Ming Yan took a deep breath, forcing down the ache in her heart as she turned to look out the floor-to-ceiling window.
Outside, the sun shone brightly, and the bustling traffic stretched as far as the eye could see. The vast expanse of Jingdu lay before her.
It suddenly occurred to her that the now-renowned Minghan Law Firm had started with just this small office.
Back then, she had sold her only property to help Huo Hanshan rent it.
Now, the entire floor belonged to Huo Hanshan.
She remembered the day they rented this office—it had been just as sunny.
“How about naming the law firm ‘Minghan’?”
“Whatever you want,” Huo Hanshan replied without expression. “You decide.”
Ming Yan excitedly threw herself into his arms, only to be pulled away by him as he pinched her cheek. “I don’t like being hugged.”
But Ming Yan just laughed carelessly and buried herself in his embrace again. “I’ll hug you anyway.”
She had once declared with boundless enthusiasm that she would help him become the best lawyer in all of Jingdu.
Huo Hanshan said it didn’t matter—in his heart, Ming Yan’s happiness was what mattered most.
She had kept her promise.
But he had lied.
…
Ming Yan had a lot of belongings in the office.
So much that she spent half a day packing and still hadn’t finished.
After all, from the firm’s founding until now, she had stood behind Huo Hanshan, planning and handling matters for him.
Though the firm belonged to Huo Hanshan, it was also her life’s work.
The employees watched Ming Yan pack her things, exchanging uneasy glances, but none dared to approach her.
They had clearly heard about what happened at the wedding.
However, Huo Hanshan was the boss, and they didn’t dare gossip behind his back unless they wanted to lose their jobs.
Just as Ming Yan finished packing everything and was about to call a moving company, her phone suddenly rang.
It was Huo Hanshan’s mother.
Ming Yan pursed her lips and answered the call.
“Hello, is this Miss Ming?” The anxious voice of the housekeeper came through after the call connected.
“I can’t reach Mr. Huo. His mother suddenly fell ill and was taken to the hospital. Can you come over?”
“Alright, I’ll be right there.”
When Ming Yan arrived at the hospital, she found Huo’s mother sitting on the hospital bed, eating an apple the housekeeper had peeled for her.
Seeing Ming Yan enter, Wang Mei’s pale face flushed with anxiety and anger. She immediately scowled and began scolding her. “Ming Yan, what’s going on between you and Hanshan? How could you make such a mess of something as important as a wedding? Canceling the wedding on the day itself—how embarrassing would it be if word got out?”
Beads of sweat dotted Ming Yan’s forehead. Seeing that Wang Mei had the energy to scold her, she knew the older woman wasn’t in serious condition. It was likely just the shock and anger from hearing about the canceled wedding that had triggered her illness.
“Auntie, please don’t be upset.”
“How can I not be upset?” Wang Mei frowned, her chest heaving slightly from speaking too quickly. “Hanshan is stubborn and impulsive. Ming Yan, why didn’t you talk him out of it? How could you let him make such a mess?”
Ming Yan took a deep breath and patiently explained, “During our wedding, Qin Wan jumped off a building.”
“What?” Wang Mei exclaimed in shock. “Is Xiaowan alright?”
“She’s fine. Huo Hanshan already took her to the hospital.”
Wang Mei patted her chest. “You scared me to death. Thank goodness she’s alright.”
After learning the whole story, Wang Mei finally felt relieved and repeatedly urged Ming Yan to handle the follow-up issues of canceling the wedding properly, so as not to cause trouble for Huo Hanshan.
Having been exhausted for most of the day, her weak body couldn’t hold up any longer, and she soon fell asleep.
“Miss Ming, sorry for troubling you to come all this way. I’ll take care of things here. You can go back and attend to your own matters,” the nanny said apologetically.
Ming Yan glanced at Wang Mei, who was already sound asleep in the hospital bed. “From now on, don’t call me about Auntie’s matters anymore. I—”
But before she could finish, the nanny interrupted with an apologetic expression, “Miss Ming, please don’t be angry. Don’t take what Madam said earlier to heart. She’s just like that. After all, Miss Qin Wan grew up under her care, so it’s only natural she favors her a bit. But she really does like you too…”
A bitter smile tugged at Ming Yan’s lips. Even the nanny could see that Wang Mei preferred Qin Wan.
“I’m not angry with Auntie. Huo Hanshan and I have already broken up. His affairs have nothing to do with me from now on. You can just call Huo Hanshan directly for Auntie’s matters.”
Ming Yan turned away, ignoring the stunned expression on the nanny’s face.
But as she looked up, she saw Huo Hanshan and Qin Wan standing not far away…
Ming Yan met Huo Hanshan’s gaze. That flawless face, no matter how many times she saw it, always seemed perfect.
Of course.
If it weren’t for that face, how could she have fallen so deeply…
“Why haven’t you dealt with the public backlash from canceling the wedding? The calls have even reached me,” Huo Hanshan said with a frown.
Ming Yan felt a pang of bitterness in her heart—Huo Hanshan truly didn’t like her.
He only wanted someone to clean up his messes.
And yet, she had eagerly thrown herself into it, mistaking all of it as signs of his affection.
But they did have beautiful memories too.
Each and every one of them was Ming Yan’s most precious memory, the very belief that kept her going down this path.
But now—it was time to end it.
“Sister Ming Yan, I’m really sorry for ruining your wedding with Hanshan today. I apologize.”
Qin Wan, standing nearby, recited these words without a hint of sincerity, then linked her arm with Huo Hanshan’s. Her voice was melodious and soft as she said, “Huo Hanshan, see? I’ve apologized. Don’t be angry with me anymore…”
“Hmm.” Huo Hanshan nodded expressionlessly.
Qin Wan’s face immediately lit up with a smile, and she glanced triumphantly at Ming Yan.
Ming Yan stared coldly at Qin Wan.
These cheap tricks were something Qin Wan often used.
In the past, Ming Yan would have confronted her head-on.
But now, she no longer had the energy for it.
Ming Yan withdrew her gaze. “I still have to go back to the company and finish packing. I’ll head back now.”
Just as she brushed past Huo Hanshan, someone grabbed her wrist.
Ming Yan turned around and met Huo Hanshan’s pitch-black eyes.
“I have something to say to—”
But before he could finish, Qin Wan suddenly went limp and leaned into Huo Hanshan.
Huo Hanshan swiftly caught her, his expression tense. “What’s wrong?”
“I… I feel dizzy. It must be because I haven’t had a blood transfusion in a while…”
At the mention of “blood transfusion,” Ming Yan instinctively flinched.
Qin Wan suffered from congenital hematopoietic dysfunction and required blood transfusions at regular intervals. Moreover, she had an extremely rare blood type—panda blood…
And Ming Yan happened to have panda blood.
In her youth, naive and unaware, when she first agreed to donate blood for Qin Wan, she thought Qin Wan was Huo Hanshan’s cousin and volunteered without hesitation.
But after that, it was all to make Huo Hanshan happy.
Back then, she was foolish and ignorant, so foolish that she treated the person her beloved cared about as someone she herself cared for. She had no idea how many times she had donated blood to Qin Wan…
Huo Hanshan instinctively turned his head. “Ming Yan, get ready. You’ll be donating blood for Qin Wan in a moment.”
At this moment, Ming Yan only felt like laughing.
She even suspected that Huo Hanshan had been with her not just to find a caretaker but also to secure an on-call mobile blood bank for Qin Wan.
“I refuse!” she stated firmly.
Huo Hanshan couldn’t help but frown. “Qin Wan’s condition is very special. If she doesn’t get a transfusion immediately, she will die.”
“Then let her die.”