A Scumbag Alpha Reforms: Pampering Her Wife Without Limits - Chapter 8

Xu Fangqing went with Lin Zhi to take Ning Lingzhou to the hospital.

“The patient has a fever and a serious stomach condition.”

After Lin Zhi explained the situation to the attending doctor, she turned and saw the worry on Xu Fangqing’s face. She reassured her, “Don’t worry too much. President Ning is a top-tier Alpha and has an excellent physical constitution. She’ll be fine.”

“I’m not worried.”

Only after saying it did Xu Fangqing realize that she sounded like she was sulking. She frowned in annoyance and turned her face away.

Seeing her awkward reaction, Lin Zhi figured she was probably still angry about what had happened that night.

After hesitating for a long time, she still said, “This morning, I went to bring President Ning fever medicine. She didn’t even change out of her pajamas and ran outside barefoot, telling me to take her to Youmeng Technology.

“On the way there, her stomach condition flared up and she was in terrible pain. I wanted to pull over and get her medicine, but she wouldn’t let me.”

Seeing Xu Fangqing’s delicate brows draw tighter and tighter, clearly worried about Ning Lingzhou, she said softly, “President Ning seems to be very worried about you.”

In the three years Lin Zhi had known Ning Lingzhou, she had never seen her care about anyone this much, nor had she ever heard of Ning Lingzhou disregarding both her image and her own life for someone.

Perhaps it was because she had wronged Xu Fangqing that night and wanted to make up for it.

Xu Fangqing said nothing, unconsciously clutching her sleeve. She couldn’t quite describe what she was feeling inside.

It was true that if Ning Lingzhou hadn’t sent Qin Tian to get her today, there was no telling what might have happened to her and Xin Duo.

But how had Ning Lingzhou known she was there?

If she thought about it carefully, there was only one possibility: Ning Lingzhou had Qin Tian follow her constantly, monitoring her every move.

If that was the case, then Tang Lei suddenly insisting that they stay for coffee today became highly suspicious.

Maybe Ning Lingzhou had arranged it herself, deliberately cornering her until she had nowhere left to turn, only to swoop in and rescue her so Xu Fangqing would owe her a favor.

So when Xu Fangqing saw Ning Lingzhou running a fever, suffering from stomach pain, yet still personally going to find her and even landing herself in the hospital because of it,

she couldn’t tell whether Ning Lingzhou was genuinely worried about her or merely putting on an act for her to see.

Ning Lingzhou’s acting was far too convincing. Xu Fangqing couldn’t tell the difference, yet she was also afraid she might be misunderstanding her.

The more she thought about it, the more irritated and restless she became.

Xu Fangqing wanted to go outside and get some air.

The moment she turned around, she saw Liu Junru storming toward them from the other end of the corridor.

From the look of things, she had already heard what happened to Ning Lingzhou.

Liu Junru’s high heels struck the corridor floor in rapid succession, drawing glances from everyone nearby.

Qin Tian also saw Liu Junru. He knew she had always doted on Ning Lingzhou.

If she found out that Ning Lingzhou had fainted because she went looking for Xu Fangqing, she would probably take her anger out on Xu Fangqing.

Ning Lingzhou had probably thought of that too, which was why she had specifically instructed him before fainting.

He stepped beside Xu Fangqing and said respectfully in a low voice, “Miss Xu, please don’t worry. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

If Ning Lingzhou was merely putting on an act, her concern for Xu Fangqing didn’t seem fake.

But if she wasn’t acting, then she had somehow anticipated that Liu Junru would definitely make things difficult for Xu Fangqing after Ning Lingzhou fainted and was hospitalized, and had even warned Qin Tian in advance to protect her.

The more Xu Fangqing thought about it, the more tangled her thoughts became.

She didn’t know which side of Ning Lingzhou was real and which was fake.

She would rather Ning Lingzhou simply be decisive. If she was going to treat her badly, then so be it. They could just get divorced.

But now she was dragging things out, refusing to divorce her while constantly thinking of her and protecting her. What exactly did she mean by all this?

What was there about Xu Fangqing that made Ning Lingzhou unwilling to let go?

Xu Fangqing’s thoughts were completely occupied by Ning Lingzhou, and by the time she came back to her senses, Liu Junru was already standing in front of her.

Without saying a word, Liu Junru raised her hand to slap Xu Fangqing.

Qin Tian stepped forward and grabbed Liu Junru’s arm. He said respectfully, “Madam, President Ning gave explicit orders. No one is allowed to hurt Miss Xu.”

“How dare you!”

Liu Junru glared coldly at him and shouted angrily, “Get it straight—does the Ning family pay your salary, or does the Xu family? Let go of me!”

Without changing expression, Qin Tian shifted protectively in front of Xu Fangqing and released Liu Junru’s arm.

“Move!”

Liu Junru’s brows knitted tightly, both hands clenched into fists, her expression colder than ever. “Don’t make me say it a second time.”

“Madam, I’m sorry.”

Qin Tian stood in front of her, staring straight ahead, unmoving as a mountain.

Seeing that Qin Tian had absolutely no intention of moving aside, Liu Junru thought of how Ning Lingzhou had already fainted yet was still worrying about Xu Fangqing. Her anger surged higher and higher, and she raised her hand and slapped Qin Tian across the face.

The sharp smack echoed particularly loudly through the corridor.

A red mark immediately appeared on Qin Tian’s face, yet he remained perfectly still, not even blinking.

Liu Junru became even angrier. She couldn’t control Ning Lingzhou, couldn’t control Xu Fangqing, and now she couldn’t even control an assistant?

So she raised her hand and slapped him again.

Xu Fangqing couldn’t bear to watch Qin Tian get hit because of her and spoke up. “Mom, please stop hitting him.”

Liu Junru turned toward Xu Fangqing, her gaze cold as a blade. “Lingzhou has a fever and her stomach condition flared up, yet instead of feeling sorry for her, you had her running around because of your mess.

“And now you feel sorry because an assistant got slapped?

“Xu Fangqing, if you don’t want to drag other people into this, then step out yourself. Stop hiding like a coward.”

Anger surged in Xu Fangqing’s chest. She was just about to step forward when Qin Tian stopped her, turning sideways as he said, “Miss Xu, you can’t.”

Lin Zhi watched from the side and tugged lightly on Xu Fangqing’s arm. Lowering her voice beside her ear, she said, “If you step out now, then Qin Tian took those slaps for nothing.”

After saying that, she stepped forward and greeted Liu Junru. “Madam, President Ning cares deeply about Miss Xu. She didn’t even care about her own health because of her. If you slap Miss Xu and President Ning finds out, she’ll probably become angry, which won’t help her recovery.”

Her words were tactful, but she was clearly reminding Liu Junru that hitting Xu Fangqing would only make Ning Lingzhou angry with her and wouldn’t do her any good.

Liu Junru glanced at Lin Zhi and recognized her as Ning Lingzhou’s family doctor. She snapped irritably, “How are you taking care of Lingzhou? You actually let her run around everywhere with a fever and a stomach condition?”

Did she, as Ning Lingzhou’s mother, not know what kind of temper her daughter had?

Right now, she was blaming everyone else simply because she couldn’t bear to blame her precious daughter.

Lin Zhi was accustomed to the unreasonable behavior of wealthy families and didn’t take offense. She replied gently, “It was my negligence.”

The moment she admitted fault, much of Liu Junru’s rising anger subsided.

Just then, the doctor opened the door and came out. Liu Junru immediately forgot about Xu Fangqing and hurried over. “Doctor, how is my daughter?”

“The patient is still unconscious, but her vital signs are stable. She’s receiving an IV and needs rest, so please keep your voices down and don’t disturb her.”

“Okay. Thank you, Doctor.”

Liu Junru opened the door and went inside. Seeing Ning Lingzhou’s pale face and the IV needle inserted into her fair arm, her heart ached terribly.

Five years ago, when that woman betrayed her, Ning Lingzhou had also landed herself in the hospital and needed more than half a month of recuperation before she recovered emotionally.

Even though so much time had passed, Liu Junru’s heart still trembled whenever she remembered that period. How had her precious daughter ended up like this again because of another woman?

She would rather Ning Lingzhou never give her heart sincerely to anyone. That way, she could never be hurt.

Yet Ning Lingzhou could handle everything else perfectly. Romance was the only thing that left Liu Junru constantly worried.

Liu Junru tucked the blanket around Ning Lingzhou, brushed the loose strands of hair away from her forehead, and gently touched her pale face.

Afraid that she might wake up thirsty, she also poured her a cup of warm water and placed it on the bedside table.

After keeping watch over Ning Lingzhou for a while, she noticed that Xu Fangqing was still standing at the doorway and was relatively satisfied.

She got up, walked out, and stopped in front of Xu Fangqing with a cold expression. “Grandpa is still hospitalized. I’m going to see him in a little while. You stay here and take good care of Lingzhou. If anything else happens to her, I’ll make your entire family pay the price.”

When Xu Fangqing remained silent, looking as though she had no intention of obeying, Liu Junru raised her voice. “Do you understand?”

Xu Fangqing nodded reluctantly and answered softly, “Mm.”

Once Liu Junru left, Xu Fangqing let out a long breath.

She knew Liu Junru didn’t like her, so she normally avoided appearing in front of her and irritating her.

But every time Liu Junru saw her, she treated her like an enemy, indiscriminately blaming everything on her without caring who was right or wrong. Xu Fangqing truly had enough.

Only one thought remained in her mind.

Divorce. Once Ning Lingzhou recovered, they would get divorced.

After calming herself outside the door for a while, Xu Fangqing opened it and went inside.

Ning Lingzhou lay on the bed, her beautiful face having lost its usual brilliance. The woman who was normally so forceful and flamboyant now possessed a fragile, almost broken vulnerability.

Part of her slender, fair arm was exposed, an IV needle inserted near her wrist.

The fluid dripped down one drop at a time, as though each drop were striking Xu Fangqing’s heart, sending tiny ripples through the calmness inside her.

She walked over and sat beside Ning Lingzhou’s bed, murmuring helplessly to herself, “Ning Lingzhou, what exactly are you trying to pull?”

She hurt her and made her miserable, yet also made her feel grateful, leaving her trapped between two conflicting emotions.

Xu Fangqing felt as though her heart had been tightly clenched in someone’s fist and then suddenly released, leaving even breathing difficult.

She heard a new message arrive on her phone.

When she opened it, she saw that Zhao Hui had sent several messages half an hour ago.

“Qingqing, could you talk to Lingzhou and ask her to help your dad again?”

“Your dad wouldn’t let me ask you. He was afraid of causing trouble for you.”

“If this puts you in a difficult position, then forget it.”

In the latest message, Zhao Hui said, “Qingqing, I’m sorry. Just pretend Mom never said any of that.”

Looking at those messages, Xu Fangqing knew Zhao Hui truly had no other choice before she would say something like this, and her heart ached as well.

She got up, walked to the window, and called Zhao Hui back. “Mom, I was busy just now and only saw the messages. How is Dad’s company doing?”

“Your dad has been busy looking for investors these past few days, but the funding gap is too large. No matter how much money he finds, he can’t fill it.

“A lot of the goods we shipped to distributors earlier were sold on credit, and now it’s difficult to collect the payments.

“He’s at his wits’ end too, trying to think of solutions every day. He’s already been staying up late for a whole month straight.”

Things at home had already become this difficult, yet they still hadn’t told her because they were afraid of burdening her.

Xu Fangqing felt even worse.

“Qingqing, if Mom truly hadn’t run out of options, I wouldn’t have asked you to go to Lingzhou.”

“Mom, Lingzhou is sick and in the hospital. Once she wakes up, I’ll talk to her.”

“Lingzhou is sick? Which hospital? I’ll go see her.”

“There’s no need.” Xu Fangqing glanced back at Ning Lingzhou lying on the bed. “She needs to rest right now.”

“All right.” Zhao Hui hesitated, then said helplessly, “You’ve worked hard, Qingqing.”

After hanging up, Xu Fangqing let out a long sigh.

She stood beside the window for a long time, suddenly unsure what she should do next.

If she asked Ning Lingzhou about investing,

and Ning Lingzhou refused, she would only be humiliating herself.

But if Ning Lingzhou agreed, then she wouldn’t be able to divorce her.

Author’s Note:

Ning Lingzhou: “My wife is starting to feel sorry for me.”

Xu Fangqing: “I’m not.”

Ning Lingzhou: “So you admit you’re my wife?”

Xu Fangqing: “I-I do not!”