Qiao Jing finished speaking and walked over to the sofa to sit down first.
With no other option, Wu Xirui followed and sat down next to Qiao Jing.
He had initially thought about getting Qiao Jing to enter the room with him to better provoke Zhan Qipei.
But since Qiao Jing wouldn’t go, he couldn’t force her into the room.
However, he had other methods...
Qiao Jing was unaware of the schemes Wu Xirui harbored in his heart.
She glanced at Wu Xirui, raised her delicate eyebrows lightly like the mist of dawn, and said, "Give me your hand."
Wu Xirui immediately stretched his hand out.
With a serious expression, Qiao Jing’s slender fingers rested on Wu Xirui’s wrist, starting to take his pulse.
In that moment, Wu Xirui blinked his charming, seductive peach blossom eyes, pretending to be deeply affectionate, staring unwaveringly at Qiao Jing.
Qiao Jing was focused while taking his pulse and didn’t even glance at Wu Xirui, thus failing to notice his little trickery.
But Zhan Qipei, who was hiding around the corner, saw all of this clearly.
He felt he couldn’t stand it much longer and if Wu Xirui continued , he would definitely lose control and rush over!
Wu Xirui glanced covertly in the direction of Zhan Qipei, a mischievous look crossing his eyes.
After thinking for a moment, he suddenly said, "Qiao Jing, to tell the truth, I think I’m more suited to be your husband than Zhan Qipei. I would definitely be gentler than Zhan Qipei and treat you even better."
At these words, Qiao Jing paused in her pulse-taking, lifted her head, and looked at Wu Xirui with a strange expression.
Ignoring the weird look Qiao Jing gave him, Wu Xirui lowered his eyes to her slightly bulging belly and continued nonchalantly, "And about the child in your belly, I wouldn’t mind being their father either."
Upon hearing this, the look Qiao Jing gave Wu Xirui became even stranger.
She thought, could this man have lost his mind?
Otherwise, why would he suddenly say such bizarre things without any reason?
Wu Xirui had not finished speaking; he continued, "If you’re willing, I would love them as if they were my own flesh and blood..."
Zhan Qipei could no longer bear to listen. At this moment, his face was dark as water, and he’d already taken a step forward.
It just so happened that the hallway was very quiet, and every slight sound seemed to be amplified several times.
Qiao Jing’s ears twitched, immediately realizing that Zhan Qipei had followed them.
No wonder Wu Xirui had been acting so bizarrely since a while ago, saying such nonsensical things—it turned out he knew that Zhan Qipei was following them and did it on purpose to provoke Zhan Qipei using her.
With this thought, Qiao Jing let go of Wu Xirui’s hand and abruptly stood up from the sofa.
Seeing this, Zhan Qipei immediately came to a halt.
He wanted to know how Qiao Jing would react to Wu Xirui’s declaration.
Wu Xirui looked up at Qiao Jing with a smile still on his face, "What? Were you moved by my words?"
Qiao Jing pursed her lips, her expression turning more serious.
She looked down at Wu Xirui from above and said solemnly, "I would like to make it clear, I will belong to Zhan Qipei for my whole life, and the children in my belly will only have Zhan Qipei as their father."
As soon as she said this, both Zhan Qipei and Wu Xirui were taken aback.
Along with the surprise, Zhan Qipei also felt an unprecedented surge of excitement and elation.
The joyous feeling seemed to overflow from his heart.
He had waited so long and had finally received Qiao Jing’s acknowledgment of their relationship!
At this moment, Zhan Qipei felt he was the happiest person in the whole world!
Wu Xirui was momentarily stupefied before he could collect his senses. He looked at Qiao Jing with surprise, as if he couldn’t quite believe it.
"Didn’t you say before that you and Zhan Qipei were still trying things out? By saying this now, do you mean..."
Qiao Jing took a deep breath and said word by word, "Yes, we were indeed trying before, but not anymore. I have made up my mind."
"From now on, I will stay with Zhan Qipei, live a good life, and never part again."
When Zhan Qipei disregarded his own safety to shield her from that bullet, falling into a coma, she knew she had fallen in love with this man.
It was also at that moment that she decided to truly be with Zhan Qipei!
After Qiao Jing finished speaking, the air around them seemed to stop flowing, and the whole world became quiet.
It took quite a while before Wu Xirui found his voice again.
He looked at Qiao Jing with a complex expression, "Are you serious about what you said? Do I not stand a chance at all anymore?"
Qiao Jing did not answer Wu Xirui’s question. She felt her attitude was already clear enough, and her words had been sufficiently explicit.
Thus, there was no need for her to explain further.
Changing the subject, she looked at Wu Xirui and spoke indifferently, "From the pulse you exhibited earlier, it seems your condition has started to steadily improve. As long as you continue to take your medicine on time and in the right dosage, you should be completely cured within half a year."
Having said that, Qiao Jing waved her hand to Wu Xirui and then turned to leave.
As she passed the corner, Qiao Jing glanced there specially, noticing that Zhan Qipei was no longer there and wondering when he had returned to his ward.
Wu Xirui stood rooted to the spot, watching Qiao Jing’s figure grow smaller in the distance. He placed a hand over his heart, suddenly feeling an emptiness inside, as if a piece of his heart had been gouged out.
This feeling of near suffocation was even more uncomfortable than the worst of his myocardial ischemia...
At that moment, Lin Ziqi approached from the other end of the hallway, stopping beside Wu Xirui.
Wu Xirui glanced at her and said, "I originally intended to use Qiao Jing to hurt Zhan Qipei, to let him taste what it’s like to lose the most important person to him and to experience the feelings I had when I lost my mother."
"But as I got to know her bit by bit, I found that Qiao Jing is a truly exceptional person, possessing a unique charm unlike other women, shining with her own light, and I couldn’t help but be attracted to her."
"Yet, just now, she suddenly told me that she has fallen in love with Zhan Qipei and wants to be with him forever."
At this point, Wu Xirui paused and poked at the area over his heart with a fingertip.
"When I heard her say that, it felt like there was suddenly a void here. What do you think that means?"
After hearing Wu Xirui’s words, a bitter smile appeared on Lin Ziqi’s face.
She wanted to say, "Isn’t that how I feel about you?"
But the words circled her mouth and ultimately remained unspoken.
After a moment of silence, Lin Ziqi managed to push past the bitterness in her heart and said, "Fifth Master, you feel this way probably because you have fallen in love with Qiao Jing."
Wu Xirui turned sharply to look at her, shaking his head and denying eagerly, "How could that possibly be?"
"What are you talking about? I can’t possibly fall in love with anyone. I haven’t avenged my mother yet, how could I fall in love with her?"
"It’s impossible, absolutely impossible..."
Watching him in this state of denial, Lin Ziqi’s expression grew increasingly bitter.