Chapter Nine: A Night of Unfulfilled Desire...?

Banknotes were scattered on the floor like crumpled scraps of waste paper, thrown down by Xu Zhong. Xu Zhong shot a sharp glance at Xu Miao and slammed the door behind him.

The person leading the property management team glanced at the mess on the floor, then at Fu Wenhan’s icy expression, quietly speculating that this girl’s relationship with the eldest son of the Fu family must be far from ordinary.

When Fu Wenhan called him, it startled him. Since they were the Fu family’s property management, it was rare for the eldest son—who seldom appeared or involved himself in affairs—to call late at night. This had to be something serious.

Clearing his throat, he approached Xu Miao with a much softer tone than before. “Miss Xu, are you sure you don’t want to call the police?”

Xu Miao shook her head, her voice hoarse and fragile. “No need, thank you.”

What good would calling the police do? Xu Zhong was her nominal “father,” and that identity was her strongest shield. If it escalated to the police station, it would still be classified as a family dispute.

Seeing her firm stance, the security captain had nothing more to say.

He glanced again at Fu Wenhan, who had retrieved a simple first aid kit from which he took gauze and disinfectant. He approached her and, like before, gently lifted her injured hand, skillfully cleaning the blood around the wound with a cotton swab.

“Bear with it. There are shards of porcelain inside; you'll need to go to the hospital for treatment.”

His words were brief, lacking any comforting tone, yet somehow they gave Xu Miao a sense of security.

He pressed the gauze gently to stop the bleeding, then stood up, casually removing his jacket and draping it over her shoulders.

Fu Wenhan’s gaze lingered a moment below her neck before he pursed his lips slightly and deliberately buttoned up his jacket to cover her upper body. “Come with me to the hospital.”

Fu Wenhan drove straight to the emergency department of a hospital in the southern part of the city.

The emergency hall was crowded that night. Nurses bustled about, looking fatigued and irritable.

But strangely, as Fu Wenhan appeared—dressed casually with a cool, detached aura—and accompanied by Xu Miao, several young nurses at the station suddenly brightened up.

Xu Miao saw this and felt as if these weary, listless girls had been drenched in a splash of fresh water, instantly invigorated.

“Doctor Fu? What are you doing here?” a young nurse greeted him warmly.

“Find Doctor Liu. He’s on duty tonight, right?” Fu Wenhan said calmly, then led Xu Miao into an empty consultation room.

“Doctor Fu looks so good in casual clothes.”

“Working the night shift paid off; finally got to see him out of his usual uniform.”

“Who’s that girl? She’s pretty cute but looks a little worn out. Could she be his girlfriend?”

Listening to their chatter, Xu Miao felt countless eyes on her, making her incredibly uneasy.

Soon, a young male doctor hurried in. He paused upon seeing Fu Wenhan, then noticed Xu Miao’s bandaged hand and quickly switched to a professional demeanor. “Fu, what happened?”

“Liu, the patient’s hand was punctured by porcelain shards. It’s quite deep. Help me take care of it,” Fu Wenhan said briefly, then turned and left the room.

While preparing the tools, Doctor Liu glanced at Xu Miao with a sly smile. “You’re Fu’s girlfriend, aren’t you?”

Xu Miao’s cheeks flushed red, and she quickly lifted her other hand. “No, no, you’ve misunderstood. We…”

She hesitated. What exactly was their relationship?

A failed night of indulgence?

And each time they met, Fu Wenhan looked at her with disdain.

She forced a bitter smile. “We’re not close.”

“Not close?” Liu raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical. “I’ve known him for years. Aside from night consultations, I’ve never seen him appear with any woman other than colleagues at this hour. Today must be some kind of miracle.”

Recalling the message on Fu Wenhan’s phone telling her to go home first, Xu Miao impulsively asked, “Doesn’t he have a girlfriend?”

“A girlfriend?” Liu laughed exaggeratedly as if hearing a tall tale. “No way! Forget girlfriends—even a close female friend? In all these years, I’ve never seen one.”

After finishing the bandage and receiving medicine, Fu Wenhan drove Xu Miao home.

The car was silent except for the passing streetlights outside casting flickering shadows across his sharp-profiled face.

“Has your father always treated you like this?” Fu Wenhan suddenly broke the silence, his voice flat and unreadable.

Xu Miao’s body stiffened.

She said nothing, only lowered her head to look at her tightly wrapped hand and nodded slightly.

Fu Wenhan didn’t press further.

Xu Miao had expected him to be curious about what had happened with Xu Zhong—why she was beaten, why she endured it silently.

But he said nothing, which somehow made her feel lighter.

Still, she was curious how he had come back.

“Doctor Fu,” she whispered, “weren’t you already gone tonight? How did you know my father came upstairs?”

Fu Wenhan’s long fingers tightened unnaturally on the steering wheel, his knuckles whitening.

After a moment, he answered faintly, “I went downstairs and realized I’d left the car keys in your room. When I came back to get them, I heard the commotion inside.”

“I couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. Might as well have the property management check. Since the keys were in your room, I couldn’t leave either, so I had to wait.”

That made sense.

Soon, the car pulled up beneath Xu Miao’s apartment building.

She unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to look at him sincerely. “I guess I’m pretty lucky. Good thing you left your keys behind; otherwise, with my dad’s temper, I’d probably be more hurt. I’m sorry for lying to you before. Thank you for overlooking it.”

She opened the door, ready to get out. “I’ll head up now. Take care on your way.”

But before she could finish, a soft “click” came from beside her.

Fu Wenhan unfastened his seatbelt and got out decisively.

“I’ll walk you up.”