Rebirth Begins with Rejecting My Childhood Friend

Bian Chao quickly nodded and said, "Yes, of course."

Du Youwei immediately asked, "How is Mr. Xu's condition?"

Bian Chao replied right away, "Director Du, the patient is not in any immediate danger. He just needs some time to recover."

Du Youwei nodded, "That's a relief."

Bian Chao wanted to take the opportunity to get closer to him.

But Du Youwei suddenly became stern, "How can you handle things like this? How could you let Mr. Xu stay in a standard ward? What if something happens? Who will take responsibility? Are all the VIP rooms in your hospital full? If not, why wasn't he placed in one?"

Bian Chao was taken aback.

He thought to himself, It wasn't me who put the patient in a standard ward. Besides, his condition doesn't warrant a VIP room.

However, he didn't dare say that in front of Du Youwei, so he quickly responded, "Director Du, this was an oversight on our part. I'll arrange for the patient to be moved to a VIP room immediately."

Du Youwei's expression softened, "Then go take care of it quickly."

Xu Xiuwen, who had been quietly observing the exchange, realized it was time for him to speak up.

He quickly said, "That's not necessary. I'm fine here in this standard ward. There's no need to move me to a VIP room; leave it for someone who might need it more."

Bian Chao looked troubled and glanced at Du Youwei, unsure of what to do.

Du Youwei responded, "Since Mr. Xu is gracious enough to forgive your mistake, we'll let it slide this time."

Xu Xiuwen interjected, "Don't try to flatter me. I'm not some magnanimous person. Besides, the doctors and hospital didn't make any mistake, so don't go around blaming them."

Xu Xiuwen's straightforward comment immediately made the atmosphere awkward.

But Du Youwei's face remained unchanged, his kind smile unwavering.

Sensing the tension, the male doctor hesitated for a moment before saying, "Director Du, I'll step out for now. If you need anything, just call me."

Du Youwei nodded.

The male doctor, Bian Chao, then left the room.

After Bian Chao left, Du Youwei suddenly smiled and said, "Mr. Xu, this is a small gesture from me and Xiao Hao. It's not much, so please don't be polite."

As he spoke, he placed the fruit basket and box he brought by Xu Xiuwen's bedside. However, since the table was already piled with fruit, he had to place them on the floor instead.

Xu Xiuwen glanced at the fruits they brought and didn't insist on refusing.

He knew that Du Hao and his father weren't just here to visit him casually; they definitely had something to say.

Without beating around the bush, Xu Xiuwen got straight to the point, "Thank you for coming to see me, but I'm not in the mood for small talk right now. Whatever you need to say, just say it and leave quickly."

Xu Xiuwen's tone wasn't particularly pleasant.

But Du Youwei didn't seem to take offense at all.

In contrast, his son, Du Hao, looked somewhat displeased, though he didn't dare say anything in his father's presence.

Du Youwei's expression suddenly turned serious, "Mr. Xu, I brought my unworthy son here today to apologize to you!"

He turned to Du Hao and scolded, "You little brat, hurry up and apologize to Mr. Xu!"

Earlier, while Du Youwei and Bian Chao were talking, Du Hao had nothing to do, so he started looking around the ward.

He quickly noticed Bai Yue'er and An Shishi.

Although he was no stranger to seeing beautiful women, he was still a little stunned by their looks.

He couldn't help but glance at Xu Xiuwen, thinking, Even when injured, this guy has two beauties by his side. Some people just have all the luck.

At that moment, he heard his father's command. Despite his unwillingness, he knew the consequences of disobedience.

Du Hao lowered his head and, following Du Youwei's instructions, apologized to Xu Xiuwen, "Mr. Xu, I'm sorry. It was a moment of impulsiveness on my part. Please forgive me."

At this moment, Du Hao no longer had his previous arrogance or domineering attitude.

After Du Hao finished speaking, Du Youwei continued, "Mr. Xu, I've been too busy with work and neglected to properly educate my son. If he has offended you in any way, as his father, I sincerely apologize. I hope you can be magnanimous and not stoop to his level."

Xu Xiuwen had already guessed their intentions.

Still, the father and son's apologetic attitude surprised him somewhat.

Xu Xiuwen didn't think his small company could prompt someone as high-ranking as Du Youwei to personally come and apologize.

It was easy for him to connect the dots—this likely had something to do with Li Haimei.

He smiled faintly, "What happened is in the past. I'm not bothered by it anymore. Director Du, you don't need to dwell on it."

Xu Xiuwen's tone had been rather cold earlier, but now he suddenly seemed easygoing.

The change left the father and son slightly confused, unsure of what to make of it. They even wondered if he was still angry.

"Director Du, if there's nothing else, you should head back."

Du Youwei didn't move.

Xu Xiuwen pretended not to notice, asking, "Director Du, is there something else?"

After hesitating for a moment, Du Youwei finally said, "Mr. Xu, could you let President Li know that you've forgiven Xiao Hao for this matter?"

Xu Xiuwen feigned ignorance. "Is that necessary? I'm not that close to Li Haimei."

Du Youwei cursed inwardly, Not that close? If you're not close, why do you call her by her full name? If you're not close, why would Li Haimei target me because of you?

But outwardly, he maintained his polite demeanor.

Du Youwei sighed, his face full of helplessness. "Mr. Xu, to be honest, President Li is very upset because of the previous misunderstanding. If she knows you've forgiven us, she'll likely calm down. Could you please mention it to her?"

Xu Xiuwen smiled and said, "Sure, if I get the chance, I'll bring it up."

Only then did Du Youwei breathe a sigh of relief.

Du Hao also felt a sense of relief.

"Alright, is there anything else?"

Sensing Xu Xiuwen's clear intention to see them out, the father and son wisely didn't linger.

Du Youwei said a few polite words before leaving with Du Hao.

After the father and son had left, Bai Yue'er and An Shishi, who had been silent the whole time, finally spoke.

Bai Yue'er was the first to ask, "Who were those two just now? Why were they apologizing to you?"

Xu Xiuwen smiled, "Oh, just some unpleasantness from before."

"You called him 'Director Du.' Who is he exactly?"

Xu Xiuwen chuckled, "He's the Finance Bureau Director."

Both women were stunned.

In their understanding, even the village head was a significant official.

A Bureau Director? What kind of rank was that?

And now, the Finance Bureau Director was apologizing to Xu Xiuwen?

They couldn't help but look at him in a new light.

An Shishi was thinking even further.

From Du Youwei's earlier words, she picked up hints that this might be related to Li Haimei.

This made her curious about the relationship between Xu Xiuwen and Li Haimei.

Before noon, Xiao Youran arrived at the ward from her dormitory.

Cheng Lu came later than her.

When Cheng Lu arrived, Bai Yue'er first gave Xu Xiuwen a glare, then gave another to Cheng Lu, before leaving with a cold expression without saying a word.

Cheng Lu recognized Bai Yue'er.

Faced with her cold attitude, Cheng Lu said nothing.

Xu Xiuwen had initially worried that Cheng Lu might get upset, but seeing her calm reaction, he was relieved.

Cheng Lu's arrival was indeed later than Xiao Youran's.

Unlike Xiao Youran, who had brought lunch when she arrived, Cheng Lu brought something else—study materials.

With final exams just around the corner, even though Xu Xiuwen was injured, he didn't want to do nothing and lie in bed all day.

Moreover, he had Tang Weiwei's notes, and he didn't want to waste her efforts. So, Xu Xiuwen had asked Cheng Lu to bring the study materials to the hospital. He planned to study in his ward.

The problem was, with his hands injured, he couldn't flip pages or write.

But that wasn't an issue—he had his "left and right hands," Cheng Lu and Xiao Youran.

All Xu Xiuwen needed to do was use his brain and voice. Whether it was calculating on scratch paper or any other task, Cheng Lu and Xiao Youran would handle it for him.

In this way, Cheng Lu and Xiao Youran essentially became his "helpers."

Even though studying in this manner was tedious and monotonous, neither Xiao Youran nor Cheng Lu showed any signs of annoyance or impatience.

Occasionally, An Shishi would step in to help as well.

Thanks to the care of the three women, Xu Xiuwen began to settle into his hospital life.

During his stay, visitors came to check on him from time to time—not only his classmates but also employees and subordinates from his company. Even Hang Fei came to see him once.

However, the four women from Room 601 didn't visit again, nor did they even call.

Xu Xiuwen wanted to see Tang Weiwei, but he was powerless to make that happen, so he had to temporarily let it go.

A week passed in the blink of an eye.

Under the attentive care of Cheng Lu, Xiao Youran, and An Shishi, Xu Xiuwen recovered quickly.

In just one week, his injuries had completely healed.

Even the nurses and doctors were amazed at how fast he recovered.

---

Xu Xiuwen completed the discharge procedures.

As he stepped out of the hospital doors, the gentle glow of the evening sun bathed him in its warmth, as if reminding him that he was rejoining the outside world.

During his hospital stay, the doctors and nurses paid him special attention, checking on him multiple times each night.

To be honest, Xu Xiuwen found their constant fussing a little annoying.

He suspected it had something to do with Du Youwei's visit.

People tend to gravitate toward power and benefits, avoiding risks where possible.

Once they learned that Xu Xiuwen knew Director Du, the latter had even taken the initiative to visit him.

The doctors and nurses' attitudes toward him had noticeably become more earnest and enthusiastic compared to before.

Xu Xiuwen figured he owed some of this preferential treatment to Director Du's influence.

He also speculated that Du Youwei must have sensed pressure or a looming threat from Li Haimei, prompting his visit to apologize and seek Xu Xiuwen's help in smoothing things over.

Xu Xiuwen wasn't a petty person.

So, he found time to call Li Haimei and told her about Du Youwei's visit.

Li Haimei didn't say much over the phone, simply replying, "Got it."

Then, she hung up the phone.

Xu Xiuwen had done all he could. As for what Li Haimei would do next, that was beyond his control.

As the saying goes, a clear conscience fears no shadow.

If Du Youwei had no issues of his own, it would be tough for Li Haimei to target him, no matter how much she wanted to.

In any case, Xu Xiuwen quickly put the matter out of his mind.

After being discharged from the hospital, he returned to Jiangning Garden.

Having not been home for a while, the house felt noticeably quieter.

That evening, neither Xiao Youran, Cheng Lu, nor An Shishi stayed over.

With exams starting tomorrow, they all needed to prepare.

Once the three girls left, Xu Xiuwen lay on his bed alone.

In the hospital, he had been surrounded by Xiao, Cheng, and An, leaving him little time to dwell on Tang Weiwei.

But now, back home, lying alone in bed, his mind was filled with her image.

It had been a week since they last contacted each other.

He had no idea how she was feeling now—whether she was still upset, or if she had forgiven him. He knew nothing.

The uncertainty left him tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

Before long, he sat up.

After a moment of hesitation, Xu Xiuwen picked up his phone, preparing to send a message.

However, he didn't contact Tang Weiwei directly.

Instead, he sent a message to Su Yanyan first.

After sending the message, Xu Xiuwen hurriedly left the house.

Following the hotel address Su Yanyan provided in her reply, he arrived outside the building.

Standing there, he pulled out his phone and sent another message to Su Yanyan.

A reply soon came, and Xu Xiuwen started waiting downstairs.

…

"Sister Weiwei, thank you for coming down with me to buy something," Su Yanyan said with a smile to Tang Weiwei, who was beside her.

Tang Weiwei kept her head down, her mood clearly subdued.

When she heard Su Yanyan's words, she simply shook her head lightly without saying anything.

Su Yanyan noticed her reaction and felt a pang of sympathy for her roommate.

Since that night, Tang Weiwei's mood had been consistently low.

Her roommates had seen it and understood why.

They had tried comforting her more than once, but the efforts had limited success.

Eventually, the three of them ran out of ideas.

Suddenly, Su Yanyan's eyes lit up, and she asked, "Sister Weiwei, has he contacted you?"

Tang Weiwei seemed distracted and didn't catch the question.

It wasn't until Su Yanyan repeated it that she snapped out of her thoughts and shook her head.

Su Yanyan then asked, "Sister Weiwei, do you think you'll forgive him?"

Tang Weiwei replied with a slight shake of her head, "I don't know."

Her eyes were filled with confusion.

Hearing her reply, Su Yanyan sighed softly, but a glimmer of hope soon flickered in her heart.

As the two talked, they reached the entrance of the hotel.

When they stepped out, Su Yanyan pretended to notice Xu Xiuwen for the first time and exclaimed in surprise, "Da Da (Big Bro)?"

Tang Weiwei had been keeping her head down, not looking ahead.

Hearing Su Yanyan's words, she instinctively raised her head for a glance.

The person standing right in front of her—who else could it be but Xu Xiuwen?

Seeing him standing there, safe and sound, Tang Weiwei first felt a sense of relief.

But then, she quickly lowered her head again.

Xu Xiuwen was surprised.

He had thought Tang Weiwei would turn around and walk straight back into the hotel as soon as she saw him.

But she didn't.

She chose to remain where she was.

Xu Xiuwen immediately understood.

Tang Weiwei probably wanted to talk to him, too.

Maybe she wanted to hear his explanation.

Maybe she wanted to hear his apology.

Or maybe she wanted a proper face-to-face breakup.

Whatever the reason, at least she was willing to give him a chance to talk.

That was what made Xu Xiuwen happy.

He glanced at Su Yanyan meaningfully.

Su Yanyan caught on right away.

She quickly said, "Sister Weiwei, don't be mad. Da Da begged me to help arrange this meeting. He seems to have something to say to you. You two talk first. I'll go buy what I need. Bye-bye!"

With that, Su Yanyan scurried off in small, quick steps.