Her eyes reddened as she reached out, wanting to hold her, to tell her that she was fine.
Seeing how strained her effort was, Shu Yang immediately leaned in cooperatively.
Breathing in the faint scent of medicine on her, Shu Yang’s heart burst into silent sobs.
Her precious girl was just too well-behaved.
Thinking of the blind-hearted Meng parents, Shu Yang trembled with fury.
For a moment, she even wished Zhizhi were her daughter—she would treat her with absolute care.
She would give Zhizhi so much love, so much trust.
Meng Zhi didn’t know what was on her mind; she only knew that the scent on her felt strangely familiar.
It was a scent that brought immense, immense reassurance.
The two talked for a long while longer, with Shu Yang doing most of the talking while Meng Zhi listened patiently.
Occasionally, Meng Zhi’s peripheral vision caught the teddy bear Shang Shiyan had placed on the bedside table.
Its adorable, silly design made her curl her lips into a gentle smile.
Shu Yang noticed this subtle shift in her mood and felt both a pang of heartache and an involuntary joy.
Perhaps this amnesia wasn’t such a bad thing for Zhizhi after all.
At least the post-amnesia her was happy with Shang Shiyan.
Shu Yang knew Meng Zhi best—if it were before the amnesia—
she would never have ended up with Shang Shiyan.
Outside the door.
Duan Yang heard the sobbing from inside the hospital room and opened his mouth to speak, but Shang Shiyan cut him off.
“Let them be. No need to disturb.”
His voice was low, and his dark, deep eyes flickered with unmistakable tenderness.
Before long, Shu Yang emerged with red-rimmed eyes.
Shang Shiyan instinctively cast a glance, peering through the crack of the door.
He saw Meng Zhi lying in bed, hugging the teddy bear he had just bought her.
The girl’s sweet, innocent demeanor was enough to stir pity in anyone’s heart.
Shu Yang stared at Shang Shiyan in silence for a long time.
She could see that his gaze was distinctly different when facing Zhizhi—far gentler.
Like a melting iceberg, a thawing river, brimming with warmth.
Shu Yang pressed her lips together, then looked at Shang Shiyan, her tone turning serious.
“So what do you plan to do now? Keep pretending to be her husband like this…”
At the mention of this topic, both of their expressions inevitably darkened.
They both knew well.
If they took this approach, once Meng Zhi regained her memory, the course of events would spiral out of control.
But for now, this was perhaps the best option.
Shang Shiyan narrowed his cold eyes slightly, remaining silent.
When no answer came after a long pause, Shu Yang let out a sigh.
Thinking of the long-agreed engagement between the Meng and Shang families, she felt a tangled mess and couldn’t help but get a headache.
“Zhizhi now believes you’re her husband, and she’s so repulsed by Shang Ye. What’s going to happen with their marriage? The Meng family has already notified all their relatives and friends, and I’m sure the Shang family has done the same, right?”
If they called off the engagement now, both the Meng and Shang families would become the laughingstock of the capital’s elite circle.
Shu Yang frowned. Though she didn’t continue, her worry and dilemma were plain to see.
“The wedding will not be canceled.”
The man’s voice was low and steady. After dropping those words, he turned and strode into the hospital room.
His slender fingers gripped the door handle, gently closing it, blocking out all gazes.
His words left Shu Yang frozen in place.
It took her a long moment to snap back to reality, still in disbelief.
What did Shang Shiyan mean by that?
Was it what she thought it meant?
This was to hold the wedding as usual, just swapping the groom from the nephew to the young uncle?
For a moment, Shu Yang felt like her nerves were completely short-circuiting.
This matter wasn’t exactly trivial.
But it wasn’t serious enough to make Shang Shiyan sacrifice his own marriage to resolve it!
She knew Shang Shiyan’s methods well—there were clearly other, better solutions.
Yet he chose to do this. Could it be that he actually really likes Zhizhi?
No way! No way!
When exactly did he start liking her?
Judging from his reaction, he must have liked Meng Zhi for a long time.
And a woman with radar instincts like hers hadn’t noticed at all?!
Shu Yang felt like she’d discovered something earth-shattering, her mouth hanging open in shock.
This day was too surreal, the impact too overwhelming.
Holy crap, that was Shang Shiyan!
The man in control of a top-tier wealthy dynasty, someone whose mere stomp could make the entire Beijing circle tremble.
And he was a pure-hearted warrior of love, secretly pining for her darling Zhizhi for years?
Even romance novels wouldn’t dare write something like this!
Shu Yang felt like her CPU was about to burn out.
Her gaze drifted to the already tightly shut hospital room door, then she turned to look at Duan Yang, who stood guard at the entrance like a statue, silent as ever.
Feeling the woman’s stare, Duan Yang recalled how vicious she could be when cursing people out and quietly took half a step back.
Shu Yang: ??
What the hell?
Was she some kind of scary monster or something?
In the elevator, Shang Ye received a call just before going up—it was from Chu Qinyan.
The moment he picked up, the other end was filled with sobbing.
“A-Ye, where did you go? I’m all alone in the hospital room, I’m so scared…”
Her tearful pleas made Shang Ye frown involuntarily.
His initial irritation softened into pity and tenderness at the thought of her pitiful, delicate appearance.
“I’m on my way back now.”
Ten minutes later, Shang Ye appeared in the hospital room.
Chu Qinyan practically jumped off the bed the moment she saw him, rushing into his arms.
She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, her voice choked with sobs as she poured out her anxiety and unease from earlier.
Feeling the softness of the woman in his arms, Shang Ye’s brow twitched slightly.
He hesitated for a moment before reaching out, gently patting her back to comfort her.
“A-Ye, can you please not leave me again? I keep feeling like this place is so gloomy and creepy. I can’t stand lying here alone…”
She deliberately spoke in a sweet, coquettish voice, practically trying to bury her entire self into Shang Ye’s embrace.
As Shang Ye listened to Chu Qinyan’s words, his uncle’s words uncontrollably flashed through his mind.
In his heart, he kept making excuses for her.
But the probing question still slipped out, as if possessed.
“I ran into Zhizhi earlier. She looked like she was badly injured.”
At the thought of Meng Zhi’s injuries, Shang Ye’s brow furrowed even deeper.
At the same time, doubt toward Chu Qinyan began to creep into his heart uncontrollably.
Because when he mentioned Zhizhi, he could clearly feel her body stiffen—
There was even a slight tremor.
Could she really know everything?
Had she deliberately not told him that Zhizhi was also at the scene of the accident?
Chu Qinyan had no idea what Shang Ye was thinking. When she heard from his mouth that Meng Zhi hadn’t died, her composure completely shattered.
A vicious glint flashed in her eyes, her teeth clenched in a way that was utterly terrifying.
Why?
Why did fate favor that bitch so much?
She was already injured that badly, and yet she still managed to survive!
The fantasy of becoming the Meng family’s adopted daughter shattered, and Chu Qinyan’s eyes were filled with intense unwillingness.
Her long nails dug fiercely into her palms, allowing deep purple marks to be gouged out one by one.
A dense, throbbing pain surged up, yet it still couldn’t dilute her hatred.
However, she quickly concealed her emotions again.
She couldn’t lose her composure in front of Shang Ye.