Not

"Damn."

Lin Yu stared blankly for a long time before finally uttering this word, which perfectly captured the shock in his heart.

But soon, Lin Yu raised another question.

"Why were you there?"

"Me?" Su Yuyao pointed at herself, her expression one of surprise as she said,

"I wasn’t there."

"It was my grandpa’s rescue team who found you."

"My grandpa and his team were originally heading to assist a broken-down vehicle further up the road."

"By chance, they spotted your wrecked car on the roadside, already burned to a shell."

"At first, my grandpa thought you’d already been rescued since there was no one inside."

"But then one of the uncles went to relieve himself and happened to see the wolf carcasses down the slope. That’s when they realized you might be in danger."

"At the time, my grandpa only had one vehicle, and they still had to help the other stranded car."

"Because of the wolves, they didn’t dare leave anyone behind to wait."

"So they could only come back to check on you after rescuing the other car."

"My grandpa waited for a long time."

"Finally, in the afternoon, they found you."

"It was really close."

"According to my grandpa,"

"since it was almost dark, they were about to leave."

"At the last moment, before getting into the car, my grandpa stood by the roadside one more time, unwilling to give up—and that’s when he spotted the two of you."

After listening to Su Yuyao’s explanation, Lin Yu fell silent, overwhelmed by a flood of emotions.

In the end, all his thoughts condensed into a single realization.

God!

I’m willing to call you Grandpa now!

Sure, you keep shoving things at me that I don’t want.

But when things get tough, you treat me like your own grandson!

You’re so good to me!

Ughhhhhh…

While Lin Yu was still silently reflecting on the hardships and twists of their journey, he didn’t notice Su Yuyao beside the bed, her eyes sparkling like little stars.

"Lin Yu, big brother,"

"were those wolves down the slope all killed by you?"

Lin Yu thought for a moment and saw no reason to lie, so he nodded in confirmation, casually lifting his cup to take a sip of water.

Su Yuyao’s eyes brightened even more as she gazed at him with admiration.

"Brother, you’re amazing!"

"Even in such a dangerous situation, you didn’t abandon your girlfriend."

"Carrying her despite her injured foot, trekking long distances, searching everywhere for help—"

"If only I could find a boyfriend as responsible and dependable as you in the future!"

"Cough! Cough!"

Lin Yu choked on her words, spitting out some water in shock.

Su Yuyao quickly grabbed a few tissues from the bedside table and handed them to him. Lin Yu wiped his mouth, then glared at the girl with feigned annoyance.

"Don’t talk nonsense!"

"She’s not my girlfriend!"

"And you—what are you thinking?"

"You’re still a kid! Shouldn’t you be focusing on studying instead of daydreaming about dating?"

After scolding her half-heartedly, Lin Yu downed the rest of his water in one gulp, then threw off the cheap hospital blanket covering his legs, preparing to get out of bed.

"Where’s Qing Mo?"

"Which room is she in?"

The first thing Lin Yu asked after waking up was about Qing Mo’s condition.

Upon learning that she was fine and only needed an IV drip, he had initially relaxed. But because he was still weak, he hadn’t gone to see her right away.

Now that he felt a little better, and not particularly keen on being alone with Su Yuyao, he decided to check on Qing Mo.

"Qing Mo?"

Su Yuyao tilted her head slightly before suddenly realizing who he meant.

"Oh! The sister who was with you?"

"She’s in Room 616. I’ll take you there."

Lin Yu nodded and turned to sit on the edge of the bed, ready to stand.

"Brother, let me help you!"

Su Yuyao quickly jumped up from her chair and eagerly rushed to support him.

"No need."

Lin Yu waved her off, determined to stand on his own.

Bending down to slip on his shoes, Lin Yu planted his feet firmly on the clean hospital floor.

The moment he tried to stand, a sharp pain shot through his thigh. Caught off guard, his legs buckled, and he nearly collapsed.

"Careful!"

Su Yuyao reacted instantly, grabbing his arm to steady him and prevent a fall.

"I’m fine."

Lin Yu pulled away from her grip and tried again, this time slowly rising to his feet.

The pain reminded him of the wolf bite on his thigh.

But what surprised him was how much worse it hurt now.

When he was bitten—and even when carrying Qing Mo—it hadn’t been this bad!

Gritting his teeth, he straightened up and limped toward the door.

Su Yuyao followed closely, watching him with concern in case he stumbled again.

When they reached Room 616, Lin Yu exhaled softly at the sight of Qing Mo sleeping peacefully in bed.

Grabbing a plastic stool from against the wall, he carried it over and sat down beside her.

"How long was I asleep?"

After quietly observing Qing Mo’s serene, delicate face for a while, Lin Yu finally spoke in a soft voice.

"Almost twenty hours," Su Yuyao answered.

"My grandpa found you around 4 PM yesterday."

"By the time you got to the hospital, it was already dark."

"Now it’s 10 AM."

"So, eighteen hours in total."

Lin Yu frowned slightly.

"Has she been unconscious this whole time?"

"No."

Su Yuyao shook her head.

"When I came this morning, the nurses told me she woke up once around 2 AM."

"Right after waking, she asked where you were."

"Once she knew your room number, she ignored the nurses’ protests and stayed in your room for a long time."

"She only came back here when the sky was starting to brighten."

Then, studying Lin Yu’s slightly melancholic expression, she cautiously asked,

"Are you sure she’s not your girlfriend?"

Lin Yu’s gaze deepened, but he said nothing, merely sitting on the cheap plastic stool, quietly watching the beautiful woman lying in bed.

Just as Su Yuyao thought he wouldn’t answer, Lin Yu finally reacted.

He shook his head slowly and murmured in a low voice,

"No."