After listening to the doctor, Gu Yuan fell into a brief silence.

Once the doctor left, the entire ward was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. She pulled a chair to sit by the bedside, watching the still-unconscious Quan Jin. Even in his sleep, his brows were furrowed, indicating how tough things had been for him recently.

Gu Yuan sat there quietly for a few minutes, also staring at him for several minutes, until the ringing of her phone in her bag broke the silence.

Gu Yuan got up and went to the window to answer the call—

"Yiyi."

Sheng Yi asked, "Yuanyuan, are you coming back for lunch?"

"Yes."

Of course, she had to go back, but Quan Jin hadn’t woken up yet...

"Yuanyuan, when are you coming back? Suisui is clamoring to find you." Sheng Yi had already exhausted all her tricks to placate Suisui, who was too smart to be easily fooled, constantly asking where her mom had gone.

Suisui was usually reasonable.

The reason for her fussing and asking where her mom was because Gu Yuan had told Suisui this morning that she wasn’t going to work. Whenever she said she was going to work, Suisui would obediently not look for her.

But since she had said she wouldn’t go to work today and now vanished, Suisui would definitely cause a fuss if she couldn’t find her.

Gu Yuan glanced back at the still-unconscious Quan Jin and then at the time, it was already past noon. She told Sheng Yi on the phone, "I’m coming back now. You just keep Suisui entertained for a bit."

Sheng Yi said, "Alright, just hurry up."

"Okay."

She hung up the phone.

When Gu Yuan turned back around, she saw Quan Jin sitting up, watching her eagerly.

She: "..."

It had probably only been half a minute.

She had clearly checked half a minute ago and saw he was still asleep, but now he was sitting up, and appeared very clear-headed.

Gu Yuan walked over to the bed: "How long have you been awake?"

Quan Jin: "...A few minutes."

Gu Yuan was at a loss for words.

So during those ten-plus minutes she sat there quietly, he was pretending to sleep the whole time.

Indeed, how could she almost forget, Quan Jin’s coma wasn’t caused by external factors, but his own issues, so it wouldn’t last too long; the doctor had just mentioned this before leaving.

"Not eating dinner, not eating breakfast, not sleeping well, extremely irregular schedule. Congratulations, you’re not far from sudden death." Gu Yuan looked at him with indifferent eyes, her tone sharp.

Quan Jin listened to her scolding, not only unfazed but even amused.

However, his whole face was terribly pale. He probably didn’t expect to faint from hunger and that the stomach cramps would be so unbearable.

He looked up at her, wanting to ask: "If I really died..."

"What do you mean die? Have you got a death wish?" Gu Yuan’s voice suddenly picked up in pitch, even colder.

Quan Jin’s voice was small and muffled: "I was just saying if."

"If you really died, I’d probably be very happy," Gu Yuan said.

Quan Jin was momentarily lost for words: "..."

He really shouldn’t have said ’if.’

Now, he’s the one suffering.

Gu Yuan crossed her arms, watching his pained expression, adding fuel to the fire: "You’re my ex-husband, and also my daughter’s biological father. If you died, I could get over the shadow of divorce quicker, swiftly rid myself of the ’ex-husband’ label, and then hurriedly find Suisui a stepfather. Just thinking about it feels wonderful."

"..."

Quan Jin was at a loss for words again.

His bottled-up tears were really going to choke his lungs.

Seeing his lost and pitiful look, Gu Yuan unexpectedly felt a sense of satisfaction.

Seriously, did he have to push her to say such harsh words?

When she silently counted to four in her heart, Gu Yuan was gratified to hear his cold snort. His expression was no longer lost and forlorn but replaced with calmness and determination: "I won’t die, and you won’t rid yourself of the ’ex-husband’ label, nor fantasize about finding Suisui a stepfather! Don’t even think about it!!"

The emotional highs and lows were indeed driven by what the other person said.

Gu Yuan crossed her legs: "Can’t rid myself of my ex even after divorce, how pathetic."

Quan Jin snapped back: "As long as I’m alive, perhaps you’ll continue to be pathetic."

"Do you have to be so annoying?"

"Annoying!"

"..."

Gu Yuan’s pursed lips curved slightly, though her smile was restrained, not prominent. Unable to stay seated any longer, she stood up: "I need to go back. You should cooperate and listen to the doctor’s advice. Rest well, got it?"

If he wasn’t in trouble, she would probably have taken him directly back to the Gu Mansion.

But since he was still on an IV, she couldn’t just let him leave like this.

"Are you going back to the Gu Mansion?" he suddenly asked eagerly.