Chapter 9: The Substitute  

Yan Qingye stood at the door of the hospital room, holding some items, her gaze landing on Shen Zhansi’s head. What was once a beautiful mane of long hair had now been shaved off, almost as if she were preparing to become a nun. A bandage wrapped around her head made her look much neater than before.  

Truth be told, Shen Zhansi had a very attractive face. Even with all her hair shaved off, her features still held their own, accentuating her refined and handsome appearance.  

Yet, despite this, an uncontrollable surge of anger rose within Yan Qingye. This person was becoming increasingly disobedient. She had explicitly forbidden certain things, yet Shen Zhansi had gone behind her back and done them anyway.  

A sense of uncontrollable crisis emerged.  

But soon, she concealed her emotions flawlessly, offering Madam Luo a faint smile.  

“Hungry? There was some traffic on the way here.”  

“Not at all, you came just in time. Was work tiring today?” Aunt Zhang stepped forward to take the items from Yan Qingye’s hands as Madam Luo asked with concern.  

“No, just the usual.” Yan Qingye chuckled lightly, naturally walking over to Shen Zhansi’s side. She raised her hand to touch the prickly stubble on her head and said with a smile, “Why the sudden haircut? Wasn’t the long hair nice before?”  

Her tone was gentle and soft, so much so that even sharp-eyed people like Madam Luo couldn’t detect anything amiss. Madam Luo chimed in with a laugh.  

“Well, Dirty said the wound area had been shaved, and once the bandages come off, the uneven lengths would look unsightly. So I thought it’d be better to have someone come and shave it all off—looks much cleaner this way.”  

Yan Qingye’s hand paused slightly on Shen Zhansi’s head. The freshly shaved hair was prickly against her palm, yet it wasn’t just her hand that stung—it felt as though her heart had been pricked as well.  

“Is that so? Well, shaving it was a good idea,” Yan Qingye said softly, her lips curving into a smile.  

However, from an angle unseen by the others, Yan Qingye lowered her eyes to meet Shen Zhansi’s gaze—cold and laced with suppressed fury.  

Shen Zhansi’s pupils constricted, but she quickly forced herself to remain composed, offering Yan Qingye a bright smile in return.  

Yan Qingye indifferently averted her gaze, removing her hand from Shen Zhansi’s head. When she turned back to face Madam Luo and the others, her expression was once again warm as a spring breeze.  

The atmosphere in the room seemed harmonious, yet between Shen Zhansi and Yan Qingye, an undercurrent of tension surged.  

Among the lunch Yan Qingye had brought back was some liquid food suitable for Shen Zhansi. When Shen Zhansi saw the porridge, her face fell slightly.  

She wanted real food, not porridge.  

But Yan Qingye paid no heed to her wishes. Because Madam Luo and the others were present, Yan Qingye still made a symbolic gesture of picking up the porridge to feed Shen Zhansi herself. This time, however, Shen Zhansi had learned her lesson.  

“I can do it myself. My hands aren’t broken.”  

Shen Zhansi took the porridge from her, offering Yan Qingye a faint smile.  

Yan Qingye’s expression remained gentle, her gaze toward Shen Zhansi seemingly bathed in soft light. To an outsider, it would be hard to believe their relationship was anything less than perfect.  

Yan Qingye took the opportunity to step back, handing the porridge over to her.  

“Yan Yan, eat quickly. Rest a bit after you’re done. Honestly, with such a short lunch break, how much rest can you even get after running back and forth like this?” Madam Luo urged.  

“It’s fine even if I don’t rest,” Yan Qingye replied with a warm smile, exuding an aura that made others feel at ease.

Shen Zhansi shot her a sidelong glance, feeling a pang of bitterness in her heart. When had Yan Qingye ever acted like this around her? This demeanor probably only existed during those youthful, awkward times, didn’t it?

Yan Qingye lowered her gaze slightly. Naturally, she could sense Shen Zhansi stealing glances at her, and an involuntary wave of irritation welled up inside.

If she wanted to keep Shen Zhansi’s body by her side, then she had no choice but to endure the intruder’s repeated attempts to breach her defenses.

“How can you not rest? You’re already swamped with work, and if you don’t rest properly, how long can your body hold up?” Madam Luo disagreed.

Yan Qingye smiled faintly but said nothing more, quietly continuing to eat her meal.

No one could know that, over all these years, she had rarely been able to enjoy a good night’s sleep.

But if Shen Zhansi entered her dreams, she could sleep soundly all day.

Seeing her like this, Madam Luo knew her words would fall on deaf ears. Turning her head, she noticed Shen Zhansi mindlessly eating and couldn’t help but smack her arm in frustration, scolding, “All you do is eat, eat, eat! Yan Yan is so busy—don’t you know how to persuade her to take it easy?”

Caught off guard by the sudden hit, Shen Zhansi nearly spilled her porridge. Her expression turned pained as she replied helplessly, “If even you can’t persuade her, what chance do I have? You said it yourself—she’s busy. If I nag her, she’d just waste time humoring me. Isn’t that adding to her workload?”

She had enough self-awareness, thank you very much. If Yan Qingye couldn’t even stand listening to her talk, why would she meddle in her affairs? That would only annoy her further.

“Nonsense! She’d listen if you tried! You’re just lazy!” Madam Luo fumed.

Shen Zhansi: “…”

Just whose daughter are you, anyway?!

Her expression soured, and her gaze instinctively flickered toward Yan Qingye. The moment their eyes met, Shen Zhansi froze in surprise.

Yan Qingye had actually looked at her voluntarily—a rare occurrence indeed.

Yan Qingye calmly averted her gaze and set down her chopsticks, having barely touched her food. “I’m full. Take your time.”

“You’re already full?!”

Shen Zhansi gaped at the tiny portion missing from Yan Qingye’s plate. Was this portion meant for a sparrow? Even a sparrow would probably go hungry!

“Yan Yan, how can you eat so little? You’re already too thin!” Madam Luo fretted, her heart aching at the sight.

Over the years, Yan Qingye had grown thinner and thinner!

“I really am full,” Yan Qingye replied with a faint smile.

Aunt Zhang, who had been watching silently, sighed but said nothing.

After the meal, Aunt Zhang took out the trash and left to attend to other tasks at home. Madam Luo was also called away by a phone call, leaving only Shen Zhansi and Yan Qingye in the hospital room.

“Speak,” Yan Qingye said coolly.

Shen Zhansi was momentarily stunned—how did she know she had something to say? But she quickly snapped out of it, realizing she shouldn’t keep Yan Qingye waiting.

This woman had little patience these days.

“I… I just wanted to ask why you rejected my confession back then,” Shen Zhansi stammered nervously, biting her lip in embarrassment.

She was so embarrassed she could almost despise herself. After living two lifetimes, how could she still blush over something like a confession?

“Hah.” Yan Qingye let out a cold laugh, her eyes narrowing slightly. “So now your memory’s back? You remember confessing to me?”

Shen Zhansi wrinkled her nose. “No! If I remembered, I wouldn’t be asking you.”

Yan Qingye scoffed softly.

“You really have no idea why I rejected you?”

“Do you think having this face makes you her? How dare you?”

“……”

Shen Zhansi’s eyes widened at first, then her expression gradually darkened, her brows tightly furrowed. What did that mean?

Makes you her?

Who was “her”?

Her palms clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

Was she a Substitute?

An overwhelming bitterness surged in Shen Zhansi’s heart. She was a proud person—how could she tolerate being someone’s Substitute? Yet, she had willingly played that role for so many years, defying her own understanding of herself.

Just like changing her major, these actions made her unrecognizable even to herself.

And who was this person that even Yan Qingye couldn’t have, resorting to finding a Substitute?

After a moment of silence, Shen Zhansi asked, “Did you love her very much?”

Yan Qingye didn’t answer. To her, even responding would be a waste of time. If this was all Shen Zhansi wanted to say, Yan Qingye simply got up, lay down on the hospital cot in her clothes, and closed her eyes to feign sleep.

The entire morning had been exhausting—both with corporate matters and family issues keeping her on her feet. Her body was tired, but her heart was even wearier.

The memory of her mother’s tearful phone call earlier filled her with irritation. Yet, despite the annoyance, she couldn’t bring herself to abandon her.

Yan Qingye often wondered why she couldn’t let go of someone who repeatedly betrayed her. If she once believed her mother clung to Yan Huai for the sake of status and comfort, that excuse no longer held water. Now, with her own growing influence, she had the power to free her mother from Yan Huai’s control—yet her mother remained unchanged.

She loved Yan Huai, loved him to the point of losing all self-respect. No matter how many women he took or how many illegitimate children he fathered, as long as he returned to sweet-talk her, she would immediately melt back into his arms.

Time and again, she wept, raged, and cursed over his betrayals—only to forgive him every single time. Growing up in such an environment, Yan Qingye once believed she would never love anyone.

She refused to become like her mother—devoid of dignity, living like a resentful woman begging for scraps of affection.

Yet, all her convictions shattered because of one person.

Her gaze was involuntarily drawn to someone whose smile carried the warmth of sunlight. The moment they met, she recognized her—and from the look in her eyes, Yan Qingye knew she recognized her too.

A first encounter in their youth, a reunion in their adolescence.

But this person, who had captivated her at first sight, proved to be a headache. While others sought her out, this one seemed intent on avoiding her.

Before meeting Shen Zhansi, Yan Qingye had never known what it meant to pursue someone. Yet with her, taking the initiative felt like the most natural thing in the world.

Meanwhile, Shen Zhansi watched her with a lump in her throat. She wanted to let Yan Qingye rest after her exhausting morning, but the questions and bitterness inside her were unbearable.

This state of mind reminded her of the night before she planned to confess her feelings—except back then, the torment had been laced with excitement and hope.

She also lay down, turning on her side to face Yan Qingye, staring blankly at her back.

Where should she go from here?

But Yan Qingye, already lost in dreams, was sleeping unusually restlessly.

She dreamed again of that day after the college entrance exams.

The day the nightmare began.

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