In mid-June, the summer breeze was gentle. Zhao Zhilan pushed open the hospital door and unpacked the meal from the thermal container, her heart aching with sorrow. "Pei Chuan, you haven't eaten yet, have you? I made some soup. Come and try it."
Pei Chuan walked over. His fingers had just been reattached, so he could only eat with his left hand.
Since last night, many people had come to see him one after another. Pei Haobin had visited and told him that all the hostages had been rescued. Cao Li was too embarrassed to enter, and Pei Chuan had also seen Jiang Wenjuan and that doctor. Even his colleagues from the research institute had come to visit.
Pei Chuan had his fingers reattached last night, and today Zhao Zhilan had cooked for him and brought the food over.
Pei Chuan lowered his gaze and drank the soup. Outside the window, the greenery was vibrant, but he couldn't taste anything.
So many people had come, yet Bei Yao had never appeared.
The matter of rebirth was now a secret known only to the two of them.
With the deepest secret exposed, was she silently giving up on him? He couldn't bring himself to drink any more, but he didn't dare to ask Zhao Zhilan where Yao Yao was.
Zhao Zhilan turned her face away, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Does it not suit your taste? Is there anything else you'd like to eat? I can make it for you."
Pei Chuan shook his head. "Mom, you should go back and rest. I'm fine. I'll be discharged in a couple of days."
Zhao Zhilan packed up the thermal container. "Then I'll come see you later. Call me if you need anything."
"I don't need anything," Pei Chuan said. "Be careful on your way home."
"Alright, your dad has cleaned the house. We can go back and live there now." Zhao Zhilan avoided looking into his eyes and left in a hurry.
As she reached the door, Pei Chuan stood up. "Mom!"
Zhao Zhilan asked, "What is it?"
The note had already been destroyed by him. Pei Chuan paused silently. "It's nothing."
Zhao Zhilan pushed the door open and left.
Jin Ziyang, Zheng Hang, and Ji Wei were sitting outside.
Ji Wei was reading a book in the hallway. He had just finished this year's college entrance exams and had no idea how he had performed.
Seeing Zhao Zhilan leave, the three of them greeted her, "Auntie."
Zhao Zhilan nodded, her eyes red, and hurried away.
Zheng Hang frowned, while Jin Ziyang's reaction was more direct. "Don't you think Bei Yao is too heartless? Brother Chuan is injured like this, and she hasn't even come to see him. He's her husband! And Brother Chuan treats her like his treasure."
Ji Wei whispered, "Keep your voice down. It's not good if Brother Chuan hears. It'll upset him." He speculated, "Maybe they had a fight."
Jin Ziyang laughed bitterly. "A fight? After such a big incident yesterday, even if they had a fight, she should at least come to see him. Brother Chuan is still recovering. You didn't see him yesterday, his hands covered in blood."
Ji Wei awkwardly shut his mouth.
Zheng Hang was the first to enter.
Leaning against the door, Zheng Hang saw Pei Chuan in the hospital room staring at the phone by the bed. He spoke up, "Brother Chuan, did you and your wife have a disagreement?"
Pei Chuan paused and looked up. "No, it's nothing. You don't have to stay here all the time. Go back. I'll be discharged soon. I'm just under observation for a few days."
Zheng Hang took a breath. "Then why hasn't she come?"
Pei Chuan said, "It's just a minor injury. There's no need."
As Zheng Hang was about to say more, Pei Chuan interrupted him. "I want to rest for a while."
The others had no choice but to leave.
As evening approached, a soft knock sounded at the door. Pei Chuan immediately sat up and went to open it.Zhao Zhilan’s face appeared at the door, along with Bei Jun, whom she was holding by the hand. Pei Chuan’s gaze darkened almost imperceptibly.
Zhao Zhilan said, “I noticed you didn’t drink much soup at noon, so I made something light for the evening.”
After Pei Chuan finished eating, the summer air outside was sweltering, and Zhao Zhilan was drenched in sweat from running back and forth.
Bei Jun stared at Pei Chuan, pouting. His gaze then fell on Pei Chuan’s bandaged right thumb, and he hid behind Zhao Zhilan.
Pei Chuan glanced at him too.
This sturdy, spirited child had never once called him “brother-in-law.”
Zhao Zhilan went to wash her hands. “I’ll stay at the hospital tonight. If you need anything, just call me.”
Before she could push the door open, Pei Chuan asked hoarsely, “Mom, where’s Yaoyao?”
Zhao Zhilan paused mid-step and turned back abruptly. “Pei Chuan, loving someone is hard. Most of the time, marriage ends up like mine and your Uncle Bei’s. There wasn’t much passion in our youth, and over time, it slowly turned into familial affection. I used to oppose you and Yaoyao, but after this incident, I’ve come to understand. You’ve done a lot for her, but my daughter…”
As she spoke, her eyes reddened, and her voice choked up. “She’s a foolish girl too.”
Bei Jun glared at Pei Chuan indignantly.
Pei Chuan frowned, his heartbeat suddenly accelerating. “What happened to Yaoyao?”
“She’s in a room on the second floor. Come with me to see her.”
Pei Chuan stood up abruptly.
To this day, Pei Haobin could not forget the scene when he opened the room on the third floor. Bei Yao was handcuffed to the bedside, the sheets stained red with blood around her. Her face was buried in her knees as she curled up in agony.
Pei Jiadong was terrified, while Shao Yue’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
Bei Yao lay quietly, already unconscious.
All the police officers stared in shock at the wound in her abdomen and rushed her to the hospital.
Before Huo Xu went to find Pei Chuan with a knife, Bei Yao had shoved him aside.
Huo Xu’s knife plunged into her abdomen, and blood gushed out instantly.
Huo Xu’s eyes widened in disbelief. He instinctively pulled the knife out and threw it aside, his face twitching. He then lifted Bei Yao from the floor and locked her to the bedside.
This became the final straw that shattered his sanity.
Deceiving himself, he acted as if nothing had happened, picked up another knife, and stroked her cheek. “Once I’ve dealt with him, I’ll take you abroad. It’s fine—we’ll nurture our feelings from now on.”
But deep down, he knew he would never win her love again.
Huo Xu closed the door.
Bei Yao’s breathing grew faint. With great effort, she turned her head to look at Pei Jiadong. This year, Pei Jiadong was five years old, about the same age as her Pei Chuan had been back then.
But while Pei Jiadong cried until his face was streaked with tears, Pei Chuan had never cried.
Or perhaps, he had shed all the tears of his lifetime in that one year of his childhood.
She hoped the world would never again produce a child with a fate like Pei Chuan’s, and she feared that Pei Chuan would have to endure such suffering a second time.
With great difficulty, Bei Yao lifted her gaze to the pitch-black surveillance screen.
She still wanted to tell him that all those choices were absurd.
Her Pei Chuan was one of a kind, unparalleled in this world.
The blood soaked the sheets, and Bei Yao slowly closed her eyes.
The summer night breeze rustled the curtains. She lay on the bed, her lips pale, her long eyelashes shut.Zhao Zhilan wiped her tears: "The year you were in prison, she sat outside the police station all night, insisting on seeing you. Later that year, she went to college and never mentioned it, but she kept looking for you. We never knew why she studied medicine until I cleaned her room and found books about leg massage."
"When she was little, she saved her pocket money for half a year, thinking we didn't know, and finally bought you a model car."
"When your parents divorced, Yaoyao was in her first year of high school. She only had one day off each month, and she would spend it running around, visiting every school. When she had no money for transportation, she walked. I asked her if she was looking for you, and she said no. But she got along with everyone except your stepsister Bai Yutong. I know she resented Cao Li and the others for driving you away."
"Pei Chuan, my daughter isn't that clever. When she was young, she studied late into the night, repeatedly memorizing and practicing problems to get good grades. She isn't brave either—she's afraid of injections and IVs. She keeps her worries to herself, silently finding solutions, afraid of making others worry. The bravest thing she's ever done in her life is probably chasing after you."
For many, many years, she had been tirelessly moving toward you.
She wasn't like you, with a strong and resilient body. She only had tiny yet tenacious strength. Sometimes such fragile power couldn't change anything, but for eighteen years—six thousand five hundred and seventy days—she never once thought of giving up on you.
Pei Chuan pushed open the hospital room door and sat beside Bei Yao.
Outside, the summer night echoed with faint cicada chirps.
Her breathing was heavy. Beneath the oxygen mask, her face had fully matured, having crossed eighteen years of time. He still remembered the little pink-cheeked girl holding a lotus flower, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him.
Suddenly, he understood the third choice.
Some people's love is like magma—fiery and intense. Others' love is like a stream—long-lasting and gentle.
Pei Chuan had never moved past that day when Pei Haobin abandoned him for drug enforcement. From that day on, it seemed he was constantly being abandoned.
But this June, amid the faint scent of disinfectant in the air, he finally stepped out of the shadows of his childhood.
Someone loved him more than life itself.
Pei Chuan's eyes reddened. He clasped her cold hand with his bony left hand.
Bei Yao hadn't woken up yet. Her injuries were much more severe than his, and she had lost too much blood. Fortunately, the blood transfusion was timely, or she might not have made it.
Zhao Zhilan sighed softly. Originally, both of them at home were injured, and Pei Chuan should have been resting properly, but her foolish daughter had endured so much.
Zhao Zhilan said, "Go back and sleep. Yaoyao's father will watch over her here."
Pei Chuan replied softly, "I'll stay with her."
Looking at the young couple, Zhao Zhilan felt helpless. "Then I'll ask the nurse to add a bed."
Bei Yao slept for two full days. On the morning of the third day, she opened her eyes.
Outside the window, birds sang amid fragrant flowers, and sunlight spilled across the floor. Her slightly cold hand was enveloped in a warm, large palm.
A sharp pain tugged at her abdomen. She turned her head and saw the man's reflection in her eyes.
He had grown stubble and looked somewhat disheveled. His eyes were closed, as if he were completely exhausted. Weakly, she examined him, her gaze settling on his fingers.
Pei Chuan seemed to sense something and opened his eyes.
Their eyes met, and Bei Yao's clear gaze mirrored his image.Her voice was faint and weak: "Pei Chuan, are you okay? He's insane, don't listen to him."
He looked at her: "I'm fine. Does it hurt?"
Bei Yao forced a smile: "Not at all."
His eyes suddenly welled up with tears. It took all his strength to hold them back.
Bei Yao waking up not only made Zhao Zhilan happy, but also brought relief to Jin Ziyang and the others.
Jin Ziyang and the others felt somewhat awkward. They had previously criticized Bei Yao for being cold-hearted, but were now genuinely shocked and remorseful.
Jin Ziyang felt a pang of sorrow mixed with envy: "If my future wife would go this far for me, I'd willingly die for her."
During the two days Bei Yao remained unconscious, their Brother Chuan didn't say anything, but was extremely anxious inside.
He asked the doctor numerous times every day. Usually so meticulous about his appearance, he didn't even shave, holding Bei Yao's hand all day long with blisters forming around his mouth.
Only after she woke up did Pei Chuan realize how disheveled he looked. Embarrassed, he took a shower, changed clothes, and shaved with his left hand.
But the blisters remained. Bei Yao's clear, bright eyes watched him.
Pei Chuan pressed his lips together and said as calmly as possible: "It's summer. I'm just feeling feverish."
Amusement sparkled in Bei Yao's almond-shaped eyes.
Her abdominal wound was quite deep, requiring a hospital stay until it healed properly.
Outside the window, birds hopped onto branches. Seeing no one around, Bei Yao beckoned to Pei Chuan.
He approached and asked softly: "What is it?"
Bei Yao coughed lightly: "I want to explain about that piece of paper." Though it felt strange, she was afraid he might hold reservations and felt she needed to clarify.
Pei Chuan stroked her head: "There is no paper."
She lifted her eyes.
Pei Chuan said firmly in a low voice: "There never was any paper. I love you."
She looked at him in surprise. He smiled: "Mom says falling in love is difficult, and mutual affection is even rarer. Love itself is a complex emotion nobody can fully explain. I'm grateful you're you, giving me this chance to be with you." Whatever the reason she fell for him didn't matter.
Bei Yao whispered: "But there's something I still need to make clear."
Pei Chuan watched her.
Bei Yao said gloomily: "Since I was four, my memories have been unclear. Except for that paper, the world feels no different to me." She blinked, "Because I couldn't remember, I still thought you had such an annoying personality when we were kids."
His breath caught.
"I never felt grateful to you since childhood. You drew a line between our desks, wouldn't let me ride in your dad's car, and were so stingy you wouldn't leave me even one stick when we played pickup sticks." She practically counted on her fingers how unpleasant he used to be, "Not gentlemanly at all."
Pei Chuan's face darkened. That unpleasant person had indeed been himself. Gritting his teeth, he said: "I'm sorry."
Summer flowers bloomed brilliantly outside the window. Suppressing a smile, she said: "I never planned to be with you because of some paper. What does a stupid piece of paper matter? It could never dictate my life. That year in high school, you have no idea how handsome you were, and so incredibly gentle. So later I thought, since he's been secretly liking me so earnestly, I should give him a chance."
He raised his eyes.
Finally, he couldn't help but laugh.
Bei Yao said: "What are you laughing at? I'm telling the truth."
Amusement filled his eyes: "Laughing at you saying I'm handsome."
In the end, he couldn't hold back, his chest trembling slightly: "You little fool with no taste."
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