The lights along the corridor were bright despite it being daytime.
Under the cool-toned lighting, Lin Nuan's sharp and delicate features appeared especially pale.
Lin Nuan looked at Fu Huai'an as his eyelashes gently flutter, warmth seeming to pour out from his gaze. She was silent for a moment before she raised a hand to remove Fu Huai'an's large hands from her shoulders. "The damage has already been done to Xiaonian. She's currently lying in the ER, not knowing if she's going to come out alive. What do you mean by minimizing the damage done to her? Or you're saying…"
She felt a coldness infiltrating her heart. Lin Nuan suddenly laughed out loud, and in her heavily-muffled voice, asked, "Or you're saying… in your mind, you're only trying to minimize the damage done to your friend Lu Jinnan?"
Lu Jinnan's lips quivered. "Lin Nuan, Old Fu is suggesting this in consideration of Bai Xiaonian's reputation. You don't have to worry, if it's my responsibility, I'll definitely shoulder it, I won't shirk from it!"
Lin Nuan lowered her voice, trying to contain her crying tone, but it still came out sounding high-pitched. "How do you intend to shoulder the responsibility? Can you make Xiaonian reappear safe and sound in front of me? Or do you intend to atone for your sins with your death?"
"Xiao Nuan, you're being too emotional." Fu Huai'an forcefully took the trembling Lin Nuan into his embrace.
No matter how Lin Nuan struggled, it was of no use.
"Don't be so anxious! I am your husband, Xiao Nuan! You can trust me!" Fu Huai'an narrowed his shoulders, thoroughly vexed but still patiently comforting Lin Nuan. "Calm down first, let's quietly wait for Bai Xiaonian to come out, ok?"
"Let go of me!" Lin Nuan couldn't break away from Fu Huai'an, so she could only slap repeatedly on his back.
Fu Huai'an only hugged her more firmly. "Lin Nuan! This is a hospital! What do you look like, making a commotion like this here?"
Lin Nuan realized her struggles were useless, so after she was silent for a moment, her hands slid from Fu Huai'an and slumped lifelessly by her sides. She had a look of helpless despair in her eyes.
Fu Huai'an could feel the visible patch of moistness on the front of his shirt, so he lowered his voice and said, "I'm not going to be partial to anyone, trust me!"
"Can I trust you?" Lin Nuan's voice was bland. It was clearly a question, but the strong sense of distrust couldn't escape anyone's ears.
Fu Huai'an rested his jaw on Lin Nuan's head. "Lin Nuan, I am your husband…"
Lin Nuan gritted her teeth. In spite of the distrust that had yet to dissipate in her heart, she still managed to say, "Fine, I trust you."
Those words were supposed to be heart-warming, but coming from Lin Nuan, they seemed to have exhausted all of her courage.
She couldn't see her own expression, so she had no idea how disheveled she looked as she bit her lip in restraint. The three words, "I trust you," didn't sound convincing at all coming from her mouth.
She didn't have to dig into the relationship between Lu Jinnan and Fu Huai'an, as she could tell just by looking…
But with Fu Huai'an's "I am your husband," she was willing to try to trust in Fu Huai'an, trust that she would be able to rely on him in this matter!
The few of them moved from the area outside the ER to the area outside the operating room, all of them anxiously waiting.
Lu Jinnan was leaning against the long bench, and all he could think of was Bai Xiaonian's vibrant facial features and vivid expressions.
Even he couldn't figure out what had happened. When he left, Bai Xiaonian was wrapped in his suit jacket, wincing in pain when she tried to walk. She was even mocking him for his poor stamina when she was lying in his arms. How did she end up jumping off the building in the mere ten or so minutes that he was gone?
Lu Jinnan was deeply puzzled…
Lu Jinbei was in a dazed state, as if his head had been clobbered with a rod from the back, as if he were in a dream.
The older brother he had trusted the most had raped the woman he loved the most… and felt the most apologetic towards.
Lu Jinbei felt that this was a nightmare and desperately wished he could wake up from it.
Even if Bai Xiaonian continued to ignore him, he was willing to shamelessly tag along by her side. So long as Bai Xiaonian lived well, so long as the fact that his own brother had raped her wasn't true.
Time ticked by. Lin Nuan couldn't bear to wait outside the operating room. She went to the stairs and called Miss Xia on her phone, informing her that Bai Xiaonian got into an accident and couldn't be there for the "Morning News" the next day. If needed, she could rush back and sub for her tomorrow morning.
Miss Xia heard Lin Nuan's muffled voice and didn't press on, only saying that she could get another host to substitute for her tomorrow morning and asking Lin Nuan not to worry. She also asked if there was anything she could do to help Bai Xiaonian…
After hanging up the phone, Lin Nuan sat on the stairs, hugging both her legs to her chest and burying her face between her knees.
In the past, if something happened to her, Bai Xiaonian was always there by her side. Now that something happened to Bai Xiaonian, she had to pull herself together to be there for her.
Regardless of whether Bai Xiaonian intended to sue Lu Jinnan or give him several stabs directly, Lin Nuan would stand by her!
It was like Lin Nuan was declaring war against Fu Huai'an in her heart…
She was uncertain if Bai Xiaonian wanted to sue Lu Jinnan after she woke up that Fu Huai'an would be standing on the same side as her.
Or, like Lu Jinnan's murder case the previous time, as a lawyer who had yet to taste failure, Fu Huai'an might win the case for Lu Jinnan!
Lin Nuan's uncertainty stemmed from her knowledge of the fact that the bond between Fu Huai'an and Lu Jinnan was akin to that of her and Bai Xiaonian.
If they were to switch roles and the one injured today was Lu Jinnan with Bai Xiaonian being the perpetrator, Lin Nuan would defend Bai Xiaonian no matter what.
Lin Nuan was in so much pain precisely because her mind was clear.
The door to the stairs was pushed open, causing the sensor lights to come on and making Lin Nuan shut her swollen eyes in discomfort.
The glaring light from outside outlined a tall and broad figure. Even if Lin Nuan couldn't clearly see the intruder's facial features, she knew it was Fu Huai'an.
She stood up and asked anxiously, "Is Xiaonian out?"
"Not yet…"
Fu Huai'an was holding hot milk and a sandwich in his hands. He supported Lin Nuan back into her sitting position on the stairs and, as he sat next to her, thrust the hot milk into her hands. "Have some milk, fill your stomach with a little something first. Your favorite, a ham sandwich."
"I don't have an appetite…" The warmth from the hot milk in Lin Nuan's hands couldn't spread to the depths of her heart; her fingertips remained cold.
Lin Nuan felt that this had been an extremely long day, just like the day she found out Wen Moshen went missing and the day she learned she wasn't the biological daughter of the Lins.
Time moved so slowly that it seemed as if the day would never come to an end, even though she wanted so badly for the next day to finally come…
"Eat a little. Otherwise, you'll collapse before Bai Xiaonian even wakes up!" Fu Huai'an spoke in an extremely gentle voice, twisting open the lid of the cup containing the milk and delivering it to Lin Nuan's lips.
The hot and fragrant scent of milk entered Lin Nuan's nostrils.
It was Lin Nuan's favorite sweet milk.
Lin Nuan didn't look up at Fu Huai'an, merely taking a small sip after Fu Huai'an put it to her lips.
The warmth entered her stomach from her mouth, increasing the warmth in Lin Nuan's body by a little.
"It's not scalding hot any longer, drink more…" Fu Huai'an coaxed Lin Nuan the way he did Tuan Tuan.