After regaining consciousness again, Qing Yanshen still hadn’t opened his eyes, but he knew he was in a hospital.
It had been nearly three months since his amnesia, and he had already been to the hospital several times.
He heard Jiang Tuantuan trying to soften her little voice and Jiang Qingmi speaking quietly in response. The mother and daughter were talking softly.
He should open his eyes to see them, but at this moment, he didn’t feel like moving.
The memory from before his coma weighed heavily on him. Because it mattered so much, his heart ached.
Yes, it was a memory, not a dream or a fantasy.
How he wished it were just a dream.
He kept recalling that memory, feeling as if Jiang Qingmi was constantly stabbing his heart. Every time he remembered, it hurt, like he had a self-destructive streak.
Now it was clear: he and Jiang Qingmi had been together.
But they had broken up.
Clearly, he had been dumped unilaterally.
I’ve had enough of being with you. Just thinking about spending a lifetime with someone like you makes the future seem meaningless.
Qing Yanshen felt his heart ache in painful spasms. He analyzed each word like a masochist.
Why had she had enough of being with him?
Why did she not look forward to a future with him?
Liking you was also fake. Sorry, that was lying to you. I never liked you.
Even liking her was fake.
Qing Yanshen let out a deep sigh. Jiang Qingmi’s words from before the coma also surfaced in his mind:
“Sorry, I didn’t know you would take my words seriously. I don’t feel that way about you. We’ve only known each other for less than a month, right? Did you ever think about what our identities were before your amnesia? Confessing or being together wasn’t something I ever considered.”
If he hadn’t recalled the breakup memory, he could have understood her words. After all, they had both suffered from amnesia.
But now, remembering the breakup while hearing her words, it felt bitter.
Liking you was fake. I never liked you.
Confessing or being together wasn’t something I ever considered.
In other words, whether before or after her amnesia, Jiang Qingmi had never liked him. She had no feelings for him, while he had been obsessed all along, repeatedly misreading the situation.
He kept his eyes closed, quietly feeling the ache in his heart, unsure how he would face Jiang Qingmi once he opened them.
They had broken up, and she had spoken so harshly. Qing Yanshen felt he should be angry.
Yet at that moment, she wiped his face with a handkerchief. Her thin sleeve brushed his nose. He could smell the scent of her laundry detergent, lavender, and a faint fragrance of her hand cream, grapefruit scented.
He knew all of it.
Qing Yanshen’s heart softened instantly, beating fast and weakly, full of helplessness.
Although he didn’t want to admit it, he couldn’t help but think of a dog following after a thrown piece of candy.
The next second, he smelled her hair, the stronger grapefruit shampoo scent. Wait, how could he smell her hair? What was she doing?
Qing Yanshen could no longer pretend to sleep and suddenly opened his eyes.
Then he saw Jiang Qingmi’s small face close to his, no more than five centimeters away. Her big eyes were wide open, looking at him.
“You…” Jiang Qingmi didn’t expect him to wake up without warning and suddenly found herself in a compromising situation. She straightened up abruptly. “Don’t misunderstand. I noticed a mole near the base of your eyelashes and wanted to take a closer look.”
It was true.
“I was bored.”
She knew all the moles on his face, and she hadn’t realized there was one at the base of his lashes.
Fearing he might think otherwise, her action indeed looked suspicious. Jiang Qingmi seriously explained, “Really, I didn’t mean anything else. I swear. I just wanted to…”
“I know,” Qing Yanshen interrupted, pursing his lips. “I didn’t overthink it.”
He wasn’t going to overthink anything now.
“Uncle, you’re awake!” Jiang Tuantuan toddled over holding a small plane, her mouth open in a happy grin. “Uncle, you’re amazing!”
Qing Yanshen looked at Jiang Tuantuan, reaching out to pat her head, feeling a mix of emotions.
This daughter, she’s his. Yes, she’s his.
Even though Jiang Qingmi had amnesia, she hadn’t forgotten that Qing Yanshen was the father. She had even gone to the construction site to ask for child support.
The child must be his.
Jiang Qingmi noticed he was unusually quiet after waking up, and her sixth sense told her something was off.
She spoke first. “The doctor said you need to keep taking medicine for your head injury. Have you skipped it for several days?”
Five seconds later, Qing Yanshen responded, “Yes.”
Honestly, he didn’t really want to see Jiang Qingmi right now. Seeing her made him think of the breakup words, which hurt.
“Did you finish your medicine? If so, come to the hospital to get more.” Jiang Qingmi hesitated, thinking, “You haven’t run out of money, have you?”
The last hospitalization cost four thousand five hundred, which he paid from his salary, plus three thousand for meals at her place. If it was because he had no money to buy medicine for her…
Just thinking about it made her heart ache. She hadn’t dared to ask him how much money he had before. Now, it seemed he really had very little.
“Yes, I’m out of money.”
Qing Yanshen looked at her conflicted expression and deliberately said, “I’m poor now, just a few hundred left, a complete pauper.”
He watched her expression carefully. She hadn’t loved him before, and now she had come for child support and gotten almost nothing.
Would she be disappointed?
Would she take the baby and leave?
Would she go find a wealthy second chance?
Qing Yanshen’s heart ached as he added, “I also need to take medicine every month. If I don’t, I get headaches and dizzy. Quite fragile, huh?”
Would she secretly take the baby and run?
Had she already regretted coming for him?
She had come asking for child support, got almost nothing, and now had to spend money on him.
Qing Yanshen felt like a masochist. His heart hurt so much he could barely breathe, worried she would think he was useless, a burden.
He feared she would really take the baby and leave.
It felt like a tiny person inside his heart was hammering him, shouting, “What are you saying, Qing Yanshen? Stop talking nonsense. You’re useless, she will leave! Say you’re capable, you’ll get back up and earn money at the construction site! You’ll make sure the mother and daughter have a good life!”
Yet he couldn’t stop talking, “Right now I feel weak, probably because of the medicine. I have to take a leave from the construction site. I can’t earn money.”
After speaking, he felt empty inside.
From misreading the situation to recalling the breakup memory and fainting, then waking up and not wanting to open his eyes, thinking about everything.
Having declared himself a useless man, he didn’t have the courage to look at Jiang Qingmi. His eyes lowered, like a sinner awaiting judgment.
“I’ll buy your medicine. This time, listen to the doctor and take it on time.”
Qing Yanshen lifted his eyes in disbelief. Jiang Qingmi stared at him, her tone unprecedentedly serious, “Don’t go to work. Rest and take care of your health. It’s okay. I’ll take care of you. I can knit shoes and sweaters to earn money.”