“I can’t get home at night, so I’ll stay in your ward for the night.”
This excuse immediately made Qi Yanjue grow wary. The scene felt familiar, the words felt familiar.
More than a year ago, she had said, “It’s dark, don’t go back. Just stay in my ward for the night.”
That “just for one night” had cost him his marriage. Qi Yanjue’s expression darkened as he asked, “Song Yueying, what are you trying to do this time?”
“My plan is exactly what I said, I’ll stay in your ward for the night and leave as soon as it’s light tomorrow,” Song Yueying repeated.
She answered very calmly, walking past his bed and directly sitting on the empty bed deeper inside the room.
Seeing that she was brushing him off, Qi Yanjue gritted his teeth. “Song Yueying, in your eyes am I really that stupid? You’re even using the same trick to set me up again.”
“When did I ever set you up?” Song Yueying blinked in confusion.
She had only just transmigrated today. If Qi Yanjue had truly been tricked, it would have been by the original owner of this body, not her.
But there was no way to explain that situation.
So Song Yueying searched through the original owner’s memories for any incident involving Qi Yanjue. After searching for a long while, she found nothing, the original owner didn’t even seem to remember that Qi Yanjue existed.
“I… really set you up before?” she asked cautiously.
What she actually wanted to say was: Are you trying to scam me? Because I don’t remember you at all, let alone ever setting you up.
Qi Yanjue paused, narrowing his eyes to study her. There was no doubt she was Song Yueying, but why didn’t she remember him?
Was it that she didn’t remember him as a person… or that she didn’t remember anything related to him at all?
“You’ve lost your memory before?” Qi Yanjue asked the question that had been on his mind.
Lost memory?
Song Yueying’s eyes darted around as she considered whether she should simply go along and pretend she had amnesia. But when her gaze met his probing look, alarm bells rang in her head.
She trusted her instincts and decisively gave up the idea. Instead, she said tactfully, “I think… it’s not that serious as to be amnesia. My memory is just a bit confused.”
“To put it more simply, there’s something a little wrong with my brain.”
Qi Yanjue blurted out, “So your brain is sick?”
Song Yueying felt that he was insulting her, so she shot back, “Your brain is the one that’s sick.”
“You’re the one who said your brain has a problem, doesn’t that mean it’s sick?” Qi Yanjue still hadn’t realized that this was an insult.
“Who told you that having confused memory means your brain is sick?” Song Yueying didn’t want to waste time explaining further, so she directly referred him to someone qualified.
“If you don’t know, then go ask someone who does. Doctor Zhao.”
Qi Yanjue neither agreed nor disagreed. He just looked at her thoughtfully. Memory confusion, what kind of condition would cause a person’s memory to become disordered?
Whatever the reason, memory confusion was not an excuse for her to stay in his ward.
He had not forgotten that this woman was skilled at pretending to be weak and manipulating others.
“Get out,” Qi Yanjue said directly.
In both her past and present life, this was the first time she had been kicked out, especially by someone she had saved. A wave of anger surged in Song Yueying’s heart. People who repay kindness with ingratitude and kick others aside when they’re no longer useful truly never disappear, no matter the era.
What a waste, she had even thought he was a soldier, someone upright and righteous.
“I won’t,” Song Yueying said stubbornly, immediately opposing him. She unilaterally decided the conversation was over, then lay down on the empty hospital bed and closed her eyes to sleep.
In fact, she hadn’t eaten dinner yet and was very hungry, but she was too exhausted to move.
Qi Yanjue’s face darkened with anger.
Suppressing the urge to throw her out, he said in a low voice, “You were gone for about three hours. As long as you didn’t linger on the way, three hours is enough for you to walk back to the First Unit.”
Song Yueying gave no response at all.
Seeing her lying on the empty bed with her back turned to him, Qi Yanjue felt both stifled and disgusted. His thoughts drifted back to more than a year ago.
That evening, he had also just gone through a fierce battle and suffered minor injuries.
Uncertain how many enemies might still be hiding in the dark, and worried that the hard-won information might be lost again, he decided not to return to the guesthouse. Instead, he planned to go directly to the train station and leave by train.
On the way, he encountered Song Yueying, who had fainted from hunger, and sent her to the hospital.
After learning from the doctor that she had simply fainted from starvation, he went to the cafeteria and bought her a bowl of porridge.
When she woke up, she was very grateful to him and even said she would repay him. At the time, he thought she was a grateful person and didn’t take it seriously.
After finishing the porridge, Song Yueying said to him, “It’s dark, don’t go back. Just make do and stay in my ward for the night.”
He knew that sharing a ward would damage both their reputations if word got out. But because he was extremely tired, and because she was a young woman alone without anyone to look after her…
After weighing all these considerations, he ended up staying in her ward for the night.
The next morning, she went out to the restroom. When she came back, her expression was evasive, and less than two minutes later… things escalated, leaving him with no way to defend himself.
Realizing he had been set up by her, he could only swallow his anger in silence.
A knock on the door pulled Qi Yanjue back from his thoughts. Assuming it was Doctor Zhao returning, he said, “Come in.”
The ward door opened, and a young male officer in a police uniform stood at the entrance. His gaze repeatedly shifted between the two hospital beds in the room.
His face was full of hesitation.
Both beds were occupied. The man on the outer bed was not the person he was looking for. The person on the inner bed was a female comrade, but she had her back to the door.
Her clothing looked somewhat similar, so he still couldn’t confirm whether she was Comrade Song.
The officer’s gaze finally settled on Qi Yanjue. He smiled at him and asked, “Comrade, hello. May I ask if Comrade Song is in this ward?”
Before Qi Yanjue could answer, Song Yueying, who had been lying on the inner bed, heard someone calling her. She turned over and sat up, facing the ward door.
“Comrade Song.” Seeing Song Yueying’s bright, striking face, the young officer immediately walked toward her, his expression lighting up with joy. “I finally found you.”
“What do you need me for?” Song Yueying asked in confusion.
“To bring you dinner,” the officer said as he reached her and handed over a lunchbox.
The police had remembered that she had not eaten dinner and even brought it to her. This was completely unexpected for Song Yueying, so much so that she forgot to reach out and take it.
Seeing her hesitation, the officer explained, “Because you’re a female comrade, when we went to the cafeteria to eat, we didn’t call you along. We were worried it wouldn’t look appropriate.”
Realizing he had misunderstood, Song Yueying took the lunchbox and sincerely thanked him. “Thank you for making the trip.”
The officers’ thoughtfulness warmed her heart.
The young officer waved his hands repeatedly, slightly blushing. “No need to thank us, no need to thank us. You helped us so much, we’re really grateful to you.”
“It was just a small favor,” Song Yueying said. “You don’t need to take it to heart.”
The officer shook his head. “No, no, we understand the situation very well. If it weren’t for your help, we definitely wouldn’t have been able to solve such a major case.”