Volume One, Chapter 45: Are You Really Going to Leave with Him?

After Liu Xiaohan was dragged out, the hospital room instantly fell quiet.

Song Qinian pinched the bridge of her nose, exhausted to the extreme.

Liu Xiaohan's words echoed in her ears like a spell piercing through her mind, making her heart ache terribly.

Shen Chiye didn't care about her at all, so how could he possibly come to the hospital to visit her?

To him, she was merely someone who atoned for her father's sins and a tool to vent his desires.

She knew this better than anyone, but at the mere thought of a divorce—at the thought that she and Shen Chiye would become complete strangers with nothing to do with each other—her chest ached so much that she couldn't breathe.

Upon learning that Song Qinian was hospitalized, Miao Zi'ai and Shen Yushu rushed over to see her.

After showering Song Qinian with concern, Miao Zi'ai gossiped, "Niannian, it's a good thing you took a leave recently. You have no idea, President Shen has been like a madman these past two days, snapping at everyone he sees. The whole company is walking on eggshells with a dark cloud hanging over us."

Song Qinian smiled faintly without expressing any opinion.

"The most crucial part is that President Shen actually has a bruise on his face! Everyone is guessing who had the guts to dare hit President Shen in the face."

Song Qinian's feelings were somewhat complicated.

"Everyone is guessing that whoever hit President Shen must be heading for a miserable end. But some people suspect President Shen got cheated on. However, we've only ever heard of President Shen having a vegetative girlfriend, never any other women. Could it be..."

Struck by a sudden thought, Miao Zi'ai widened her eyes in disbelief. "Could someone have harbored malicious intentions and slept with President Shen's vegetative girlfriend?"

Song Qinian: "..."

Miao Zi'ai's imagination was truly boundless!

Shen Yushu speechlessly interrupted Miao Zi'ai's reverie. "Stop talking nonsense. Watch what you say before it brings trouble."

Miao Zi'ai made a zipping motion across her lips, not daring to gossip about Shen Chiye anymore.

"Song Qinian from Room 33, come get your medication."

Hearing the nurse call out, Miao Zi'ai immediately stood up. "Yushu, keep Niannian company. I'll go get the medicine."

"Mm..."

After Miao Zi'ai left, Song Qinian looked at Shen Yushu, who looked utterly haggard with dark circles under his eyes, and gestured, "Yushu, what's wrong with you? Did something happen?"

Shen Yushu was slightly startled. He hadn't expected that despite trying so hard to conceal it, Song Qinian would still see right through him.

Song Qinian was already overwhelmed with her own troubles, and Shen Yushu didn't want to add to her worries, so he smiled and said, "Nothing's wrong. I've just been too tired lately and haven't been resting well."

Song Qinian didn't dwell on it and simply urged Shen Yushu to take care of his health and get some rest.

The two of them left shortly after.

During Song Qinian's hospitalization, Song Jiashu came to keep her company every evening after school.

On weekends, he would stay at the hospital the entire day.

Fearing that it would affect his studies, Song Qinian earnestly advised him, "Jiashu, you should focus on your studies. You don't need to worry about me here."

Song Jiashu peeled a mandarin orange, fed half of it to Song Qinian, and popped the rest into his own mouth.

Chewing, he smiled at Song Qinian and said, "I can study here just as well."

The bruises on his face hadn't healed yet, and smiling pulled at his injuries, making him wince in pain as his brows furrowed.

Song Jiashu was a handsome and refined youth. Although he was only in his senior year of high school, he had already grown to a height of one meter eight. Wearing a simple white T-shirt with his hair cropped into neat black bangs, he exuded the vibrant energy of youth.

Every time the young nurses came to change Song Qinian's bandages, they would affectionately call Song Jiashu "little brother" upon seeing him, simply to hear him call them "older sister."

One nurse even specially brought back a boiled egg from the cafeteria, peeled its shell, and wanted to use it as a warm compress for Song Jiashu's face.

Song Jiashu didn't much like being touched by others. After accepting the egg from the nurse and expressing his thanks, he shoved the egg right into Song Qinian's hand.

"Sis, I'll read my book, and you can give me a compress."

Looking at the bright smile on Song Jiashu's face, Song Qinian felt a bit helpless and had no choice but to take the egg and apply it to his face.

The sister and brother made quite a pair: one gently rolling the egg back and forth over the younger brother's bruises to reduce the swelling and dissipate the blood stasis, while the other held a chemistry book, studying what kind of chemical reactions would occur when two elements were mixed together.

The atmosphere was as warm and tender as could be, drawing envy from everyone around them.

However, this scene was soon interrupted by an uninvited guest.

Shen Chiye walked into Song Qinian's hospital room with a cold expression.

When Song Qinian saw Shen Chiye, she was stunned at first, then grew anxious and worried, afraid that Shen Chiye and Song Jiashu would start fighting again.

Sure enough, the moment Song Jiashu saw Shen Chiye, he bristled like a hedgehog covered in spikes, dropped his book, and stood in front of Song Qinian with his arms spread in a protective gesture, glaring at Shen Chiye with angry and guarded eyes.

"What are you doing here?"

Shen Chiye's face was gloomy and unsightly. His gaze grew even colder and more obscure when he saw the egg in Song Qinian's hand.

Without sparing Song Jiashu even a glance, he simply looked indifferently at Song Qinian and said coldly, "How much longer do you plan to stay in the hospital?"

At the sight of Shen Chiye, Song Jiashu's anger flared up instantly. "What do you mean by that? You kicked my sister and injured her, and now you won't even let her stay in the hospital?"

Shen Chiye completely ignored Song Jiashu, keeping his eyes fixed on Song Qinian without shifting them away by even a fraction.

"Are you going home to recuperate, or are you going to keep staying in the hospital?"

Song Qinian struggled to figure out what was going on in Shen Chiye's mind. Was he... here to pick her up and take her home?

"Shen Chiye, what kind of attitude is that?"

Seeing that Song Qinian remained unresponsive for a long time, Shen Chiye began to lose his patience. "I'll give you three seconds to decide. Either you continue staying here in the hospital and enjoy these tender moments with your good little brother, or you come home with me."

"One..."

Song Jiashu glared at Shen Chiye, feeling as though he had thrown a ferocious punch only to hit a wall of soft cotton.

"Sis, don't listen to him!"

"Two..."

Song Qinian knew very well that Shen Chiye had little patience. Once he finished counting to three, he would definitely leave.

Without time to overthink, Song Qinian shoved a bank card into Song Jiashu's hand, then anxiously gestured, "Jiashu, there's over ten thousand yuan here. Take it and use it slowly. Don't let Mom know, and stop going out to work part-time."

Looking at the card in his hand, Song Jiashu felt utterly miserable. "I don't want it!"

He tried to return the card to Song Qinian, but she grabbed his hand and tightly closed his fingers around it.

"The only thing you need to do right now is focus on your studies. Whenever you run out of money, just ask me. My salary has gone up recently, and I have quite a few bonuses."

"Sis..."

"Don't make me worry, okay?"

Song Jiashu gripped the bank card tightly, his eye rims turning red.

"Do you really... have to go with him?"

Shen Chiye's gaze remained fixed on Song Qinian, and hardening her heart, she nodded.

"Fine!"

Song Jiashu turned his head and glared coldly at Shen Chiye. "Shen Chiye, you listen to me. I may not have the ability to go toe-to-toe with you right now, but that doesn't mean I won't in the future. If I find out you're bullying my sister again, I will never let you off!"

Song Jiashu's threat felt to Shen Chiye like nothing more than an unwilling little puppy barking wildly at the side, not even worth his attention.

Yet his mood seemed to improve quite a bit. Seeing Song Qinian struggling to get out of bed, he walked over, scooped her up horizontally in his arms, and carried her away.