Ning An was stunned, struck by the sudden terrible news.
"Don't panic."
Liu Fangying sat up, took her hand, and offered comfort.
Ning An gripped the old lady’s hand tightly and spoke softly to the child crying on the other end of the line: "It’s okay, don’t cry. Big Sister is here. Listen to me..."
She spoke with patience, and as the child’s sobs grew faint, the child began to relay the situation at the orphanage in broken sentences.
Taking advantage of the fact that Ning An was occupied with the call, Liu Fangying got out of bed and went out to find someone.
Qin Wang was still in the living room.
Liu Fangying gave him a direct order: "Awang, take An’an to the hospital."
Qin Wang was startled: "What happened to her?"
"An’an is fine. It’s the orphanage director who got hurt."
As Liu Fangying urged him to go get the car, a thought occurred to her and she asked, "It’s been over a year—is the new orphanage still not built yet?"
Qin Wang: "..."
***
Xingxing Orphanage had originally been a childcare center started by the director, who had lost her own children and was unable to have more, as a way to find a sense of purpose.
However, for some reason, rumors spread that it was an orphanage, and people began abandoning children at its doorstep.
As the number of abandoned orphans grew, the director officially established an orphanage, scraping by to feed the children with the help of the government and charitable donors.
Thirty years had passed since the orphanage was founded, and the building was now so dilapidated that it had become a serious issue for those living there.
When Xiao Chang and the Qin family announced they would fund the construction of a new orphanage, Ning An had been moved to tears. Like the director and the children, she had been full of anticipation to move into a new home.
But no one expected the construction of the new building to be delayed again and again, to the point where work still hadn't even begun.
It had rained a few days ago, and the building had leaked.
Today, the weather was nice, so the director had taken the other teachers to clean up, intending to repaint the damp, moldy areas, but she had accidentally fallen from the upper floor.
When Ning An arrived at the hospital, the director had already finished her examination and was on her hospital bed assigning tasks to the other teachers.
Seeing Ning An appear in the doorway, the director, Wu Shu, was clearly taken aback. She looked at the other teachers and asked, "Did you inform An'an?"
The teachers shook their heads in unison: "No?"
"It wasn't the teachers who contacted me."
Ning An’s eyes were red as she took Wu Shu’s hand: "You’re injured—how could you think about hiding it from me?"
Wu Shu chuckled and patted the back of her hand: "It’s nothing serious. They were just making a fuss, insisting I come to the hospital for a checkup to put their minds at ease."
Ning An looked at Teacher Chen: "Are the results out yet?"
"Not yet."
After finishing her instructions regarding the orphanage, Wu Shu began shooing people away, leaving only Teacher Chen and Ning An to stay with her at the hospital.
Ten minutes later, the results arrived, and Ning An accompanied Teacher Chen to see the attending physician.
The fall hadn’t caused any major physical trauma, but due to chronic overwork, the director had been diagnosed with several other conditions. The doctor advised she remain in the hospital for observation.
The director wanted to go home, but Ning An immediately processed the paperwork for her admission, effectively ending that notion.
Once everything was handled, Ning An called her grandmother, who was waiting for news, to tell her everything was okay.
Upon hearing the report, Liu Fangying simply said: "Then stay at the hospital and look after the director well. Tell Grandmother whatever you want to eat, and I’ll have the kitchen prepare it and send it over."
"No need, Grandmother. It’s close to the orphanage, so the teachers can just bring food from there."
"That works, too. If you need anything, tell Grandmother. Don't carry it all on your own."
"Thank you, Grandmother."
Old Madam Liu added: "I just asked Wang Qin about the new orphanage. I’ll make sure Awang keeps a close eye on it so it gets built as soon as possible."
Ning An leaned against the wall, exhausted, and didn't reject the old lady’s kindness: "Thank you, Grandmother."
No matter how hard she tried to force her father or Qin Wang, it was never as effective as a single word from her grandmother.
After hanging up, she realized Qin Wang had gone out to take a call and hadn't returned.
Not sure if he had already left, she decided to try calling him.
The line was busy. Ning An sent him a WeChat message instead and headed downstairs to buy food for the director and the others.
"I understand, Mom."
Just as she emerged from the stairwell, Ning An heard Qin Wang’s voice drifting from the garden nearby.
Her footsteps faltered, and she instinctively stepped back to stand against the wall.
"Building that orphanage has always been Xiao Chang's responsibility. Wouldn't it be inappropriate for us to interfere now?"
"Tsk, Dad is really something. Is this company the Qin family's or Ning An's? Every single day, all he knows how to do is use Grandmother's shares to threaten me!"
"Mom, you should talk to Dad, too. He's at his age, why does he just listen to whatever Grandmother says?"
"Fine, fine, I know. I’ll handle the situation with Tang Meng; she won't be caught again."
"..."
Though Wang Qin claimed she didn't like Tang Meng and would stand on Ning An’s side, in truth, she sided with neither.
From beginning to end, the only person Wang Qin stood with was her son, Qin Wang.
They were mother and son, bound by blood. Regardless of how rotten Qin Wang might be, he was still her son.
For the sake of Qin Wang’s interests, she would endure even someone she disliked, like Tang Meng.
Ning An didn't wait to hear any more. She turned and walked away.
It was already afternoon, and the restaurant was less crowded. Once she ordered, the chef prepared the food quickly.
As Ning An carried the meal back to the hospital, Qin Wang finally called her back: "Where are you?"
"I came out to buy food for the director."
"The attending physician said the director mainly needs quiet and rest... are you staying there to keep her company?"
"Yes, I'll be looking after her for the next two days."
"Is there anything I can help with—"
"No. I’ll handle it."
Ning An rebuffed his hypocrisy: "It’s just the two of us on this call; you don't have to keep forcing yourself to pretend you care about me."
If they were going to break it off, they should do it cleanly.
Dragging things out would only end up hurting herself.
"..."
Qin Wang said nothing and hung up.
A short while later, Ning An saw Qin Wang’s car pull out of the parking lot and drive away from the hospital.
Ning An turned and entered the inpatient building.
There was an elevator on the first floor. Seeing the doors about to close, she called out, "Please, wait a moment!"
A man reached out and blocked the elevator door.
Ning An hurried inside, offered a word of thanks, and turned to stand still: "Thank you."
"Oh, what a coincidence."
A low, pleasant voice echoed behind her. Ning An stiffened and slowly turned around.
Xi Siyuan was still dressed in his black shirt and trousers. As their eyes met, his brows curved, and a joy he couldn't conceal spilled out from his amber eyes: "Miss Ning, we meet again."
"We truly are fated."