Almost Lover

Chapter 127: Sign Language

Just as they were talking about Yun Shen, the slightly ajar hospital room door was suddenly pushed open.

Everyone turned to see Yun Shen standing at the doorway, looking utterly distraught. At this hour, she had actually rushed over.

"Yun Shen," Ruan Yu called softly.

Whether Yun Shen didn’t hear or simply couldn’t spare a greeting for anyone else, she strode straight to Teng Hao’s bedside.

Teng Hao silently watched her, and she silently watched him back. That prolonged gaze carried far too much unspoken emotion.

Seeing this, Ruan Yu and the others tactfully retreated from the room.

In an instant, only Teng Hao and Yun Shen remained in the ward.

Yun Shen took in the injuries on Teng Hao’s face and the cast on his hand. No matter how hard she tried to hold back, her eyes still reddened. When she first heard the news of Teng Hao’s hospitalization, all she could think of were those memories of him lying unconscious in the past. The pain of those days was unbearable to recall, and if she had to endure it again, she wasn’t sure she could hold herself together.

"Don’t worry, I’m fine," Teng Hao said.

"I don’t need you fighting for me!" In her urgency, Yun Shen didn’t even take out her phone to type. Instead, she quickly signed to Teng Hao.

Only after she finished did she remember—Teng Hao didn’t understand sign language, let alone when she signed so frantically. She was about to pull out her phone to retype the message when she saw Teng Hao raise his hands and sign back to her.

"I wasn’t fighting for you. I was fighting for myself. Hurting you is the same as hurting me." His movements were slow and deliberate, but the meaning was clear.

Yun Shen froze.

"You know sign language?"

"I learned it," Teng Hao replied aloud.

"Why did you learn it?"

Sign language wasn’t easy to master. For Teng Hao to reach this level, he must have put in considerable effort.

"Because I wanted another way to understand you," he answered, his eyes fixed on her.

"..."

The sudden depth of his words caught Yun Shen off guard. She stared at him for a few silent seconds before turning away, avoiding his gaze and refusing to sign anything in response.

Suddenly, the entire room seemed to freeze. He watched her, while she stared at the sea of lights outside the window, lost in thought.

Neither moved, yet the atmosphere grew inexplicably tense.

"Yun Shen, why are you with Zhou Xu?" Teng Hao couldn’t hold back any longer.

Yun Shen didn’t answer.

"Tell me honestly—did you agree to get engaged to Zhou Xu because you actually like him?"

Still, she gave no reaction.

"Yun Shen!" Teng Hao’s tone sharpened abruptly, though he wasn’t even sure what he was so agitated about.

Perhaps sensing the shift in his emotions, Yun Shen finally responded.

She shook her head lightly.

Yes, Yun Shen’s agreement to be with Zhou Xu wasn’t her own choice. It was all arranged by her father, Ren Tianhai.

For years, Ren Tianhai had been anxious about Yun Shen’s future. Like any devoted parent—especially a single father—he knew his daughter’s condition made it difficult to find someone truly suitable. So he had long been reaching out to friends for introductions, even declaring that he would leave 40% of Haike Group’s shares to his future son-in-law... Ren Tianhai had gone to great lengths, hoping to secure a good match for his daughter. Yet, Yun Shen’s heart had always belonged to Teng Hao.After Teng Hao's accident, she traveled thousands of miles to stay by his side day and night, which both pained and displeased Ren Tianhai. Although Ren Tianhai had always held a favorable impression of Teng Hao and deeply regretted his misfortune, he absolutely could not allow his precious daughter to tie her future to someone whose fate hung in the balance.

For this reason, Ren Tianhai even lost his temper with Yun Shen once.

"I know that boy saved you, and you feel grateful to him. But Yun Shen, I’ve already repaid that debt for you. The investment I made in his mother’s company was precisely to settle that debt. We owe him nothing. You don’t need to take care of him like this—you don’t!"

"……"

"If you continue to involve yourself with him, don’t bother coming home! And don’t call me your father!"

"……"

No matter how Ren Tianhai pleaded or threatened, Ren Yun Shen refused to leave Teng Hao’s side. It wasn’t until Teng Hao woke up and said those cruel words to her that she finally gave up completely.

It was then that Zhou Xu appeared. The son of Ren Tianhai’s friend and the heir to Jingtai, their family backgrounds were well-matched.

Ren Tianhai particularly liked Zhou Xu. He found him humble, polite, and seemingly even-tempered—Yun Shen would never suffer any grievances with him.

At first, Yun Shen didn’t agree to date Zhou Xu. To win her over, he went to great lengths, sending flowers and gifts, and gradually, she began to soften.

Later, during a performance in Vienna, she fainted backstage due to illness. Upon hearing the news, Zhou Xu rushed to the scene overnight and stayed by her side in the hospital the entire night.

Yun Shen was deeply moved.

She thought that if she was destined not to marry for love in this life, then spending the rest of her days with someone like Zhou Xu, treating each other with respect and care, would still be a kind of fulfillment.

But she had underestimated just how difficult settling would be.

After they officially started dating, Zhou Xu repeatedly expressed his desire for a more intimate relationship with Yun Shen, but she simply couldn’t bring herself to accept it.

Even when he held her hand, she felt as if she were being violated, her heart tangled in knots.

The difference between liking someone and not liking them wasn’t just a matter of a single word—it was a vast, unbridgeable chasm.

In front of Zhou Xu, she became moody and unpredictable, yet he still showed her understanding and patience.

This, in turn, earned him even more points in her heart.

So when both families proposed an engagement, Yun Shen wasn’t as resistant as before. She believed that with effort, she could gradually learn to accept Zhou Xu.

Little did she know, before she could even begin trying in earnest, this incident suddenly happened.

As it turned out, Zhou Xu was a hypocrite in moral guise. He didn’t truly love her—Jingtai was facing a financial crisis, and his family coveted Haike’s 40% stake. That was why he had stayed by her side, swallowing his pride and putting on the act of being devoted to her.

"It’s good that you don’t really like him," Teng Hao said with relief.

When he heard Zhou Xu’s vicious words at the dinner, aside from anger, what worried him most was that Yun Shen might be hurt not just emotionally but also in spirit. Now that he knew she had no feelings for Zhou Xu, he could rest easy."I don't need you to look after me, nor do I need you to fight for me," Yun Shen signed, glancing at the wounds on Teng Hao's face with lingering fear. "What if something worse happens to you?"

"Yun Shen, I've already died once before. Whatever happens to me doesn't matter, but you—you can't be hurt. I won't let you suffer grievances with me only to endure them again with someone else."

"That's all in the past. I've forgotten those words, so you don't need to bring them up again."

"You say you've forgotten—maybe you truly have, or maybe you're just trying to comfort me. But no matter what, I still owe you an apology. I want you to know that every knife that once pierced your heart also stabbed into mine. Your pain was my pain, only worse. Yun Shen, all these years, I haven’t forgotten you for a single moment..."

Yun Shen raised a hand to stop him. "What's the point of saying this now?"

"There is a point, of course there is!" Teng Hao leaned forward. "At first, seeing you and Zhou Xu happy together, I convinced myself to let you go and wish you well. But now I know he isn’t worthy of your future. I... I..."

His voice trailed off, losing its earlier conviction.

Yun Shen stared at him. "You what?"

Teng Hao lowered his head in thought for a few seconds before suddenly throwing off the blanket covering him.

Beneath it, he wore a hospital gown, his legs lying motionless on the bed. To an outsider, they might seem normal, but in truth, they would never walk again.

"I want to ask—would someone like me... would you be willing to marry me?"

Yun Shen was stunned.

"Yun Shen, I know you still care for me. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t have rushed here so late just to see me. You wouldn’t have ignored Sister Ruan and the others, focusing only on me the moment you walked in..."

Caught off guard, Yun Shen flushed and glared at him, as if calling him shameless.

Teng Hao only smiled at her reaction.

"I know you must think I have no shame. And you're right—for you, I’d gladly be shameless." He sighed deeply. "Yun Shen, all these years, I’ve worked hard to make everyone believe I’ve moved past my old shadows, that I’m doing better than ever. But what people see is only what I allow them to see. The truth is, I’ve been deeply insecure... I hate when others watch me struggle in and out of cars, when they help me dress, when they assume I can’t take care of myself..."

The effortless composure he showed the world was nothing but an act.

That was why, despite longing for Yun Shen all these years, he never dared to seek her out.

This hesitation nearly cost him another chance with her.

But by heaven’s mercy and his mother’s blessing, he’d been given one more opportunity. This time, no matter what, he wouldn’t let her slip away again.

"Yun Shen, just say the word. If you can accept me as I am, I swear—even if it costs me my life, I’ll use this broken body to protect you. I won’t let you suffer even the slightest grievance!"

Teng Hao’s words were fervent, and Yun Shen was already in tears.

She was willing—of course she was willing!

The man before her was the same boy she had fallen for at fifteen or sixteen. Though life had weathered him, stripping away some of his youthful boldness, the light in his eyes remained, his heart still burning with passion. He had grown wiser, gentler, steadier—more deserving of her trust than ever.Teng Hao saw Yun Shen nod, and his eyes instantly reddened.

"Come here," he beckoned to her. "Don't stand so far away."

Yun Shen obediently walked over to him, only for him to suddenly reach out, grasp her wrist, and pull her into his embrace.

The scent of medicinal ointment and disinfectant still clung to him.

Afraid of pressing against his cast-bound arm, Yun Shen hesitated, but he ignored it and held her tighter, lowering his head to kiss her.

This kiss was nothing like the fleeting peck she had once given him on tiptoe—this one sank deep into their bones.

With tender caution, they explored each other’s sweetness, their lingering intimacy only strengthening their certainty of each other’s feelings.

They say youth should never encounter someone too dazzling, or else a lifetime of loneliness will follow from never being able to forget. But they were lucky—the one who lit up their youth would go on to light up the rest of their lives.