Watching the tears on her face, Sheng Qingshan paused for a moment before turning her wrist to clasp Sheng Yunshu’s hand. “It is gone. The medicine was effective, and it does not hurt.”
“Let me look.”
Sheng Yunshu did not believe her “it is fine” and insisted that Sheng Qingshan remove her jacket.
Sheng Qingshan did not agree. She pressed the button to have the nurse deliver a nutritional meal and raised the bed. “Eat first.”
“I can do it myself.” Sheng Yunshu did not want to be fed and reached for the tray. “Have you eaten? Have them send up another portion.”
When Sheng Yunshu tried to take the bowl from her hands, the other party showed no intention of letting go.
Sheng Qingshan looked at her, her expression not harsh, just a bit firmer than before. “Sit still.”
Her fingertips trembled slightly. Sheng Yunshu retracted her hand and silently ate the meal, not daring to cause any more trouble.
After the meal, once the nurse had collected the tray, Sheng Yunshu’s gaze fell once again on Sheng Qingshan’s arm. “Sister, can you let me look? Just for a second.”
In her memory, Sheng Qingshan had suffered too many injuries. She was afraid, but she could not ignore them.
Feeling the worry and heartache in her eyes, Sheng Qingshan pursed her lips. She did not grant her wish but instead proactively changed the subject.
“Regarding the divorce, I want to tell you what I am thinking.”
Sheng Yunshu’s expression stiffened. She subconsciously gripped the sheets and forced a smile. “Yes, I know. Whenever you want to go is fine, or do I just need to sign something? I…”
Sheng Yunshu wanted to appear lighthearted; she did not want to show her ugly side in front of Sheng Qingshan again. However, as she spoke, the tears that had not yet fallen choked her throat, leaving her unable to say more.
“Stop crying.” Sheng Qingshan sighed softly and reached out to touch her cheek. “We will not divorce. Since you want this, it is yours. You do not need to worry about that. No matter what happens in the future, as long as you want this status, our marital relationship will always stand.”
Her eyes widened slightly. Sheng Yunshu grasped her hand, her voice trembling. “R-really? Even if I feel this way about you, you will not change your mind?”
“Yes.”
Sheng Qingshan wiped away the tears from the corner of her eyes. “I will not.”
Seeing those dull eyes regain their luster, Sheng Qingshan felt a complex mix of emotions.
“However, I can only give you this status.” She withdrew her hand, held Sheng Yunshu’s fingertips, and squeezed them gently. Sheng Qingshan lowered her voice. “Yunshu, I do not know why you developed these feelings for me, but I have no way to respond to them. You know the person I love is her.”
Hearing these words with her own ears, it would be a lie to say she was not sad, but Sheng Yunshu knew she would never be able to compete with Ji Xi. Being able to obtain this status was already a blessing from the heavens; she should not be greedy.
“It is okay…” Sheng Yunshu smiled through her tears and squeezed her hand back. “I only wanted this. Sister, thank you…”
Seeing her sudden maturity, Sheng Qingshan felt a pang of bitterness.
Leaning forward to gently embrace the woman, Sheng Qingshan stroked her long hair, a sigh escaping her lips.
“Yunshu, do not love someone who does not love you back.”
That is too painful.
This was both a warning from someone who had been through it to someone just starting, and a sister’s pity for her younger sibling.
Sheng Yunshu nuzzled against her neck, closed her eyes, and let the tears soak their skin, yet a smile remained on her face.
“No, I am loving someone who loves me.”
It is just that you cannot give me the part of your love that I want.
After things were laid out in the open, their relationship underwent subtle changes.
At first, Sheng Yunshu did not dare to throw tantrums like she used to. She did not dare to straightforwardly ask for hugs and became much more cautious when speaking.
Perhaps Sheng Qingshan noticed, or perhaps she did not.
Regardless, her attitude toward Sheng Yunshu remained the same as before. If it could not be called doting, it was at least attentive to every detail.
Because of the explosion in the Old Town, Sheng Qingshan had been in the spotlight recently. Her superiors arranged numerous exclusive interviews for her. Coupled with Ji Xiaxu acting as her mediator, she was constantly on the move, and the time she spent accompanying Sheng Yunshu was mostly at night.
Late at night, Sheng Yunshu would be drifting into sleep. Hearing footsteps, she would open her eyes to see Sheng Qingshan sitting on the companion chair still working, the light casting a soft outline on her profile.
Sometimes Sheng Yunshu would pretend to be asleep, peeking through the gaps in her eyelashes.
Sheng Qingshan was very quiet while working, her brow slightly furrowed, occasionally writing things down rapidly on paper. She still could not use her left arm for long periods, so the files were piled on the right armrest in a crooked, messy way, completely different from her usual meticulous style.
Once, Sheng Yunshu was staring too intently and was caught red-handed by Sheng Qingshan.
“Cannot sleep?” Sheng Qingshan did not even look up.
Sheng Yunshu quickly closed her eyes, turned over, and guilty-heartedly covered her face with the little rabbit plush.
A faint laugh came from behind her.
Sheng Yunshu covered the rabbit even tighter, her ears burning hot.
The days went by like this.
A week later, Sheng Yunshu could walk around, though she still could not engage in strenuous exercise—only slow walking, and she had to control the duration.
After lying in bed for so long, finally being able to stand, Sheng Yunshu happily walked over to Sheng Qingshan and, unable to control herself, gave her a hug.
Once she realized what she had done, she hurriedly let go, took two steps back, her eyes full of panic.
Before she could think of an excuse, Sheng Qingshan suddenly opened her arms, pulled her into an embrace, and patted her back.
“Yunshu, do not be like this.” Her voice was light, carrying an indescribable weariness. “Do not be so cautious. I do not want you to be like this.”
Sheng Yunshu stiffened in her arms, not daring to move.
“I am not…” Sheng Yunshu’s voice was muffled in her shoulder, lacking conviction. “I was just afraid that you would not like it.”
Sheng Qingshan did not answer. She patted her again, then released the embrace, took a half-step back, and looked down at her.
“Do you know why I do not let you like me?”
Her eyelashes fluttered, and Sheng Yunshu looked away. “Because you do not like me.”
“Because you will become like this.”
The rough fingertips were always gentle as they brushed across her cheek. Sheng Qingshan cradled her face, looked into those beautiful eyes, and whispered:
“In the past, you always did whatever you wanted in front of me. If I raised my voice a little, you would throw a tantrum, get angry, and say I wasn’t good to you or that you hated me. You were not like this, carefully weighing every word you say.”
“Yunshu, do not be like this.”
After hearing these words, Sheng Yunshu stared at her for a long time, tears slowly accumulating in her eyes. She gave a heavy snort, her voice thick with congestion.
“Is that my fault? This is clearly your fault! Last time, I just touched your face, and you got so angry! How am I supposed to know how to get along with you? What if I accidentally did something and made you angry again?”
She paused, rubbed her tears onto Sheng Qingshan’s palm, and continued to complain.
“Do you know? You are really fierce when you are angry! You stiffen your face, you do not smile, you ignore me when I talk to you, as if I were some terrible person!”
“I just did not think of how to resolve it…” Sheng Qingshan explained.
But Sheng Yunshu would not listen.
“And now you tell me not to be cautious,” Sheng Yunshu’s tears fell again, one by one, hitting Sheng Qingshan’s palm. “You tell me to do whatever I want and say whatever I want. But Sheng Qingshan, I cannot. I am scared.”
She sniffled hard, her voice hoarse and broken.
“I am afraid that if I say the wrong thing, you will leave again. I am afraid that if I do something wrong, you will not want me again. You are always like this. Every time, you make me feel safe, and then you push me away again! Now you say these things. Sheng Qingshan, why are you so mean to me!”
Saying it was not enough, Sheng Yunshu opened her mouth and bit her hand, wanting to make her suffer a little.
But she did not use much strength; Sheng Qingshan only felt an itch.
Looking at her sister throwing a tantrum again, Sheng Qingshan felt relieved and let her bite until she grew tired of it.
“Why do you not push me away?” Sheng Yunshu still had tears hanging from her eyelashes, but her expression was fierce. “You are the meanest person of all! If you do this to me again, I will bite your hand off!”
Sheng Qingshan did not take her threat to heart, instead rubbing her head and laughing softly as she spoke:
“If my hand is bitten off, then I will have no way to wear a ring.”
Sheng Yunshu did not understand what she meant, her eyes narrowing. “Wear what ring? Did you not say you would not divorce? Why would you want to be single? She will not divorce you anyway, mmph!”
Seeing she was getting off track, Sheng Qingshan quickly covered her mouth.
“The wedding. We need to exchange rings.”
Under her confused gaze, Sheng Qingshan opened her smart device, and several project proposals unfolded before them. “I had someone make these. Jingyun also designed several sets of formal wear. Take a look and see which one you like better.”
Looking at those proposals with such different styles, Sheng Yunshu’s eyes gradually widened.
“Did I not say we would not hold a wedding?”
At the time, she only wanted a status with Sheng Qingshan; the rest she did not care about, and she had no time to wait for a wedding.
Sheng Qingshan took her hand and sat her down in a chair. The light projected by the smart device slowly rotated between the two of them. Every proposal was crafted with extreme care—from the venue layout to the floral arrangements, from the guest list to the menu design, covering every detail across the entire screen.
Sheng Yunshu’s gaze shifted from the proposals to Sheng Qingshan’s face, then back again, repeating this several times, as if wanting to find a logical explanation hidden between the text and images.
“Did I not say we would not hold a wedding?” she asked again, her voice lighter than before.
Sheng Qingshan shrank the light screen so that both of their faces could be seen.
“But you want it.” Sheng Qingshan turned her face to look at her. “You have liked rituals since you were little. Even for a simple school performance, you would prepare a month in advance, not to mention something as important as marriage.”
“But…” Sheng Yunshu’s breathing became chaotic. “But if we do this, everyone will know. In the future, what will you do?”
After I die, what will you do?
Registration and genealogy entries were their private family business. In the eyes of outsiders, Sheng Qingshan would still be single, and countless people would chase after her. After she passed away, the marital relationship would automatically dissolve, and Sheng Qingshan could start over.
But holding a wedding meant everyone would know their relationship. After she was gone, if Sheng Qingshan truly met someone else who moved her heart, how would she explain their relationship?
She did not want Sheng Qingshan to be gossiped about behind her back.
“That is not for you to worry about.”
Sheng Qingshan’s gaze grew even softer, making Sheng Yunshu feel slightly dazed.
“I cannot satisfy you when it comes to love. But in every other aspect, I will give you everything—the wedding, the vows, the marriage, I will give them all to you.”
Sheng Yunshu’s heart ached; she tapped her arm lightly.
“You are truly detestable.”
If you don’t like me, then don’t like me. Why do you have to do so much… how am I supposed to bear leaving you?
The day after finalizing the wedding plans, Ji Jingsheng suddenly came to the house to find her.
Sheng Yunshu was just about to have 01 pour her some tea when her wrist was grabbed by the woman.
Looking at the bloodshot eyes of the other person, Sheng Yunshu suddenly realized something and did not push her away.
“Are you going to marry Aunt Qingshan?”
Ji Jingsheng’s voice was hoarse. She stared at Sheng Yunshu, but it was clear that this was not the purpose of her visit today.
“Aunt Qingshan does not love you; she would not agree to this request for no reason. Aunt Qingsheng has been running to the hospital a lot lately, and Aunt Ye participated in a project, but the specific content is not convenient to disclose. However, the investor for this project is Sheng World. Sheng Yanzhou just returned and is not familiar with Aunt Ye.”
The woman took a deep breath. She looked at Sheng Yunshu, her voice trembling.
“Are you sick?”