Jiang Yu said nothing.
She didn’t know what she could say.
The man on the bed asked again, “Police report or private settlement?”
Jiang Yu asked what he meant by that.
“If it’s the police route, we file a report, get an appraisal, plus lost wages and emotional damages—you pay whatever you need to pay.”
He paused, then added, “But with my injuries, you’ll probably end up paying quite a lot.”
Jiang Yu shivered inwardly. “And the private settlement?”
Shen Chengyan smiled faintly. “No money.”
“No money?”
“You take care of me until I’m discharged.”
Jiang Yu was slightly stunned.
The man looked completely matter-of-fact. “You take care of me, and that counts as repayment. How about it?”
So Jiang Yu became his caregiver.
In the mornings she took care of her aunt, and in the afternoons she took care of him.
She also prepared his lunch.
At that time, her cooking skills were still very poor—only just edible.
When he ate her first meal, he showed an indescribable expression.
But he said nothing, and silently finished everything on the plate.
After three days of eating like that, and seeing no improvement in her cooking, he finally made a request.
“I don’t like spicy food, and I don’t like strong flavors. Can you make it lighter?”
Jiang Yu felt a little embarrassed and went to ask her aunt for advice.
Under her aunt’s guidance, she practiced for several days. Her cooking finally improved and started to look, smell, and taste normal.
“Chicken stewed with mushrooms, stir-fried potatoes, sweet and sour pork—I used quite a lot of ingredients to get it right. I already had my aunt try it, and she said it’s pretty good.”
Shen Chengyan took a bite and said nothing.
Jiang Yu became nervous. “Is it bad?”
Finally, Shen Chengyan smiled faintly. “It’s pretty good.”
Jiang Yu relaxed with relief and smiled. “Then eat more.”
That day, he finished all the food.
Including the chicken stewed with mushrooms he supposedly disliked.
Jiang Yu didn’t understand why he didn’t say earlier that he didn’t like it.
But he had never been a talkative man.
Back then, while she was taking care of him in the hospital, most of the time she talked and he listened.
When there was nothing to say, she read books or did exercises.
He worked from his hospital bed.
Occasionally, when the sun was out, she would push him outside to get some sun. When it rained, she would stay inside and help him practice walking with crutches.
She also discovered that he liked secretly watching her.
Especially when she was quietly reading.
He thought she didn’t notice, but she pretended not to see it.
After a month together, they became familiar.
She learned that he wasn’t local.
He had come there for a project, visiting a cooperating company’s leader with colleagues. On the day they met, he had been smoking on the stairwell when Jiang Yu suddenly came over.
That day she was too angry and was on the phone with her back turned to him, so she didn’t notice him at first.
He originally planned to leave after finishing his cigarette, but Jiang Yu hung up at the same time and turned around—so they collided.
She was shocked when she heard this, thinking how coincidental it all was.
So coincidental it almost felt arranged.
The day of his discharge finally came.
His injuries had mostly healed, and it was close to the Lunar New Year, so the company had already started its holiday.
He left the northern city.
He left silently.
No phone call.
No message.
Jiang Yu thought she would never see him again.
After all, they were just strangers.
Once he recovered, their connection should have ended cleanly.
But on New Year’s Eve, she suddenly received a text message.
“Miss Jiang, Happy New Year.”
Jiang Yu thought for a moment and replied: “Happy New Year.”
He didn’t reply.
But after that day, he started messaging her more often.
“Have you eaten?”
“What are you doing?”
“How’s the weather?”
And so on.
These messages were boring and repetitive.
Every time, Jiang Yu wanted to roll her eyes.
Honestly.
Couldn’t he talk about something more interesting?
A handsome guy like him—shouldn’t he be better at flirting?
Why was he so dull?
During his hospitalization, she had already sensed that he might be interested in her.
They were both adults. When a conflict happened, instead of maximizing his own benefit, he asked a complete stranger to take care of him—the intention was already obvious.
But since he never made it explicit, she could only pretend not to notice.
They chatted through the Spring Festival, until Jiang Yu returned to school.
She became busy with studies, and he also seemed busy with work.
Gradually, their messages decreased.
Slowly, he stopped initiating contact. Eventually, even when she messaged him, he stopped replying.
Jiang Yu once wondered what that meant.
Was he done?
Had he lost interest?
Found someone else?
Whatever the reason, she understood she had been eliminated.
At first, she wasn’t used to it.
After all, they used to say “good morning” and “good night” every day. Then suddenly, he went silent—anyone would find that unsettling.
She considered deleting his number.
But in the end, she didn’t.
She quickly adjusted and returned to her normal life.
She thought it was just a failed ambiguous relationship.
Not worth sleepless nights.
But her calm life was soon shattered again when loan sharks came looking for her.
Her fear resurfaced.
Jiang Guodong was addicted to gambling. When he had money, he gambled. When he didn’t, he borrowed money to gamble.
She had no idea how many times she had been threatened by debt collectors.
He even stole her ID to borrow money. Because of him, she had been hurt, beaten, and left with deep psychological scars.
Those loan sharks came again, demanding 300,000 yuan, saying they couldn’t find Jiang Guodong, so they would come to his daughter instead.
They threatened to harass her at school every day, ruin her reputation, and expose what kind of father she had.
Jiang Yu was pushed to the brink of madness.
How many times was that scumbag going to destroy her life?
With a father like that, would she ever have a normal life?
Her future husband, in-laws, and family would all be dragged down by him.
Her life was ruined.
She saw no way out.
At that time, she was in a very unstable state and even thought about ending everything.
If she died, Jiang Guodong would no longer be able to drain her life.
When she was in that despair, Shen Chengyan appeared again.
That day, the debt collectors had taken the only few hundred yuan she had. She was walking aimlessly when someone grabbed her.
She heard someone call her name—deep, calm, and steady:
“Miss Jiang?”
It took her a moment before she recognized him—Shen Chengyan.
She remembered forcing a smile that looked worse than crying, asking whether his leg had healed.
His expression suddenly changed. The gentle look disappeared, replaced by something cold and dark as he stared at her swollen cheek.
“Who hit you?”
Jiang Yu lied. “No one. I’m just allergic.”
He stared at her without speaking, not pressing further, not exposing her lie.
In the end, he took her to the hospital.
The doctor examined her and prescribed anti-inflammatory medicine.
He sent her back to school, saying nothing along the way.
Jiang Yu actually wanted to ask why he had suddenly stopped messaging her.
But she didn’t.
When they finally reached the school and she was about to get out, he suddenly stopped her.
“These days I haven’t contacted you because I was thinking about something.”
Jiang Yu didn’t expect him to bring it up.
She asked what he was thinking.
He looked into her eyes and said:
“I’m someone who repays kindness. You took good care of me in the hospital, and I want to repay you. It seems the only way is to marry you. What do you think?”
Jiang Yu was stunned.
Repay kindness?
Had his brain been knocked silly when she bumped into him?
She was the one who caused his injury—why was he talking about repaying her?
Was this some new scam?
But Shen Chengyan didn’t rush her.
He placed the medicine in her hands and said gently, “Take your time. You have my number. Think it over and message me when you’ve decided.”
Jiang Yu thought for three days.
She decided that even if he was a liar, her life was already so miserable—what else could he take from her?
So she called him.
On the phone, she said, “Sorry, Mr. Shen, I can’t marry you.”
He fell silent.
After a long pause, she added, “But we can try dating first.”
Her voice was tense. “Let’s date for a while. If it works out, we’ll get married. What do you think?”
He remained silent.
Then, a low laugh came through the phone. “I think that’s a very good idea.”
Jiang Yu also smiled.
After hanging up, she quietly shed a tear.
She had secretly checked his watch—it was expensive.
She had checked his car—it was expensive.
When he talked about work, the projects involved huge sums of money.
From everything she observed, he was a very wealthy man.
Much wealthier than she had imagined.
No matter what his intentions were—whether he was deceiving her or not—
She had to cling to him tightly, like a lifeline.
Because he might be the only chance to pull herself out of that abyss.