He lured her deep into his trap, using both overt and covert methods to seduce her.

When Fu Lu rushed to the hospital, it was already past midnight.

He arrived at the operating room and, as soon as he stepped out of the elevator, saw Song Zhi sitting alone on a bench in the corridor.

She had her head down, and it was unclear what she was thinking.

Fu Lu strode forward, reached out and gently placed his palm on Song Zhi's head, softly calling, "Song Xiaozhi."

Upon hearing the familiar groan, Song Zhi's body trembled violently; she thought she was hallucinating.

She slowly raised her eyes, and the moment their eyes met, Song Zhi froze completely.

Fu Lu.

It's not an auditory hallucination.

Fu Lu really came.

Earlier on the phone, Fu Lu said he would wait for him and then hung up.

Song Zhi had expected Fu Lu to come, but she didn't expect him to come so soon.

It takes more than an hour to fly from Kyoto.

Fu Lu looked down at the girl in front of him and saw that her eyes were red and swollen, obviously from crying.

Before Song Zhi could speak, Fu Lu reached out without hesitation and pulled her into a tight embrace.

Caught off guard, Song Zhi felt a warm and powerful aura rush towards her.

Her cheek was pressed against Fu Lu's waist, and she could even clearly feel the slight chill left on his clothes.

After a long while, Song Zhi finally came to her senses.

She looked up at Fu Lu's concerned face and murmured, "Ninth Brother, why...why did you suddenly come?"

"I came here because I wanted to be with you."

Upon hearing this, Song Zhi felt a surge of emotion, her nose stinging and her eyes reddening slightly. Her voice trembled as she said, "It's been almost four hours already, why is the surgery still going on..."

Fu Lu reached out and gently wiped away the tear stains on her eyelids with his fingertips, and softly comforted her, "Don't worry, everything will be alright. I'll stay here with you."

Song Zhi slowly raised her head, looked at the man standing straight in front of her, and asked softly, "Then...did you come here by plane?"

Fu Lu gently shook his head and replied, "The last flight tonight was canceled due to the blizzard, so I drove here."

Upon hearing this, Song Zhi looked utterly astonished and asked incredulously, "Drove? You drove for a full four hours to get here?"

"Ah."

"It's snowing, and it's so late. You shouldn't have driven here; it's too dangerous."

Fu Lu reached out and ruffled Song Zhi's hair, smiling as he said, "Aren't I standing right in front of you now?"

Song Zhi sniffed. "Don't do that again. There was no need to rush over."

As soon as Song Zhigang finished speaking, the lights that had been on above the operating room went out without warning.

Then, in the next second, the operating room door was slowly pushed open.

Upon seeing this, Song Zhi suddenly jumped up from her seat and rushed towards the doctor who was coming out of the operating room, urgently asking, "Doctor, how is my grandfather now? Was the surgery successful?"

As she spoke, Song Zhi looked anxiously at the surgeon in front of her.

The doctor simply shook his head slightly, then sighed deeply and said in a heavy tone, "The patient is elderly, and it was a sudden cerebral hemorrhage. We've been through this before. Please accept our condolences..."

In an instant, Song Zhi felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck her directly.

Her pupils suddenly contracted, her expression froze instantly, and she stood there blankly, as if she had lost all sensation. It took her a long, long time to come back to her senses.

“Zhizhi…” At this moment, Fu Lu quickly stepped forward, reached out and forcefully pulled Song Zhi into his arms.

In that instant, Song Zhi seemed to have grasped a lifeline. Without hesitation, she stretched out her hands and grabbed Fu Lu's strong arms tightly, with such force that it seemed she wanted to embed them into her palms.

Her eyes widened, her face filled with fear and confusion, and she asked in a trembling voice, "Ninth Brother, what exactly did the doctor say? Why did he tell me to accept my condolences?"

As she spoke, Song Zhi's whole body began to tremble violently. If Fu Lu hadn't been holding her, she would have definitely fallen to the ground.

Seeing Song Zhi like this, Fu Lu felt heartbroken. He hugged her tightly and pressed her head against his broad, warm chest. He gently comforted her, "Zhi Zhi, your grandfather is gone."

Song Zhi acted as if she hadn't heard him, shaking her head frantically as tears streamed down her face like a burst dam.

The next second, she pushed Fu Lu away, raised her tear-streaked face, and stared at Fu Lu with a sorrowful gaze.

Fu Lu's eyes were filled with sorrow as he reached out to pull Song Zhi: "Zhi Zhi, cry, it will make you feel better."

Song Zhi kept shaking her head, her lips trembling as if she wanted to say something, but it was as if an invisible hand was gripping her throat, and she couldn't utter a single word.

Just then, heavy footsteps were heard, and the old man's body was slowly pushed out.

Song Zhi raised her eyes blankly, and when she saw the familiar figure lying on the stretcher, an unprecedented fear and despair surged into her heart.

She felt as if all the blood in her body was flowing backward, and a bone-chilling cold quickly spread to her limbs and bones, making her shiver uncontrollably.

impossible.

The old man was perfectly healthy. He was even energetically practicing Tai Chi with her when we had a video call before. Why is he not able to do it now?

Even now, Song Zhi still cannot accept this cruel reality.

The doctor must have made a mistake!

Thinking of this, a surge of anger ignited in Song Zhi's heart. She struggled to break free from Fu Lu's embrace and staggered toward the old man.

Looking at the old man lying on the stretcher, lifeless, Song Zhi's eyes instantly welled up with tears. Her throat felt like it was blocked by something, and she managed to squeeze out a few words: "Grandpa... I've come back to see you."

However, all that answered her was deathly silence; there was not a sound whatsoever.

In that instant, Song Zhi felt as if countless steel needles were piercing her mind, and the sharp and intense pain made her body tremble involuntarily.

She instinctively reached out her hands, wanting to touch her grandfather, but stopped in mid-air, as if frozen in place, completely at a loss.

Standing to the side, Fu Lu watched her with a worried expression, feeling heartbroken.

He called softly, "Zhizhi." As he spoke, he reached out and tightly grasped Song Zhi's slightly trembling hand, and slowly lowered his head to gently kiss the back of her hand, again and again, "Zhizhi, don't be like this, it will get better."

Song Zhi grabbed Fu Lu's hand in return, as if a drowning person had grasped the last straw, and murmured to herself, "Ninth Brother, am I dreaming? Why is Grandpa ignoring me? None of this is real, is it?"

At this moment, her eyes were filled with confusion and helplessness, and tears flowed freely like a burst dam.

Fu Lu gazed at her silently, his eyes filled with pain and pity, but he never uttered a word.

Seeing this, Song Zhi became even more agitated. She gripped Fu Lu's hand tightly and shouted hoarsely, "Speak! Tell me this is just a nightmare, speak up!"

As she spoke, Song Zhi suddenly raised her hand and slapped herself hard across the face.