Soon, he smiled and waved at her too.

The bus slowly started and Qi Lei silently watched it drive away, vanishing into the dim streetlights ahead.

After a while, he gathered himself, breathed in, and turned to walk towards his car. He had just gotten into the car when his phone that had been buzzing dimmed.

When he got out of the car earlier, Qi Lei had not brought his phone along. He had just left it in the car.

He closed the door and picked up his phone to realize that he had more than ten missed calls, five of which were from Yang Sheng, and the rest were from the Qi family mansion.

Qi Lei then remembered that when he had left the Qi residence earlier, he seemed to have bumped into Qi Qiming and stated that he would be back at night.

He hesitated for a moment before calling the Qi residence. The butler picked up.

"Second Master, why aren't you home yet? CEO Qi's been waiting for you the entire night. He hasn't even had dinner. He went back angrily to his study room. You should come home quickly!" The butler's anxious voice came through.

A sneer could not help but flash across Qi Lei's lips upon hearing that.

Why did he make it sound like that old man loved and cared about him so much!?

"I'm not feeling too well, so I went home first. Just let him know that I'll go over tomorrow. Cough, cough..."

In the end, Qi Lei even coughed lightly twice for good measure before hanging up

"Second Master, Second Master!"

The butler wanted to say something more, but Qi Lei had already hung up, so he could only put the phone down. He was about to go upstairs and inform Qi Qiming, but just as he turned around, he saw Qi Qiming standing at the stairs.

Qi Qiming wore a gray sleeping gown as he looked at the butler with a gloomy expression. The butler shuddered and quickly said, "CEO Qi, the Second Master just called. He said that he's not feeling well, so he won't be coming over. I think he's down with the flu..."

"Do you think that a person who could have run about earlier would suddenly fall ill?" Qi Qiming asked coldly, his expression appearing exceptionally unhappy.

"CEO Qi..."

Qi Qiming sighed and walked down the stairs slowly. He brushed the butler's arm away. "Let him be! The fact that he even called is surprising. I've got no way of controlling him!"

"Father, it's late. Why aren't you asleep yet?"

Qi Qiming had just sat down on the sofa in the living room when Gu Lingsha's voice broke the silence. He turned to see Gu Lingsha walk out of the kitchen. He sighed and could not help but say, "How can I fall asleep?"

"Are you still troubled over Qi Lei's matter? I think you shouldn't think too much about it. The fact that he could come home today means he still can't let go, so Father, don't split hairs over it. Right, I've just made some dessert for Weiwei. Would you like some?"

Qi Qiming waved a hand. "There's no need for that since I don't like dessert. Has Weiwei fallen asleep?"

"She's just laid down and Ah Feng's telling her a story. I'll chat with you for a bit."

Gu Lingsha could tell that Qi Qiming was in a bad mood, so she walked over and sat down in front of him.

Qi Qiming nodded and indicated for the butler to bring them two glasses of water as he said, "Tomorrow's your wedding with Ah Feng. You two should sleep earlier. That way, you'll have more energy for tomorrow."

"It's fine. We've been resting well these past few days."

"How has Qi Lei been performing at the company recently?" Qi Qiming could not help but bring up Qi Lei.

For some reason, he had been troubled by dreams recently. Sometimes, he would see Wang Qin, and sometimes, he would dream of Qi Lei. In the past two months, he had become much thinner and it seemed as if there was a sheer layer of chill around him.

"Mmm, pretty good. I heard from VP Yue that the projects that he's in-charge of have been going well. He just doesn't really interact with the people in the office and always does his own thing. I think that maybe there are some misunderstandings with the people in the office. He trusts Aunt Wang's former aides more," she said softly.

Qi Qiming nodded. "He still resents me. If it were not for your Aunt Wang acting insensibly back then, I wouldn't have done that to her."

"Father, you don't have to blame Aunt Wang. She was quite similar to Mother sometimes, so I understand how you feel very well, but right now, since she's long gone, we shouldn't look into these things too much. Otherwise, you'll be sad about it."

"That I know. You two watch over Qi Lei more from now. Consider it me making it up to your Aunt Wang," Qi Qiming said as he took the water from the butler and drank a few gulps before getting u., "Alright, go home and rest earlier."

...

When Gu Lingsha returned to the room, Qi Feng was already lying on the bed. He was still holding a tablet, but when he saw Gu Lingsha enter, he put it away.

"Rest earlier. What are you still looking at?"

Gu Lingsha lifted the blanket and lay down slowly, looking at Qi Feng, who then set the tablet aside and responded in a hoarse voice, "Nothing much. What took you so long?"

"I was talking to Father earlier. He was still angry about Qi Lei." She sighed softly and frowned. "Actually, I do think that Qi Lei's gone overboard. He didn't use to be like this. Has he erased all kinship in just a few years? He didn't use to treat us like this. No matter what it is, you're his elder brother, and Father's still his father. I really don't want to see him..."

"Elder brother? I'm afraid he's never seen me as one." Qi Feng's tone was calm. With both hands clasped at the back of his head, he sneered, "The fact that he's prejudiced against me is nothing new. Even if you and Lingtian have been trying to make it up between us, it has always been there."

"I know, but right now, he's getting so close to Mu Yuchen. I'm really worried that he'll..."

Gu Lingsha looked at Qi Feng hesitantly.

Qi Feng extended his arm and put it around Gu Lingsha's frail shoulders. "Whether or not he will, I'll know what to do. Let's not talk about this anymore. Sleep earlier. we'll be quite busy tomorrow."

"Can you feel anything in your legs? When I saw Professor Terl checking on you tonight, he said that your situation isn't that bad."

"We'll know when it comes to the treatment. I really hope to stand again."

Qi Feng took a deep breath again as a cold light gathered in the depths of his eyes. He did not seem too hopeful because he had experienced such dreams countless times before, and every failure only made him feel more dispirited...