Chapter 16: The Unpredictable Prince!

“Xie Yanli, what are you doing here?”

Xie Yanli’s eyes were sharp, and he looked at Song Qiao as he said, “This isn’t the time to discuss this, let me take you inside.”

Song Qiao immediately furrowed her brows at the thought of Chen Yang still being inside. Her tone became firm, “Thank you for your kindness, but there’s no need. I’m fine.”

After saying this, she struggled to get out of Xie Yanli’s embrace. She staggered to her feet and tried to walk forward, but she had barely taken a few steps when her body wavered and she almost collapsed.

At that crucial moment, Xie Yanli swiftly caught her from behind.

“A woman can be capable, but never overestimate yourself.”

Xie Yanli’s gaze was cold and decisive. After speaking, he quickly lifted her horizontally and walked swiftly toward the emergency room.

“Xie Yanli, I told you I’m not going in, let me down immediately.”

Song Qiao spoke urgently while struggling to get down from his arms, but Xie Yanli said nothing, instead holding her even tighter.

“Xie Yanli, are you listening? Let me down right now…”

As Song Qiao spoke, Xie Yanli had already carried her into the emergency room.

Once inside, Song Qiao looked around but didn’t see Chen Yang. She couldn’t help but feel relieved and stopped struggling.

After the doctor examined her, they quickly did some tests.

When the results came back, the doctor said she had acute gastroenteritis and needed to be hospitalized for IV fluids immediately. However, due to a lack of available beds, she would have to receive the fluids in the emergency room lobby until a bed became available.

“Alright.” Before Song Qiao could speak, Xie Yanli responded to the doctor on her behalf.

He then looked at Song Qiao and said, “You sit here and wait.” Then, he took out his phone to make a call.

Song Qiao sat there, still processing what was happening. Before she could react, Xie Yanli returned, directly picking her up again and heading further into the hospital.

“Xie Yanli, where are you taking me?” she asked helplessly.

“To a hospital room for IV fluids,” Xie Yanli replied, still wearing his cold expression.

Song Qiao paused, asking, “But didn’t the doctor just say there were no rooms available…”

She didn’t finish the sentence, as she realized it didn’t matter. After all, this was Xie Yanli, and in the capital city, there was nothing he couldn’t arrange.

She watched him closely, trying to figure out why he was suddenly helping her, especially when they had always been on bad terms, and had parted on an unpleasant note just earlier in the day.

After a moment, she decided not to ask, knowing that nothing good would come from his answer.

Carried by Xie Yanli, Song Qiao felt uncomfortable. She pursed her lips and said, “Xie Yanli, why don’t you put me down? I can walk on my own.”

Xie Yanli glanced at her disdainfully, his expression cold. “If you want to fall, go ahead and get down.”

Song Qiao furrowed her brows, feeling a bit indignant. “I wasn’t feeling well earlier, but I’m better now. Besides, if you keep carrying me, you’ll get tired. I’m fine, really.”

Xie Yanli stopped walking, and Song Qiao thought he was finally going to let her down. Just as she was about to slide down from his arms, he stared at her and said in a drawn-out tone, “You know you’re heavy. So be quiet; your noise is giving me a headache.”

A woman’s weight and age are sensitive topics, and hearing this, Song Qiao immediately grew flustered. “Hey, Xie Yanli, my figure is fine! How could you say I’m heavy? I…”

She paused, adding, “Xie Yanli, you’ve only been carrying me for a short time, and you’re already tired? Are you sure you’re okay?”

After she spoke, she noticed a coldness spreading over Xie Yanli’s handsome face, and she realized she had said something wrong. She quickly fell silent.

Xie Yanli leaned in close to her, lifting his eyelids and giving her an ambiguous, assessing look. “What, do you want to try again?”

Just as Song Qiao opened her mouth, her eyes locked with Xie Yanli’s deep, ink-black gaze.

Her body froze, and she looked at him, feeling a strange heat emanating from his eyes.

This intense, confusing feeling made her subconsciously bite her lip. She tried to look away, but her gaze was inexplicably drawn to him, and the two of them stared at each other for a long while.

Until Song Qiao’s face turned red and her heartbeat quickened, she was about to say something when Xie Yanli’s phone rang.

She snapped back to reality and quickly turned her head to the side.

Seeing that she had averted her gaze, Xie Yanli’s eyes darkened with impatience. He pulled out his phone and frowned when he saw the caller ID.

The phone rang several times before he finally answered.

“Dad, what’s the matter?”

“I told you to go on a blind date with Lin Zhijie’s daughter today. How come you left her halfway and didn’t even say goodbye? Where did you go?”

Xie Yanli remained unmoved, his tone cold. “Dad, I don’t like that woman.”

“Then who do you like? After all these years, whether it’s a man or a woman, why don’t you bring someone home? Do you know that your grandfather saw your news today and it made him sick? Xie Yanli, if you won’t continue with the blind dates, then pack your things and go back to the UK.”

With that, the call ended abruptly.

Song Qiao, being so close, naturally overheard their conversation. Hearing that Xie Yanli’s grandfather had fallen ill because of the news, she felt a pang of guilt.

She glanced at Xie Yanli, apologetically saying, “Xie Yanli, I take responsibility for the news. If your grandfather needs me to clarify or explain anything, I can…”

Xie Yanli stared at her sharply and asked, “My grandfather needs a granddaughter-in-law right now, Song Qiao. Can you do that?”

Song Qiao was taken aback, then shook her head resolutely. “Xie Yanli, I really can’t help you with that.”

Xie Yanli’s face darkened, his gaze heavy as he said, “Song Qiao, you really are a heartless woman.”

Song Qiao was puzzled. “Xie Yanli, you think I’m heartless?”

Xie Yanli didn’t respond. He just continued carrying her forward.

Song Qiao could clearly feel that he was angry. She really thought he was a strange person.

His attitude had been cold, his words had conveyed disdain, and even a hint of unexplained hatred, yet he was helping her.

Song Qiao’s expression grew more serious as she tried to make sense of him. This man was too unpredictable. She couldn’t help but think back to the time she had the car accident.

She didn’t know how Xie Yanli had learned about it, but he had come to the hospital to check on her, acting unusually concerned.

She had been puzzled at the time, and just as she was about to ask him, Chen Yang had arrived at the hospital with food for her.

When Chen Yang asked about Xie Yanli, Song Qiao simply explained they were classmates. Later, Xie Yanli asked about Chen Yang, and she told him the truth—Chen Yang was her boyfriend.

Who would have guessed that Xie Yanli suddenly turned hostile, saying she deserved the car accident and that he had come to the hospital just to see her make a fool of herself.

From that point on, whenever Xie Yanli saw her, his face was always sour, like she owed him a fortune—no, for someone of his status, it seemed like she owed him tens of millions.

Song Qiao snapped out of her thoughts. If this hatred was due to something from ten years ago, then it couldn’t explain why Xie Yanli disliked her so much. She suddenly wondered if she had done something to hurt him before the accident, which could explain his resentment.

She also recalled what Shen Yao had said to her before—her doctor had mentioned that she might experience temporary amnesia after the accident. She had been thinking about this the whole way, but couldn’t make sense of it.

When they reached the hospital room, Xie Yanli was about to put her on the bed, but when Song Qiao saw the clean sheets, she immediately stopped him.

Xie Yanli looked confused as she nervously said, “It’s fine, I can get on the bed myself.”

But Xie Yanli wouldn’t listen. Just as he was about to force her onto the bed, Song Qiao lowered her head, her ears turning red as she said, “Xie Yanli, my skirt is dirty. I’m afraid I’ll stain the sheets.”