Shen Yue: "If it were me, of course not."
"Me neither," Jiang Xiao said.
"Then what are you planning?" Shen Yue had always thought Jiang Xiao's talk of 'playing around' was a joke, but now it seemed real. "You're not seriously going to toy with him, are you?" she asked in surprise.
"What's wrong with that?" Jiang Xiao smirked. "He toyed with me. Can't I toy with him?"
"You sure can. More than enough." Shen Yue remembered the past clearly. Cheng Yuan, that jerk, had done so many things that broke Jiang Xiao's heart. Jiang Xiao should repay him in kind. "Sis, go ahead and play with fire. If anything happens, I've got your back."
Jiang Xiao smiled. "Yue Yue, thank you."
Shen Yue didn't like hearing that. "Say thank you again, and I'll ignore you."
"Fine, I won't." Jiang Xiao coaxed.
Shen Yue said, "I think that punishment isn't enough. Let me think of what to do next."
While the two were scheming about what to do to Cheng Yuan next, at the hospital, Zhou Jin glared at Cheng Yuan's pale face and scolded, "Did you hit your head? Walking home in that storm? A two-hour walk—are you insane?"
"And a Force 8 gale! The weather service issued warnings. I heard someone actually got killed by falling debris."
"What the hell are you trying to do?"
Zhou Jin was furious.
Cheng Yuan said, "I'm fine, aren't I?"
"You call this fine?" Zhou Jin's eyes bulged. "Your face is whiter than a ghost. All your vitals are off. The doctor said if you'd come a few hours later, you'd be in respiratory arrest and die. A Yuan, can you stop messing around?"
"I'm not messing around," Cheng Yuan said. "It's not as serious as the doctor says. I can leave after the IV drip."
Just then, a nurse came in. Hearing this, she frowned and said, "How is it not serious? You almost died. Even after the drip, you can't leave. You need to be hospitalized for a few days of observation. Also, there's a shadow on your lung that needs to be cleared up. In short, you must listen and stay."
Cheng Yuan: "..."
Zhou Jin waited until the nurse left before speaking again. "What was this stunt for this time?"
"Nothing." Cheng Yuan didn't want to talk.
"Even if you don't say, I know." Zhou Jin said, "It's definitely because of Jiang Xiao. A Yuan, Jiang Xiao came back this time not to make up with you—she's here to take your life. Can't we just ignore her?"
"No." At the mention of Jiang Xiao, a spark lit up Cheng Yuan's eyes. "Even if she wants my life, I'll give it."
"There are so many women in the world. Why do you have to like her? Why not someone else?"
"Because I don't want anyone but her."
"..."
Zhou Jin was so angry he wanted to hit someone.
Xu Cong also heard about Cheng Yuan's hospitalization and rushed over. "How is he?"
Zhou Jin interjected, "He didn't die this time, but he will next time. And if not next time, the time after. He's not going to end well."
"..." Xu Cong glared at Zhou Jin. "What kind of nonsense are you spouting?"
"That's not nonsense. It's the truth." Zhou Jin handed Xu Cong the medical report. "From the outside in, from head to toe, there's not a single part of him that's fine. Read it yourself if you don't believe me."
Xu Cong read through the results carefully. It was just as Zhou Jin had said—everything was wrong.
His gastric bleeding still persisted.
His heart rate was abnormal.
Lung infection.
Old injuries to his knees.
After reading, Xu Cong scratched his head. "A Yuan, can you stop causing trouble?"
Cheng Yuan rolled his eyes. "I'm not causing trouble."
"Then can you stop chasing after Jiang Xiao?" Xu Cong said. "Just let yourself go."
Cheng Yuan said firmly, "No. I'll never let go in this lifetime."
He always spoke weakly, as if he might collapse at any moment, but when he said this, his voice was unusually strong, and his eyes were resolute.
He wanted Jiang Xiao, and no one could stop him.
*
Cheng Yuan forcibly left the hospital on the seventh day.
Shen Yue had intended to tell Jiang Xiao that Cheng Yuan was discharged, but when she called, she heard Cheng Yuan's voice on the other end.
At that moment, he was at Jiang Xiao's place.
He had forced his way in.
Jiang Xiao said, "You're not welcome here. Please leave."
"Xiao Xiao, it's been seven days," Cheng Yuan said. "We haven't seen each other for seven days."
Even if it had been seven years, Jiang Xiao wouldn't have felt a thing.
"So what?"