Chapter 24: Do You Have Any Way to Handle Me?

After Zhou Yinhe left, the nurse leaned in curiously and asked, "That handsome man from just now was so striking! Who is he? I saw him speaking with the elegant lady in the room next to yours; he must come from a prominent background, right?"

Wen Ling, not wanting to discuss the matter, shook her head. She handed the fruit bowl to the nurse and returned to her room, clutching her phone.

As Zhou Yinhe walked out of the hospital, he grew increasingly annoyed with himself. He had only intended to catch a glimpse of her; he never imagined he would fail to restrain himself from speaking to her.

Cheng Yu, following closely behind him, sighed inwardly. What a stubborn personality.

Once Zhou Yinhe sat in the car, Cheng Yu turned from the passenger seat and said, "Sir, Madam called earlier. She requested that you return home this afternoon."

Zhou Yinhe frowned slightly. "Did she say what it was about?"

Cheng Yu shook his head. "No, sir."

"Take me back now," Zhou Yinhe said, rubbing his temples.

His driver handled the car with smooth precision, and before long, they pulled up outside the Zhou family’s Fengqi Garden. Seeing someone standing at the gate, Cheng Yu turned around and said, "Sir, your second brother is waiting for you at the entrance."

At the mention of this, Zhou Yinhe felt a headache brewing. He sighed and told the driver and Cheng Yu, "You two can go."

He stepped out of the car, and as he saw his second brother approaching, he instinctively let out another sigh. It was strange; Zhou Yinhe felt no fear toward his other three elder siblings, but he felt utterly helpless when dealing with this gentle, jade-like second brother. No matter what Zhou Yinhe said or did, his brother always made him look like the one who was being unreasonable.

"Xiao Wu, back so soon? It wasn't in vain that I waited for you at the door for so long."

Zhou Yinhe turned his head away, avoiding eye contact, and said coldly, "Why did you call me back so suddenly?"

Zhou Congyu did not take offense to his rudeness. He smiled gently and said, "Let's go inside. Mother is waiting for us."

Zhou Yinhe pursed his lips and followed him. In the garden, he found Ning Qing sitting at an exquisite round table, sipping afternoon tea, accompanied by a young woman he did not recognize.

He stopped in his tracks, unwilling to take another step forward. He knew it! His unconventional mother wouldn't have called him back for no reason!

Noticing him stalling, Zhou Congyu looked back and asked mildly, "Why have you stopped?"

"What is Mother trying to do this time?" Zhou Yinhe asked impatiently.

"What do you think she is trying to do?" Zhou Congyu countered.

Zhou Yinhe turned to leave, throwing back, "I'm leaving. You go tell Mother: if she calls me back for this kind of thing again, I guarantee I will never return."

"If you leave, it only shows that you are still thinking about Wen Ling," Zhou Congyu said calmly. "Or perhaps, that you are already planning to get back together with her."

"What does she have to do with this?" Zhou Yinhe’s tone grew harsher.

Zhou Congyu grabbed his arm, sighing helplessly. "Xiao Wu, you spent most of your childhood by my side. I was barely more than a child myself when I started looking after you. I am the one in this family who understands you best—do you really think I don't know what's in your heart?"

Their mother loved her children, but she lacked patience. The youngest brother was different from the typical troublesome child; if something displeased him, he would immediately shut down and refuse to speak. His four older siblings, all significantly older than him, were always willing to indulge him. Who would have thought that as he grew older, his personality would become so difficult and his tongue so sharp?

"I'm not thinking about anything," Zhou Yinhe said coldly. "I'm not so forgetful. I don't want to go through what happened three years ago again. I've told Mother that, and I've told our eldest sister as well."

"You don't need to keep reminding me of what happened three years ago." With that final remark, Zhou Yinhe turned and strode away. Zhou Congyu watched his back, showing no signs of anger; instead, he curled his lips into a faint smile and went to convey his younger brother's message to their mother.

Seeing him arrive alone, Ning Qing stood up and peered behind him, asking curiously, "Where is your brother? Didn't the butler say he had returned?"

"Mother," Zhou Congyu said, glancing at the girl, whose cheeks were flushed, and smiled. "Miss, I am truly sorry, but we have family business to discuss, so we cannot keep you." He turned to the butler standing nearby and ordered, "Prepare a gift for this young lady as an apology."

Even though he was smiling with a gentle, polite demeanor, the girl felt an inexplicable chill. Seeing the icy look in his eyes, she instinctively stood up, awkward and flustered. "It's alright, it's alright. Well, Mrs. Zhou, Second Young Master, I'll be going now."

Ning Qing opened her mouth to intervene, but seeing her second son's expression, she suppressed her words and watched her carefully selected future daughter-in-law depart.

Zhou Congyu sat down. Ning Qing demanded, "Where is your brother? And why did you chase Miss Yang away?"

"Xiao Wu was angered by you, and he told me to let you know that if you try to play matchmaker like this again, he won't be coming back," Zhou Congyu said flatly.

Ning Qing frowned deeply. "What do you mean 'play matchmaker'? Was there something wrong with that girl? Your brother is unhappy every day because of Wen Ling; I just wanted to help him shift his focus!"

"You know he is unhappy, yet you insist on adding to his burden?" Zhou Congyu looked at his mother with resignation. "Please, stop interfering. Xiao Wu is twenty-six; the more you push him, the more he will resent it."

"Ungrateful child," Ning Qing muttered.

Zhou Congyu could only offer a soft, pacifying response to his mother.

Back at the hospital, not long after Wen Ling returned to her room, there was a knock at the door. Thinking it was the nurse, she said softly, "Please, come in."

When she saw who it was, Wen Ling frowned and feigned confusion. "What are you doing here?"

Qi Zhan walked in with a swagger and sneered, "What? Done playing the victim?"

Wen Ling curled her lips into a smile and said gently, "Young Master Qi, lurking in the shadows and eavesdropping is beneath your station."

Qi Zhan's face darkened, and he warned, "Don't try to insult me. I'm not like Xiao Wu; I don't have the patience for your temper."

Wen Ling adjusted her posture. Even in a hospital gown, she could not hide her queen-like aura. She stopped pretending entirely. "If you can't stand it, go tell Zhou Yinhe. Tell him all my grievances are just an act to fool him. See if he believes you."

Recalling Zhou Yinhe’s infatuation, Qi Zhan gritted his teeth. "You think I have no way to deal with you, don't you?"

"Do you?" Wen Ling asked with a light laugh.

Qi Zhan truly had no way to deal with her. This duplicitous woman had filled his younger brother’s head with nothing but thoughts of her—what could he do? If he were to act like a petty informant and tattle to Xiao Wu, he would despise himself.

"I am warning you: do not go after Xiao Wu again. Wasn't hurting him once three years ago enough? You want to break him again?"

Wen Ling bit her lip. She could not deny that Qi Zhan was truly good to Zhou Yinhe. She dropped the sarcastic tone and said softly, "I will not let what happened three years ago happen again."

A leopard cannot change its spots, and Qi Zhan did not believe her. He glared at her and turned to leave.