Endless Fall

A little boy in a black and white striped T-shirt leaned against the wall and glared at Gu Quan fiercely. “Why did you cheat?”

This was the third time he had asked.

Gu Quan did not spend much time with him, but in his impression, he had always been a good child. He was not as annoying and stubborn as he was now.

He repeated, “I didn’t cheat.”

“But you hugged her.”

“She’s my girlfriend. Why can’t I hug her?”

Xue Jing clenched his fists, his eyes filled with anger. “What about my sister then?”

“We’ve already broken up.”

“Why did you break up?”

Gu Quan could not give a reason.

He frowned. Seeing that Xue Jing was not going to give up until he got an answer, he said, “You’ll understand it when you grow up.”

Xue Jing gritted his teeth, wishing he could pull out his hair. “You cheated on my sister.”

“Think what you want.”

Gu Quan could not be bothered with a little brat.

He looked in the direction of the elevator and subconsciously stood up when he saw the familiar figure.

“How’s my mother?” Lin Jiao ran in a hurry. If not for the fact that she had to hold on to the wall to stabilize herself, she would’ve probably collapsed.

Her anxious and helpless look made people pity her and want to protect her.

Gu Quan said softly, “Auntie Lan accidentally knocked herself when she fainted. The doctor said that she has a slight concussion, but it’s not a big problem.”

“Then why isn’t she awake yet?”

“She just finished taking the drug. I think she’ll wake up after a while.”

Lin Jiao gradually calmed down.

She lowered her head and her gaze landed on Xue Jing, who was holding the corner of her dress. She picked him up and said, “It’s fine. Don’t be afraid, Jing.”

“I’m not afraid.” He was very brave.

Xue Jing reached out his two chubby hands and patted her shoulder, then muttered softly, “Sister, ask him to leave.”

Lin Jiao looked sideways at Gu Quan.

There was no emotion in her eyes, as if the person standing opposite her was just a stranger. “Sorry to trouble you today.”

Although this happened because of him.

However, if he ignored her mother at the critical moment, Xue Jing, a five-year-old child, really couldn’t handle the situation well.

“It’s what I should do.” Gu Quan met her hostile gaze and his heart tightened.

“How much is the medical fee?” Lin Jiao did not think that this was what he should do. She didn’t want to have anything to do with him.

“No need.”

“Two thousand eight hundred in total.”

Two voices spoke at the same time.

As soon as Qu Shao entered the hospital, he went to ask the receptionist. After knowing that the fee had been settled by a “Mr. Gu”, he quickly ran over.

He secretly sized up Gu Quan and said coldly, “Cash or card?”

“Jiaojiao, who is he?”

“It has nothing to do with you.”

Gu Quan was dumbstruck.

He knew that she didn’t want to owe him, so he accepted the money, but he didn’t give up. “Jiaojiao, let’s talk.”

“I have nothing to say to you.”

“Are you still blaming me?”

Lin Jiao sneered. “Gu Quan, you think too highly of yourself.”

“Jiaojiao, I…”

“Stop talking. Please leave.”

There were also nurses and patients coming and going. Gu Quan did not want to kick up a fuss, so he left unwillingly.

As soon as he left, Xue Jing snorted and looked at Lin Jiao with his dark eyes. “Sister, I’ll protect you from now on.”

“Okay.” Lin Jiao felt sweet inside.

She rubbed Xue Jing’s head. Hearing him talk about good friends from the class, her anxious heart gradually calmed down.

Twenty minutes later, Lan Ying woke up.

Lin Jiao guessed that she had something to ask, so she handed Xue Jing to Qu Shao. “Jing, play with me Brother Qu for a while.”

“Okay!” Xue Jing reached out to grab Qu Shao’s hand.

When the door was closed, he looked up at the tall man. “What’s your relationship with my sister?”

“We’re colleagues.”

“Do you like my sister?”

Qu Shao was shocked. “How is that possible?” He picked up Xue Jing. “I don’t like her!”

Xue Jing was very satisfied with this answer.

However, seeing that he was in such a hurry to refute, he felt puzzled. “Isn’t my sister good?”

“She’s good, but I’m not good enough for her.”

“But why?”

“No why.” Qu Shao did not want to talk about this with a boy. He seized the opportunity and said, “Kid, let me ask you something.”

“What is it?”

“How did Gu Quan make your mother faint?”

Xue Jing frowned, his eyes filled with hesitation. “If I tell you, will you tell anyone?”

“No, I’ll definitely keep it a secret.”

“Really?”

“Really!” He would tell no one except his boss.

Xue Jing was a child after all, so he was easily fooled. “He cheated on my sister. Mom and I saw it with our own eyes.”

Qu Shao almost burst out cursing.

Just thinking about the scene made him angry. “He’s an as*hole!”

“What does that mean?”

“That means he’s worse than a dog. Do you understand?”

Xue Jing thought of the dog that liked to bark at him and nodded in agreement. “He’s even more annoying than a dog!”

“Indeed,” Qu Shao agreed.

After reporting the situation to Pei Zhi on WeChat, he was about to bring him downstairs. “I’ll buy you ice cream.”

Hearing this, Xue Jing’s eyes lit up.

He looked back. After making sure that the door was shut and no one could hear him, he whispered into Qu Shao’s ear, “I want to eat chocolate flavored ice cream.”

“No problem.”

Qu Shao strode to the elevator.

As the sound of footsteps gradually disappeared, the silence was broken inside the ward.

“Jiaojiao, what’s going on between you and Gu Quan?” Lan Ying, who was lying on the bed, looked worried.

She had taken good care of herself. Even though she was middle-aged, there were hardly any wrinkles on her face.

“We broke up.”

“Is it because of that girl?”

“Not really.” Lin Jiao lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes hiding all her sorrows. “He never liked me from the beginning to the end.”

Lan Ying was silent for a moment.

She remembered how happy Lin Jiao was when she told her two years ago that she was dating Gu Quan.

“It’s all my fault.” Lan Ying’s eyes were wet. Her heart ached and she blamed herself. “It’s all my fault for not stopping you back then.”

“Mom, what are you talking about?”

Lin Jiao took a piece of tissue from the tissue box and wiped the corners of her mother’s eyes. “This has nothing to do with you. I’m the one who failed to see through him.”

Lan Ying had always felt that she was an incompetent mother.

Back then, when she divorced Lin Hongyuan, Lin Jiao was given to her grandfather to be taken care of. In the past ten years, they both had a new family and children, and the time they spent on Lin Jiao became less and less.

She had missed too much of what happened in Lin Jiao’s life.

Once something happened to Lin Jiao, all the regret and guilt that piled up over the years would come back, overwhelming her.