"Don’t waste words with me, just tell me which hospital Lu Yi is in—I’m going to see him right now."
Pei Yansi was worried that if Lu Yi had been injured, it was very possible that Shen Heyu had been hurt as well.
"Yansi, don’t be so rude to me. If you were a bit more gentle, maybe I’d tell you right now," Chen Lingmeng went on with her pointless blather.
Pei Yansi couldn’t listen anymore. He pulled out his phone and dialed Zhao Jin.
"Lu Yi has been hurt and is in the hospital. Check out what happened and which hospital he’s at?"
Sitting in her wheelchair, Chen Lingmeng was utterly ignored by Pei Yansi. Despite being such a presence around him all the time, she was treated by Pei Yansi like thin air.
A sense of defeat rose in Chen Lingmeng’s heart. She clenched her teeth, unwilling to accept it and deliberately raised her voice, just to attract Pei Yansi’s attention.
"Alright, alright, Brother Yansi, there’s no need to ask someone else. I’ll tell you. Lu Yi was hit by a car this morning when he went out. He’s currently at the same hospital as you are, right next door."
Pei Yansi heard what Chen Lingmeng said, but he still listened to Zhao Jin until the end to confirm that Chen Lingmeng hadn’t lied to him.
He then hung up and strode towards the door, pulling it open and leaving.
As Shen Heyu was personally applying medicine to Lu Yi, the door of the hospital room was pushed open without any warning, and Pei Yansi walked in with an icy expression on his face.
Pei Yansi was like a moving iceberg; as soon as he entered the room, it felt like the temperature dropped a couple of degrees.
When he appeared, Shen Heyu’s hand trembling with the cotton swab, accidentally touched Lu Yi’s wound. Lu Yi winced, furrowing his brows with pain, and Shen Heyu hurriedly apologized.
"Sorry, I didn’t do it on purpose," Shen Heyu nervously apologized to Lu Yi.
Lu Yi, seeing his tentative manner, felt somewhat disheartened. He lifted his hand and caught Shen Heyu’s wrist, shaking his head with a smile.
"It’s okay, you don’t have to be so nervous." Lu Yi deliberately appeared very close to Shen Heyu, especially in front of Pei Yansi.
Shen Heyu didn’t shake off the hand holding her wrist, but it was Pei Yansi who stepped forward and pulled them apart decisively.
"What are you doing?" Shen Heyu frowned at Pei Yansi.
"So, you came to talk to me just now because you think I was behind today’s car accident?" Pei Yansi looked deeply into Shen Heyu’s eyes.
Even though Lu Yi had suspected as much, Shen Heyu hadn’t entertained that thought.
"Mr. Pei, please let go of my hand. Your fiancée is watching, and what does it look like for you to be pulling on me ? Besides, my husband is also present."
The word "husband" struck a nerve in Pei Yansi, who not only didn’t let go of her wrist but brazenly wrapped an arm around Shen Heyu’s waist and pulled her tightly against him.
Two shrill voices rang out almost simultaneously. Chen Lingmeng, after witnessing Pei Yansi take such a bold move, almost stood up from her wheelchair to rush over and separate them.
Lu Yi, seeing Pei Yansi act so arrogantly, was furious. He pulled out the IV from the back of his hand and walked over to separate them.
"You bastard!" Lu Yi, fuming, clenched his fist, ready to slam it into Pei Yansi.
But this time, Pei Yansi didn’t just stand there to take the hit; instead, he raised his sharp hand and easily caught Lu Yi’s fist.
"Do you think you can protect Shen Heyu with such a weak punch? Let me tell you, you’re far from capable."
Pei Yansi nonchalantly released Lu Yi’s hand. Lu Yi, carried by the force, stumbled directly onto the hospital bed. Shen Heyu hurried over with concern to help Lu Yi up.
Chen Lingmeng maneuvered her wheelchair to Pei Yansi’s side.
She grabbed Pei Yansi’s sleeve with one hand. Pei Yansi frowned and turned to look at her sitting in the wheelchair.
"Brother Yansi, do you realize what you just did?" Chen Lingmeng gritted her teeth as she glared at him.
She felt utterly ignored. How could he just go ahead and wrap his arms around Shen Heyu while she was watching?
"The injury is to my abdomen, not my head. My mind is clear, and I know exactly what I did," Pei Yansi said coldly as he shook off Chen Lingmeng’s hand from his sleeve.
He turned back, squinting as he looked at Shen Heyu and Lu Yi nestled together.
Seeing Shen Heyu so anxious over Lu Yi, Pei Yansi felt as if a volcano was about to erupt in his chest.
"Brother Yansi, the things you are doing now have really hurt me. All along, you have been in my eyes, and you have been in my heart. It’s incredible how you treat my sincere heart."
Chen Lingmeng’s voice shook with anger, tears already welling up in her eyes, and her hands resting on the wheelchair clenched involuntarily.
A wave of irritation and depression surged in Pei Yansi’s chest as he turned back to see Chen Lingmeng’s sobbing figure.
"Chen Lingmeng, from the beginning, I’ve only ever seen you as a sister. If you could stay in your place, I think we would get along very well, but you had to harbor inappropriate thoughts."
"If you are dissatisfied with my actions, then I can only tell you, we’re not even engaged yet, and I’m already this cold, this inconsiderate of your feelings. If you use other tactics to force a marriage with me, your life will only become more miserable from here on out."
Pei Yansi was telling the truth to Chen Lingmeng. A forced melon is not sweet; there was no fate nor feelings between them. Even if they were bound together with steel, they would still part ways.
"Brother Yansi, do you dislike me that much?" Chen Lingmeng’s voice trembled as she asked Pei Yansi.
"I’m sorry, but if it weren’t for a moment of desire clouding your judgment, you are actually a very lovely woman. You could find your true love and live a happy and fulfilled life. But you’ve chosen the wrong path."
Pei Yansi watched as Chen Lingmeng cried in front of him, feeling not the slightest bit of pity.
Yet, if Shen Heyu so much as furrowed her brow in front of him, he felt as if his heart was being sliced with a knife.
This is the difference between love and the lack of it; people are often cruel to those they do not love.
"I don’t believe it! Brother Yansi, we grew up together, childhood sweethearts. I’ve known you for so many years, how could I lose to someone like Shen Heyu, someone you’ve only known for a few years!"
Chen Lingmeng shouted frantically at Pei Yansi. Hearing her shrill voice only made Pei Yansi furrow his brows in irritation.
"Love isn’t about who comes first, Chen Lingmeng. You have trapped yourself in a dead-end."
"I know what you’re intending by saying these things to me, but I’m telling you, I won’t let you get your way!"