The man’s gaze remained fixed on Jiang Mian’s face—anxious in a way it had never been before, unwavering.

He Lai felt a sharp stab in her heart, an ache she couldn’t quite name.

She forced herself to look away, as if that alone could dull the pain but her eyes refused to obey, locked onto the two of them, unwilling to shift.

She truly couldn’t understand why Shen Shiyan cared so much about a mere substitute.

They arrived at the nearest hospital in no time. Shen Shiyan strode in, holding Jiang Mian tightly in his arms.

The doctors, assuming something serious had happened, rushed her into the emergency room for examination. But after a thorough check, there were no internal injuries, no external wounds—nothing. She was just… asleep.

“Asleep?” The man’s eyes darkened, his tone ice-cold. “Have you ever seen someone ‘asleep’ without the slightest reaction, who suddenly collapses out of nowhere?”

He still remembered the sound—the dull thud of her body hitting the ground. He had turned just in time to see Jiang Mian collapse, her limbs limp, her breath shallow. It had only taken him seconds to lift her into his arms, yet in that short span, her face had already turned deathly pale.

This wasn’t the first time. It had happened once before.

Shen Shiyan’s brows furrowed. “Run a full examination on her.”

While Jiang Mian remained unconscious, the doctors were in a frenzy, conducting a thorough examination.

By the time they finished, it was already midnight.

Shen Shiyan stood by the bedside, unmoving. At the doorway, He Lai hesitated, stealing one last unwilling glance before finally stepping inside.

“President Shen, aren’t you going home?”

He had been working at an intense pace these past two days, his schedule already a mess. Now, he wanted to stay up through the night. He Lai couldn’t help but worry—his body might not be able to take it.

The man pressed his fingers against his brow, exhaustion evident in his bloodshot eyes. “Why are you still here?”

“I’m worried about you!” He Lai’s voice was full of concern. “Miss Jiang probably won’t wake up until morning. President Shen, you should go home and rest—I’ll stay and take care of her.”

Of course, He Lai had no real intention of looking after Jiang Mian. She just didn’t want the two of them alone together, not even with Jiang Mian unconscious.

Shen Shiyan wavered for a moment, about to consider it—when suddenly, the person on the bed stirred.

“No need. Go home.”

He dismissed the thought immediately, moving to sit by the bed, his voice gentler now. “Jiang Mian?”

But she was trapped in a nightmare, unable to hear him.

In her dream, she watched the original owner of this body leap from a high-rise over and over again, crashing onto the pavement below—a mangled, bloody mess.

Once was horrifying enough but the scene kept looping, again and again, an endless cycle of terror.

Jiang Mian whimpered, curling into herself. Fear gripped her so tightly that she started crying in her sleep.

Shen Shiyan pulled her into his arms, half-embracing her, but no matter how many times he called her name, she kept her eyes shut tight, lost in the nightmare.

Her soft lips trembled as she mumbled, “I want to go home… No… no…”

Shen Shiyan knew she couldn’t hear him. He cradled the back of her head, pressing her gently into his arms. “Alright, first thing in the morning, we’ll go home. Don’t cry.”

But Jiang Mian remained lost in her nightmare, sobbing and begging to go home.

In this state, she couldn’t be left alone.

It took Shen Shiyan a long time to finally soothe her. When he looked up, he caught He Lai standing there, watching. With a silent glance, he motioned for her to leave.

He Lai had been by his side for years and had never once seen him this patient, this gentle—with anyone. A deep sense of unease took root in her chest.

Everything in front of her screamed that Jiang Mian was different to him but she refused to believe it.

Still, staying any longer would only humiliate herself. Swallowing her unwillingness, she turned and left.

Elsewhere, Cheng Wenhan was drowning his sorrows in alcohol after his failed confession. Feeling utterly dejected, he dragged his friends out for a drinking session.

By the time he was thoroughly wasted, the alcohol had loosened more than just his inhibitions—he started crying again.

His friend, completely thrown off, tried to console him. “Come on, man, it’s just a girl! What’s there to cry about? You’re a grown man shedding tears over a woman—if people hear about this, they’re gonna laugh their teeth off!”

Cheng Wenhan scoffed through his tears. He already cried in front of Jiang Mian—what’s a little public embarrassment at this point?

He picked up his phone, hesitating. He wanted to call Jiang Mian—but the fear gnawed at him. He was afraid she wouldn’t answer. Worse, he was afraid she would, and he wouldn’t know what to say.

He took another swig of alcohol, letting the liquid courage do its work, then finally dialed her number. He just wanted to make things clear.

In the hospital room—

Jiang Mian had been restless all night, trapped in an endless nightmare of the original owner’s death. And in turn, she had kept Shen Shiyan up as well.

Shen Shiyan rubbed her back, coaxing her softly, though inwardly he was gritting his teeth. The moment she woke up, he was definitely going to settle this with her.

Her coat had been set aside, and in its pocket, her phone suddenly started ringing.

Shen Shiyan didn’t move. The phone kept ringing, persistent, as if whoever was calling wouldn’t stop until someone picked up.

In the stillness of the night, the ringtone was unbearably loud. Jiang Mian, who had just settled down, whimpered at the sound and started crying again.

With a sigh, Shen Shiyan patted her back, whispered something soothing, then reached into her coat pocket for the phone.

The moment he picked it up—the call abruptly ended.

Shen Shiyan glanced at the missed call on the screen. The contact name read: “Handsome Guy.”

His brows furrowed slightly.

Handsome Guy?

His first thought immediately went to the boy he had seen at the school tonight.

The moment the connection clicked, his lips pressed into a thin line, his face darkening with anger.

He had originally planned to surprise Jiang Mian at her school after receiving her message.

Even though he was exhausted from work, the thought of seeing her had kept him wide awake. He had imagined it vividly—Jiang Mian’s eyes lighting up with joy, the way she would throw herself into his arms, overwhelmed with emotion.

She would definitely cry. She always did. Crying when she was happy, crying when she was mad—tears were her weapon of choice.

But what had he actually seen?

Jiang Mian, holding hands with that guy.

Heh.

So, in the days he hadn’t been around, she had been living quite freely, hadn’t she?

A crack seemed to open in his chest, letting in a flood of seething rage. It swelled inside him, pressing against his ribs, making his entire body tense with discomfort.

Expression cold as ice, he had turned and left without a word.

Thankfully, the woman had at least some sense—she had chased after him. Otherwise, he had a hundred ways to make her understand the consequences of betrayal.

The call didn’t come through again. Instead, a message popped up on the screen.

Without hesitation, Shen Shiyan unlocked her phone. Her passcode had always been his birthday.

His gaze dropped to the message from “Handsome Guy.”

[That man just now… is he the one you like?]

[No matter how much you like him, I won’t give up. I’ll wait—until the day you two break up.]

The moment he read it, Shen Shiyan’s anger vanished.

Piecing things together, he quickly grasped what had happened.

So that guy had been confessing to her… but Jiang Mian had told him she already liked someone—him?

Shen Shiyan’s gaze softened as he glanced down at the woman in his arms, a flicker of satisfaction crossing his features.

But when he looked back at the message, his expression turned cold again.

Trying to steal from him? Not a chance.

Still, why had she saved that guy’s contact as “Handsome Guy”?

More importantly—what had she saved his name as?

Darling?

Mr. Shen?

Shen Shiyan…?

Any of those would have made sense. Yet when he scrolled through her contact list—he wasn’t there at all.

Her contact list had barely a dozen names, but one stood out immediately—“Big Jerk.”

Shen Shiyan’s brow twitched.

He started typing his own number into the search bar, and sure enough, as soon as he entered a few digits, “Big Jerk” popped right up.

Heh. Very good.

Meanwhile, Jiang Mian was curled up peacefully in his arms, blissfully unaware that a storm was brewing over her head.

Shen Shiyan had every intention of confronting her the moment she woke up. But before he could dwell on it further, she whimpered in her sleep again, mumbling about wanting to go home.

With a sigh, he pinched the bridge of his nose, his brows furrowing as he lowered his voice, soothing her with quiet murmurs.

It was a long while before she finally settled into a deep sleep, and only then did the tension in his chest ease.

Luckily, the bed was big enough. And Shen Shiyan wasn’t about to suffer needlessly. Shrugging off his jacket, he climbed in beside her.

Just in case she started having nightmares again, he turned onto his side, slipping an arm around her waist—to keep her from thrashing around, of course.

With everything in place, Shen Shiyan exhaled slowly, letting his guard down as sleep finally took him.

Jiang Mian’s sleep was anything but peaceful. The image of jumping off a building played on a relentless loop in her mind. Even after waking, she felt suffocated, gasping for fresh air.

The moment she moved, Shen Shiyan—who had been lightly sleeping with an arm around her—opened his eyes.

“You’re awake?”

Hearing his voice, Jiang Mian stiffened and turned her head, locking eyes with him.

Her throat was painfully dry. Seeing Shen Shiyan here caught her completely off guard. “You…”

A thousand questions swirled in her mind. Her gaze shifted from his face, scanning the room. “Where… is this?”

Before he could answer, memories from the previous night flooded back.

Shen Shiyan had witnessed Cheng Wenhan confessing to her.

She hadn’t planned to chase after him, but breaking character left her no choice. She had to run after him, had to explain that it was all a misunderstanding.

But halfway through, the pain had become unbearable—so sharp she couldn’t even breathe.

And then… she had blacked out.

Shen Shiyan’s voice pulled her back.

“We’re at the hospital.”

Hospital?

Judging by the situation, it was clear—he must have been the one to bring her here.

Thinking back to last night, Jiang Mian’s anger flared.

If Shen Shiyan hadn’t turned around—if he had just walked away—she might not have made it.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Her teary eyes locked onto him in a furious glare, but the more she tried to hold back, the more the tears fell.

She was still shaken to her core. This life she had fought so hard for—of course, she treasured it.

The moment she woke up, she started crying again. As expected of a little crybaby.

Shen Shiyan had planned to settle scores with her the moment she woke up, but at the sight of her tears, all his resolve crumbled. His mouth said one thing, but his heart always softened first.

Reaching out, he gently wiped away the tears clinging to the corners of her eyes. His voice was hoarse from lack of sleep.

“What are you crying for? Does it still hurt somewhere?”

The test results weren’t out yet, and her sudden collapse last night couldn’t have been for no reason. His brows knitted together as he watched her carefully.

“Of course, it hurts!”

The more he wiped, the more she cried.

Tears rolled down, dripping onto the back of his hand as she sobbed uncontrollably. Then, overcome with frustration, she clenched her fists and pounded weakly against his chest.

“I wanted to explain that last night was just a misunderstanding, but you kept walking faster and faster! No matter how much I ran, I couldn’t catch up! My chest hurt so much! You’re a bad person! I’m never talking to you again!”

She was truly furious. Nearly losing her life had completely pushed aside any thought of staying in character.

“I’m never talking to you again!” The words slipped out before Jiang Mian could even process them. And the next second—bam. That familiar, searing pain in her chest struck again, like a cruel punishment for stepping out of character. Her body went limp, drained of all strength, and she collapsed straight into Shen Shiyan’s arms, clutching her chest.

Damn it, OOC again!

Can’t he tell it was just angry talk?

Her sudden collapse sent Shen Shiyan into a panic. He caught her swiftly, an arm tightening around her waist as he pulled her into his embrace.

“What’s wrong? What happened?”

“It hurts!” Jiang Mian whimpered, burying herself against him in pure instinct.

Shen Shiyan had no resistance against her when she was like this. He had planned to keep his face cold and unreadable, to make her explain properly—but the moment he saw her tears, all of that went out the window.

His voice softened. “Where does it hurt?”

Jiang Mian wasn’t faking it. She’s really hurt. And right now, all she wanted was to be as close to Shen Shiyan as possible—his warmth somehow dulled the pain.

Without thinking, she grabbed his hand and pressed it firmly against her chest. Her tear-filled eyes locked onto his, pitiful and pleading.

“Here. It hurts so much.”

Shen Shiyan froze.

^_^