Su Mo quietly looked away.

Before long, the server began bringing the dishes—four in total, along with a light stomach-warming soup.

“Drink some to warm your stomach.”

By the time Lu Qingze returned to the table, he had already returned to his usual composed self.

He served her a bowl of the stomach-warming soup and placed it in front of her.

Su Mo received it, saying, “Thank you.”

“Mm.”

After that, no more words were exchanged.

Lu Qingze ate quietly, and fortunately, Su Mo had no bad habits while eating.

And since she was eating with Lu Qingze, she was quite tense, even her sitting posture was stiff and uneasy.

Lu Qingze seemed to notice her discomfort. Halfway through the meal, he got up and left the private room.

Once he left, Su Mo immediately relaxed and confidently took a few bites. Her mind, however, wandered to wondering how Mrs. Lu managed to eat with such a person every day. Didn’t she ever have trouble digesting the meal?

In the middle of Su Mo’s wandering thoughts, the server walked in with two thermos containers, and behind them, Lu Qingze strolled in leisurely.

“Mr. Lu, here are the two soups you requested, chicken soup and fish soup.”

Lu Qingze nodded and took the two soups.

Su Mo stood up and said, “I’ll pay the bill.”

The server hesitated for a moment before smiling, “Miss, no need. Mr. Lu doesn’t have to pay when dining here.”

Su Mo froze for a moment. She opened her mouth, about to say something, but before she could, Lu Qingze had already put on his coat, turned to her, and said, “Let’s go.”

In the end, she didn’t say anything. She thanked the server, quickly followed Lu Qingze out of Yu Ji.

However, once they were outside, her brow furrowed once again.

When they reached the car, Lu Qingze opened the passenger door for her and waited for her to get in.

Su Mo opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, Lu Qingze spoke first.

“Sit in the front.” His words effectively silenced her objections.

She bit her lip and sat in the passenger seat.

After Lu Qingze got in, he didn’t start the car right away. Instead, he frowned and looked at her.

“Didn’t the meal suit your taste?” After a moment, Lu Qingze asked.

Su Mo quickly shook her head, “No, it was very delicious.”

Then she bit her lip again, “Professor Lu, even though my financial situation is limited, I can still afford to treat you to a meal. You’ve helped me so much, I should treat you.”

Treating someone to a meal as a matter of course, but in the end, it turned into her receiving another free lunch, which made Su Mo feel a little uncomfortable.

“Is that so?” Lu Qingze smirked. “I didn’t stop you from treating me. It’s just that you hadn’t eaten all morning. If you ate something from outside, it might upset your stomach. I know the food here, so I brought you here. If you want to treat me to a meal, there will be plenty of chances in the future.”

After this, Su Mo felt that continuing the conversation would seem a little pretentious. Never mind. Anyway, whether it was money or favors, it wouldn’t be something she could repay immediately.

There’s plenty of time in the future.

When Lu Qingze’s car reached the hospital, a man was standing outside, smoking. As they passed by him, Lu Qingze slowed the car down.

The man obviously knew Lu Qingze. After waving at the car, Lu Qingze parked the car on the side of the road.

“I say, Uncle Lu, you didn’t even give me a heads up. I’ve been studying under our old man’s orders for the past few days. If I didn’t come back to pick up some materials, I wouldn’t have even known…”

The man trailed off when he saw Su Mo.

He stared at her in surprise, then his eyes widened when he looked at Lu Qingze, as if seeing a ghost.

Forgive him, at 30 years old, it was the first time he had seen a woman, other than Old Madam Lu, in Lu Qingze’s car. And not just any woman, but such a beautiful one.

What’s going on? Has Lu Qingze, the “iron tree,” finally blossomed?

Lu Qingze glanced at the man indifferently, who was Ji Lingye, a childhood friend and brother of his, as well as the young master of Ji’an Hospital.

Lu Qingze gave him a look, then turned and handed the thermos container next to him to Su Mo.

“This is the chicken soup for Granny. Yu Ji’s chicken soup is perfectly made, nutritious, and delicious. Make sure Granny drinks it while it’s hot.”

Su Mo was surprised for a moment. The chicken soup was for Granny? But she quickly composed herself and took the soup.

“Thank you.”

Lu Qingze nodded, placing the chicken soup into her hands, saying, “Go ahead.”

Su Mo got out of the car, holding the chicken soup, and once again thanked him before turning to leave.

Once her figure disappeared into the hospital building, Ji Lingye turned back to look at Lu Qingze with a meaningful expression.

“Iron tree blossoms?”¹

Lu Qingze didn’t respond. Instead, he pulled out a pack of cigarettes from the storage compartment and handed Ji Lingye one.

Ji Lingye took the cigarette, lit it, and said, “I came back to grab some materials. When I arrived, I heard Uncle Lu was sick. I heard you’ve been in the hospital all morning. At first, I thought it was strange, but now I think I’m starting to understand.”

Ji Lingye said, glancing again at the hospital building.

Lu Qingze gave him a faint glance, then after a moment, spoke, “She saved Ning Ning’s life. Granny just had surgery and is at this hospital. Since I can look after her, I decided to help out.”

Ji Lingye rubbed his chin. “Is it the time when Ning Ning almost got abducted at the celebration?”

Lu Qingze nodded.

“So, that’s the situation. I thought you really had ‘iron tree blossoms’ happening, and I even mourned for Qingqiu sister for three seconds.”

Lu Qingze met his teasing gaze. The warning in his eyes was too obvious, and Ji Lingye laughed, swallowing the rest of his words.

Lu Qingze, this man, was like a gentle outer shell concealing a sharp heart. He had spent ten years in the army, and those years had honed his edge, which was now covered by a facade of gentleness and elegance.

But that didn’t mean he was really gentle. On the contrary, sometimes a single glance from him could make others retreat. But, as long as people didn’t provoke him, he generally appeared to be a good person.

After a cough, Ji Lingye awkwardly changed the topic.

“Did you go to Yu Ji? Did you see Qinghuan? I haven’t visited her in a while. I wonder how she’s been doing.”

Lu Qingze’s eyes flickered with a hint of sadness. He pulled out a cigarette from the pack and lit it, taking a puff before speaking, “I didn’t see her. She’s still in the rehab center.”

Ji Lingye nodded, seemingly lost in thought, then fell silent.

The two men sat in silence for a while, neither saying a word.

After finishing his cigarette, Lu Qingze returned to normal, handing him the fish soup. “Are you going back upstairs? If so, take this fish soup with you. I have a shareholder meeting at the company, and I need to hurry back.”

Ji Lingye nodded, taking the fish soup while tapping the cigarette pack with his fingers. “It’s been years, stop bringing up old things and smoking every time. Put it away.”

“By the way, Ye Jue might be back these days. Let’s have a get-together. You’ve been abroad for years, and it’s hard for all of us to be together like this.”

“Mm.” Lu Qingze nodded and drove off.

On the other side.

As Su Mo entered the hospital building, her phone rang.

Seeing the caller ID “Ye Jue,” she couldn’t help but smile, her face softening with warmth.

Author Notes:

Ji Lingye: Iron tree blossoms?

Lu Qingze: Hm… yes!

Jiu Jiu: Hehe, didn’t you say it was the one who saved Ning Ning’s life?

Lu Qingze: …

Jiu Jiu: You’re so reserved, huh? Keep it up and Mo Mo will be snatched away by someone else soon!

Lu Qingze: Protest, request a change of author.

Jiu Jiu: …

1. It is a metaphor that signifies something extremely rare or almost impossible to happen, similar to the English expression “when pigs fly” or “a snowball’s chance in hell.” ↩︎