Сhеng Yuе's injuriеs were nоt tоо sеvеre after аll, аs it hapрened in а bustling dоwntоwn аrеа where thе driver couldn't have beеn sрeеding toо fаst. Тhе main issuе wаs thаt Wu Маngmang hаd appеаred tоo suddenly аnd had run a rеd light, which led tо hеr соlliding with Сhеng Yuе, who had rushеd оver tо рush hеr out оf the wау.
When the drivеr gоt out оf the car, his lеgs were trembling—it wаs trulу аn uneхpectеd disаstеr. Onlу аftеr сlеаrly sееing the еxtеnt of Chеng Yue's injuriеs did his hеаrt settlе dоwn а littlе.
Once сalmer, the driver cоuldn't help but grumble in frustrаtion. Tоdaу wаs just cursеd. A couple arguing, the woman insisting on being reckless and running into the street against a red light, the man showing off his bravery by rescuing his beloved—it was a miracle they weren't both killed. Thank goodness he hadn't been driving fast.
Outside the emergency room, Wu Mangmang sat on a chair, lost and bewildered. Waves of coldness rose from her back, making her tremble uncontrollably.
"He's fine, Mangmang," Lu Sui walked over and gently placed his hand on Wu Mangmang's shoulder.
But Wu Mangmang jumped up as if electrocuted, taking a large step back and turning her head away, unwilling to look at Lu Sui.
Lu Sui had truly overestimated Wu Mangmang's mental state.
Although she had instinctively held Cheng Yue when he fell, what exactly had happened or what this person was doing held no particular impression in her mind.
Now, Wu Mangmang's mind was in chaos, filled with the screeching sound of brakes, the clamor of onlookers, and the blaring "urgent, urgent" siren of the ambulance...
Wu Mangmang felt as though her head was splitting with pain. She leaned against the wall, slowly sliding down onto the chair, and buried her head in her hands. Over and over, she tried to convince herself that what had just happened wasn't real—it was all an act. If she just slept it off, everything would pass.
But another voice told her, "Stop running away. This is real. Cheng Yue is back."
And Lu Sui would surely learn everything that had happened to her in the past.
Although he knew she had been in a psychiatric hospital, he wouldn't fully understand how crazy and terrifying she had been back then.
He also wouldn't know how humbly and timidly she had knelt before Cheng Yue at the airport, begging him not to abandon her.
In truth, she wasn't as wonderful or as outstanding as she appeared. She was just someone many people had disliked and abandoned.
And one day, he too would realize that someone as exceptional as him was far beyond her reach. He would have other, better pursuits.
Wu Mangmang buried her head in despair, realizing she had been deceiving herself all along—how pitiful, how cowardly this self-deception was. The nightmares she had endured were all things that had truly happened.
At this moment, Wu Mangmang was lost in her own world of self-pity, unaware of what signals her state was sending to Lu Sui.
Her first love had returned. Her first love was lying in the hospital because he had saved her. In her eyes, there was no room for anyone else anymore.
Could she no longer even bear his touch?
Lu Sui, of course, knew who Cheng Yue was. He knew Cheng Yue was Wu Mangmang's unresolved heartache and that her past was deeply intertwined with this man.
What Lu Sui hadn't anticipated was that even after nine years, Cheng Yue's influence on Wu Mangmang would remain so powerful. Just one meeting had completely shattered her."Wu Mangmang, look at what you've become?" Lu Sui was a domineering person. Although he had been trying to be tactful lately, he was not without emotions. "Just for the sake of Cheng Yue, you..."
Wu Mangmang was forced by Lu Sui to turn her shoulders and face him.
Looking into Lu Sui's eyes, she immediately read the anger and disappointment within them.
Upon hearing the name Cheng Yue, the voice in Wu Mangmang's head instantly screamed: See, Lu Sui knows, he knows everything.
Wu Mangmang suddenly felt as if she couldn't breathe.
The world around her fell silent in that instant. She could neither see nor hear, her palms drenched in sweat.
Trembling unsteadily, Wu Mangmang stood up, stumbling as she pushed Lu Sui aside. Her neck felt as if it were being choked, the suffocation unbearable.
She ran to the bathroom, vomiting until even stomach acid came up, feeling utterly filthy and foul.
The scenes that followed passed by like a fast-forwarded movie. When Wu Mangmang regained some clarity, she was already lying in her own bed at the Lu residence.
"It could be panic anxiety disorder," Wu Yong said over the phone after hearing Lu Sui's description. "But I can't be sure yet. I'll come over to see you now."
Lu Sui hung up the phone and turned to ask Annie, "Is Mangmang asleep?"
Annie nodded.
Lu Sui stood up and walked upstairs. Pushing open the door to Wu Mangmang's bedroom, he didn't see her on the bed. After searching around, she was nowhere to be found.
Annie nervously said from behind Lu Sui, "I swear, I really saw the young lady fall asleep before I came downstairs."
"Have Old Peter pull up the surveillance footage," Lu Sui ordered.
The surveillance showed that Wu Mangmang had not left the room. Lu Sui lowered his eyelids and walked straight into Wu Mangmang's walk-in closet.
Pulling open the wardrobe door, he found Wu Mangmang indeed curled up in the corner. When the light shone in, she reflexively raised a hand to shield her eyes.
"Wu Mangmang," Lu Sui pulled the wardrobe door open wider.
Dominant people often have one weakness: they cannot stand cowards who hide from problems. Lu Sui could usually indulge Wu Mangmang in everything, but not today.
So he mercilessly pulled her out of the dark corner she felt safe in.
Barefoot and disheveled, Wu Mangmang stood before Lu Sui as he dragged her in front of the floor-length mirror. "Look at yourself now, Mangmang. You're twenty-seven, not seventeen."
Wu Mangmang hated her own appearance the most at that moment. Tears streaming down her face, she stood on tiptoe, covering Lu Sui's mouth, sobbing, "Don't speak, don't speak."
Looking at Wu Mangmang, Lu Sui truly felt frustrated by her lack of resolve. He pulled her into his embrace, stroking her hair as he said, "Mangmang, don't be afraid. I'll be with you through everything, no matter what decision you make. You're sick now. Let's go see a doctor, okay?"
Upon hearing this, Wu Mangmang again experienced palpitations, sweating, and difficulty breathing. Gasping for air with great effort, she shook her head violently. "I'm not sick, I'm not sick. I don't want to go to a mental hospital, I don't want to go to a mental hospital..."In truth, Wu Mangmang could no longer distinguish between past and present; her mind could no longer process her emotions normally.
When Wu Yong arrived at the Lu residence, he found it impossible to communicate with Wu Mangmang. He could only give her an injection first and then prescribed a week’s worth of medication for Lu Sui.
Lu Sui said to Wu Yong, “She vomited again just now.”
Wu Yong nodded. “I’ll prescribe a week’s worth of medication for her first. Once her emotions stabilize, we can proceed with treatment.”
Lu Sui nodded in agreement.
Still somewhat uneasy about Wu Mangmang, Wu Yong lowered his voice as he went downstairs and said to Lu Sui, “Mangmang is very fragile right now. Be patient with her. She will definitely recover. What she needs most now is your comfort.”
Lu Sui quietly looked at Wu Yong for a moment without saying a word.
Someone once said: Tomorrow, everything will be better.
The next day, as soon as Wu Mangmang opened her eyes, she turned to look out the window. The weather was fine, and it was foreseeable that soon the sky would be clear and the sun would shine brightly.
The winter sun always brought an especially pleasant mood.
Surprisingly, Lu Sui was still asleep at this hour. Wu Mangmang gently shook his arm. “Time to get up, fatty liver uncle.”
Lu Sui’s eyelashes fluttered, and he quickly opened his eyes.
“Hurry up, we should go for a run,” Wu Mangmang said, then rolled out of bed and pressed the remote to fully open the half-drawn curtains.
Lu Sui propped himself up with his arms, looked at Wu Mangmang, and thought for a moment. “We won’t go for a run today. After breakfast, we’ll go to the hospital together.”
Wu Mangmang turned back, looking somewhat confused. “Why go to the hospital? Is someone sick?”
Lu Sui remained silent for a moment, then sighed helplessly. “Cheng Yue is in the hospital.”
“Who is Cheng Yue?” Wu Mangmang asked with a smile.
No one loses their memory without reason. Wu Mangmang’s behavior only made Lu Sui more worried. He closed his eyes briefly, then reopened them and said, “Mangmang, don’t avoid the truth. There’s no hurdle you can’t overcome—it just depends on whether you’re willing to face it.”
Wu Mangmang finally wiped the smile from her face and turned away, avoiding Lu Sui’s gaze. “I’m not avoiding the truth. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Lu Sui took the medication prescribed by Wu Yong from the bedside drawer and handed it to Wu Mangmang. “This is the medicine Wu Yong prescribed for you.”
Wu Mangmang took a big step back, shaking her head. “I won’t take the medicine. I’m fine. I can manage on my own. I could do it before, and I can do it now.”
“I believe you,” Lu Sui said, walking up to Wu Mangmang and placing the blister pack of pills in her hand. “But you need help right now.”
Tears streamed down Wu Mangmang’s face again. Her hands trembled slightly. She thought her past would forever haunt her as a nightmare.
Lu Sui naturally cared for her, but no one could accept a girlfriend with a mental illness.
Just like her parents back then—because they couldn’t accept her illness, they sent her far away to a psychiatric hospital, wishing they could erase her existence entirely.
Wu Mangmang broke the pill out of the foil. She kept wiping her tears, not wanting to cry, not wanting to appear weak and helpless. She placed the pill in her mouth, took the water glass from Lu Sui’s hand, and so desperately wanted to hold his hand and beg him not to send her away.But at twenty-seven, Wu Mangmang had already learned that when someone decides to leave, even if you kneel before them or threaten to jump off a building, they will turn away without a shred of mercy.
"I'll take my medicine properly," Wu Mangmang said, lowering her head.
Lu Sui gently ruffled her hair and kissed her forehead. "I'm going to freshen up."
"Mm," Wu Mangmang murmured, still looking down. As Lu Sui reached the bathroom door and turned to close it, he saw her pry out the remaining six pills from the blister pack and shove them all into her mouth at once.
Lu Sui rushed over, gripping her cheeks firmly. "Spit them out!"
"I'm sorry, I just wanted to get better faster," Wu Mangmang sobbed, frightened by the look in his eyes.
She was sick, but she wasn’t foolish. Wu Mangmang could clearly sense the impatience in Lu Sui’s attitude.
More than anyone, she wanted to free herself from this tangled mess.
To untie the bell, you must find the one who tied it.
After breakfast, Lu Sui drove Wu Mangmang to the hospital.
"Do you want me to go in with you?" Lu Sui asked.
"No need," Wu Mangmang replied quietly. Her emotions were far more stable than yesterday; at least she could think and communicate normally now.
Standing at the door of the hospital room, Wu Mangmang finally got a clear look at Cheng Yue after nine years apart.
His complexion was pale, like the powdered elegance of the Wei-Jin literati described in books.
His posture remained as upright as it had been years ago, like a sturdy pine tree—even while sitting, he exuded a sense of dignified strength.
And experience had endowed him with the greatest charm a man could possess.
Wu Mangmang thought to herself that a man like Cheng Yue must be very popular with women abroad.
"You came," Cheng Yue smiled at her.
Wu Mangmang nodded. Cheng Yue’s mother stood up at that moment. "Mangmang, come sit."
Wu Mangmang had met Cheng Yue’s mother before. In those years, she had eaten many meals at the Cheng household, and the food cooked by Cheng’s mother had a special warmth—the kind of motherly flavor Wu Mangmang loved.
"Auntie, it’s been a long time," Wu Mangmang said with a faint smile.
"Sit, you two talk. I’ll go get hot water to make you some tea," Cheng’s mother said as she walked out, not forgetting to close the door behind her.
"Are you okay?" Cheng Yue asked Wu Mangmang.
"I’m sorry, did I scare you yesterday?" Wu Mangmang replied.
Cheng Yue wasn’t scared, but he was certainly startled. He had imagined countless scenarios of reuniting with Wu Mangmang.
She might greet him politely, treat him coldly, ignore him entirely, or even rush over to punch and kick him. But Cheng Yue had never expected Wu Mangmang’s reaction to be so intense when she saw him.
Thinking back, Cheng Yue felt both heartache and joy.
Heartache because he had hurt Mangmang so deeply, and joy because she still remembered him—perhaps even still loved him.
Cheng Yue had spent six years with Wu Mangmang, and he knew exactly how sincere and passionate her love for him had been. That was why he had mustered the courage to leave her, because he believed they would eventually be together.
Cheng Yue gently placed his uninjured right hand over Wu Mangmang’s. "Mangmang, I’m back. This time, I’ll never leave again."
Wu Mangmang looked at Cheng Yue’s right hand and said nothing.
On his hand were faint scars left from an injury years ago—still visible, though they had faded with time."I regretted it the moment I stepped out of the airport in America, Mangmang," Cheng Yue said.
He regretted it to the point of madness, fearing he had hurt Wu Mangmang too deeply, yet at the time he didn't even have the money to buy a return ticket.
Or perhaps he also knew that even if he went back, it would be futile—there were still insurmountable obstacles between him and Wu Mangmang's future.
"I called you, but you didn't answer. I wrote you many emails, and you didn't reply. I left you messages on QQ, and you didn't respond. I knew you were truly angry with me. I'm sorry, Mangmang," Cheng Yue said.
Wu Mangmang looked back at Cheng Yue. She hadn't received those calls, those emails, or those messages because she had already broken down at the time. Later, she had sealed away those memories like a movie stored on a disc.
"Can you still forgive me, Mangmang?" Cheng Yue gently stroked the back of Wu Mangmang's hand. There was no ring on her finger, nor any ring mark. "Mangmang, can you allow me to continue fulfilling the promises I once made to you?"
Wu Mangmang looked at Cheng Yue. This was the person she had once loved most deeply, the one she had always kept hidden in her heart. He was still perfect.
And as long as he spoke, she believed his words once again.
Because he was Cheng Yue! The person she had given her heart to could never be anything less.
Cheng Yue didn't wait for Wu Mangmang's answer. After nine years, he had become a mature man. Before Wu Mangmang could respond, he had to offer enough assurance.
"All these years, I've never been with any other woman. In my heart, there has only ever been you, only you and our future," Cheng Yue said.
He used all his strength to grip Wu Mangmang's hand with his right hand, yet the force was still very gentle.
Wu Mangmang's tears almost burned the back of her own hand. "I'm not worthy of you," she said softly, withdrawing her hand from Cheng Yue's grasp.
Cheng Yue smiled again, this time with a smile uglier than a cry. "I know that just returning like this, you definitely won't forgive me. But I will make you see my determination, Mangmang."
"You have never been unworthy of me. I've always been the one thanking fate for letting me meet you and for generously allowing me to receive your love," Cheng Yue said.
Wu Mangmang stood up in a fluster. "I'm sorry, I didn't come here to hear this. I came to thank you for saving me yesterday. I already have a boyfriend now, and we're doing well."
Cheng Yue didn't speak, only watched as Wu Mangmang turned and left.
As soon as Wu Mangmang opened the door, she saw Cheng Yue's mother, who hadn't had time to avoid her.
Cheng's mother wore an expression of both awkwardness and concern. She followed Wu Mangmang and said, "Mangmang, can we talk?"
Five minutes later, Wu Mangmang and Cheng's mother were sitting in the hospital garden.
"It's been so many years, and you've grown even more beautiful," Cheng Huiyun said.
If you're observant, you might have noticed that Cheng Yue takes his mother's surname. His father abandoned his mother before he was born, and Cheng Yue was raised single-handedly by his mother. For his sake, Cheng Huiyun never considered remarrying.
"Thank you," Wu Mangmang replied, unsure how else to respond to Cheng Huiyun.
"I saw your boyfriend. He seems like an excellent person," Cheng Huiyun added.
Wu Mangmang said nothing more.Cheng Huiyun continued, "Cheng Yue has always kept his feelings deeply hidden. As his mother, I want to speak the words he cannot bring himself to say." Mrs. Cheng got straight to the point.
Wu Mangmang nodded.
"When Cheng Yue left you back then, it was because I begged him to. I, as his mother, threatened him with a knife to my neck to make him leave." Cheng Huiyun said.
"As a mother, my heart ached for him—enduring the insults from your parents for your sake, standing outside your house for a full day and night, getting caught in a heavy rain and contracting pneumonia. I pleaded with him so much, but he refused to leave. He said he had made a promise to you. He said you were the most beautiful, most delicate porcelain in this world, that you would shatter at the slightest touch, and he feared that if he lost you, he could never piece you back together."
Tears immediately streamed down Wu Mangmang's face.
During the fiery days of their passionate love, Cheng Yue had said those very words to her. At the time, she had laughed and told him not to worry, that as long as he was there, she wouldn't break.
She had said she wasn't that fragile, and jokingly added that if he was so afraid, she would major in porcelain restoration when she went to university.
The past played out vividly before her eyes. Words that were once so sweet now struck her ears with a painful shock.
"I couldn't bear to watch my proud son live like that. I couldn't bear to see him abandon his own dreams. As long as you were by his side, he would never be able to soar." Cheng Huiyun said.
She grew somewhat emotional, reaching up to wipe her tears. Silently, Wu Mangmang handed her a handkerchief.
"Thank you." Cheng Huiyun dabbed at her eyes. "But Mangmang, I regret it. I am filled with endless regret now."
Wu Mangmang didn't understand Cheng Huiyun's regret, but she had grown up, matured enough to comprehend the choice Cheng Huiyun had made back then.
"Auntie, please don't be sad. I can understand what you were thinking at the time." Wu Mangmang gently squeezed Cheng Huiyun's hand.
"You don't understand." Cheng Huiyun shook her head. "From the day Cheng Yue left you, he has never been happy again. You probably don't know this, but he returned once before he graduated from university. He had received a very good job offer from a company in the U.S., and he wanted to come back to propose to you."
"I was genuinely happy for both of you. But that day, Cheng Yue went to find you full of excitement and came home deeply saddened. He said you had a new boyfriend, that your relationship was very good. He also said he wasn't worthy of you, no wonder you had never responded to any of his messages."
Wu Mangmang listened quietly. During university, she had indeed dated a few boyfriends. She just hadn't expected Cheng Yue to have returned.
"What happened after that?" Wu Mangmang asked.
Did Cheng Yue give up after that?
Cheng Huiyun said, "After that? The very next day, Cheng Yue was in a car accident."
Wu Mangmang's eyes widened in shock.
"He was in a coma for over two months. After waking up, he underwent three years of rehabilitation before he could speak, walk, and live normally as he does now. During those incredibly difficult days, he never gave up. Even though he never said anything, I knew it was all for you. He always kept your photo in his wallet. Every time the pain made him want to give up, he would take out your picture and trace his fingers over it.""I hated you to the core back then, yet I was also grateful to you. Without you, Cheng Yue would never have stood up again." Cheng Huiyun's tears flowed ceaselessly.
"He wouldn't let me go find you. He said if you saw him in that state, you would surely pity him and return to his side, but he didn't want that. Later, Cheng Yue finally recovered. He returned to the United States to complete his studies, and now he has his own career. So he has come back." Cheng Huiyun looked into Wu Mangmang's eyes and said, "Mangmang, could you give Cheng Yue another chance?"
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