01 Failed to Crash the Wedding, Survived the Suicide Attempt  

A young guy with curly brown hair, carrying a canvas bag and a fruit basket, bumped right into a nurse coming out with a cart.  

He quickly grabbed the nurse and asked, "Hey, missy, uh, the patient in bed 308—how’s her mood today?"  

"308?" The nurse flipped through her records with a cold face, then glanced back at the bed. Her face turned even sourer. "Good timing. She’s been sleeping all day and hasn’t eaten. You’d better talk some sense into her."  

"Huh? Oh… sure."  

"By the way, who are you to her?"  

"Oh! I’m her assistant."  

"When she was admitted, it was crystal clear that family members must stay with her 24/7. It's been almost four days. Where’s her family?"  

"Uh, well, the elder..."  

Seeing him stutter like that, the nurse didn’t bother listening any further. "The patient’s emotions are all over the place. There’s only so much we nurses can do. We can’t keep an eye on her 24/7..."  

Fan Chen turned over in her bed with her eyes shut and cranked the volume on her headphones a few notches. Only then did the voices of the two at the door finally blur out.  

Xue Bin tiptoed into the room. When he saw her eyes were open, he froze instantly, standing there at the bedside, unsure of what to do. He asked carefully, “Boss, did I wake you up?”  

Ever since the kid found out she liked women, he’d been acting like this around her. Although he didn’t dare probe into her private life, his expression screamed: "Got it. Got it. Respect. Respect..."  

Fan Chen squinted one eye at him, rolled onto her back, her pale face showing two bruises—one at the corner of her mouth and one on her forehead—her brows and eyes weary.  

She sighed deeply. "I wasn’t really sleeping anyway. Help me adjust the bed."  

"Yes, yes!" Xue Bin immediately complied.  

Fan Chen yanked out her earphones and stretched out her hand. Xue Bin promptly handed over a cup, both hands cradling it to her side. She froze for a moment, then took it to moisten her throat.  

Xue Bin grinned eagerly, “Boss, the nurse said you’ve barely eaten all day. This... how...”  

Fan Chen cut him off, unable to listen further, “Not hungry.”  

“How can that be? I just got some fresh fruit from the supermarket downstairs. Maybe you can...” He quickly unwrapped the fruit basket and snapped off a banana.  

"Not eating."  

Xue Bin’s movements froze. Awkwardly, he placed the banana back where it came from.  

Fan Chen felt like laughing but couldn’t be bothered to show it. "You don’t have to fuss like this. See? I didn’t die, right?"  

"Ptui, ptui, ptui! What are you talking about? Not a good omen! A perfectly healthy person—what’s all this about dying?”  

She was calm, but Xue Bin was practically scared to death. He had gotten a call from Zhang Jie in the middle of the night and rushed to the boss's house. Kicking the bathroom door open, he found this woman covered in wounds, head drooping in a bathtub full of blood! He’d nearly fainted on the spot! By the time they got her to the hospital, both of them were drenched in blood, and even from a hundred meters away, people were stepping aside in fear.  

Fan Chen put down the cup and silently observed him for two seconds, seemingly about to say something, then stopped. After thinking it over, she went straight to the point: “Did you bring the stuff?”  

Xue Bin pulled a stack of documents from the canvas bag. As he handed them to her, he hesitated. "Are you really going to transfer all your shares to her?"  

Fan Chen took them, flipping through carelessly, and replied nonchalantly, "She’s getting married. I’m just giving her a little wedding gift. Isn’t that appropriate?"  

A little? Wedding gift? You’re calling 65% of the shares ‘a little gift’?  

Xue Bin used to think these two bosses were just close friends, like sisters, never imagining there was anything more.  

It wasn’t until the massive fallout after their breakup that he realized. So, there had been *that* between them. His boss, usually calm and collected, had even gone as far as crashing a wedding—a totally wild move. Unfortunately, the attempt failed, and the next day she wound up in the hospital, covered in blood. Upon waking, she immediately began transferring shares.  

This whole operation... All Xue Bin could say was, “Boss, you’re something else! A true champ! No, a real hero? Doesn’t feel quite right. You’re one tough cookie?”  

Xue Bin was at a loss for words. He felt like nothing he said could live up to Fan Chen’s bold move.  

Seeing his expression—full of things to say but too scared to say them—Fan Chen laughed, “What? Want to ask if I’m crazy?”  

“Ah, no! Of course not!” He waved his hands quickly while nodding furiously in his heart.  

Fan Chen signed the papers, gathered them up, and handed them back to him. Jokingly, she said, “Soon I won’t be your boss anymore, so there’s no need for you to be so polite.”  

"Boss, that's so cold! How could you say something like that?" Xue Bin whined, looking all bitter.  

Fan Chen, despite her usual cold demeanor, was actually warm-hearted. With solid skills to boot, working under her meant learning a lot. Respect wasn’t just because she was the boss.  

"Alright," Fan Chen didn’t dwell on the joke. “Since you already know about me and Zhang Jie, let me make this clear. Don’t overthink it. Personal matters are personal. They won’t interfere with work. Sure, Zhang Jie and I have unresolved personal issues, but professionally, we respect each other as partners. I mentored her, and her abilities are undeniable. She won’t hold it against you for working with me before.”  

Hearing her speak as though making final arrangements, Xue Bin’s mood grew more complicated. Eventually, he couldn’t help blurting out something he probably shouldn’t: “Boss, I just think it’s unfair to you! I mean, look at you! Sigh...”  

He turned away, not wanting her to see his emotional face. Outside the window, dark clouds loomed as Fan Chen’s voice, calm and steady, broke the silence. “Anyway, just do your best under her leadership. She won’t let you down.”  

She thought maintaining her boss-like demeanor while saying all this would prevent Xue Bin from realizing she was worried about him acting impulsively, quitting as she had. Losing a studio’s photography director was bad enough. Another knowledgeable senior assistant leaving would leave Zhang Jie utterly overwhelmed.  

Xue Bin felt a lump in his throat. He spun around abruptly, “Are you out of your mind? I’ve never seen anyone as dumb as you! You've been in the hospital for days. Has she come to see you even once? You almost died, do you realize that? If I’d been a little later that night, you wouldn’t have made it!”  

“Well, soon you won’t be my boss, so don’t hold back,” Fan Chen muttered under her breath, a hint of redness tinging her ears.  

She kicked off her slippers, nudging him with her toes, “Let’s take this talk outside.”  

The rest of the hospital drama follows. Fan Chen continues battling inner demons, with her loyal assistant torn between admiration and frustration. The two conclude their intense chat in a smoke-filled corridor, planning life after heartbreak. Fan Chen’s emotional resilience meets Xue Bin’s blunt concern, each learning from the other while navigating unpredictable twists in the journey called life.

Fan Chen's ears tinged red as she glanced at the other patients in the room—every one of them listening intently to the drama unfolding. Embarrassed, she quickly slipped out of bed, shuffled into her slippers, and shoved Xue Bin toward the door. "Let's go talk outside!"  

Still sulking, Xue Bin shrugged her hand off, refusing to be touched. Only when Fan Chen pretended her wounds were aggravated did he reluctantly calm down, following her out of the hospital room.  

The hallway stretched out dim and quiet, littered with relatives resting outside patient rooms. Fan Chen's own family was conspicuously absent.  

Walking in silence, one behind the other, they reached the far end of the corridor. Xue Bin's anger burned down into two quiet tears, which he stubbornly held back.  

Fan Chen pulled out a cigarette and lighter. She lit it and inhaled deeply, only for Xue Bin to snatch it away from her hand. Speechless, she stared at him as he snapped, “What the heck are you thinking? In your condition, smoking?!”  

And he wasn’t even ashamed of scolding her.  

“I was being polite, but now you’re taking it too far?” Fan Chen’s eyes narrowed, laced with a silent warning.  

Her mention of 'polite' naturally referred to her earlier comment, "Soon I won’t be your boss anymore. No need for politeness."  

Xue Bin instantly folded, lowering himself in a submissive stance and handing back the cigarette as though presenting a tribute. “Here, smoke all you want.”  

Fan Chen accepted without expression, taking a long drag, letting the potent nicotine calm her nerves. After a pause, she asked, “Xue Bin, do you know why I’m giving her all my shares?”  

“How would I know? Are you hoping it’ll move her? From what I heard, the guy she’s marrying has plenty of money. Zhang Jie probably doesn’t care about your three or four hundred grand.”  

Fan Chen shot him a look, prompting him to correct himself hurriedly, “I mean, you're being generous here, but she might not appreciate it. Boss, you’re nearly a decade older than me—how do you not understand that? At your age, still loving someone like a reckless girl, going all out and losing yourself for it?”  

“You’re calling me old?”  

Xue Bin pursed his lips and didn’t respond.  

Frankly, being called old by someone barely in their twenties didn’t feel unjustified. She quietly smoked, the words coming out unbidden, “She liked men originally, but I dragged her along for nine muddled years. Her best years were spent on me, and when the studio first started, she endured a lot.”  

She stopped herself mid-thought, realizing how ridiculous it was to pour her heart out to Xue Bin. Feeling irritated, she snapped, “Forget it. You wouldn’t understand.”  

“Pfft—nice speech,” Xue Bin chuckled bitterly. “You think your sacrifice deserves pity, admiration, or applause? That everyone should see your pain and rush to comfort you, love you, and scorn Zhang Jie for her coldness? Is the whole world supposed to deliver justice on your behalf? Do you think people care like I do? Do you even know how they talk about you behind your back?”  

“Let them talk all they want. Like I care!” Fan Chen flicked her cigarette to the ground, stomping on it twice as her ears reddened faintly.  

“I didn’t mean it like that. I just…” Xue Bin scratched his head in frustration, wondering how their conversation had spiraled into her personal turmoil.  

“I just want you to take care of yourself.” He raised a hand, hesitated, and dropped it before it reached her shoulder.  

Fan Chen pulled out another cigarette, her voice trembling slightly as she lit it. “If I don’t let myself take a big hit, I won’t remember the consequences or let go of how good she was to me in the past.”  

Even as she spoke, her hand shook while holding the lighter.  

Realizing his words couldn’t sway her, Xue Bin decided to end the heavy topic. “Just… take care of your health. Promise me you won’t do anything reckless again.”  

“I promise,” Fan Chen replied, turning to him. Her voice softened as she shifted to a more practical topic. “But there’s something else I need your help with.”  

“Anything, just say it.”  

“I still have a house, a car, and some valuable items under my name…”  

Xue Bin’s scalp prickled with unease. Surely she didn’t plan to sell everything after giving away the shares. Was she hell-bent on leaving herself penniless?  

“Are you crazy?”  

“I’ve prepared a list. I’ll email it to you later. Reach out if you have any questions.”  

“All of it—gone?”  

“Yes, all of it. And find me a lawyer familiar with land contracts. Have them meet me here at the hospital directly.”  

Fan Chen took another drag, exhaled, and started walking back. Xue Bin stood frozen in place, trying to make sense of her intentions. One thing was clear—whatever she planned had nothing to do with wedding gifts.  

He hurried to catch up. “Hey! What’s all this about?”  

Fan Chen glanced at him coldly, brushing him off. “Why do you care? Just handle what I’ve asked you to do.”  

He was used to her sharp tone by now and responded with his usual playful grin, “Boss, this sounds like you’ve got big plans brewing. Count me in!”  

Fan Chen couldn’t help but smile at his mischievous face.  

The corridor stretched ahead, their shadows trailing behind—a tall figure leading and a shorter one following closely.  

Not far into their walk, the taller shadow cried out in surprise, “What?!”

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