Volume 1 Chapter 5: Did I Forcefully Take What Wasn’t Mine?

Shi Jianchuan remained taciturn, only uttering a single “Okay.”

Qin Ya immediately wiped away her tears, her cheerful smile showing no trace of her earlier crying.

Who would have thought—Shi Jianchuan was actually the type who responded better to softness than force.

Previously, she had forced herself on him and pressured him into doing this and that, which must be why their relationship had become so strained.

Knowing when to stop, Qin Ya waved at Shi Jianchuan. “Remember to pick me up tomorrow.”

“Make sure you don’t forget, okay?”

She repeated her reminder like a child.

Shi Jianchuan silently continued packing up the items on the table.

A nurse knocked and entered. “Bed 42, Qin Ya—time to check your temperature.”

Qin Ya, who had been scolded earlier that day for sneaking out of the hospital, was now behaving impeccably.

Shi Jianchuan slowed his movements even further.

This Hallucination was different from all the previous ones.

It felt so real that he wanted to stay here forever.

If he could keep seeing Qin Ya like this, it would be more than enough.

He simply watched quietly as Qin Ya interacted with the nurse.

Finally stepping out of the room, he paused briefly near the duty station before walking toward it.

He knocked on the door.

“Doctor, hello. I’m the family member of Qin Ya in Bed 42. I’d like to ask about her condition.”

“Oh, it’s you. There’s nothing seriously wrong with her. It’s just temporary Amnesia. Currently, there’s no better medical solution for it.”

“The best thing you can do as her family is to accompany her and expose her to familiar environments and people. There’s no telling when her memories might return.”

Shi Jianchuan repeated, “Am…nesia?”

“She didn’t tell you? Well, that makes sense. When she was brought in, she was unconscious. We tried calling you but couldn’t get through. In our hurry to find other emergency contacts, we discovered divorce papers in her bag.”

“Couples should be able to talk things out properly. If something really happened, you’d regret it.”

“Today, I heard she even sneaked out to look for you.”

The doctor was warm-hearted, and since Qin Ya was his patient, he couldn’t help but offer a few extra words of advice.

Shi Jianchuan’s mind buzzed, and he barely registered the rest of the conversation with the doctor.

Leaving the room, he numbly dialed Gu Hezheng’s number.

“Do other people appear in Hallucinations? And do they automatically fill in logical gaps?”

Gu Hezheng replied, “Generally, other people can appear, but what do you mean by ‘automatically filling in logical gaps’? Are you having another Hallucination?”

Gu Hezheng sounded anxious. “Did you take your afternoon medication? How long has this Hallucination lasted?”

“Never mind—where are you? I’ll come find you. Your Hallucinations are happening too frequently. I need to examine you thoroughly.”

“No need.” Shi Jianchuan’s voice was eerily calm. “What’s the point of distinguishing so clearly between reality and Hallucinations? Neither you nor I can guarantee that the ‘me’ speaking to you right now is real.”

This was fine as it was.

“Hey! Shi Jianchuan, don’t scare me like that. What are you planning?”

“Shi Jianchuan?”

“Hey?! Damn it, he hung up on me.”

Gu Hezheng irritably ran a hand through his hair.

In all his years as a doctor, he had never encountered a patient like Shi Jianchuan—one he couldn’t even begin to treat.

Moreover, Shi Jianchuan was an expert at deception. The first time they met, even Gu Hezheng had nearly been fooled. Later, it was Shi Jianchuan who had sought him out for treatment.

If Shi Jianchuan refused to cooperate, no one could do anything about it.

Patients like him were the most difficult and troublesome.

Shi Jianchuan pushed the door open and walked back into the ward.

Qin Ya was a bit surprised and even pleasantly startled. “Why did you come back? Did you forget something?”  

Her eyes sparkled, her face brimming with joy.  

Shi Jianchuan’s gaze lingered on her, intense and possessive, as if marking every inch of her face like a beast surveying its territory.  

Qin Ya felt slightly uneasy. “What’s wrong? Is there something on my face?”  

Shi Jianchuan finally looked away. “Why didn’t you tell me you had amnesia?”  

Qin Ya hesitated. “It happened so suddenly. I didn’t know how to bring it up.”  

She glanced at him. “You were so harsh, even talking about divorce. After that, it felt even harder to mention.”  

Her tone was pitiful, almost like she was tattling.  

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”  

He had thought it was just another one of Qin Ya’s tactics to force a divorce.  

Qin Ya smiled brightly. “It’s fine. I don’t blame you.”  

Shi Jianchuan rubbed the watch face on his wrist. “You really don’t remember anything from before?”  

“Yeah. The doctor said there’s a blood clot blocking my memory. It’s temporary.”  

“So… you’ve forgotten everything between us?”  

His dark, unreadable eyes settled on her, impossible to decipher.  

“I don’t remember.”  

Qin Ya fidgeted, picking at the blanket guiltily.  

Shi Jianchuan observed, “You always do that when you’re nervous or lying.”  

She pulled her hand back, sighing in resignation. “I really don’t remember anything. I just saw a few old photos of us.”  

Especially that one—where she had tilted his chin up, forcing him to drink.  

Red wine had dripped from the corner of his lips, soaking his clothes, unbearably suggestive.  

The misty haze in the young man’s eyes had stained her heart red.  

Shi Jianchuan’s fingers stilled on his watch, the light in his eyes flickering.  

“Can you tell me about our past?”  

Shi Jianchuan spoke flatly. “The Qin family sponsored me. To repay them, I joined their company after growing up. After President Qin passed away, you married me.”  

Qin Ya looked at him expectantly. “And then? That’s it?”  

“Mhm.”  

His answers were brief, his silence heavy.  

Or perhaps he simply didn’t want to revisit the past.  

Qin Ya pressed, “So… did I really use gratitude to force you into marrying me?”  

Shi Jianchuan’s lashes trembled slightly, but he said nothing.  

To Qin Ya, that was confirmation.  

“Can you give me details?”  

She was genuinely curious—how had she managed to pluck this unattainable flower?  

Shi Jianchuan replied coolly, “If you’ve forgotten, then let it stay forgotten.”  

Qin Ya wasn’t particularly fixated on recovering her memories.  

If they came back, great. If not, so be it. She and Shi Jianchuan were still young—they’d make plenty of new memories.  

Suddenly serious, she asked, “One more thing—you didn’t have a childhood sweetheart I tore you away from, did you?”  

Shi Jianchuan lifted his gaze, his eyes reflecting only her.  

“No. There’s never been anyone.”  

Qin Ya exhaled in relief. “Good. Otherwise, I’d really be a villain.”  

“Look, we’ve already been married for three years. Why not just make it work and skip the divorce?”  

She counted her merits on her fingers. “I’m decent-looking, own a company, and my temper… is probably okay.”  

After listing two or three, she ran out of ideas.

“I’ll work hard to fix those little flaws, and I’ll never force you to do anything again. So, can we not get divorced?”