“What is your relationship to the patient in bed 3?”
In the quiet hospital room, the doctor held the examination report and looked at Sheng Wan, who had rushed over in a hurry.
A stranger? A so-called brother? Or someone her father was currying favor with?
Never mind—he was the poor soul about to be deceived.
Sheng Wan felt a probing gaze from behind, sweeping from the top of her head down to her ankles. This so-called brother remained silent, yet he was impossible to ignore.
She took a deep breath and said categorically, “Husband and wife.”
As the words left her mouth, she could feel the man behind her stiffen, his gaze turning several degrees colder, sending a chill down her spine.
Sheng Wan didn’t dare turn around. She continued speaking to the doctor, “I’m sorry, my husband and I had a fight, and he left home yesterday. I never expected him to get into a car accident. It scared me to death.”
She deliberately angled her body, using her shoulder to block the gaze from behind. “You mentioned amnesia just now?”
“Oh, yes,” the doctor said, holding the examination report. “All the tests came back fine—no major issues. He’s just experiencing memory loss for now. Take him home to rest and observe, and that should be fine.”
“And this amnesia—how long until it recovers?”
Sheng Wan asked the question she cared about most. She was worried that she’d walk out of the hospital as a wife, only to be carried back in as a fraud.
Hearing this, the doctor looked up at her, then glanced at Kyran, who sat expressionless on the bed, and spoke in a gentle tone.
“There’s no set timeline for recovery—every case is different. For now, you can take him home to rest, minimize external stimulation, and keep an eye on his condition. If anything seems off, come back for a follow-up anytime.”
“Alright, thank you, Doctor.”
After seeing the doctor off, Sheng Wan had no choice but to face the husband whose identity she had fabricated with her own hands.
She stood at the door of the room, pondering the best way to phrase things. But Kyran had already appeared behind her without her noticing.
She turned around, her cheek brushing against Kyran’s chest.
It was scorching hot, like being wrapped in a warm yet oppressive mountain. She was completely swallowed by his frame.
Sheng Wan instinctively looked up and saw her own reflection stretched in his deep, unfathomable dark eyes. The words she had rehearsed nearly evaporated into thin air.
“Husband and wife?” He narrowed his eyes slightly.
Sheng Wan was startled by that sharp look.
Don’t panic. Absolutely don’t panic. He has amnesia now—this is her only chance. She had to get him home quickly, away from this place where she could be exposed at any moment.
“Yes, I’m your wife, Sheng Wan,” she said with playful reproach. “You even forgot that? Do you at least remember who you are?”
“Tell me.”
Sheng Wan felt a secret thrill. “Your name is Kyran. You’re half-Chinese, half-British. We met abroad a year ago—it was love at first sight.”
He let out a light, dismissive snort, his gaze sweeping over her lazily. “Who fell in love at first sight with whom?”
Feeling his scrutiny, Sheng Wan steeled herself and said, “…I fell for you.”
Seeing that the suspicion on Kyran’s face still hadn’t faded, Sheng Wan immediately hooked her arm through his, feigning intimacy. “After you left home, I was so worried I didn’t sleep all night.”
“How are you feeling? Still dizzy? The doctor said you just have amnesia—nothing else serious. Let’s go home and rest, okay?”
“The house is more comfortable than the hospital, and quieter too—better for you to rest.”
“How is it?” She tilted her face up, smiling at him, and gave Kyran’s arm a little shake.
Sheng Wan’s forearm and chest pressed against his muscles—warm, soft. She probably hadn’t realized what she was doing, still smiling so obediently that it made him want to bite the exposed curve of her neck and force the truth out of her.
Kyran didn’t answer. His gaze drifted slowly from her brows and eyes down to her hand, then back to her face, where the stiff expression betrayed her nervousness.
The corner of Kyran’s mouth curved up gradually. “Fine.”
The unease on Sheng Wan’s face instantly dissolved. Seizing the moment while Kyran went to fetch something, she quickly typed out a text to her sister, Sheng Lan.
Sheng Lan: [Xiao Wan, why do you suddenly want to buy men’s toiletries and clothes? Are you moving in with someone? Your sister isn’t against you dating, but you’re still young, and you don’t know what kind of person he is. You can’t just rush headfirst into love like this. Stay clear-headed, and make sure you protect yourself.]
Sheng Wan: [Sis, I’ll explain later. Just buy the stuff for me first and drop it off at my place. It’s urgent!!! I’ll protect myself, sis. Trust me.]
A full minute passed with no reply. Sheng Wan was frantic.
Sheng Wan: [Sis, you know me best. You know I wouldn’t fall into love that easily. Sis.]
Sheng Lan happened to finish her meeting just then: [Fine, but you owe me a full explanation afterward.]
The drive from the hospital home took half an hour. Sheng Wan’s palms were slick with sweat as she drove, her heart thumping nervously, unsure whether this amount of time would be enough for her sister to prepare.
Kyran, meanwhile, lounged comfortably in the passenger seat, watching the scenery rush past the window. Out of nowhere, he asked, “Being my wife—can you handle it?”
After all, she looked so small, small everywhere—except where she’d been pressed against him just now.
Sheng Wan’s heart jolted. “It’s great, actually. We don’t fight often. Your habits, um…”
She didn’t know.
“Personality… yeah.”
From her earlier research, Sheng Wan could sum him up in four words: vindictive to the core.
Sheng Wan gritted her teeth and forced the words out: “I like all of it. Isn’t that what marriage is about—mutual tolerance?”
“Like it?”
“Yeah. If I didn’t, why would I have married you?”
Kyran said, “There’s a Chinese saying: easy to invite, hard to dismiss.”
A cold bead of sweat formed on Sheng Wan’s forehead.
She could clearly feel the man’s gaze resting on her from the side, like a hunter sizing up its prey. As she waited for his next words, her chest pounded like a drum.
But he turned back to face forward, lazily propping his head on his hand. “How long have we been married?”
“Three… days ago. June twenty-third.”
“Okay.”
The car drove all the way into the neighborhood, and Sheng Wan saw her sister’s message come through—everything was ready. Her heart settled slightly.
“Let’s go.” She entered the building first and pressed the elevator button.
Once inside, Sheng Wan quickly scanned the room. Her sister really was efficient—a men’s throw blanket lay draped over the sofa, and a brand-new water cup sat on the coffee table.
She grabbed a pair of men’s slippers from the shoe rack and set them down for him.
“Rest for a bit. I’ll make you something to eat.”
The sofa was narrow to begin with. The moment he sat down, the whole thing sank lower, his long legs crossed casually yet still making the space feel cramped.
He looked up, his gaze sweeping slowly across the entire room.
The decor was simple, the furnishings cozy, and everywhere bore the traces of a young woman—pink throw pillows, plush toys on the bay window.
That men’s cup…
Kyran picked it up, examined it, and set it down with disdain.
So cheap.
Sheng Wan wasn’t skilled at complicated dishes, so she’d only made a few of her specialties. Just as she stepped out of the kitchen, she met Kyran’s probing gaze.
The man leaned against the sofa, watching her quietly, without speaking, without moving.
She couldn’t tell what he was thinking, so she could only try to appear as natural as possible: “Come eat.”
“Try this,” Sheng Wan picked up a piece of meat for him, smiling gently. “After a car accident, you need to replenish your strength.”
Unexpectedly agreeable to his palate, Kyran took a few more bites. Sheng Wan watched his calm demeanor, and the earlier tension eased again.
Meanwhile, several messages from Sheng Lan had piled up on her phone, asking what on earth was going on. Sheng Wan glanced at Kyran—given the current situation, she couldn’t spare much time.
She could only give Sheng Lan a brief explanation.
Sheng Wan was typing away furiously when, coincidentally, Kyran finished his meal and set down his chopsticks elegantly.
“I want to take a shower.”
He couldn’t stand the smell of the hospital on his body.
He wanted to shower?!
Sheng Wan stood up instantly.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, let me run the bathwater for you first.”
Sheng Wan rushed back to the bedroom. Pajamas—there were some. Bath towels—there were some. Even all the toiletries were there. She silently thanked her sister in her heart, then turned to the bathtub and twisted open the hot water valve.
Warm water cascaded down with a rush, quickly filling the tub with a layer of steam that spread through the small bathroom.
Sheng Wan crouched by the tub, reaching in to test the temperature—just right, warm and comfortable. She was about to stand up and turn off the faucet when the bathroom door behind her suddenly pushed open.
Kyran walked in.
His tall frame instantly displaced the lingering steam.
She instinctively tried to stand, but her legs had gone numb from crouching so long. Her foot slipped, and her center of gravity lurched sharply.
“Ah!”
She slid into the bathtub she’d just filled.
Kyran stood at the edge of the tub, looking down at the woman inside.
She was wearing light-colored clothes, now soaked through and clinging tightly to her body. She was completely submerged in the tub, head tilted back like a lamb caught in a hunt—drenched through, breath faint, waiting to be devoured.
His Adam’s apple bobbed.
This was his wife?
“Kyran…”
Sheng Wan called out to him, her voice thin and weak after choking on a few mouthfuls of water.
He stepped forward, one hand gripping her lower back, the other supporting the crook of her knee, and lifted her horizontally out of the tub without much effort.
Water droplets dripped from her soaked clothing, landing on his arm. His grip grew tighter and tighter.
A flood of inappropriate images flashed through her mind. Sheng Wan quickly said, “Put me down. I’ll go change so I don’t get in the way of your shower.”
“Aren’t we husband and wife? We can shower together.”
Sheng Wan’s words caught on her tongue. Right—a marital relationship came with marital intimacy.
Her sister definitely hadn’t expected her to skip straight past dating and land in married life.
She turned her head to look at his thick, sturdy arm and swallowed hard. “Your body hasn’t recovered yet.”
Kyran watched Sheng Wan leave the bathroom.
Sheng Wan showered in the guest bedroom before returning to the master bedroom. A minute later, Kyran also opened the bathroom door.
His bathrobe hung loosely on him, his firm muscles on full, unabashed display.
This bathrobe was useless—it didn’t cover what it was supposed to cover. Sheng Wan quietly looked away.
“I need underwear.”
“…Okay, let me find some for you.” Sheng Wan frowned and rummaged through the wardrobe, but to no avail—she’d forgotten to remind her sister to buy some.
She stepped back from the wardrobe and casually made up an excuse: “It seems like we lost them during the move. No worries, I’ll order some for you right now.”
She stared at the screen full of men’s underwear, her face completely flushed, and lowered her eyes as she scrolled through the options: “Um, what size do you wear?”
He reached out and braced his hand against the wardrobe beside her ear. Sheng Wan glanced left and right, suspecting that the circumference of his arm rivaled that of her thigh.
The difference in their builds was unexpectedly stark.
Kyran stepped forward. “You don’t know?”
“I—I’ve never bought any for you before.”
Just one step, and his leg brushed against her knee. The solid muscle of his thigh, even through the thin fabric, carried a weighty strength she could feel.
Sheng Wan had no choice but to perch precariously on his leg. The hem of her white dress draped over his thigh, fluttering with each small movement. The breathing by her ear grew unsteady, hot breath rising in the air.
She nervously tightened her legs, felt the tremor of his thigh muscles, and immediately relaxed—but that felt wrong too.
What was she supposed to do?
She strained on her tiptoes just to keep from fully settling onto his leg, but Sheng Wan’s stamina wasn’t enough to sustain that position for long.
In the final moment before her strength gave out, Sheng Wan braced her hands on Kyran’s bent thigh, her whole body trembling.
Why was it so hard under her palms?
She lowered her head to catch her breath, and he lowered his too.
“It seems we don’t quite match.”
Sheng Wan bit her lip and blurted out nonsense: “That’s probably right, because—because we haven’t done it yet.”
Such an ambiguous statement, yet she wore an innocent expression, seemingly unaware of the consequences that might follow. Kyran let out a low laugh. “Once we do, we’ll match?”
The heat was overwhelming. Sheng Wan’s face burned crimson as she shrank her neck, refusing to answer.
A faint, itching curiosity stirred. Kyran straightened up and released her, stepping back.
“Are you sure we’re married?”
His gaze traveled down—from her brows and eyes to her jaw, and further still.
That look roamed over her without restraint, as if it could see straight through her, inside and out.
Even with distance between them, Sheng Wan felt a strange sense of encroachment. As if in the next second, Kyran would pull her into his arms.
Her throat tightened, and she nearly blurted out the whole truth.
“I’m sure.”
“It’s just… I’m a little scared.”
If Kyran had leaned in just a bit more just now, her head would have buried itself in his chest muscles. She’d suffocate, she thought.
“Scared of what?”
“You—you’re a bit big.” She’d caught a rough glimpse earlier, and her whole body had gone numb in an instant.
“So our wedding night was a failure?”
Sheng Wan nodded slowly, throwing caution to the wind as she replied: “Mm, it didn’t work out.”
He asked again: “We fought because our sex life was incompatible?”
Sheng Wan almost forgot that the fight was the reason she’d given the doctor.
“That’s part of it.”
The glow of the phone screen caught Kyran’s attention—the underwear size still hadn’t been decided.
He said: “Buy the largest. I don’t like being constricted.”
“Also, we can practice.”
Sheng Wan’s voice could barely stay steady: “Practice?”
Kyran nodded, his gaze full of amusement.
“I don’t think my skills are so poor that we need to prove it afterward.”
“My… wife.”