After sitting with Su Ailian for a while, Su Mo picked up the fruit she had prepared earlier and stepped out of the hospital room.

When it came to gifts for visiting the sick, fruit might seem a little rushed.

But perhaps it was instinctive—Su Mo didn’t want anyone to think she was trying to get closer to Professor Lu’s family under the pretense of visiting.

The reason for this? She probably didn’t want to cause any unnecessary misunderstandings.

Even though Professor Lu had helped her so much, she knew that there should be a certain distance maintained with married individuals. Once she paid back the money, their relationship would remain strictly professional.

After leaving Su Ailian’s room, Su Mo called Lu Qingze.

Lu Qingze was still in Old Master Lu’s room. Hearing his phone ring, he instinctively stepped out to answer.

When he saw the caller ID, he paused, and then looked up, spotting Su Mo coming toward him with a bag of fruit in hand, her head lowered as she focused on her phone.

Lu Qingze’s lips curved slightly in a barely visible smile as he walked over. However, just a few steps in, he saw a young man suddenly appear by Su Mo’s side and take the fruit from her.

“Where is the person you want to see? I’ll accompany you.”

Su Mo was about to speak when she suddenly felt a burning gaze on her. She quickly lifted her head and met the calm, yet deep eyes of the man in front of her, which seemed as vast as the ocean.

“Professor Lu,” Su Mo called out in surprise. She had tried calling him earlier but hadn’t gotten through. She had been wondering if it might be inconvenient, but here he was, already walking toward her.

“Is there something you wanted when you called me?” Lu Qingze asked, his tone carrying a hint of familiarity, though it wasn’t overly friendly.

Su Mo furrowed her brows slightly.

“Hm?” Seeing Su Mo stay silent, Lu Qingze asked again.

Su Mo quickly snapped out of her thoughts.

“I heard your father is also in the hospital. I should have come sooner, but I’ve been tied up with other things. Since I have time today, I thought I’d come by and let you know.”

Lu Qingze smiled. “I see. Let’s go.”

After speaking, he nodded slightly to Jiang Fei and walked toward the hospital room at the end of the hall.

Su Mo took the bag of fruit from Jiang Fei. “I’ll be there in a moment. Jiang Fei, please wait for me.”

Jiang Fei’s lips were pressed into a straight line, his gaze fixed firmly on the man’s back ahead of them.

This man seemed to be at least 1.9 meters tall, wearing a suit that perfectly accentuated his physique.

Noble and elegant, handsome and refined—such a man was the kind he’d probably only seen on television.

Unconsciously, he tightened his grip on his inner emotions.

“I’ll go with you.”

Jiang Fei whispered in Su Mo’s ear.

Though younger, he had always been dominant. His tone was firm, without any room for negotiation. For a moment, Su Mo found herself unable to do anything.

Jiang Fei had no intention of letting Su Mo off the hook. After speaking, he stepped forward and began walking down the hall.

Su Mo could only follow helplessly.

At the entrance to Old Master Lu’s room, Lu Qingze looked back at Jiang Fei, who was still standing next to Su Mo. A fleeting emotion crossed his eyes before he pushed the door open. He nodded at Su Mo. “Come in.”

Jiang Fei stayed by Su Mo’s side, and only then did he hand the fruit to her.

As he let go, he suddenly raised his hand and gently patted her on the head. “Go ahead. I’ll wait for you here.”

This gesture, when done between men and women, was a little too intimate, and Su Mo instinctively wanted to pull away.

But the door to the room had already been opened by Lu Qingze. Though she couldn’t see inside, out of courtesy, she couldn’t make too much of a movement, so she ended up being patted on the head.

Lu Qingze watched Jiang Fei’s gesture, and his previously calm eyes darkened.

He glanced at Jiang Fei, their gazes briefly meeting. The young man, only in his teens or early twenties, didn’t appear shaken, but Lu Qingze’s eyes seemed to carry an undercurrent of darkness, like a storm ready to erupt.

However, when his gaze turned to Su Mo, his expression returned to normal. “Come in,” he said, his tone calm but somehow carrying an undercurrent of displeasure.

Su Mo frowned slightly, glanced at Lu Qingze, but didn’t dwell on it. She stepped inside.

Jiang Fei stood behind her, instinctively reaching out to grab her, but his hand grasped nothing.

Thus, he could only watch helplessly as Lu Qingze took her wrist and guided her inside, closing the door behind them.

Su Mo didn’t notice the silent confrontation behind her. She was more surprised to see that there were several people in Old Master Lu’s room, people who were normally close to the Lu family. They had come to visit after hearing that Old Master Lu was in the hospital.

Once Su Mo entered, the lively room quickly fell silent, all eyes focusing on her.

“Qingze, this is…” Shu Yunzhi was the first to recover and asked in surprise.

Lu Qingze gestured to Su Mo, leading her further inside. “Mom, this is the person Ning Ning was looking for at the banquet a few days ago.”

Shu Yunzhi’s eyes widened in surprise, and then her gaze toward Su Mo became full of shock and excitement. “So you’re Ning Ning’s savior! Come in, come in, please sit.”

Shu Yunzhi’s joy was palpable. She was sincerely grateful to this young woman who had saved Ning Ning and disappeared without a word.

Now, seeing that Su Mo had come to visit the elderly man, she immediately treated her as an honored guest, which made Su Mo a bit embarrassed.

“It’s fine, Aunt Shu. I just heard that Uncle Lu wasn’t feeling well, so I thought I’d come see him. You really don’t need to be so polite.”

“Of course I have to be polite! If it weren’t for you that day, Ning Ning might have been taken by some stranger. I shudder to think about it.”

Shu Yunzhi pulled Su Mo to the sofa in the center of the room. “We should be thanking you, not the other way around. You came all the way here just to check on our old man. You’ve really gone above and beyond.”

Old Master Lu nodded in agreement with his wife and thanked Su Mo. “Thank you.”

Su Mo smiled and politely responded, wishing him a speedy recovery.

Shu Yunzhi continued to express her gratitude, but Su Mo, a little helpless, said, “Aunt Shu, really, you don’t have to be so courteous. Professor Lu has helped me a lot as well.”

Shu Yunzhi was surprised and looked toward Lu Qingze, who was talking to someone else. “You mean Qingze has helped you a lot before?”

“Mm, when my grandmother had surgery, Professor Lu helped me a great deal.”

Shu Yunzhi immediately understood. “Ah, I see. Is your grandmother also in this hospital?”

“Mm.”

Shu Yunzhi asked about Su Mo’s grandmother, and while she thought her son had been behaving decently, at least not cold or indifferent to Ning Ning’s benefactor, she wasn’t about to think too much of it. After all, she knew her son’s temperament well—getting him to be kind to a girl was harder than having it rain red.

Su Mo didn’t stay long. After exchanging a few more words with Shu Yunzhi, she stood up to leave.

Lu Qingze stepped over to her side.

“Let’s go. I’ll see you off.”

Su Mo looked around when they left the room but didn’t see Jiang Fei.

She furrowed her brows slightly, about to tell Lu Qingze not to bother with seeing her off when Lu Qingze suddenly spoke.

“Are you busy with work?”

Su Mo: “It’s alright.”

“No rest today?” Lu Qingze asked, his brow slightly furrowed.

Su Mo pressed her lips together and didn’t respond.

Lu Qingze glanced at her before speaking again.

“Ning Ning’s been asking for you. He really likes you.”

“Thank you, I like Ning Ning a lot too.”

“Mm,” he replied. “Uncle Zhong went back to his hometown, and I’ve been busy with work. Ning Ning won’t accept any nannies or part-time workers. So, could I ask you to help me pick him up these next few days?”

“Pick up Ning Ning?”

“Yeah. Just pick him up from kindergarten every day and bring him home. You can be paid by the hour, which can go toward settling that debt.”

Su Mo opened her mouth, thought for a moment, and then answered, “Okay.”