He had never even bothered to set up a longevity lamp for himself, yet he wished for Ruan Ruan to live a long and healthy life for a hundred years.

Su Shengyao: "Luan'er was diagnosed with kidney disease today, and Mom cried until she passed out."

Hearing this news, Su Ruanruan was dazed for a second, but felt no surprise.

In her past life, when Su Lan'er was diagnosed with kidney disease, the whole family had run around in a panic. To show her concern for Su Lan'er, she had even taken care of Su Lan'er for a period of time just to win the favor of the Su family.

"Are Madam Su and Miss Su in good health?"

No matter how dull Su Shengyao was, he could still hear the alienation in his younger sister's words.

The smile on her face was faint, cold, and perfunctory. Although she had no intention of kicking them while they were down, Su Shengyao felt extremely uncomfortable and wanted to tear off her arrogant mask.

Su Shengyao's gaze darkened. "Luan'er has fallen ill, and Mom and Dad are in low spirits. I can't take care all three of them by myself."

His implication was obvious: the Su family needed Su Ruanruan now, and this was the perfect opportunity for her to prove herself.

The smile on Su Ruanruan's face grew even colder.

"Does everyone in the Su family have to revolve around Su Lan'er?"

"What is that supposed to mean? Because Luan'er is sick, she needs more care and affection. Ruanruan, you've never been petty-minded. Why are you splitting hairs over every little thing now?"

"Oh." A chilly smile curved the corners of Su Ruanruan's lips. "I just remembered a while ago when I was pinned under the stage, my dancing leg bleeding while no one paid me any attention, while all of you were fussing over Su Lan'er because she scraped her elbow."

"In your eyes, let alone Su Lan'er getting kidney disease, even a tiny scratch on her finger is a matter of life and death. As for my dancing leg being injured and crippled, so what? I'm still alive, aren't I? That's what you've always thought in your hearts, which is why not a single one of you cared about me, bleeding and trapped in the dark."

Su Shengyao's throat tightened, and he couldn't say a single word.

Gu Jinzhou, tall and handsome, walked over to Su Ruanruan, pulled her intimately into his arms, and an unfathomable dark glint flashed in his eyes. His elegant, magnetic voice leaked an intoxicating chill: "Is the young master of the Su family staying for dinner?"

The legendary crown prince of Hong Kong was so particular, even when angrily showing someone the door.

Su Shengyao let out a light sneer. The moment he turned around, he unexpectedly heard a soft, delicate call of "Older brother."

He turned back in pleasant surprise.

Gu Jinzhou patted Ruanruan's little head, coaxing her gently: "Your brother is right here."

Su Shengyao: "..."

Just a "brother," it wasn't as if he had never heard it before.

But Luan'er was not his biological sister, after all.

His biological sister had sweetly and softly called someone else "brother" for twenty years, yet she had never once called him brother.

A slightly bitter taste lingered in Su Shengyao's heart.

-

Hospital.

Mu Xin'er didn't want to stay in the hospital anymore; she wanted to be discharged tonight.

Gu Fengyan followed behind her carrying bags of all sizes—truly a willful ancestor.

Seeing a man walking towards her, Mu Xin'er immediately stopped in her tracks and quietly followed him to the door of a VIP ward.

Wearing a custom-made high-end black shirt with deep, sharp brow bones, the man spoke: "The doctor said Luan'er's kidney disease can be cured, but there is a 50% recurrence rate."

Su Lan'er's complexion was pale, her frail figure evoking pity.

Su Shengyao tucked the blanket around her. "Although the recurrence rate is high, it's easy to control. Luan'er, don't look so panicked. Your health is very good right now, and we won't let anything happen to you."

Li Shaojue pulled out a cigarette, holding it between his fingers without lighting it.

"Just in case, we still need to prepare for the worst. Let's start looking for a suitable kidney match right now."

Su Shengyao: "Finding a kidney that matches Luan'er is like finding a needle in a haystack. We might as well start matching with ourselves first."

Li Shaojue: "Hmm."

The man lifted his sharp, weary eyelids and asked in a flat voice, "Didn't you go find Su Ruanruan? Why didn't she come?"

Su Lan'er opened her mouth and said in a limp, fragile voice, "She has no blood relation to me, so her kidneys probably won't match mine."

Li Shaojue paused for a moment, then gave a nonchalant "hmm" without explaining.

Mu Xin'er's eyes widened, and she tiptoed away.

She immediately dialed Gu Jinzhou's number.

The person who answered was Su Ruanruan.

"Xin'er?"

"Ruanruan, is Crown Prince Gu with you?"

"He's cooking... hold on, I'll go find him."

Gu Jinzhou held a pot and a spatula in his hands, asking Ruanruan with his eyes what was going on.

Su Ruanruan: "I don't know either. Xin'er seems very anxious."

Mu Xin'er: "Someone is eyeing your kidney, how can I not be anxious!"

Gu Fengyan's voice chimed in from the side to supplement: "Miss Mu accidentally overheard Su Shengyao and Li Shaojue's conversation, which is how she learned of this crucial news."

Gu Jinzhou: "I want to know the specific details. If you two have nothing to do right now, come straight to Silver Lake Manor."

Mu Xin'er: "OK!"

-

When the two of them rushed to Silver Lake Manor, a torrential downpour had just begun to fall from the sky.

Mu Xin'er patted her not-so-obvious belly and smiled brightly. "That was close, almost got caught in the rain."

Gu Fengyan said warmly, "I wouldn't let you get caught in the rain."

He picked up a pair of slippers from the entryway and knelt down to put them on Mu Xin'er.

Her fair toes were painted with cherry-colored nail polish, complementing each other to create a feast for the eyes.

Gu Fengyan's Adam's apple bobbed. Just as he wanted to say something, Mu Xin'er had already leaped forward, tumbling onto the sofa with Su Ruanruan.

Gu Fengyan's eyelids twitched violently. He quickly separated the two of them and patted Mu Xin'er's belly, looking remarkably like an overly worried, aging father despite his noble and gentle demeanor.

Pushed aside, Su Ruanruan sat next to Gu Jinzhou and muttered softly, "I really didn't expect the Third Brother to look like this when falling in love."

Gu Jinzhou held her hand, his lazy tone drawling, "If you conceive one for me, I'll be even more nervous than him."

Mu Xin'er: "I smell food. Is dinner ready?"

Su Ruanruan: "Let's eat."

She piled plenty of food onto Gu Jinzhou's plate. *Eat, eat, and plug that mouth of yours that never runs out of smooth talk!*

After Mu Xin'er was eighty percent full, she recounted the conversation she had overheard in the hospital room.

Gu Jinzhou asked a few more details.

Mu Xin'er answered them one by one.

The person in this world who cared about Ruanruan the most was Crown Prince Gu. Therefore, the moment she heard the news, she called Crown Prince Gu, but Crown Prince Gu wasn't flying into a rage as she had imagined—this completely violated his overbearing and dictatorial persona!

"Third Brother Gu, why do you suppose that is? Could it be, could it be that Crown Prince Gu doesn't love Ruanruan anymore?!"

Gu Fengyan chuckled. "Grandmother believes in Buddhism, so Jinzhou asked a high monk to make a longevity lamp for Ruanruan, placed in Grandmother's small shrine. He didn't even make a longevity lamp for himself, yet he only thinks about making sure Ruanruan lives a long and prosperous life."

Talking and laughing, the two of them left Silver Lake Manor.

-

Late at night.

Su Ruanruan curled up in bed, weeping bitterly and miserably in her sleep.

After Gu Jinzhou woke her up, he held her tightly in his arms with a heart-wrenching ache, coaxing her: "Be good, don't cry. You had a nightmare, didn't you... Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. Husband is guarding right by your side, no monsters or demons can hurt you."

"Gu Jinzhou... Gu Jinzhou! My kidney, my kidneys were dug out! It hurts so much, living hurts more than dying." Her tear-filled eyes were blurred, her consciousness drifting as she failed to distinguish between her past and present lives.

The man's eyes were crimson and feral, his deep, warm voice gently coaxing her: "They weren't dug out. Baby's two kidneys are safe and sound right inside your body. Whoever dares to dig out your kidneys, I will..." The cruel words were swallowed between their lips and tongues as Ruanruan kissed him.

A hurried knock sounded on the door.