Chapter 6: A Man’s Greatest Taboo Is Being Called Inadequate
“Drive.”
The green light flickered on. Li Beitian withdrew his gaze, his voice cutting coldly and sharply.
Qi Zheng stole a glance at the rearview mirror. Seeing Li Beitian’s sullen expression, he knew his master was furious. He didn’t dare breathe audibly and focused solely on driving.
Meanwhile, Nan Xing, having finished breakfast, ordered a flower basket on the way to the hospital.
Arriving at the largest private hospital in Beixin City, she inquired about Li Sicheng’s room number from the nurse on duty and headed straight to the VIP ward on the top floor.
As soon as she pushed open the door, a heavy object flew straight at her.
Fortunately, Nan Xing reacted quickly and dodged successfully.
With a loud crash, the flower basket and its contents scattered across the floor.
“What do you mean by this, Nan Xing?”
Li Sicheng, dressed in hospital garb, sat upright on the bed, looking vigorous and hardly the picture of a sick man. He pointed at the scattered items. “Oysters, clams, lamb kidneys, chives? Nan Xing, I’m sick! Not my kidneys…”
“Not what?”
A mischievous smile flickered at the corner of her eyes.
Nan Xing folded her arms, leisurely observing him.
“Are you pretending?” Li Sicheng’s face turned green with anger. “Nan Xing, don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to—trying to get into my bed? I advise you to give up now. Between eating shit and marrying you, I’d rather eat shit!”
Nan Xing was speechless.
She truly hadn’t expected Li Sicheng to be so narcissistic.
Seeing his earnest expression, she almost blurted out: with your weak-kidney look, you’re nowhere near your uncle’s league.
“What’s the matter? Did I hit a nerve? Feeling guilty?”
“No… ah,” Nan Xing smiled faintly, bending down to pick up the scattered items and place them back into the basket. “I just… think you have weak kidneys.”
Li Sicheng was speechless.
“I heard these things are a man’s fuel station. They cost me two hundred and fifty yuan—pretty expensive.”
She placed the flower basket on the bedside table and settled onto the sofa opposite the bed, idly starting a game.
“You ugly beast, get lost! I don’t want to see you!”
How dare she say he had weak kidneys? That was no different from saying he was useless.
---
Men hated being told they were no good.
Seeing she refused to leave, Li Sicheng’s anger flared. He grabbed a pillow and hurled it at her.
Nan Xing’s reflexes were sharp; she caught the pillow and used it as a backrest.
Before Li Sicheng could flare up again, the ward door was pushed open from outside.
“Brother Sicheng!” Nan Zhen’er entered, carrying a pile of snacks.
Nan Xing glanced at the junk food in her hands and lowered her head to continue gaming.
“It’s almost noon. Sister, why did you come here?” Nan Zhen’er’s eyes flickered with a barely perceptible chill, feigning surprise before smiling warmly, “If I’d known you were coming, I’d have asked Uncle Wang to bring you along.”
Such a heavy dose of passive-aggression.
Nan Xing didn’t look up, smoothly moving on to the next level, her tone casual: “If you can come, why can’t I, the fiancée?”
“Huh? Sister, don’t misunderstand. I didn’t mean that…” Nan Zhen’er blushed, voice trembling. “You stayed out drinking with friends late last night, and I was worried about disturbing your rest. That’s why I didn’t wake you this morning.”
“I took the liberty to care for Brother Sicheng just to let you sleep longer.”
Her fingers twisted nervously, her voice growing faint as if deeply wronged.
Li Sicheng couldn’t bear it and took the snacks from her hands, shooting Nan Xing a cold glare. “Why should you apologize to her? A woman of such poor morals doesn’t deserve an apology.”
“Brother Sicheng, please don’t say that about Sister,” Nan Zhen’er hurried forward to explain. “Blame me. I didn’t inform you ahead of time. Maybe Sister’s just jealous.”
The two exchanged suspicious glances.
Just then, Li Sicheng’s phone rang.
He glanced at Nan Xing, slid to answer, and put the call on speaker.
“Uncle Nan,”
Nan Xing’s spine stiffened.
“Master Sicheng, Nan Xing came to visit you at the hospital. Have you seen her?”
Li Sicheng’s disdainful gaze fell on the sofa. “Mm.”
“That’s good,” the voice paused. “Nan Xing will stay at the hospital with Master Sicheng for a while. If Master Sicheng needs anything, just tell Nan Xing directly—no need for formalities.”
Li Sicheng, filled with aversion, originally wanted to refuse. He had no desire to share a room with this ugly beast. But when he saw Nan Xing’s look of contempt, he suddenly changed his mind.
A cold, sinister smile played on his thin lips. “Fine.”
After hanging up, he lifted his chin at Nan Xing. “You heard that? Uncle Nan wants you to take good care of me.”
Nan Xing ignored him, gripping her phone tightly, her knuckles white.
---
Li Sicheng didn’t care if she heard him or not, his tone teasing. “I’m hungry now. I want the Seven-Star Fish Ball Soup from East City and the Crystal Pork Knuckles from West City. Go get them now. I want to eat in half an hour.”
Grass.
“What, don’t want to go?” Seeing Nan Xing stand still, Li Sicheng shook his phone angrily, as if daring someone to slap him twice. “Believe it or not, I’ll call Uncle Nan right now and tell him how you’re mistreating his patient.”
“Brother Sicheng, maybe I should go?” Nan Zhen’er tugged his sleeve, sympathetic. “Sister just came back to Beixin City recently. She’s unfamiliar with the place. Those two dishes you mentioned, she probably doesn’t even know what they look like.”
“No need. I want to eat what she brings back.”
He was curious how long Nan Xing could keep her stubbornness.
“Oh, alright then.”
Nan Zhen’er nodded, pitying Nan Xing. “You better hurry. One dish is from East City and the other from West City. The food won’t taste good if it gets cold.”
…
Stepping out of the hospital, a drizzle began to fall.
Nan Xing didn’t rush to hail a taxi. Instead, she sent a message to someone: “I heard Fifth Brother opened a new restaurant in East City that’s popular, especially their signature Seven-Star Fish Ball Soup?”
Fifth Brother: “Oh? Are you willing to grace us with a visit?”
Nan Xing: “I want to, but it’s inconvenient to go there now.”
Fifth Brother: “No problem. Anything else you want? Send me the list and the address. I’ll have the restaurant prepare everything and deliver it to you right away.”
Nan Xing: “That’s enough, thanks, Fifth Brother.”
She sent a little heart emoji along with the hospital’s nearby supermarket address.
After that, Nan Xing searched online again before taking a taxi to the most famous garden restaurant in West City.
This restaurant combined a hotel, business center, and specialty private kitchen, boasting luxurious decor and a serene, elegant environment.
Having reserved a table online and confirmed with the staff, Nan Xing was led to the lounge area to wait.
At the same time, the VIP elevator opened slowly, and a group of people stepped out.
Perhaps too dazzling amidst the crowd, Nan Xing immediately spotted Li Beitian leading the group at the front.