Faced with Zhan Qingyue, who was superficially serious but actually held grudges and had a scheming side, Ning Qiuxiu once again decided to retreat shamefully.

She had a feeling that her name was written all over his grudge list.

With a fork in hand, Zhan Qingyue’s evil grin showed his fangs: “Do you prefer steamed or braised? Hihihi.”

“……” Ning Qiuxiu thought she might be over-imagining things.

However, she did have things to handle.

Besides filming, she took some time to return to the Ning family home.

Jia Qing’s comment had made Ning Qiuxiu realize the impending grim fate of the Ning family.

Although the charm she gave her father could help with luck and disaster avoidance, bankruptcy wasn’t sudden—it was a process that started long ago.

The charm could only slow down this decay, not reverse it.

Otherwise, she would be out selling charms to struggling business owners.

Even though she couldn’t be of much help, she needed to understand the situation and be prepared for potential bankruptcy and financial losses.

“Miss, you’re back!” The Ning family’s maid, Mengmeng, opened the door and smiled when she saw Ning Qiuxiu.

It had been a while since Ning Qiuxiu was last home due to her busy filming and hospital visits.

“Is my mother home?”

Mengmeng replied, “Yes, she’s trying on a new dress she ordered. It just arrived.”

“Perfect, let me take a look too,” Ning Qiuxiu said with a smile.

After changing her shoes, she walked into the house and saw her mother in a high-fashion evening gown.

The dress was a delicate sheer fabric with black and deep blue colors, elegant with a touch of sexiness.

It draped beautifully, moving gracefully and looking very luxurious.

“Qiuxiu, you’re back! How do you like this dress?” Mrs. Ning twirled in place, proudly showing off. “It’s the hottest style from Paris Fashion Week.”

“……” Ning Qiuxiu had an ominous feeling. “Are you wearing this dress to some wine party?”

“Yes, it’s a wine party hosted by Mrs. Qin. I was just about to ask if you wanted to go. All the guests are either rich or influential, so it’s quite a big event and very prestigious.”

“I’m not going. My partner can’t walk,” Ning Qiuxiu flatly refused.

She wasn’t interested in such social events; in essence, they were just for mutual comparison, and she wasn’t about to join the crowd.

However, this cocktail party did appear in the novel as well, where Zhan Qingyuan took Ji Weilang to the event.

It was one of those common plot devices in novels, where a powerful CEO transforms his Cinderella girlfriend into a glamorous swan, stunning everyone at the event.

But that’s not the main point.

The key is that in the book, both Ning Qiuxiu and Madam Ning attended the event.

Their attendance was intended to create trouble for the female lead, with Madam Ning’s expensive evening gown being pointed out as a high-quality imitation by the female lead, causing Madam Ning a great deal of embarrassment and becoming a topic of gossip for a long time.

Fortunately, Ning Qiuxiu had noticed this beforehand, otherwise, it would have been a major embarrassment.

She said, “Mom, don’t wear that dress to the cocktail party. It’s a knockoff.”

“A knockoff?!” Madam Ning exclaimed, “How do you know?”

“If you compare the pictures from the fashion week with the dress in detail, you’ll find several obvious differences. You should contact the seller now and demand compensation.”

“Well then, I’ll check it out. I paid a lot for this dress. If it’s a knockoff, I’ll make them pay dearly for it and won’t let them get away with it. I almost got embarrassed!”

Madam Ning pulled out fashion week magazines and compared them carefully with the dress, indeed finding several differences.

Although they were subtle, they were still noticeable.

Fuming with anger, she first scolded the seller on the phone, demanding that the boss come to apologize in person and negotiate compensation.

Otherwise, she would sue them, her tone sharp and commanding, embodying the archetype of a villainous mother-in-law.

Ning Qiuxiu: “……”

It looks like this script isn’t going to be discarded anytime soon.

At noon, Ning Qiuxiu’s father also came home and was very happy to see her return.

He was as delighted as Wen Ling when he heard that Zhan Qingyue had miraculously woken up.

The business people saw how outstanding Zhan Qingyue was, and given that he was once a highly sought-after “catch,” it was quite a gain for them that his daughter managed to catch him as he made his comeback.

Ning Qiuxiu’s parents shared surprisingly similar thoughts on this matter.

However, when Ning Qiuxiu asked about business matters, her father fell silent.

He continued his usual habit of only sharing good news, waving off her concerns: “My company is running fine. Is it that you need more pocket money? I can transfer some to your account.”

“……No,” Ning Qiuxiu replied, frowning, “Ning’s stock has dropped. Don’t treat me like a three-year-old.”

“The stock market fluctuates; it’s normal. Don’t worry, I won’t let you and your mother go hungry.”

Ning Qiuxiu was left speechless.

Her father was unusually stubborn, and despite her questioning, she couldn’t get any useful information.

To avoid a potential “father-daughter falling out,” she decided to drop the topic and later hire a professional to investigate the situation.

Mrs. Ning had bought expensive supplements for Zhan Qingyue and asked Ning Qiuxiu to take them to the hospital.

Mrs. Ning was very considerate towards this “son-in-law,” and even though Ning Qiuxiu initially didn’t plan to visit the hospital, Mrs. Ning would insist on sending them herself.

So, after considering the situation, Ning Qiuxiu decided to take them herself to avoid any unnecessary fuss.

Mengmeng, who had just seen off the young lady, excitedly pulled out her phone to check the forum for new updates.

The post titled “[616] My Years as a Housekeeper in a Wealthy Family” had been buried for a while due to lack of updates, but now there was a new post: “Today the madam bought a high-quality imitation evening gown…”

When Ning Qiuxiu arrived at the hospital, she happened to run into Jingjing, who was about to take the awake Zhan Qingyue out for a walk.

“Miss Ning, you’re here!” Jingjing greeted her warmly and helped carry the items. “Wow, these are for Mr. Zhan? You’re so thoughtful and it’s really touching!”

“…… Ahem, my parents sent these. They mentioned they were too busy to visit Zhan Qingyue, so they asked me to bring some small gifts and wish Mr. Zhan a speedy recovery.”

Zhan Qingyue, sitting in a wheelchair, glanced at the items and said, “Thank you.”

“No need to thank me.” Ning Qiuqiu gave him a slight smile, determined not to appear insincere.

“Miss Ning, I’m going to take Mr. Zhan out for a walk. Would you like to join us? Wait, won’t there be paparazzi outside? If you go, won’t you get photographed?”

“I’m not a major star; there shouldn’t be that many people following me around. Besides, can’t I have friends aside from gossip and scandals? And,” Ning Qiuxiu glanced at Zhan Qingyue, who looked more radiant and pleasing now due to his improved condition, and flattered him, “being associated with Mr. Zhan in the tabloids is a privilege.”

Jingjing: “……”

Why is Miss Ning even more flattering than her!

Zhan Qingyue’s expression softened slightly at the compliment, but he didn’t respond to it.

Instead, he glanced at Ning Qiuxiu and simply said, “Let’s go.”

“Ouch, my stomach suddenly hurts so much! Miss Ning, you go ahead with him first. I’ll catch up with you after I sort this out!” Jingjing, the drama queen, clutched her stomach and ran off.

Ning Qiuqiu: “……”

Why did the lazy nurse have to disappear at a time like this!

Ning Qiuxiu had hoped that Jingjing would be around to provide some lightheartedness and ease the awkwardness between her and Zhan Qingyue.

Now that Jingjing had left, Ning Qiuxiu was tempted to give her a piece of her mind.

But Jingjing was already gone, Chen Yi was not around, and Grandpa Zhan was resting at home due to illness.

With no other options, Ning Qiuxiu reluctantly took over pushing the wheelchair and took Zhan Qingyue out for a walk on her own.

Although Ning Qiuxiu claimed not to care about the rumors, pushing such a handsome man around attracted a lot of attention.

Given the recent paparazzi incident, which proved that someone was indeed following her, she was feeling a bit uneasy.

She steered Zhan Qingyue towards a quieter area.

“Wow, the scenery here is nice.” Ning Qiuxiu attempted to make conversation casually, trying to sound as if she wasn’t just filling the silence.

This private hospital had been established only a few years ago, not only boasting advanced medical facilities but also surrounded by beautiful greenery.

Behind the hospital, there was a low hill, and the wide path was frequently used by families taking their patients out for a stroll.

“Hmm,” Zhan Qingyue, in a good mood, agreed with a polite tone, “Not bad.”

Seeing that his speech was slightly improved from before, Ning Qiuxiu flattered him further, “Mr. Zhan, you’re recovering so well. Every day you seem to be getting better and better. It seems you might recover completely even sooner than the doctors predicted.”

“You… are taking good care…” Zhan Qingyue’s speech was still not very smooth, pausing twice in his sentence.

But Ning Qiuxiu couldn’t shake the feeling that the way he emphasized “you” and “them” seemed a bit intentional.

Even if she understood, she pretended not to.

Ning Qiuxiu said, “It’s really them taking good care of you. I’m just muddling through. I’m not very skilled at taking care of myself, let alone others.”

“I noticed,” Zhan Qingyue said without much courtesy.

Ning Qiuxiu: “???”

Zhan Qingyue seemed to imply she was feeling guilty, and she didn’t like that!

She was just being modest; why was he so blunt?

Besides, hadn’t she taken good care of him?

Wasn’t the soup she fed him delicious?

Wasn’t his body cleaned properly?

Annoyed, Ning Qiuxiu pushed the wheelchair with a bit more force, causing the wheels to make a “scraping” sound against the floor.

Of course, since Zhan Qingyue’s back was to her, he couldn’t see the subtle smile that had appeared on his face due to his still somewhat uncooperative facial muscles.

He seemed to have met someone quite interesting.

“Mr. Zhan,” Ning Qiuxiu found him quite enduring.

She thought of telling him about their marriage in a moment of impulse, hoping he’d enjoy the news too, but she hesitated when the words were on the tip of her tongue.

Her self-restraint wasn’t quite developed; it was hard to speak up!

“Hmm?” Zhan Qingyue noticed she was calling him but remained silent for a moment, puzzled.

“Hey, it’s okay. I just wanted to ask, after being in a coma for so long, what’s it like waking up to find everything around you has changed so drastically?”

Zhan Qingyue replied, “Surprising.”

Surprising?

Well, it certainly was, considering he had been asleep for two years.

It was a pleasant surprise to see that the Zhan family hadn’t fallen apart, his younger brother had upheld the family business, his grandfather was in good health, and he was recovering well.

Ning Qiuxiu interpreted this as a testament to her reading comprehension skills and asked, “Anything else?”

“Nothing more.”

That’s it?

Ning Qiuxiu said, “Your capacity for accepting things is quite strong, then.”

“Yeah, very strong.”

“……” She couldn’t shake the feeling that Zhan Qingyue’s words held some hidden meaning.