Chapter 44: One More Beating Won't Hurt

A hospital is a miniature world standing in the mortal realm, witnessing birth, parting, death, and separation.

On the way to the cafeteria to pick up food, passing by families either joyous or sorrowful gave Jiang Changyuan a fleeting illusion that he was still in his past life.

Until a squeaking sound broke the silence, and the ward door pushed open.

Sunlight streamed through the wide-open doorway onto his face. Su Yingying, who was heading out for food, froze slightly upon seeing Jiang Changyuan at the threshold.

"Jiang Changyuan, you...?"

Su Yingying started hesitantly. She had just caught a glimpse of lifeless fatigue on that face, but in the next second, Jiang Changyuan reverted to the sunny person she knew.

The change was so fast that she thought she might be hallucinating.

"I brought food for you both."

"I-I owe you again."

His repeated help made Su Yingying feel terribly embarrassed.

She tutored Jiang Changyuan, but the tutoring fee she received was much lower than the market rate for professional tutors. Strictly speaking, she was the one taking great advantage.

"We are classmates, why stand on ceremony?"

"Come back to tutoring after the holiday. Take good care of your mother for now, I'm heading out."

"You're not eating here?"

Looking at the other lunchbox in Jiang Changyuan's hand, Su Yingying blurted out the question, her face instantly flushing red.

Would Jiang Changyuan think she was asking him to stay so that he would continue footing the bill if complications arose in her mother's subsequent treatment?

"No need. I'll come back when your mother has surgery. The food is still warm, go on back."

Watching his retreating figure and the way he waved goodbye, Su Yingying's lips parted slightly, her barely audible expression of gratitude swallowed by the silence.

Meanwhile, in the chief physician's office, Shen Yu was clacking furiously away at her keyboard while internally grunting through her hunger.

"Little brat, you took my money and now you abandon me! Can't you even drop off some food at mealtime?!"

"You scoundrel, the next time I run into you, I swear I will—"

Clack.

The door pushed open, and Jiang Changyuan walked in with an expression of utter speechlessness.

"Sister Yu, talking behind people's backs is hardly the behavior of a gentleman."

"Oh! You brought me food? I suppose you still have a conscience."

Shen Yu scooted her chair back a notch and trotted over to grab the lunchbox.

Jiang Changyuan suddenly raised his arm, looking down at her with a gloomy gaze.

"What were you going to do the next time you ran into me?"

"I was going to praise you for your kind heart and for being the most handsome guy in Beining!"

The hopping Shen Yu couldn't reach the lunchbox and instantly surrendered.

For the sake of a meal, she was someone who knew how to bow and scrape when necessary.

Jiang Changyuan pulled out one of the meals to hand to her, but unexpectedly, Shen Yu snatched the box he was holding instead.

"This box is mine."

"Hmph, I've known you since you were wearing split-crotch pants. The other box definitely has scallions in it!"

The sophisticated, older-sister-type Shen Yu possessed a stubborn case of picky eating. Jiang Changyuan had indeed intentionally ordered a portion with scallions, not expecting this woman to be clever this time.

Catching sight of the green scallions in the other meal, Shen Yu wrinkled her nose and stepped back.

"Trying to trick me, you little punk? Hmph, falling for that once is quite enough."

"Psh."

Jiang Changyuan rolled his eyes, sat down, and resignedly began picking out the scallions.

Shen Yu, about to enjoy her lunch, couldn't help feeling puzzled at the sight.

"Don't you usually not care what you eat?"

"A husband follows his wife's lead. Is there a problem?"

This retort left Shen Yu feeling choked with exasperation. Had she lost her grip on the scalpel, or had Jiang Changyuan grown too bold for his own good?

The atmosphere lapsed into silence, broken only by the soft sounds of chewing.

"Are you planning to stay at the hospital with your female classmate the whole time?"

"I'll leave after I finish eating. I'm leaving her in your care."

"Wait, she's your classmate, not mine..."

Shen Yu curled her lips, her eyes suddenly brightening with a mischievous gleam.

"I think that little girl is all soft and delicate, the kind who really stirs up a protective urge. Don't you have any designs on her?"

"Just imagine: from high school to university, from campus romance all the way to graduation and marriage. What a romantic love story!"

She spoke in a persuasive, honeyed tone, her mind already wandering far away.

Since she couldn't resist an arranged marriage, having one of them bravely step forward and cheat on their partner wouldn't be a bad way to break the deadlock.

And Jiang Changyuan was the most suitable candidate.

After all, her father was an old-fashioned traditionalist; if she dared to cheat, she might find her legs broken by tomorrow.

As for Jiang Changyuan? He got beaten by Elder Jiang all the time—one more thrashing wouldn't make a difference.

"What kind of daydreams are you having in broad daylight?"

Jiang Changyuan looked at Shen Yu as if she were mentally deficient. How dared she try to arrange the male lead's woman?

"Psh, don't think I can't tell you treat that little girl differently. If it were any other girl, let alone helping out, you'd be doing well not to scare her to tears."

"In the past, I had no choice. Now, I want to be a good person."

"You? A good person?"

Shen Yu laughed until her shoulders shook, a statement no less absurd than a patient with bilateral broken legs suddenly announcing they were going to perform a backflip for her.

"Alright, just keep an eye on them for the next few days."

"You're dumping all your chores on me. Am I your Jiang family's wet nurse or maid?"

"Nobody dares to marry you anyway, so I'll end up cleaning up the mess in the end. Taking a little interest in advance shouldn't be a problem."

Jiang Changyuan gracefully wiped the corner of his mouth, his parting words leaving Shen Yu grinding her teeth in frustration.

"There are plenty of men outside waiting to marry me, I won't trouble you to worry about it."

「Oh, that guy who was excessively harassing you—did he ever come back to make a scene at the hospital?」

Shen Yu, who was just about to snap back, froze at those words.

Previously, a patient had relentlessly pursued her, causing her a great deal of distress. But given her position at the hospital, she could only reject him verbally.

On one occasion when Zhong Qing returned from a business trip, she intentionally handed her a gift meant for Jiang Changyuan. When the latter came to the hospital to pick it up, he happened to catch her being harassed.

Ever since that day, that man had never shown his face again...

"Did you..."

"My business has nothing to do with you."

Jiang Changyuan stood up and strode toward the door.

"You can keep the lunchbox. Wash it and it's still usable."

"Who wants a lunchbox you've licked?!"

The harsh sound of the door slamming shut made Shen Yu knit her delicate brows. Earlier, she had thought Jiang Changyuan had changed, but now it seemed he was still his old self.

Stupid and rotten to the core!

Yet, having always regarded Jiang Changyuan like a younger brother, she genuinely cared about him, worried for him, and longed to pull him back onto the righteous path.

"What is wrong with this kid? Why does he feel so off?"

"No way, I have to go tell on him to Aunt Zhong!"

Jiang Changyuan walked away briskly, completely unaware that the vengeful Shen Yu had already dialed his mother's phone number to complain that he was bullying her.

Stepping out of the hospital, the oppressive weight in Jiang Changyuan's chest eased just a fraction.

He loathed hospitals; they always reminded him of the final six months he spent lying in one during his previous life.

White walls, white ceilings, white... everything was a hollow, desolate shade of white.

Sickness tortured his body, but the most despairing part was having his family fortune looted by those closest to him, leaving him with no path to survival, forced to lie there wide-eyed waiting for death to arrive.

His life had once been paused in the prime of youth, yet those last six months had exposed him to the cold, ruthless nature of human indifference in a way most people only glimpse over a lifetime.

The unceasing blare of car horns and the mottled sunlight filtering down onto the asphalt bore an uncanny resemblance to the very final scene of his past life.

The wind still carried a stifling, humid heat, unable to pierce through that tightly wrapped heart on the verge of drowning.

Yet the sunlight bathing him failed to leave even a shred of warmth in his eyes.

Ring, ring.

The ringing of his cell phone snapped Jiang Changyuan out of his reverie. Seeing that the call was from Zhong Qing, he quickly answered.

"Mom, Sister Yu is bullying me."