Just moments ago, Pei Che received a text message from Little Nian, sent using a stranger’s phone, and in the blink of an eye, a call from Fu Jichen followed. He guessed that Fu Jichen would find out about Little Nian’s message to him, and he understood the reason behind Fu Jichen’s call.
Most likely, it was to inquire about Little Nian’s amnesia and demand an explanation.
"With your abilities, I don’t believe you couldn’t find out." Pei Che, usually polite and courteous, rarely showed such a cold side. "You should have known before calling that there’s nothing to discuss between us."
After speaking, Pei Che coughed lightly, feeling the pain from the injury in his abdomen, which caused him to frown as he pressed a hand to it.
In the hospital room, Zhou Ruo noticed and approached with concern.
Pei Che waved his hand, giving his mother a comforting look, indicating he was fine. Thɪs chapter is updated by novelꞁire.net
Fu Jichen had kicked him, breaking one of his ribs, which was why he couldn’t stand upright yesterday due to the pain.
"Fu Jichen, Little Nian ended up today because of you." Pei Che paused for a while, the abdominal pain not easing much. "Three years ago, your mother Wei Ronghua approached her; otherwise, she wouldn’t have left Beicheng alone, heading to an unfamiliar city where an accident befell her. Since you decided to keep her by your side, you should protect her well, not let her suffer from an unwarranted disaster."
Fu Jichen accepted all of Pei Che’s accusations without rebuttal.
It was indeed his fault, and he wasn’t wronged, but how noble was Pei Che?
"After the car accident, she didn’t remember me, so you blocked all information related to her, letting everyone believe she’s dead, and let her believe her past didn’t include me..."
"If it weren’t for me, Little Nian would have died in that car accident three years ago!" Pei Che suddenly raised his voice, overshadowing Fu Jichen’s. "I was the one who jumped into the Songli River and rescued her."
Pei Che originally didn’t want to say much more to him, but there were certain facts he felt Fu Jichen needed to know, so he could understand what he had brought upon Little Nian.
"That night of the accident, she was sent to Jiangcheng First Hospital, multiple fractures all over her body, countless external injuries, facial disfigurement, brain hemorrhage. Do you know that she was also pregnant..." Pei Che couldn’t hold back the choking feeling in his throat, took a deep breath, recalling that night still felt like the worst nightmare of his life. He steadied his emotions, continuing, "A surgery involving four department heads, lasting over five hours, barely saved a life. It took a year and a half to recover post-operation, went abroad for eight months before she became the lively person she is now. Fu Jichen, what right do you have to say you can take her wherever you want?!"
Fu Jichen stood before a wall-wide bookshelf, head hanging, one hand bracing against the shelf, fingers tightening continuously, veins bulging.
Something rolled from the corner of his eye, hitting the floor, leaving a spreading wet mark.
He couldn’t say a single word, his throat and chest clogged, five senses seemed to vanish in an instant, Pei Che’s words repeatedly echoing in his mind.
After a long silence, Pei Che’s voice once again came through the receiver, filled with a bitter self-mockery: "Yes, I am selfish, I am despicable. After knowing Little Nian lost her memory, I concealed the past and stayed with her. I am unwilling; why, after growing up together for twenty years, did she still fall for you. Fu Jichen, if possible, I truly wish there were no you in this world."
Having said all he needed to say and not wanting any further conversation with Fu Jichen, Pei Che prepared to end the call.
Before hanging up, he said four final words: "Let her go."
Pei Che’s hand holding the phone lowered onto the duvet, flipping to the message Shen Jianian sent him, the words filled with her anxiety.
He threw off the covers, slowly turned his body, slipped his feet into slippers, and stood up.
Zhou Ruo urgently asked, "What do you need? I’ll get it for you."
"Handle the discharge procedures. I need to go to Beicheng." Pei Che looked at his mother, his tone firm, "Little Nian is still waiting for me to find her. I can’t let her wait too long."
"How can you be discharged in your current state?!" Zhou Ruo shouted, tears falling, both hands clutching his arm tightly, "Ah Che, Mom can’t take any more turmoil. If something else happens to you, how can Mom go on living?"
Pei Che sat back on the hospital bed, eyes full of despair: "Mom, Little Nian..."
"I know you’re worried about her." Zhou Ruo interrupted him.
She clearly heard the call with Fu Jichen earlier, it was Fu Jichen who took away Little Nian. She was already aware of Little Nian and Fu Jichen’s relationship.
"I remember telling you when Little Nian was still in the hospital three years ago, lies can’t last a lifetime. If one day Little Nian regains her memory and recalls the past, realizing the person she loves isn’t you, what then?" Zhou Ruo, tears flowing, raised a hand to stroke her son’s hair—her only child. How could she not feel heartache? "Fu Family’s person has been searching for Little Nian for three years, evidently his feelings for her aren’t fake. Little Nian won’t be in danger with him. Look after yourself first, then think about how to resolve this matter. Please, as your mother, I’m asking you."
None of the Fu Family members were easy to deal with, Zhou Ruo didn’t wish for her son to suffer any more harm. Little Nian had grown closer to her over the three past years, their bond deeper than before, and she was unwilling to part with Little Nian as well. But priorities needed sorting; the current most urgent matter was her son’s health.
Pei Che’s eyes were reddened, asking his mother, also asking himself: "Why? Why does heaven have to be so cruel to me? We were about to get married, why couldn’t he appear a little later?"
Seeing her son in such distress left Zhou Ruo feeling like her heart was being pierced by knives, yet she didn’t know how to console him.
One can only sigh and say that everything is fate, not in one’s control.
In the villa at Yunding Palace, Shen Jianian idled away the entire morning in her room. During this time, Fu Jichen did not appear again. She tried to open the door and go out, but found it locked, she couldn’t open it.
Shen Jianian cursed Fu Jichen silently from head to toe dozens of times in her heart; he actually plans to keep her locked in here.
However, she has already sent Pei Che a message; he should find a way to come for her.
At lunchtime, the sound of the lock turning came from outside the door. Shen Jianian stared intently at the door, silently praying it wasn’t Fu Jichen who came.
Her prayer was answered; it was that aunt who came in carrying a tray.
"I don’t know what you like to eat." Cheng Jin put the tray on the table, her voice gentle as she spoke, "If the dishes don’t suit your taste, tell me what you like, and I’ll remake them for you."
The tray contained three dishes, a soup, and a small bowl of rice, including tomato beef brisket, pan-fried chicken wings, garlic broccoli, with the soup being a red date and Matsutake chicken soup, and a small sprinkle of sesame on the rice.
Shen Jianian: "There’s nothing unpalatable, they are all dishes I like."
She’s waiting for Pei Che to come and take her away. She won’t go against her own body; maintaining strength is important.
Cheng Jin smiled slightly: "That’s good then."
Shen Jianian sat down to eat and took the opportunity to inquire about Fu Jichen’s whereabouts: "Is the family surname Fu not at home?"
Hearing her refer to the gentleman as "the family surname Fu", Cheng Jin couldn’t help but laugh despite herself: "The gentleman has been in the study all along and hasn’t come out. I just went over to knock and call him for lunch, but he didn’t respond; I guess he’s busy with work."
So Fu Jichen is at home. Shen Jianian pursed her lips, diminishing her appetite.
Cheng Jin watched the elegant movements of the woman in front of her while dining, amazed at how much she resembles Jianian in every gesture and manner; no wonder the gentleman views her differently.
"I still don’t know how to address you." Cheng Jin asked politely.
Upon hearing this, Shen Jianian wiped her mouth with a napkin, placed the chopsticks on the tray, looked at the speaker, and replied, "My name is Shen Jianian, Aunt can just call me Jianian."
This aunt helped her in the morning, so Shen Jianian had a good impression of her, and her attitude naturally differed from the way she treated Fu Jichen.
Cheng Jin opened her mouth, stunned to find herself at a loss for words. This... the resemblance in voice and habitual behavior is one thing, but having the same name is too much of a coincidence.
Seeing the aunt’s strange expression, Shen Jianian asked: "What’s the matter?"
Cheng Jin shook her head: "I’m just too surprised; before... ah, never mind."
When she mentioned "before", Shen Jianian’s mind flashed with something. She narrowed her eyes and asked: "I remember when the family surname Fu brought me here this morning, he told you ’cook according to Jianian’s previous tastes’. Had I been here before?"
She also remembered Fu Jichen carrying her out of the elevator, asking her: "To stay in your previous bedroom or mine?"
The implication in Fu Jichen’s words was that she had lived here before.
Cheng Jin’s expression showed hesitation, uncertain whether to speak.
Bringing up the gentleman’s past favored one seemed unfair to the girl in front of her.
"Aunt, if there’s anything to say, just say it." Shen Jianian watched her hemming and hawing, growing more curious, "The family surname Fu didn’t forbid you from talking to me."
Cheng Jin wrestled with her thoughts for a while, and simply shared some details: "Indeed, there used to be a Miss Jianian who lived here." Cheng Jin pointed in a direction, her tone inevitably wistful, "Her room was next door. But she had a good relationship with the gentleman, not constrained by which room to stay in. Sometimes she’d sleep in the gentleman’s room, sometimes he’d go to hers. Before she moved in, the villa’s garden was monotonous, only planted with evergreen plants. After she came, the gentleman planted various flowers in order to make her happy. The cats and dogs in the villa were raised by her; they were stray animals she picked up, initially adopted in the villa over in Yicheng. The gentleman, fearing she’d be bored at home, went out of his way to have them brought to Beicheng."
Shen Jianian’s breathing became inexplicably rapid as she found it hard to believe the "Miss Jianian" referred to by the aunt was herself, so she asked: "Then where is she now?"
Cheng Jin was silent for a few seconds, her nose tingling, letting out a very light sigh: "Three years ago, she had a car accident in a foreign place; she’s no longer around."