The smell of disinfectant was so strong it made one's temples throb.

When Yu Wantang opened her eyes, what she saw was a hospital room.

White walls, blue curtains, and an infusion bag hanging at the head of the bed.

The window wasn't closed tightly, and the wind from outside blew in, making the medical record papers rustle.

A little boy was lying on the hospital bed.

A blue-and-white striped quilt covered his chest, revealing only half of his small face.

The child looked about four or five years old, terribly thin, with a sickly pale complexion, closed eyes, and his chest rising and falling so slightly it was almost invisible.

A bowl of untouched white porridge sat on the bedside table.

It had already gone completely cold, and a thin film had formed on the surface of the porridge.

Yu Wantang lowered her head and saw that she was clutching a payment notice in her hand—an overdue payment reminder.

She raised her eyes again and looked at the medical record card hanging at the end of the bed: Yu Sinian, acute leukemia, bone marrow matching required as soon as possible.

Yu Wantang stared at those words for two seconds.

This beginning was more than just miserable.

The next second, the system's voice sounded in her mind.

【World No. 013 loading complete.】

【World Type: Modern angst novel, CEO chasing his wife.】

【Synopsis: Five years ago, the female lead proposed a breakup so that the male lead, Sheng Jingchen, could smoothly inherit the Sheng family. The male lead's mother meditated behind the scenes, making the male lead mistakenly believe that the female lead left after taking a check. After leaving, the female lead discovered she was pregnant and gave birth to the child alone.】

【Five years later, the child fell ill and urgently needed a bone marrow match. The female lead was humiliated by the male lead's mother for medical expenses. Due to the misunderstanding from back then, the male lead turned a blind eye to the female lead. It wasn't until a car accident unexpectedly revealed the existence of the child that the male lead learned the truth of why the female lead left and began his journey of chasing his wife through a crematorium.】

【Current World Mission: Cure the child's illness.】

After hearing this, Yu Wantang's fists clenched.

It was this kind of female-abusing plot again, and she even fled with a bun.

Bearing everything by oneself with gritted teeth, letting the child suffer along, and finally having to wait for the male lead to accidentally discover the truth.

Yu Wantang sneered.

What were mouths made for?

Besides eating, they could also speak.

If there was a misunderstanding, explain it; if there was an illness, treat it; if there was a father, make him pay and get matched. Must she torture herself into a tragic heroine just to move who?

She lowered her head to look at Yu Sinian on the hospital bed.

An indwelling needle was stuck on the back of the little boy's hand, the corners of the tape peeling up a section, and dark purple stained around the injection site.

Such a tiny little thing lying there, so quiet it didn't look like it belonged to this age.

The little fire in Yu Wantang's chest burned even more fiercely instantly.

The adults' romance had rotted into a puddle of mud, what right did they have to use a child's life as a stepping stone?

She picked up the phone on the bedside table; the Original Host had memorized this number inside out, yet never dared to call it even once.

Yu Wantang twitched the corner of her lips.

She dared.

The call dialed out.

After ringing three times, it connected.

A man's deep voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Who is it?"

Yu Wantang went straight to the point.

"Sheng Jingchen, your son is about to lose his life, come to the hospital."

The other end of the phone fell silent for a moment.

Then, the man's voice turned cold.

"Yu... Yu Wantang?"

"Your ears aren't broken, that's good."

"Five years apart, and you're still so good at playing tricks."

Yu Wantang glanced at the clock on the wall.

"I'll give you ten minutes. If you aren't here within ten minutes, I'll send the paternity test application, hospital diagnosis certificate, overdue payment slip, and your contact information to the media together."

The other end of the phone didn't speak.

Yu Wantang continued.

"I've even thought of the headline. Shocking: The president of Sheng Group suspected of abandoning his own flesh and blood, child critically ill with no one to care for him! Don't worry, netizens love watching this kind of wealthy family ethical drama."

Sheng Jingchen's breathing grew heavier.

"Yu Wantang, have you lost your mind?"

"Yes."

Yu Wantang answered decisively.

"Not only have I lost my mind, I'm also unhinged. Your son is waiting for a bone marrow match on the hospital bed, and you're acting all cold and aloof like a CEO with me on the phone. If you have nothing better to do, I'll help get you trending on hot searches right now."

The tone on the other end of the phone finally changed.

"Where are you?"

"Downtown First People's Hospital, Inpatient Department, Third Floor, Room 307."

"Bring your ID card when you come. Registration is required for matching, and it's also needed for payment. The child isn't mine alone, you should also fulfill some basic human responsibilities."

"Why should I believe you?"

"You don't need to believe me."

Yu Wantang looked at the child on the hospital bed.

"You just need to come over and draw blood. The paternity test will tell you the answer. Whether the matching is successful or not, the hospital will tell you the answer. As for those old misunderstandings in your head, we'll talk about them after the child's life is saved."

Sheng Jingchen lowered his voice.

"If you dare to lie to me..."

"Then call the police and have me arrested."

Yu Wantang interrupted him.

"But if I'm not lying to you, every minute you delay coming today is wasting your own son's life."

She paused, her tone even colder.

"Sheng Jingchen, I don't have time to play tragic romance dramas with you. Ten minutes, time and tide wait for no one!"

Snap.

The call hung up.

The hospital room fell quiet again.

Yu Wantang tossed the phone onto the bedside table, and when she lowered her head, she met a pair of pitch-black eyes.

Yu Sinian had woken up at some point.

The child was too thin, making his eyes look exceptionally large, and he just looked at her quietly like this, neither crying nor making a fuss.

Yu Wantang's heart softened a little from being looked at like that.

"Awake?"

Yu Sinian nodded slightly.

"Did you hear it?"

He nodded again.

Yu Wantang pulled a chair over and sat down.

"Are you scared?"

Yu Sinian shook his head.

He asked in a small voice: "Mom, who was that person?"

Yu Wantang looked at him.

The child's voice was hoarse and lacked strength.

She originally wanted to brush him off with a few words, but meeting those eyes, she felt she couldn't brush him off anymore.

"Your cheap dad."

Yu Sinian's gaze flickered. "Didn't you say that Dad went to heaven?"

Yu Wantang was silent for a second.

"Because Mom used to be a fool."

Yu Sinian froze.

Yu Wantang reached out and brushed the stray hairs from his forehead.

"But she's not a fool anymore."

Yu Wantang saw the bowl of cold porridge at the bedside and frowned.

"Are you hungry?"

Yu Sinian hesitated for a moment and nodded.

Yu Wantang picked up the bowl of porridge and stirred it with a spoon; the porridge had all clumped together.

She put the bowl back down with disgust.

"This stuff can't be eaten anymore. Wait here, I'll go buy you something hot."

Yu Sinian reached out and grabbed her cuff, his strength pitifully weak.

"Mom, will you come back?"

Yu Wantang's footsteps paused.

This question made her feel stuffy inside.

For a four- or five-year-old child who was sick and hospitalized, what he worried about most wasn't the pain or the treatment, but whether his mother would come back.

What kind of life had the Original Host been living?

"Of course. I won't run away. If I run, I'll take you with me."

Yu Wantang walked out of the hospital room.

People came and went in the corridor.

A nurse pushed a treatment cart past her, the wheels grinding against the ground, making a faint rustling sound.

Several family members gathered in front of the nurses' station asking about fees, and the irrepressible cries of a child came from a nearby room.

Hospitals were just like this.

Illness, money, and life were all laid out blatantly in the open.

No one could put on airs of dignity.

Yu Wantang went downstairs, bought a bowl of small wontons and two meat buns opposite the inpatient department. Fearing the child couldn't finish eating, she even asked the boss to scoop a little more soup.

When she came back carrying the things, a black sedan was parked at the entrance of the inpatient department.

The car door opened, and a man stepped out of the car.

Black suit, white shirt, collar buttoned up to the very top.

The man was tall with long legs, broad shoulders and a narrow waist, deep eye sockets, a straight nose bridge, and a sharp jawline. That face truly had some configurations of a short-drama CEO, except his expression was chillingly punchable.

Yu Wantang glanced at him.

Sheng Jingchen.

He sure came fast.