All Troubles Come from Excessive Worry

Noon.

Inside the hospital room.

Su Cheng was stretching by the window, feeling as though his body had fully recovered. He was even planning to be discharged and go home that very night—a decision he had already mentioned to the president of the club.

Unfortunately, the president hadn’t given her approval yet.

At the moment, she was busy entertaining two of his classmates. Presumably, once they left, she would finally consider his request.

With that thought, Su Cheng pushed aside his distractions and focused on his exercises. Aside from the slight soreness in his hand from writing assignments, he felt perfectly fine.

A few minutes later, the door suddenly swung open.

He looked up and was surprised to see Ji Qingyi standing there.

He froze.

Wasn’t she supposed to be with his two female classmates?

Why had she come to his room?

And why was she holding a lunchbox—was she bringing him food?

"President, weren’t you with my classmates?" Su Cheng voiced his confusion outright.

"Someone else is taking care of them," Ji Qingyi replied coolly, placing the lunchbox on the coffee table. "Since you’re already up, come sit and eat."

As she spoke, she set the box down, opened it, arranged the contents neatly, and handed Su Cheng a pair of metal chopsticks.

Su Cheng hesitated before accepting them but didn’t immediately start eating. Instead, he stared at the chopsticks, lost in thought.

Normally, he was given forks and spoons.

Why chopsticks today?

And not just any chopsticks—these were solid and unusually heavy.

Something was definitely up.

"I’ve considered your request," Ji Qingyi said, seemingly reading his mind. "If you can eat with these chopsticks without dropping anything, I’ll approve your discharge."

"Got it, no problem."

Hearing this, Su Cheng’s heart leaped with joy. He quickly sat on the sofa and lifted the lid of the lunchbox—only to freeze in shock.

The dishes inside were tofu, quail eggs, and other slippery, hard-to-grip foods. Even the staple was a bowl of soft, slippery noodles.

"President, are you deliberately making this difficult for me?"

He looked up at her suspiciously.

The metal chopsticks alone were already an inhumane design, but the president had specifically emphasized "picking up" the food—meaning no clever workarounds were allowed.

"If you can’t do it, your discharge will be postponed," Ji Qingyi said coldly, as if she had expected this outcome.

"Then… can I have a few more tries?" Su Cheng hesitated before adding weakly, "I mean, I am still a patient, after all."

"Now you remember you’re a patient?"

Ji Qingyi refused outright. "No."

"Fine…" Su Cheng sighed and decided to give it a shot anyway.

But before he could even attempt to pick up any food, the strain in his hand nearly made him drop the chopsticks.

These metal chopsticks were pure torture.

"Let me warm up my fingers first." Su Cheng quickly set the chopsticks down and began massaging his hand, trying to ease the soreness. Writing all morning had already worn him out, and now these chopsticks were pushing him to his limit.

Ji Qingyi watched for a moment before sitting down beside him, leaving barely a fist’s distance between them. Su Cheng could smell her faint, elegant fragrance, soothing yet distracting.

Unconsciously, his cheeks warmed. He resumed stretching his arm, though it did little to help.

Still, he went through the motions again before picking up the chopsticks once more.

"Getting each dish into your mouth counts as success," Ji Qingyi finally relented slightly.

Hearing this, Su Cheng let out a quiet breath of relief.

Taking a deep breath, he steadied himself and went for the easiest target—a piece of vegetable.

He managed to pick it up, but his trembling hand made it a struggle to bring it to his mouth.

Gritting his teeth, he finally succeeded and chewed slowly, sneaking a glance at Ji Qingyi’s expression, hoping for even a hint of encouragement or approval.

But…

Her face remained cold and unreadable, as if she had no intention of letting him leave the hospital at all.

"Passable," she said flatly. "Next one."

Su Cheng blinked, then turned his attention to the quail egg. While quail eggs were notoriously hard to grip, if he could maximize friction and press firmly enough…

It might not be impossible.

But first, he had to pick it up.

He aimed his chopsticks at the egg.

However—

The quail egg’s surface was slick with oil, sliding away the moment the chopsticks touched it. No matter how he tried, it refused to be caught.

"Is this quail egg made by Dove? It’s way too smooth!"

After several failed attempts, he couldn’t help but grumble in frustration.

"You can give up," Ji Qingyi said indifferently.

"No, I’ll try again."

Su Cheng picked up the chopsticks once more, but no matter what he did, it was futile.

The chopsticks only sent the egg rolling away, and in his haste, he even knocked it onto the table.

"This…"

Su Cheng was now drenched in sweat, his hand trembling uncontrollably.

But he refused to give up. Setting the chopsticks down, he took a few deep breaths, determined to try again later.

"I don’t have time to wait," Ji Qingyi said, her tone tinged with impatience and something resembling regret. "You should rest here a while longer."

With that, she stood and turned to leave.

"President, I’m not giving up yet!" Su Cheng called after her, but her steps didn’t falter.

"……"

Defeated, Su Cheng slumped onto the sofa—but he still didn’t quit. Instead, he kept practicing, determined to conquer the quail egg.

He refused to believe he couldn’t pick up a single egg.

If once wasn’t enough, he’d try a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand times!

Time passed minute by minute. Beads of sweat formed on Su Cheng’s forehead as exhaustion and pain wore him down.

He had to pause, rubbing his eyes to stay alert before stretching his wrist and fingers again. After a short break, he resumed his efforts.

Finally, persistence paid off.

Just when he was about to lose hope, he managed to grip the quail egg perfectly.

His eyes locked onto the egg between his chopsticks as he slowly lifted it, carefully bringing it toward his mouth.

But halfway there, he could feel it slipping.

He tried to tighten his grip, but his strength wasn’t enough.

In a last-ditch effort, he attempted to shove it into his mouth—but the egg slipped free just before he could.

Just as he thought he had failed, a pair of delicate hands suddenly covered his own, steadying the chopsticks. The quail egg, moments from falling, was secured and guided safely into his mouth.

Su Cheng turned in shock to find Ji Qingyi standing behind the sofa, looking down at him with icy, emotionless eyes.

"I’ve seen your determination," she said calmly before withdrawing her hand and stepping back.

"Th-thank you... President."

Su Cheng swallowed his food, then spoke somewhat awkwardly: "Does this mean I passed?"

Ji Qingyi gave a faint nod.

Hearing this, Su Cheng couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

"Obsession often hurts oneself the most."

However, before he could revel in his joy for more than a few seconds, Ji Qingyi spoke again, her voice slow and measured: "Once you understand this truth, the path ahead will become much easier."

Her tone was neutral, devoid of any discernible emotion, yet it carried an undeniable weight that made Su Cheng freeze in place.

He knew she wasn’t referring to the act of picking up food with chopsticks, but rather to the previous incident involving Conelia.

Moreover, the rule for this challenge had been: "If you can pick up food with these chopsticks without dropping it, I’ll agree to your proposal of being discharged." Essentially, he could have asked the president for help—even to be fed.

But he stubbornly insisted on doing it himself, refusing to accept charity.

Ji Qingyi glanced at Su Cheng, then gracefully walked over and sat beside him. She took out her personal handkerchief and gently wiped the sweat from his forehead.

When Su Cheng instinctively flinched,

she murmured softly, "A qualified person is one who can control their instincts."

"A momentary lapse, my apologies." Su Cheng had no choice but to steel himself and let her continue.

"Are you hungry?" Ji Qingyi asked quietly. A butler approached, clearing away the previous dishes and replacing them with a fresh, neatly arranged meal.

"I-I’m fine..." Su Cheng replied cautiously.

"You must be exhausted by now."

Ji Qingyi calmly picked up a spoon, scooped some porridge, and brought it to his lips. "Eat. There’s no need to push yourself further. You’re not alone anymore."

"Uh, thank you..." Su Cheng opened his mouth. He truly had no strength left, so he obediently swallowed everything she fed him.

Ji Qingyi began the meticulous task of feeding him.

Just then—

The door quietly opened, and two girls stepped inside, their eyes landing on the tender and intimate scene before them.

Time seemed to freeze for a moment.

All four stiffened in place.

Then—

"Cough! Cough—cough—cough—cough—!"

Su Cheng choked violently, hacking uncontrollably, nearly spitting everything out.

Ji Qingyi frowned, lightly patting his back before pulling out a tissue to wipe his mouth.

She acted as though she hadn’t noticed the two at the door, calmly tending to Su Cheng until his coughing finally subsided.

Su Cheng’s face flushed red as he stood up, forcing an awkward laugh. "Sorry you had to see that. My hand suddenly cramped up, so I had no choice but to let the president... Haha."

Watching this, Ji Qingyi set down the spoon and rose gracefully, nodding at the two girls with unshaken composure.

Li Guanqi and Xu Tianyi, who had come to bid farewell, stood frozen for a few seconds before—

Xu Tianyi snapped out of it first, offering an awkward yet polite smile. "Your bond is truly enviable... Hahaha."

But internally, her mind was in turmoil.

She had just witnessed Ji Qingyi feeding Su Cheng porridge, soothing him when he choked, and even wiping his mouth—every gesture filled with meticulous care.

Her head spun in disbelief. Despite knowing about their engagement, seeing their relationship this close was still hard to fathom.

Ji Qingyi was famously aloof and cold. If word of this got out, no one would believe it.

The fact that she had such a gentle, nurturing side—personally feeding someone—completely shattered Xu Tianyi’s previous understanding of her.

This was the princess of the Ji family, a figure whose status could arguably be called the most exalted in the world.

And yet, she was willing to go this far for a man? It was nothing short of shocking!

Could love really change a person so much?

Xu Tianyi was certain she wouldn’t sleep a wink tonight.

Meanwhile, Li Guanqi’s gaze lingered on Ji Qingyi for a moment before shifting to Su Cheng, studying his expression.

Su Cheng’s face was flushed but otherwise composed, his embarrassment the only visible emotion. His right hand trembled slightly, as if genuinely cramped.

Moreover, the moment they had entered, she noticed Su Cheng showed no resistance to being fed—instead, he seemed accustomed to it.

But logically, being fed by someone of the opposite sex should at least elicit surprise or discomfort, let alone when that someone was Ji Qingyi, the revered princess of the Ji family!

Which meant...

This wasn’t an act put on for their benefit?

They had done this many times before?

One thing was clear: Ji Qingyi genuinely had feelings for Su Cheng.

Otherwise, how could this be explained?

Feeding him was something she could have delegated to a nurse or subordinate.

But what puzzled Li Guanqi even more was this:

The two couldn’t have known each other for more than a week.

How had their bond deepened to this extent?

She couldn’t make sense of it!

Lost in thought, she glanced back at Ji Qingyi—only to find those dark, inscrutable eyes already fixed on her.

The two locked gazes briefly before looking away.

"President Ji, thank you for your hospitality," Xu Tianyi said, forcing a smile. "We should take our leave now."

"Mm." Ji Qingyi responded indifferently, then added, "He isn’t in a condition to see you off, so I’ll do so in his stead."

"No need, we can find our way back."

"Right."

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the two girls followed the butler to the car, preparing to depart.

"I never imagined President Ji would fall in love," Xu Tianyi mused once inside the car.

"Why are you so sure they’re in love?" Li Guanqi countered.

"The way President Ji looks at Su Cheng is different from usual—especially the softness in her eyes when she was feeding him," Xu Tianyi reasoned. "President Ji is famously private, never revealing her emotions to anyone... So, it’s obvious."

Hearing this, Li Guanqi grew even more perplexed. She turned to the window, murmuring, "Then what could have happened between them to make their bond so deep in such a short time?"

"Maybe they were childhood sweethearts?"

"Really?"

As the hospital faded from view outside the window, Li Guanqi’s doubts only deepened. In fact, she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was some kind of scheme at play—one aimed at her.

Still, this visit hadn’t been entirely fruitless.

She had gained one crucial clue:

Oranges.