The gloves were still in her hand, but Dai Chukong did not take them.

Qi Bufan looked up in surprise and realized that Chukong was staring at the gloves in a daze. Qi Bufan felt strange and asked, “What’s wrong, Chukong?”

Chu Kong took the gloves and put them on.

The gloves were leather. They were a little cold when she put them on, but she felt warm after a while.

Dai Chukong pushed Qi Bufan towards the elevator door slowly. They entered the elevator and squeezed together with the other family members and patients. The two of them did not speak. When they reached the first floor, they passed through the lobby and walked out of a side door into the small courtyard.

There were two plastic running tracks in the small courtyard. In the middle were some wooden benches and lawns. There were some flowers planted in the area beside the corner of the hospital. On the left was a rose garden, and on the right were some flowers and grass.

On a cold and bleak winter day, the grass and flowers in the small courtyard looked dispirited. However, the roses in the small courtyard were in full bloom.

The beautiful roses were like drops of blood that gathered together to form a flower.

The rose branches were obviously very thin, but they could withstand the cold, resist the wind and frost, and hurt people. Dai Chukong looked at the small thorns on the rose vines and inexplicably thought of Qi Bufan.

He was the one who gave her a second life, gave her warmth and happiness, and made her suffer.

He was even more hurtful than the rose.

“It’s indeed beautiful,” Qi Bufan said as he looked at the roses.

He was an unromantic man. In his eyes, roses were just so-so. They were not as gorgeous and graceful as peonies, nor were they as fresh and elegant as lilies. They were not as pure and refined as lotus flowers.

He had never been in a relationship, and had never given anyone roses or received roses, so he did not have any special feelings for roses. However, being able to see a large area of red flowers in the middle of winter was indeed pretty.

Dai Chukong smiled faintly when she heard that. “That’s right. Many patients visit them every day!”

Qi Bufan also realized that they were not the only ones who had come to admire the roses.

Dai Chukong pushed Qi Bufan elsewhere. They walked slowly around the plastic field. Qi Bufan adjusted the blanket on his legs to prevent it from falling to the ground.

He had just picked up the blanket when he heard Dai Chukong say, “Have you met a woman you like all these years?”

Qi Bufan was stunned.

For a moment, he could not understand why Dai Chukong had said that. Qi Bufan hesitated about how to answer. After a short silence, Qi Bufan chose to face Dai Chukong honestly. He shook his head and said, “No.”

“Is that so?”

Dai Chukong heaved a sigh of relief.

If Qi Bufan met the person he liked all these years and missed a good marriage because of her existence, Dai Chukong would be even more sad.

She loved him and hoped that she could be his wife. Qi Bufan did not love her, but Dai Chukong still wanted Qi Bufan to be happy, even if the person who brought him happiness was not her.

His happiness was more important than anything else.

At first, Dai Chukong did not understand this principle. However, when she saw Qi Bufan insist on wiping himself this morning although his wound hurt so much because he was unwilling to let other women get close to him, she was shocked.

For the first time, she understood what she loved about this man.

She loved his strictness, his inflexible personality, and his righteous nature of risking his life to save her.

He only treated himself as his daughter, but this daughter wanted to be his woman. This fact must have scared him. Deep down, he must be terrified.

Dai Chukong felt that she was very cruel.

She had scared this honest and kind man.

Dai Chukong suddenly stopped in her tracks.

The wheelchair stopped in its tracks.

Qi Bufan sensed it and looked up in confusion. He saw Dai Chukong’s hand move away from the wheelchair. Then, she walked around him and squatted down. Dai Chukong placed her hands on Qi Bufan’s knees. She squatted in front of him and looked up at him.

The girl’s face looked innocent, but there was a hint of coldness in her expression. She had taken after her mother. Her mother had once been a ballet dancer with a cold temperament, but she had been deeply in love with Boss Dai.

Such a good girl should be worthy of another young man’s company, not a man who was 17 years older than her and would be buried too many years before her.

“Chukong, what are you doing?”

Qi Bufan wanted to wake her up.

Dai Chukong suddenly said, “You really don’t like me, right?”

Qi Bufan’s eyes sparkled.

He was a little worried that he would hurt this child if he told the truth.

He did not have the love between a man and a woman for her, but he had a fatherly love that was deeper than romantic love. He still could not bear to see her show an injured expression. At the same time, Qi Bufan also knew in his heart that only a sharp knife could cut through this mess. If he wanted to end this twisted relationship, he could only be ruthless.

Dai Chukong said, “Please look into your heart and tell me if you love me or not.”

Qi Bufan looked at the tears in Dai Chukong’s eyes.

Even though he knew that the answer would hurt, Qi Bufan still nodded.

“No.”

Dai Chukong had been trying her best to hold back the tears in her eyes. However, when she really heard this word, she could not help but cry.

“I knew it…”

She cried and said, “All these years, you haven’t come to find me. I should know your answer. But I’m not willing to accept this. I keep thinking that I’ve liked you for so many years. You dote on me so much, and I’m so pretty. You’ll definitely like me.”

Dai Chukong wiped her eyes.

Her tears were like endless rain that could not be wiped away.

Dai Chukong was on the verge of breaking down. In the end, she simply stopped wiping and looked at the serious-looking man with teary eyes.

She said, “I love you because you’re an upright and kind man, but I forgot that an upright and kind man’s heart is open. How can you fall in love with your adopted daughter?”

“Brother, do you know that I hate you for being so strict? Can’t you be like other men? Aren’t all men greedy for young and beautiful women? Why are you so serious?” The girl’s tone was filled with despair.

Instead of saying that she was criticizing Qi Bufan, it was more like she was slandering herself.

Dai Chukong relied on her youth and beauty. She had been raised by him and had a relationship with him for more than ten years. However, this man did not like beauty. He was a gentleman, and he was righteous.

No one knew her pain.

Qi Bufan could probably feel the pain in Dai Chukong’s heart.

He frowned and was speechless for a long time before sighing. “But isn’t the person you love the strict and serious Qi Bufan?”