"I want you to make it clear yourself, you willingly left Pei Yansi back then, and now you’re acting all heartbroken in front of him again. Who exactly are you trying to disgust!"
Chen Lingmeng was nearly driven mad with anger. Pei Yansi’s continued fixation on her was already headache-inducing enough, and now Shen Heyu was acting hopelessly in love with him.
Shen Heyu was simply her nemesis, born to be her enemy, Chen Lingmeng thought, grinding her teeth.
"I’ve already made myself very clear just now, I don’t want to repeat myself." Shen Heyu saw no need to repeat herself, they had all heard her loud and clear, they weren’t deaf.
"So, are you planning to stay and compete with me for Brother Yansi?"
Chen Lingmeng voiced the question she feared most, clenching the handles of her wheelchair so tightly her fingernails turned white.
"This is all your own imagination, I never said that," Shen Heyu looked at Chen Lingmeng with a detached gaze.
Chen Lingmeng hated her so much that her facial features twisted into a ferocious scowl.
"Who are you lying to? You slut, we heard very clearly what you said in front of Pei Yansi’s sickbed just now," Chen Lingmeng grabbed something nearby and threw it at Shen Heyu.
Whether it was a heavy or light object, Chen Lingmeng grabbed it without hesitation and hurled it at Shen Heyu.
Shen Heyu endured for two seconds, but soon she couldn’t take it anymore; she walked step by step up to Chen Lingmeng, who was poised to throw an ashtray, and said, "Have you had enough!"
"Who is causing a scene? You clearly know that I and Brother Yansi are about to get engaged, and yet you say things to soften his heart; isn’t that deliberately making things difficult for me?"
Chen Lingmeng gritted her teeth and mercilessly threw the ashtray at Shen Heyu’s slender body.
The ashtray hurt as it hit her, causing Shen Heyu to frown.
But soon, the thought of how much pain Pei Yansi must have felt when he stabbed himself sobered her, making all other pain seem insignificant.
"You wretched woman, I want you to disappear from Brother Yansi’s world right now, vanish completely!"
Chen Lingmeng yelled furiously at Shen Heyu, looking as if she were the victim, the one being bullied.
"Mengmeng, don’t get worked up. Calm down. Grandpa will definitely seek justice for you," Grandpa Chen immediately stepped forward to calm Chen Lingmeng when he saw her emotionally unstable.
With someone backing her, Chen Lingmeng’s mood quickly turned malicious again. She sobbed woefully, pulling down the corners of her mouth and wiping nonexistent tears from the corners of her eyes.
"Wenzhou, take good care of your sister," Grandpa Chen admonished, his brow furrowed tight enough to pinch a mosquito, his expression grave as he walked up to Shen Heyu.
In his youth, Grandpa Chen was a tall, large man, but now well past his prime, he had shrunk considerably, and he had to strain his neck to look up at Shen Heyu.
"Shen Heyu, it was indeed your own choice to leave Pei Yansi. Since you chose to leave, you have no right to come back," Grandpa Chen reminded her sternly.
"You all know well that Pei Yansi’s engagement to Chen Lingmeng is imminent. Yet, my appearance has thrown you into disarray. Doesn’t this anxiety suggest that you think I hold a more important place in Pei Yansi’s heart than Chen Lingmeng?"
Shen Heyu pointed out the crux of the issue sharply.
"Shen Heyu!" Grandpa Chen, angered by Shen Heyu’s words, clenched his cane tightly against the ground, a reminder for Shen Heyu to watch her words.
Shen Heyu gave Grandpa Chen a slow smile.
"The more flustered you get, the more it shows I struck a nerve."
"Mr. Chen, your granddaughter comes from a distinguished family; she is wealthy and beautiful. Although her legs were injured, with today’s advanced medical technology, she might recover any day. So why insist on marrying her to a man who doesn’t love her?" Shen Heyu tried to reason with Grandpa Chen.
In fact, Grandpa Chen knew perfectly well what she was saying, but he couldn’t resist his granddaughter and could only turn a blind eye, letting her follow her own desires.
"You could easily find your granddaughter a man who loves her reciprocally, so why must you tie her to Pei Yansi?"
"And you all know very well that Pei Yansi has not completely let go of me. Rushing their wedding in these circumstances will only make them both miserable."
Shen Heyu spoke calmly with Grandpa Chen, who did not rebut her, indicating his agreement with what Shen Heyu had said.
However, Chen Lingmeng, being in the midst of it all, had lost her direction, and she couldn’t listen anymore. Sharply screaming as Shen Heyu spoke, she yelled, "Shut up!"
"Grandpa, please don’t be misled by her words. Brother Yan Si and I have been childhood sweethearts, I’ve always adored him, and I will marry no other in my life but him—Brother Yansi has already agreed to marry me, and he absolutely cannot back out at this crucial time."
Chen Lingmeng was steadfast, backing herself into a corner with nowhere to turn until she hit rock bottom.
Shen Heyu suddenly felt a glimpse of sympathy for Chen Lingmeng and sighed deeply.
Grandpa Chen, with his back to Chen Lingmeng and ignoring her disarray, said, "You’ve heard what Mengmeng said, right? I’m giving you one last chance, voluntarily leave Pei Yansi and disappear from his world, or else don’t blame me for being rude."
Faced with Grandpa Chen’s threat, Shen Heyu just gave a faint smile.
"Mr. Chen, I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you this time. The last time I left was because I also wanted to, but now, with Pei Yansi’s life hanging in the balance, I absolutely won’t leave his side."
Shen Heyu calmly looked at Grandpa Chen, defiant that even under such oppressive authority, she absolutely could not leave Pei Yansi.
"You’re really courting death!" Grandpa Chen angrily glared at Shen Heyu, raising his hand as if to slap her.
The door was shoved open with force.
"Let’s see who dares to touch a single hair on her today," Pei Yansi’s commanding voice rose.
"Pei Yansi, you’re awake?" Shen Heyu’s eyes brightened happily at the sight of Pei Yansi standing in the doorway.
Yet, when she noticed him clutching his injured abdomen, Shen Heyu’s heart ached as if a rusty knife were twisting in her chest.
He was severely injured right now, and as Shen Heyu approached Pei Yansi, she said, "You’re hurt; you need to rest well. Why are you walking around?"
Pei Yansi had risen from his sick bed and couldn’t find Shen Heyu, which alarmed him. When he heard the dispute in the rest room, he immediately realized what was happening.
He was sweating coldly, yet his eyes were as earnest and sharp as ever.
Looking at Shen Heyu with concern, he asked, "Did they hurt you?"