Chapter 19: Extremely Short Staccato

“You’re just an ungrateful brat.”

Little Chen Shu Yin was only six years old when Fang Zi Miao wrapped her fingers around the child’s neck, tightening her grip without the slightest regard for the girl’s frail body. Chen Shu Yin’s eyes widened in terror, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her face flushed red with blood congestion as she choked out, “Mom… please… let me go…”

Chen Zhi Xiao massaged his temples and sighed before prying Fang Zi Miao’s hands away. “Forget it. She’s our child, no matter what she turns out to be.”

Chen Shu Yin’s head was flung to the side. She gasped for air, her body trembling, silent tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Forget it? How do you expect me to just ‘forget it’?” Fang Zi Miao fumed. “For the past six months, I’ve humbled myself just to get in the Qi family’s good graces, treating their son like my own, all so they’d be kind to her. And what does she do? When that boy got injured right in front of her, she just sat there, eating ice cream like nothing happened!”

Fang Zi Miao’s voice shook with rage. “How did I give birth to such a cold-blooded, heartless thing?”

“And now the Qi family has completely cut off our investment chain. The goods we promised can’t be delivered—what are we supposed to do?”

“I’m a warm-hearted person myself, so she sure as hell didn’t inherit this from me.” Chen Zhi Xiao cast an icy glance at Chen Shu Yin. “We still have a week. Find a substitute supplier, quickly.”

“Have the maid stop giving her food for a few days. And keep her home from school for now.”

“Some kids are just born cold-hearted. She might even have antisocial personality disorder. We should get her checked.” Chen Zhi Xiao’s voice drifted off.

“Honestly, when we’re dead, she’ll probably dance on our graves…”

“Or maybe, she’ll pop a bottle of champagne to celebrate…”

Two similar sentiments clashed and overlapped in her ears, piercing through her past and future like arrows from both sides. Chen Shu Yin felt herself being torn apart, neither fully belonging to the world of the living nor the dead.

Her body still trembled from the strain of rushing here, her muscles unable to relax. Hidden beneath her sleeves, her hands shook violently, verging on spasms.

Pei Yu had been about to smile but stopped short when he noticed her trembling hand beneath her sleeve. His lips pressed into a thin line. He struggled to reach out and comfort her. “Are you really that nervous about me? Relax, I’m fine.”

But before his hand could touch hers, Chen Shu Yin instinctively took a step back. Her wide eyes brimmed with unshed tears, filled with confusion and hurt.

“Pei Yu… do you think I’m a heartless person?”

“Of course not,” Pei Yu said gently. “I was just teasing you, silly.”

He didn’t even realize which part of his words had struck the wrong chord. He tried to get out of bed.

This wasn’t his first injury. Even on the days they got their marriage certificate, he had suffered a scraped arm and a knife wound on his leg. To him, this was nothing. “Come on, this is just a minor wound. Didn’t I take care of you just fine in bed?”

Chen Shu Yin’s heart clenched as she applied ointment to his wound. Feigning annoyance, she retorted, “A minor wound? Next time, just call the doctors and nurses. I’ll go drink and enjoy myself. I won’t take care of you anymore.”

That brief sweetness lasted only a few days, but every little detail was etched into Pei Yu’s memory, clear as day.

When he woke up half an hour ago and saw a dozen missed calls from Zhou Qi, a cold fear gripped his heart.

He thought she wouldn’t come back.

Chen Shu Yin wiped the corner of her eye and bit her lip. “If you don’t know how to joke, then don’t. I just needed to make sure your death wouldn’t be my fault, that’s all.”

Pei Yu’s back was too weak to support him as he tried to sit up. Each attempt ended with him falling back down, over and over again.

Seeing this, Chen Shu Yin stepped forward and pushed him back onto the bed. “Enough. Just lie down properly.”

He suddenly shut his eyes, his head tilting back, his neck muscles strained. The sight of his pain struck something deep in Chen Shu Yin’s chest.

As she reached out, his hand, still attached to an IV, tugged at her wrist, pulling her down.

Chen Shu Yin caught herself at the edge of the bed with her elbow, her breath mingling with his—just inches apart.

The IV needle backflowed, bright red blood rushing into the tube.

“You—” She grabbed his hand and shouted, “Doctor—”

Before she could finish, another hand covered her mouth. The faint scent of hand sanitizer filled her nostrils as his fingers brushed lightly against the traces of her tears.

“You worry about me so much,” Pei Yu murmured. “You’re the softest-hearted person in the world. Who would ever call you cold?”

There it was again.

That unspoken tenderness between them, the kind that had no place in their supposed transactional relationship.

Chen Shu Yin gripped his wrist, stopping his movements. Her voice was flat. “I already told you—it’s not because I care. Stop flattering yourself.”

“I’d love to see you crippled,” she said, her tone light. “With our current legal status, if you die, I’d be a widow.”

Pei Yu’s eyes darkened momentarily before he smirked, brushing aside the brief disappointment. “Yeah… So for my wife’s sake, how could I possibly die so easily?”

Chen Shu Yin let go of his hand and glanced around the room. “Since you’re alive, I’ll be leaving now.”

“Chen Shu Yin.”

She stopped, but she didn’t turn back.

She was always like this.

Every time he got hurt, whether by accident or by fate, she would appear—either by choice or by obligation.

She always gave him a fleeting glance, as if just checking in out of curiosity.

Then, just as quickly, she would walk away.

This had always been their game.

Winning was meaningless when the balance of power was off.

And yet, here he was again, watching her straight-backed figure retreat as he lay in pain.

“Let me educate you,” Pei Yu said, his voice calm. “When a husband is injured, his wife has a duty to care for him.” His gaze softened. “Can you… stay?”

This time, it was different.

Now, they had a legal bond.

Chen Shu Yin hesitated before turning around to face him. Their eyes met.

“Okay.”

She put down her bag, walked to his bedside, and asked if he wanted anything to eat.

Pei Yu said nothing.

“I got it,” she answered for him.

Pei Yu let out a helpless chuckle. Before he could say anything else, she was already out the door.