

She recognized both of them—one was Lu Qingze, and the other was the man she had met at the hospital entrance when she was leaving with Lu Qingze after dinner.

Seeing Lu Qingze, Su Mo was a little surprised. “Professor Lu, what are you doing here?”

Lu Qingze gave a slight nod. “I’m here to stay with my father tonight.”

Su Mo suddenly remembered that Lu Qingze’s father was also in the hospital.

She couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. He had helped her so much, and now, in this situation, she should have visited his sick father. But in her confusion, she had forgotten about it, which was a bit impolite.

“How’s your father doing?”

Lu Qingze gave a faint smile. “He’s fine. He’s just older, and his blood pressure is a bit high. Are you dealing with an emergency here?”

Before Su Mo could respond, the head nurse spoke up. “This is Miss Su’s family member. She just had surgery today and is now running a fever of 38.8°C. Dr. Qiao is not here. Director Ji, could you please go check on her?”

Ji Lingye looked at the head nurse with an amused expression. “So, you know I’m the director now? You’re bossing the director around. That takes guts.”

“You’re first a doctor, then a director. Don’t be so fussy. Who’s the one always telling us to put the patients first? Go now, don’t waste time. I’ll write you a commendation letter tomorrow.”

Ji Lingye smiled and said, “How many commendation letters have you already written for me? Always with these empty gestures. Why not change it up and give me a date with Nurse Cen instead?”

Despite his teasing tone, Ji Lingye didn’t hesitate and walked toward the patient area.

“Which room?”

“1802, thank you, Director,” Su Mo replied.

Ji Lingye paused, turned around with a smile, and looked at Su Mo. “It’s my honor to serve a beautiful lady. Don’t be so polite. Just call me Lingye.”

He even winked at her.

Su Mo froze for a moment, thinking, This doctor is a bit too casual.

Lu Qingze, his lips pressing into a thin line, coolly muttered, “Speak properly.”

Ji Lingye quickly chuckled awkwardly. “Serving patients is what I should do. Ahem, Nurse Cen, go fetch the patient’s details from room 1802.”

Nurse Cen, suppressing a laugh, nodded and hurried off.

Ji Lingye led the way, with Su Mo and Lu Qingze walking side by side behind him.

How’s this guy’s medical skills?

Su Mo furrowed her brow as she watched Ji Lingye’s overly casual attitude. She couldn’t help but wonder if he was just someone with a rich family name who was given the title of director but didn’t actually know what he was doing.

Her expression grew serious, and her mistrust of Ji Lingye was obvious in both her face and eyes.

Seeing this, Lu Qingze couldn’t help but smile slightly and subtly leaned toward her. “Don’t worry, his medical skills are good.”

His deep voice brushed past her ear, like the plucking of a string, sending a gentle vibration that spread through her chest. For a moment, it felt like a wave had exploded in her heart.

Su Mo was startled and quickly stepped aside, widening the space between them.

“Thank you for the reminder, Professor Lu,” she said, her tone polite but distant.

“Mm.” Lu Qingze glanced at her, his smile fading immediately. He turned away without saying another word.

Author Notes:

Jiu Jiu: Sigh… got rejected again. Professor Lu’s charm isn’t enough.

Lu Qingze: …