Fu Yinli looked at her helplessly. In the end, he had frightened her again and couldn't help but soften his tone, "Okay."
In no time, a maid found a coat and draped it over Su Lingzhi.
Another maid brought out a pot of porridge, served a bowl, and placed it in front of her.
Under everyone's gaze, Su Lingzhi drank the porridge spoonful by spoonful.
Her sickly appearance seemed as if she had been bullied.
When she finished, Fu Yinli walked to the refrigerator, prepared a cup of medicine, and placed it in front of her.
Su Lingzhi picked it up and drank it, seemingly not caring what it was, swallowing it down in one gulp, "Thank you, sir, can you let me go back now?"
Such a statement could leave a person speechless; it was as if someone vulnerable suffered bullying and gave up resisting, yet this was also her way of resisting in turn.
She was indirectly saying he was bullying.
Fu Yinli, indifferent, reached out and touched her forehead with the back of his hand to check her temperature, his tone consistently gentle, "Let's wait until noon and see if the fever subsides."
Meaning, he wasn't letting her go so soon.
Su Lingzhi gritted her teeth and stared at him without speaking.
Fu Yinli then looked at the maid and instructed, "Take her for a walk in the manor."
Seeing them heading to the manor, Fu Yinli turned and went upstairs to his study to handle business.
At eleven, he received a call by the window. By chance glancing downstairs, he saw Su Lingzhi lying on the moon-shaped swing chair, covered with a thin blanket, curling up like a cat.
Frowning, he hung up the call and took a thick blanket downstairs.
The housekeeper came to report, "Sir, the legal representative of the target company, Eric, has arrived."
Fu Yinli's eyes darkened, exuding a bit of coldness, "Let him in."
With that, Fu Yinli entered the backyard, went to Lingzhi, personally covered her with the blanket, and again checked her temperature.
The medicine from the morning contained sedatives, so she was sleeping deeply, but her fever hadn't broken.
Fu Yinli frowned, watched over her for a while, then returned to the main hall.
Upon his appearance, the person sitting on the sofa immediately stood up and extended a hand, "Mr. Fu."
Fu Yinli did not shake hands; instead, he picked up a cigarette box from the table, sat in a single sofa chair, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it.
Eric awkwardly withdrew his hand and sat down again, "Mr. Fu, I've come today specifically to apologize to you."
Fu Yinli looked at him faintly, speaking fluent English, "It's been two days since the incident, and you're just now showing up—is this your sincerity?"
Eric shook his head, "I didn't intentionally miss the appointment that night. The Fu Group's desire to acquire my airport met with strong public opposition. Under media pressure, my family was attacked because of this acquisition deal, and I had no choice but to stay with them."
Fu Yinli inhaled the smoke into his lungs, his dim eyes appearing even more unfathomable under the haze, "Go on."
"I plan to give up transferring the shares I hold."
As soon as that was said, there was a nearly ten-second silence in the hall.
Eric was also a businessman, seasoned with years in the market, maintaining his composure despite the other party's imposing aura, still keeping a humble attitude.
Fu Yinli extinguished the cigarette butt, "Seems like between voluntary and forced, you've chosen the latter."
"I had no choice."
"In that case, we'll see each other at the shareholders' meeting."
As soon as he issued the eviction, Housekeeper Zhao approached Eric, making a gesture of invitation.
…...
After seeing him off, Housekeeper Zhao glanced at the person sitting on the sofa.
He had heard a bit about this transnational acquisition project.
Now with rising public opinion, both the target company and their Fu Group are under tremendous pressure.
But he always believed that the master had his own way of solving the problem, just as he did now, with no emotion in his eyes from beginning to end, clearly determined to win.
Fu Yinli took a sip of tea, sat quietly for a while, and stepped into the backyard to watch over her sleep.
By noon, she awoke.
The lunch was lavish, but she only drank a little soup, spitting out all the food she chewed, "Sorry, I just have no appetite."
Fu Yinli carried her in his arms, "I'll take you to the hospital."
Su Lingzhi obediently leaned on his shoulder.
This was her worst bout of illness since coming to England, all because she overindulged last night, eating too many spicy foods and drinking alcohol.
Now she felt utterly unwell, even breathing felt painful.
Once in the backseat, she was held in Fu Yinli's embrace.
He was warm, with a pleasant scent and an inherent allure that could lead one into temptation.
Honestly, every time he took the initiative to approach and care for her, it catalyzed the budding seed in her heart.
Su Lingzhi could also see that he was interested in her.
But what did it matter if she was attracted; her instincts told her he wasn't someone she could get involved with.
Moreover, attraction and wanting to be with him are two different things.
...
The hospital hooked her up for IV drips.
She spent the entire day in a drowsy state, waking up at night to see him watching over her by the bed, his gaze meeting hers.
"Awake?"
Su Lingzhi didn't speak, surprised he was still there.
Fu Yinli stood up, reached out to check her temperature, "Still uncomfortable?"
"What time is it?"
"It's three in the morning, still early, go back to sleep."
Su Lingzhi closed her eyes, turned over, and slept again, feeling less uncomfortable.
...
The next day, waking up to see him still there, Su Lingzhi felt a bit moved.
In these past two days, Fu Yinli's meticulous care left a mark on her heart, gradually changing her feelings towards him.
Upon being discharged and returning to the apartment, Su Lingzhi got out of his car and thanked him, "Thank you for bringing me back, and thank you for taking care of me these past two days."
After recovering from the fever, she regained some color; her features were as delicate as ever, her eyes clear, not as resistant to him as before.
"Work comes second; health comes first. Eat less unhealthy food in the future."
"Okay, thank you for your concern, sir."
After a moment of silence, Fu Yinli spoke, "Didn't you say you were afraid of not being able to repay the favor? These past two days were spent on you; wouldn't it be reasonable to ask for a token of appreciation?"
Su Lingzhi's heart tightened, "What kind of token?"
"From now on, call me Yinli, and don't use formal address."
...What kind of token is that?
Su Lingzhi was stunned, avoiding his gaze. After hesitating for a while, she said, "Okay."
"Remember to take your medicine when you get back. Call me if you feel unwell."
Su Lingzhi nodded, "Then I'll head up first."
Back in her apartment, Su Lingzhi's phone rang.
It was an unfamiliar number, but seeing those three starting digits, she vaguely guessed who it was.
She swiped to answer the call.
A man's voice, modulated by the phone, reached her ear, "This is my number. Call me in urgent matters; WeChat might not be timely."
"Okay."
After hanging up, Su Lingzhi's mind was unsettled.
Unconsciously, it felt like she was being pulled into a mire named "desire," the more she struggled, the deeper she sank, gradually deviating from her original path.
...
Back at the studio for work.
Noticing the odd look from her colleagues, Su Lingzhi was somewhat puzzled.
It wasn't until she went to the coffee house halfway through the day that she finally "solved the case."
"I just knew. How could Lindie get a chance to make a custom order? Turns out she has something going on with the client."
"I heard from the tailoring department that the client is an old man."
"So young, and she's already selling herself, really…"
Before the sentence was completed, there was a loud bang, and the sound of glass shattering filled the room.
The three people in the coffee house screamed in fright, looking panickedly towards the entrance.
Su Lingzhi calmly met their gaze, "Sorry, the cup accidentally fell over."