Jiang Nanshu did not expect to run into Chen Qingyue again, especially not in a hospital.
She paused for a moment, and her calm expression turned cold.
Her gaze moved from his face to the middle-aged woman sitting in the wheelchair.
The last time she saw Chen Qingyue’s mother was during the summer of her first year of high school, outside the emergency room.
She had cried uncontrollably, her delicate makeup ruined by tears.
Jiang Nanshu couldn’t tell if she was crying for her son or her lover; perhaps it was both.
At that time, Jiang Nanshu felt numb.
She stood there for a few minutes before being led away by Jiang Yu.
After that, she never saw her again.
Jiang Nanshu still had some memory of her.
She had seen her a few times during parent-teacher meetings in junior high,
and she remembered her as a beautiful woman with delicate makeup,
completely different from the haggard and frail middle-aged woman before her now.
So, she didn’t recognize the woman at first, but the woman clearly recognized her.
The three of them had different expressions, and the atmosphere was eerily quiet.
“Nanshu… Miss Jiang, you two…”
Zhou Jingke, sitting in the wheelchair, hoarsely called out,
instinctively using the same address Chen Qingyue had for Jiang Nanshu.
She realized it wasn’t appropriate as soon as she said it, and quickly corrected herself, forcing an unnatural smile.
“It’s been a long time since you two saw each other, right?”
She then looked at Chen Qingyue with a somewhat flattering tone.
“Qingyue, could you escort Miss Jiang?
I’ll call the caregiver to bring me upstairs later, and you two… can have a good talk.”
Chen Qingyue looked at her, furrowing his brow,
seemingly displeased with her initiative.
“I have nothing to talk about with him.”
Jiang Nanshu said coldly and turned to leave.
After taking a few steps, she stopped, turned back,
and looked at Chen Qingyue.
“I do have a few questions for you.”
Chen Qingyue remained silent for a few seconds, then looked at her.
“Let’s talk outside.”
Jiang Nanshu didn’t speak, turning to leave again.
“Miss Jiang.”
Zhou Jingke called her again.
Jiang Nanshu paused slightly and turned to look at her,
her face expressionless.
“I’ve never told you this, but I’m sorry…”
Zhou Jingke looked up at her, her expression sorrowful as she sighed.
“The people I feel most sorry for are Qingyue and you.
If it weren’t for me and your father, you two…”
“We wouldn’t be together.”
Jiang Nanshu interrupted her, feeling no particular emotion towards her apology, even feeling a bit disgusted.
“I don’t know what you told Chen Qingyue about this,
and I don’t know what he told you, but no matter what, I’m not with him.”
Chen Qingyue looked at her, his expression dim.
After Jiang Nanshu said these words, she turned and walked away.
Chen Qingyue glanced at Zhou Jingke and said in a cold tone, “I’ll go back directly later.”
With that, he lifted his foot and followed Jiang Nanshu.
Zhou Jingke, sitting in the wheelchair,
watched their backs and let out a deep sigh.
The two of them walked out of the inpatient building,
one in front and one behind, stopping in front of a bare tree.
Jiang Nanshu turned around and looked at Chen Qingyue.
“Why did you say those things to Song Ye?
How many lies did you tell him?”
Her gaze was so cold that Chen Qingyue had never seen her look at him with such coldness, one that seemed tinged with a hint of hatred.
In his memories, whenever she smiled, her eyes always curved gently,
and the slight dimple at the corner of her mouth was sweet.
Even the last time they met, her eyes weren’t like this.
Chen Qingyue felt a sense of despair, as if he had been expecting this moment to come.
He lowered his eyes, unable to look directly at her,
and sat down on a nearby wooden bench, lifting his pants a bit.
After walking for so long, his legs were uncomfortable.
He silently took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, lit one, and took a deep drag.
For some reason, he suddenly choked on the smoke,
coughing violently, his eyes turning red.
After stopping the coughing fit,
he took another long drag, then looked at her through the drifting smoke.
“Many.”
Jiang Nanshu looked down, coldly staring at him.
Whether it was the wind or his cigarette being too harsh,
she couldn’t control a cough.
Quickly turning her face away, she took a step back.
Seeing her move away, Chen Qingyue paused in his action of raising the cigarette to his lips,
and after taking a hard drag, he pressed the cigarette into his palm.
The burning pain made his hand tremble slightly.
Jiang Nanshu watched his movement and frowned.
“In order to keep you two from being together, I sent him many messages, emails, and used all kinds of cruel and harsh words to provoke him.
A man like him, so full of pride and self-respect, couldn’t possibly tolerate this kind of insult.”
Chen Qingyue looked up, his eyes faintly reddened, and he gave a self-mocking smile.
“I’m this despicable.
I disgust myself.
After I found out about my mom and your dad, I thought maybe it’s just in our genes.”
Jiang Nanshu’s fingers tightly gripped the strap of her bag, her gaze cold as she looked at Chen Qingyue.
“You really are disgusting.
The things you did using my sympathy…
made me feel that the biggest regret of my life is feeling sympathy for you.”
She paused, took a deep breath, and said to him,
“I really hate you.”
Chen Qingyue stood there as if struck by lightning, staring at her in a daze.
Jiang Nanshu, as though not knowing him, turned and walked away quickly.
“Of course, never seeing you again would be the best.”
Having said that, she turned and left at a fast pace, as though cutting him off completely.
Chen Qingyue watched her figure gradually fade into the distance.
He opened his palm, and the burn from the cigarette left a bloody hole in his hand.
His eyes were hollow as he stared at the direction in which Jiang Nanshu left, as if he couldn’t feel the pain.
Jiang Nanshu walked a long distance, only stopping when her phone rang.
She pulled the phone out of her pocket, saw the name on the screen, and with a slight smile, answered the call, saying softly, “Hello?”
“Song Ye, are you out?”
Jiang Nanshu continued walking toward the parking lot.
“I’m almost there. Wait for me.”
A few dozen meters ahead, there were stairs leading down to the parking lot.
She didn’t hang up, walking briskly in that direction, and asked, “Have you eaten?”
“I’ve eaten, just some takeaway from overtime.”
Song Ye unbuckled his seatbelt, pushed open the car door, and got out.
“It’s still early. Should I grab something from Chen Ji for breakfast?”
“No need, I…”
Just as Jiang Nanshu reached the steps, someone suddenly grabbed her wrist from behind.
She froze, turned around, and saw Chen Qingyue gasping for breath, looking down at her.
His grip on her hand was strong, his eyes slightly red, and his voice carried a hint of pleading, low and hoarse.
“Nan Shu, don’t hate me…”
Bang
The sound of a car door slamming shut.
Jiang Nanshu froze for a moment, then looked down.
Below in the parking lot, Song Ye stood beside his car, still holding the phone to his ear,
looking up toward her from afar.
A few seconds later, the call was disconnected, and the busy tone echoed through the line.
Jiang Nanshu’s heart skipped a beat. Her wrist twisted, but no matter how hard she struggled,
she couldn’t break free.
Her anger flared, and she couldn’t control herself anymore.
She turned around and slapped Chen Qingyue across the face.
The “slap” sounded particularly crisp in the night.
Passersby stopped in their tracks, surprised, and stared at them.
Chen Qingyue’s neck and jaw burned from the slap.
The skin on the spot she hit turned slightly red.
He stared at her in a daze, clearly not expecting her to hit him, and certainly not expecting such force.
This was the first time Jiang Nanshu had slapped someone, and she didn’t quite hit him squarely.
She seized the opportunity to break free from his grip,
not looking back at him even once, and quickly walked down the stairs.
Looking ahead, she noticed Song Ye was walking toward her.
Her steps faltered, and she felt a sense of relief.
Once she reached the bottom of the stairs, she jogged toward him.
Song Ye’s expression was calm, and his steps slowed as he raised his eyes to look at Chen Qingyue on the stairs.
Not only was Chen Qingyue stunned, but Song Ye had also frozen when he saw Jiang Nanshu strike him.
Jiang Nanshu stopped in front of him,
hesitated for a moment, and then reached out to grab his hand.
Song Ye looked down at her left hand hanging by her side.
After a brief pause, he took her hand in his, turned, and led her away.
Jiang Nanshu followed behind him, softly calling his name, “Song Ye…”
Song Ye didn’t respond. He opened the car door,
pushed her into the passenger seat, and walked around the front of the car to get into the driver’s seat.
The interior of the car was silent for a moment.
He turned to look at her left hand resting on her lap.
The fingertips were slightly red.
He stayed silent for a few seconds, reached over, and held her hand,
gently rubbing his thumb over her fingertips.
His tone was calm, “Does it hurt?”
Jiang Nanshu looked at the cold side of his face,
knowing that he was suppressing his emotions.
She spoke softly, “You care a lot, don’t you?”
“I’m not concerned about the past,”
Song Ye said in a calm voice, making an effort to restrain his emotions.
He squeezed her hand, his gaze deeper than the twilight outside.
“What bothers me is the present and the future.
I don’t want you to have anything to do with him anymore.”
Jiang Nanshu’s heart tightened, and she looked at him,
feeling a pang of heartache.
“I… I’m not involved with him anymore…”
“You don’t need to explain. I haven’t misunderstood anything,” Song Ye said.
He was indeed concerned, afraid that she might get too entangled with Chen Qingyue.
But he didn’t intend to force her to explain, so he didn’t want to hear her nervous explanations.
Jiang Nanshu took a deep breath.
After a few seconds of silence, she said, “Alright.
You drive first. We’ll talk when we get home.”
It was better to talk at home.
She was afraid he might lose control, and driving would be unsafe right now.
Song Ye gave a low hum, released her hand, and gripped the steering wheel.
The atmosphere in the car was heavy and silent.
Neither of them spoke throughout the drive.
Jiang Nanshu thought about turning on the radio, but she rarely used the car,
so she didn’t know where to press.
Her hand hovered in mid-air, unsure.
The man’s long hand reached over, turned on the radio, and asked in a neutral tone,
“If you want to listen to music, you can connect to your Bluetooth.”
“No…” Jiang Nanshu simply felt the silence was too much.
“Just the radio is fine.”
Half an hour later, the car stopped in the underground garage.
Song Ye took the computer bag from the backseat,
the new laptop that Jiang Nanshu had brought to the company this morning and asked him to take back home.
He held the computer bag in one hand and took Jiang Nanshu’s hand in the other as they walked to the elevator.
He raised his hand to press the elevator button.
The elevator was on the second basement floor, and the door quickly opened.
He led her inside, looking down at her, “Li’s still over there.
Want to leave early tomorrow and pick up your things?”
“No, it’s just some clothes.
I have a lot of clothes, no rush to get them.”
Jiang Nanshu looked up at him.
Song Ye hummed in acknowledgment, said nothing further,
and his face showed no emotion.
The elevator stopped on the first floor, and a few people entered.
They remained silent all the way to the front door.
Song Ye pressed his fingerprint to unlock the door.
As soon as Jiang Nanshu stepped inside, she eagerly embraced him.
The next moment, the man lowered his head and kissed her lips,
placing the computer bag on the console by the entrance with his other hand.
He wrapped his arm around her waist and held the back of her head,
pulling her closer as the kiss deepened and became intense.
“Mmm, Song Ye…” Jiang Nanshu’s voice was muffled as he kissed her.
She had initially just wanted to hug him, not seeking a kiss, but in her mind,
she sighed and raised her hand to hold his neck, responding to his kiss.
The two didn’t even turn on the lights.
The light from the hallway filtered through the slightly ajar door.
The outdoor lights eventually dimmed, and the room fell into darkness,
with only the sound of their passionate kissing filling the air.
Jiang Nanshu lightly pulled away, catching her breath.
“Song Ye, listen to me… after I say this, if you want to sleep with me, it’s fine.”
The man finally stopped, his breath shallow in her ear.
He responded with a hoarse “Mm.”
Jiang Nanshu suddenly felt that Song Ye was probably the type of man who,
after an argument, would seek comfort by having sex with her,
one intense, passionate round, and he would be soothed.
She reached for the wall and switched on the entrance light.
The soft light bathed them, and she wrapped her arms around his waist, taking a deep breath.
She looked up at him.
“I’ve never been with Chen Qingyue.”
Upon hearing these words, Song Ye’s expression didn’t change,
but his pupils suddenly contracted, and his body stiffened, as if struck by shock.
His expression turned somewhat confused.
Jiang Nanshu had never seen him look like this before.
She nervously continued, “I’ve only been in a relationship with you.
You’re my first love.”
She raised her hand, cupping his face, and looked at him seriously with her head tilted back.
Her eyes began to redden uncontrollably.
“I don’t know what exactly Chen Qingyue told you, but those were all misunderstandings.
I’m not that kind of person with him.”
“I only like you, from the beginning to the end, only you.”