He Su wanted to pat her shoulder to comfort her but suddenly remembered her status, weakly pulling his hand back. "Don't worry, that kid's got luck on his side. He'll be fine."
Seeing her frantic state, He Su, as a doctor, was used to such situations. No amount of persuasion would help her now.
Finally at a loss, He Su put his white coat back on and contacted the attending physician, asking him to go in and assist.
The hallway was silent. An Ruo sat blankly on the chair waiting, her phone vibrating in her bag. The caller ID showed "Young Master Shen."
But consumed by worry for An Che, she was completely immersed in grief and self-blame, ignoring the buzzing phone in her bag.
Two hours later, the operating room doors opened. He Su took off his mask and walked over, knowing what her first question would be. He said with a light smile, "Don't worry. Though the injuries are serious, luckily no vital areas were hit. A few days of rest until the wounds heal, and he'll be fine."
An Ruo let out a heavy sigh of relief and gave him a slight bow. "Thank you."
"Ah..." Suddenly receiving such a grand gesture from her, He Su's heart nearly jumped out of his chest. He quickly explained, "This is my duty. No need to be polite."
With the crisis over, An Ruo slowly came back to her senses. She suddenly remembered seeing He Su and Shen Tingfeng huddled together earlier, whispering about something. They seemed very familiar.
Anyone associated with Shen Tingfeng couldn't be a good person, especially since he was a doctor. If she remembered correctly, he had been in charge of Shen Xiaoxing's two rehabilitation sessions. Could he be working for Shen Tingfeng?
Although He Su, as a doctor, had helped her a few times... if he was indeed close with Shen Tingfeng and had harmed Shen Xiaoxing, she still needed to be cautious.
An Che was moved to a regular ward. An Ruo stayed by his side for over an hour until he slowly woke up. The weight on her heart finally lifted.
"How are you? Feeling any better?"
The young man's face was wrapped in gauze. His bright eyes looked at her, his voice dry and hoarse. "Sis..."
"Wait a moment." An Ruo poured him a glass of water, slowly helped him sit up, and let him drink. His throat felt a bit better.
Regarding this matter, An Che actually had many questions for her, and An Ruo knew she couldn't hide it from him forever. She didn't plan to.
"Sis, is there something you've been keeping from me?"
An Ruo picked up a fruit knife and slowly peeled an apple for him. "I got married."
He would find out sooner or later anyway.
An Che frowned slightly. "Why have you never mentioned it to me?"
In his memory, the two of them, brother and sister, relied on each other and never hid anything from one another. They leaned on each other, trusted each other, and were each other's light to keep living...
"The money for your surgery back then actually came from the An family. Their condition was that I take An Qing's place and marry the eldest son of the Shen family. Because he has a physical disability, An Qing didn't want to, so they came to me." An Ruo took a deep breath, her voice very soft. "At that time, I had no choice. To keep you alive, I had to agree."
"..."
"Fortunately, Young Master Shen is a very good person. He's been taking good care of me lately. I don't feel wronged anymore."
An Che stared at her blankly, his mind processing her words.
"Xiao Che, I'm married." An Ruo pursed her lips into a slight smile, a glimmer of light flickering in her eyes, sparkling brightly. "This time, I'm marrying Young Master Shen as An Ruo. You'll wish me well, right?"
"Sis..."
She gently curved her lips. "Xiao Che, I've fallen in love with him."
The room suddenly fell silent. An Che watched the happiness of a woman in love lift the corners of her mouth—a smile he had never seen on her face before.
They had always protected and cherished each other, trusting the other more than themselves at any time.
An Che lowered his eyes slightly. "Sis... you really love him?"
"Mm."
"But you've only known each other for less than two months."
"Sometimes, falling in love doesn't take that long." An Ruo smiled. "Maybe this time, I've truly opened my heart. I want to love recklessly, even if I get hurt in the end. At least I'll have loved passionately."
"You know, I've supported every decision you've made since we were kids." An Che smiled faintly. "A man worthy of my sister's affection must be outstanding. Even if he's not whole, it doesn't matter, because not everyone is born complete."
She had been struggling with how to bring this up to An Che, but unexpectedly, he was so open-minded—not only supporting her but also giving such high praise to Shen Xiaoxing, whom he had never met.
An Ruo's heart swelled with the joy of having her love acknowledged by family. She laughed and ruffled his hair. An Che winced and cried out, "Ouch! Sis... that hurts!"
"Ah, sorry, sorry! I forgot you're injured there..."
The room filled with the happy sounds of the siblings' playful banter.
...
After settling An Che in, telling him to listen to the nurses and cooperate with treatment, and having dinner with him, she reluctantly left.
As soon as she returned to the villa, she could tell the atmosphere was off.
Butler Xu didn't greet her with his usual smile. Taking her coat, he sighed softly. "Young Madam, have you eaten?"
"Yes."
Her answer only made Butler Xu's expression more troubled. An Ruo realized it might have to do with her, thinking of that man's face...
"Has your young master had dinner?"
Butler Xu seemed to have been waiting for her to ask. He shook his head with repeated sighs. "The young master is in a very bad mood today. When the servant brought him dinner earlier, he not only knocked the food over but also hit someone on the head, drawing blood... No one dares to go near him now."
An Ruo pressed her lips together. That serious.
Was his anger because she had chosen to save An Che?
She remembered that before she left, the man had held her hand, asking her to trust him. But at that moment, her mind was completely focused on saving An Che, and she had pushed his hand away...
The choice was obvious.
An Ruo had the kitchen prepare some new food. She carried it upstairs herself, stood at the door hesitating for over ten seconds, then raised her hand to knock.
No answer.
Butler Xu had said he was in the study.
She knocked twice more. "Young Master Shen, are you in there?"
Still no response.
An Ruo took a deep breath and pushed the door open. The room was pitch black, with no lights on. She cautiously stepped inside a few paces. "Young Master Shen, I'm coming in..."
"Bang!"
The sound of a vase shattering on the floor!
In the light from the hallway, she could see the vase had landed right in front of her.
If she had taken a few more steps forward, it would have hit her head and killed her for sure!
This man was terrifying when angry. She had never encountered anything like this before.
An Ruo didn't back down. She fumbled for the light switch and turned on the room's lights.
The man sat in his wheelchair with his back to her. She couldn't tell if the vase he had thrown was intentional or just a random toss—it was so accurate and so intimidating!
"Get out."
His voice was cold and dark.
An Ruo didn't leave. Instead, she walked in with the tray. "The servants said you haven't eaten... Please have a little. Going hungry is bad for your health."
The man gave her a cold, silent back, neither speaking nor turning around.
An Ruo sighed silently, set the tray on the coffee table, gave him a long look, and then turned to leave the study.
The room fell into silence. The man turned around to see the girl leave, and his fists, resting on the armrests, slowly clenched tighter.