After staying in the hospital for four days, Jiang Qingmi returned to her rental.
Qing Yanshen carried the hospital luggage in one hand and held Jiang Tuantuan in the other. His tall and upright figure looked like a strong tree, reliable and steady.
Jiang Qingmi still felt a bit weak. She followed behind him slowly, looking at his back, her heart filled with complicated emotions.
Without realizing it, she had already been in Beicheng for half a month. This time, the medical expenses were paid by the man using his newly received wages. Over the past few days, he had been running around the hospital, patient, attentive, and considerate, taking very good care of her and Tuantuan.
When she entered the room, her eyes widened in surprise.
She had not been back for several days, yet the place was spotless. On the windowsill, there was now a pot of pale pink moth orchids.
A gentle breeze drifted in through the window, carrying a faint floral fragrance. On the table, there was a medium sized glass vase holding three sunflowers.
The three sunflowers were round and bright yellow, standing proudly upright as if smiling at Jiang Qingmi and welcoming her home.
After she was hospitalized, Qing Yanshen had gone back to the rental to make soup and get Jiang Tuantuan’s clothes. She had given him the key.
Holding Jiang Tuantuan, Qing Yanshen looked at her with a gentle gaze. “It’s all over. Cheer up.”
Jiang Qingmi looked at him silently for a few seconds, her throat tightening. She nodded firmly. “Mm.”
Perhaps because she had suffered in the hospital, or because she had just been discharged, her eyes turned slightly red. “Thank you. Really.”
Qing Yanshen pressed his lips together and stepped closer. He hesitated for a moment, then gently placed his hand on her head and gave it a light rub, carefully controlling his strength.
“It’s nothing.”
“Don’t rush. Take it slow.”
For some reason, seeing how thin and fragile she looked, standing at the door with reddened eyes thanking him, made his heart ache.
The image of the lively girl from his dreams surfaced again, forming a sharp contrast with the woman in front of him.
Strange.
He felt a strong sense of guilt toward her.
His brain had lost its memory, but his body had not. Qing Yanshen thought that his instincts had already recognized her.
This woman must be someone very special and very important to him.
She could not possibly be just a passing stranger.
Jiang Qingmi quickly adjusted her emotions. When she looked up, she met the man’s deep gaze, and his hand was still gently stroking her hair.
Wait.
She had not washed her hair since being hospitalized.
Realizing this, Jiang Qingmi quickly turned her head away. Her originally pale face flushed red as she spoke faster. “Alright, I’m fine now. I’m totally okay.”
Qing Yanshen replied gently, “Then I’ll go cook, you…”
“I’ll cook!” Jiang Qingmi said seriously. “I’m fine now. Cooking doesn’t take much effort. You’ve been tired these past few days. Go rest.”
With that, she took the groceries into the kitchen. As she passed him, she gave him a look that clearly said he was not allowed to follow.
Qing Yanshen did not dare upset her, so he stayed in the living room with Tuantuan, occasionally glancing toward the kitchen.
The range hood in the kitchen was faulty and could not completely clear the smoke, so soon the smell of food drifted into the living room as usual.
Jiang Qingmi made two simple dishes and one soup, along with baby food.
The three of them sat together again in the small rental, eating like before.
After finishing, Qing Yanshen said as usual, “I’ll wash the dishes…”
“Forget it. You have work tomorrow, right? Sit for a while and then go back to wash up and sleep.”
After she finished washing the dishes and came out, she saw the man sitting on the mat, leaning against the sofa, head tilted, already asleep.
Jiang Tuantuan sat quietly beside him and raised a finger toward her mother, softly making a shushing sound.
“Uncle sleeping.”
Jiang Qingmi walked over quietly and crouched beside him, watching him.
With his short hair and sharp features, he looked somewhat cold and even a bit intimidating when expressionless.
They had known each other for half a month.
He was not talkative or expressive. His emotions seemed restrained. She had rarely seen him laugh loudly or raise his voice. When he was happy, he only curled his lips slightly and his eyes would soften.
A bit foolish.
Normally, someone who lost their memory would be wary of everyone. But him, a mother and daughter appeared, and without much explanation, he treated them like his own wife and child.
Jiang Qingmi reached out and lightly poked his face.
I’m talking about you, fool.
Yes, you are a fool.
If you are the male lead, that would be ridiculous.
What kind of domineering CEO male lead ends up like you? What kind of male lead is this foolish?
Deep down, she was almost certain he was not the male lead.
Yet strangely, she did not feel disappointed.
She had come shamelessly to find the male lead for money, so why did she feel so indifferent now?
Had getting sick made her foolish too? Or had his foolishness rubbed off on her?
Her gaze once again fell on his lips. Her face warmed, and she quickly stood up, carrying Jiang Tuantuan to the bathroom.
The mother and daughter needed a proper wash.
Jiang Tuantuan had not bathed for several days either. Qing Yanshen did not know how to change a child’s clothes, let alone bathe her. He had a good sense of boundaries and never even mentioned it. He only placed clean clothes beside her, and took the dirty ones back to the rental to wash.
The two of them stayed in the bathroom for a long time. When they came out, they both smelled fresh and clean.
Qing Yanshen was still asleep, not even changing his position. He must have been truly exhausted.
It was already dark outside, and the temperature had dropped.
Qing Yanshen wore a black short sleeve shirt and loose black pants. Jiang Qingmi, who felt the cold easily, changed into long sleeve pajamas after her bath.
Sometimes, when you feel cold, you assume everyone else does too.
So she went into the room, took out a thin blanket, and gently draped it over him.
She thought she had been careful enough, but just as she tried to pull her hand away, her hand was suddenly grabbed tightly.
“Ah.” Jiang Qingmi was startled.
The man murmured vaguely, “Don’t go,” then released her hand and fell back into deep sleep.
He was talking in his sleep.
Jiang Qingmi stayed still, hoping he would say more, but he only breathed softly and said nothing else.
Hmph.
Who was he telling not to go?
She took Jiang Tuantuan into the bedroom and left the door open. From her position on the bed, she could see him.
Qing Yanshen woke up feeling hot. When he opened his eyes, he realized he was covered with a blanket. Looking outside, it was already dark, and he immediately became alert and stood up.
It was already ten thirty.
There was a message on his phone from Jiang Qingmi.
“If you want, you can stay here tonight, if you don’t mind sleeping on the sofa.”
Of course he did not mind.
He had been running around the hospital these past few days and had already brought a change of clothes from the dorm. He just needed to take a shower.
His phone buzzed. Even though he knew the mother and daughter could not hear it, he still quickly muted it.
Wang Ge: “Brother, are you coming back to the dorm tonight?”
Qing Yanshen: “No.”
Wang Ge: “You haven’t been back for days. Staying at your wife’s place all the time?”
Qing Yanshen had not told his coworkers about Jiang Qingmi’s hospitalization, so they assumed he had been staying with her.
He did not explain. After all, he really had been with them.
Wang Ge: “So your wife forgave you? You seem quiet, but you’ve got some skills.”
Qing Yanshen read the message but did not reply. With a slight smile on his lips, he glanced at the closed bedroom door and went to the bathroom in a good mood.
Jiang Qingmi had allowed him to stay overnight.
It felt even more like a family of three.
Soon, they would truly become one.
He turned off his phone and started showering.
His phone vibrated again.
Wang Ge: “Brother, can I ask you something? How did you get your wife to forgive you?”
The next day.
At seven thirty, Jiang Qingmi opened the bedroom door, her hair messy as usual, yawning.
“Morning.” Qing Yanshen had already prepared breakfast and was placing it on the table.
Jiang Qingmi was surprised. “When did you wake up?”
“Six thirty.”
“So early?”
He had even prepared baby food.
Jiang Qingmi had allowed him to stay overnight, and it filled him with energy. He made breakfast, watched the mother and daughter eat, then left for work in a good mood.
He took the trash downstairs, threw it away, and walked to the construction site.
This was his daily routine.
While waiting at a traffic light, he glanced at a large screen playing some news.
“On the morning of the sixteenth, according to sources, Qing Minghong was urgently sent to the hospital.”
He paused briefly, then looked away without expression. What occupied his mind was what to cook after work. Jiang Qingmi needed light food, and there was also the baby.
At home, Jiang Qingmi was far from calm. She checked news about the Qing family every day.
When she saw the report about Qing Minghong being hospitalized, she froze for a moment, then quickly opened it to read carefully.
It said Qing Minghong had been admitted to his own hospital, with his son Qing Chen accompanying him. It made people reflect that even a powerful figure in the business world could fall, and that before life, everyone was equal.
There were already five thousand comments.
Some said no one could escape life and death no matter how rich they were.
Some mocked him as a capitalist.
Others praised him for his years of charity work and wished him a speedy recovery.
One comment asked why the other son had never appeared.
Jiang Qingmi paused when she saw that.
She clicked into the replies.
Some wondered about the other biological son who had been found years ago but never revealed.
Some speculated he must be ugly or incapable.
Others argued that with such good looking parents, the child could not be ugly.
Another mocked Qing Chen’s looks and arrogance.
Some guessed that Qing Chen resented this other brother because of inheritance.
Others said with Qing Minghong down, the other son’s situation might become uncertain.
Jiang Qingmi thought, if the real heir was the male lead, what could go wrong? He would later even get engaged to a wealthy heiress.
At this point, she had completely accepted that a certain construction worker with the same name was not the male lead.
Still, she forwarded the news to Qing Yanshen.
“Did you see this news? What do you think?”
He replied quickly. “No thoughts. Compared to something irrelevant like that, I care more about what you want to eat this afternoon.”
Her lips curved slightly. “I’ll tell you when I decide.”
“Alright. I’m at the site now.”
“Be careful.”
Jiang Qingmi stopped reading the news and picked up her knitting. She worked slowly now, resting an hour after each pair.
Jiang Tuantuan played with the yarn beside her. The room felt quiet and warm.
When it was time, she took the child downstairs to buy groceries. Passing a toy stall, Jiang Tuantuan’s eyes lingered on a chubby bee plush.
She did not cry or ask for it. She just kept looking back, her brows slightly furrowed in longing.
With that little face and those eyes, anyone would buy it for her.
Jiang Qingmi was no exception. The plush was small but well made, priced at fifty yuan.
Even though she was short on money, she bought it.
Jiang Tuantuan hugged the bee happily, chatting nonstop along the way.
“Thank you mommy, mommy is the best.”
“Mommy, baby will be very good.”
“Mommy is the cutest.”
Jiang Qingmi laughed. Such a young child already knew how to sweet talk.
Suddenly, an idea popped into her mind.
What if she made knitted toys to sell?
There were so many children in the underground mall. If a child really wanted something, how many parents could refuse?
She decided to try.
After returning home with groceries, she started cooking.
When Qing Yanshen came back from work and reached the third floor, he saw the door open and Jiang Tuantuan standing there with a flushed face.
He paused, then heard Jiang Qingmi coughing.
“You’re back? I nearly choked to death. Cough cough.”
Before he could ask, he smelled a strong burnt chili scent.
“I was making fried chili and overdid it.”
The faulty range hood made it worse.
“Come out first.” Qing Yanshen pulled her outside. The mother and daughter were both coughing, especially the child, her face red.
He opened the windows and doors to let the air clear.
Then he searched for something on his phone and seemed to figure something out.
When Jiang Qingmi returned to the kitchen, she saw Qing Yanshen had turned off the power and dismantled the range hood, tapping and adjusting it with tools.
She was stunned. “You know how to fix it?”
“No, but I can learn.”
She noticed a repair video playing on his phone.
Learning on the spot.
“Where did you get the tools?”
“Bottom cabinet. I saw them before.”
His hands were already dirty, but he looked very focused. His profile was sharp, his neck long, collarbones visible.
Soon, he reassembled the hood, turned the power back on, and it worked.
Jiang Qingmi was amazed. “Oh my god, you’re amazing, Qing Yanshen.”
He simply replied, “Mm,” though the slight curve of his lips gave him away.
Clearly happy, yet acting reserved.