Hearing his calm yet deep voice, Su Yiheng's anger and frustration instantly dissipated. Even someone as experienced as her, who had seen countless storms in the entertainment industry, was on the verge of breaking down.
She said, "How could you do this to me, Brother Shenyan, how could you do this?"
"Don't you remember how good you were to me? When we were little, we played in the snow outside in winter. Yichen and the others were only thinking about themselves, but you noticed that my shoes were soaked and ran over to get me new shoes."
Although this was a small matter, it was like a seed planted in Su Yiheng's heart.
Everyone says Huo Shenyan is cold and heartless, but she feels that he must have a warm heart.
She had always believed that she would be the unique one in his world.
When the world is cold, only she is the most gentle.
But in the end, he gave his utmost tenderness to someone else, and she became just another ordinary member of his cold world. How could Su Yiheng be willing to accept this?
The man she had loved for so many years was snatched away by a woman she had only known for a few days.
When Su Yiheng first heard the news of their whirlwind marriage, she locked herself in her room for three days and three nights. She just lay in bed the whole time, closing her eyes whenever she got too tired. If she was awake, she would open her eyes and look around the room.
Only one thought remained in his mind: why not her?
She felt that there was no one in the world who loved Huo Shenyan more than she did.
From the time she was a young girl, she had kept him in her heart and carefully cherished him.
"Yiheng." Huo Shenyan called her name, his voice not too cold. He said, "This time, I really taught you a lesson."
He openly admitted that the reason he prevented Su Jingxuan from joining the company was indeed because of Su Yiheng.
Su Yiheng had already suspected something in her heart, but hearing him say it aloud made her feel like she was about to collapse. Her heart ached so much that she wished she could die immediately. She dug her hand into her palm, and her well-maintained and exquisitely manicured nails throbbed with pain.
She gave a chilling laugh, her voice filled with sorrow: "Don't you think you've been too cruel to me?"
“I told you long ago, don’t cause any more trouble for Jingxi. Yes, you didn’t cause her any trouble, but you investigated her and even went after the people around her. You think I’m cruel to you, but when you drove a girl to the brink, did you ever think about your own cruelty? Don’t other people’s pain count as pain, and is only your pain real?”
"So this is just a small lesson."
Now that Huo Shenyan has already done such a thing, he's no longer afraid of further severing ties with the Su family. Are the elders truly unaware of all the things Su Yiheng has done?
The elders of the Su family have proposed marriage between the two families more than once.
Not content with the protection they received from Old Master Huo, they now want Su Yiheng to marry Huo Shenyan, thus binding the Su and Huo families together completely.
Before meeting Ni Jingxi, Huo Shenyan had already sensed the Su family's intentions.
Actually, he had already begun to distance himself from Su Yiheng at that time. He didn't want to give her any illusions, and he didn't care at all about the so-called family marriage.
If he gets married one day, it must be because he has found the person he loves.
Su Yiheng was trembling so much that she couldn't speak. Tears streamed down her face. Finally, she managed to say, "Don't you have even a tiny... tiny bit of affection for me?"
When Huo Shenyan heard this, his fingers paused slightly, and he put the phone back to his ear. He said, "Yiheng, I have never had any romantic feelings for you."
He remained silent for a few seconds.
“If Jingxi’s shoes get wet, I will carry her home on my back, instead of just going back to get her shoes.”
Knowing that it's too intimate for a boy to carry a girl on his back, he would run back to get her shoes instead of carrying her on his back.
Even when he was young and just beginning to experience romantic feelings, he never developed any feelings for her.
*
Ni Jingxi had already gotten home from get off work. She knew Huo Shenyan had a dinner party to attend tonight, and she was currently scrolling through Weibo on her tablet. It has to be said, netizens these days really are all Sherlock Holmes.
Sure enough, photos of the banquet's interior were leaked shortly afterward.
There are also photos of Huo Shenyan posing with people. He stands in the crowd, wearing a dark blue striped three-piece suit, looking tall, elegant, and like a gentleman.
The crowd below erupted in cheers.
Ni Jingxi clicked save, intending to send it to her grandmother the next morning.
The elderly woman now has WeChat, although she's not very proficient at using it yet, but her caregiver there helps her. Grandma also sends her voice messages and such.
She always praised Huo Shenyan for his handsome appearance and for being such a good clothes hanger.
Anyway, whenever the two of them went to see the old lady together, she would always stare at Huo Shenyan from left to right, with an expression that showed she could never get enough of looking at him.
To be honest, even Ni Jingxi, who has been beautiful since she was a child, is a little jealous.
After all, this was the first time she had met a rival in the beauty contest.
As Ni Jingxi continued scrolling through Weibo, her phone, which was on the bedside table, rang. She reached for it and picked it up. She glanced at the screen; it was a landline number. She then answered the call.
"Are you Ms. Ni Jingxi, the person monitoring Ms. Sang Huanian?"
Ni Jingxi: "Yes, that's me."
She had never received a call like this in the middle of the night before, and a sense of unease welled up inside her.
It wasn't until the other party said, "Sang Huanian collapsed at the nursing home and was brought to our hospital, so please come over immediately."
Grandma fainted...
Ni Jingxi almost gasped for breath. After clearly hearing the hospital's name, she hung up the phone and got out of bed.
She put on all her clothes in almost a minute.
When she was about to leave, she hurriedly opened the safe and took a card with her.
After Ni Jingxi drove out, the car sped away like an arrow as soon as it left the residential area. She knew that she couldn't panic or act rashly at this moment.
But I, who am usually so calm, am now completely confused.
She was so scared.
...
When she arrived at the hospital, she learned from the nurses that her grandmother had already been taken to the operating room for surgery. By the time she reached the operating room door, the nursing home director had already arrived.
“Ms. Ni, Grandma Sang was perfectly fine all evening. She collapsed around 9 p.m., just before lights out. As soon as she lost consciousness, our nursing home staff immediately called for an ambulance and brought her here.”
Even though he knew that Ni Jingxi was in a state of utter confusion, he still explained the situation in detail out of a sense of responsibility to the family.
Ni Jingxi leaned against the wall and finally couldn't help but speak up: "Please let me have some peace and quiet."
She took a deep breath, finally managing to hold back the stinging in her eyes.
...
Tang Mian received the news a little later. Huo Shenyan was still inside the banquet at that time, but he didn't dare to waste a second and immediately went to Huo Shenyan's side and whispered a few words.
Huo Shenyan stood up without hesitation. He found the person in charge of the event, said a few words of apology, and immediately left.
The car was already waiting at the hotel entrance. Huo Shenyan hurriedly went out, without even having time to put on his coat.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Tang Mian glanced back and said, "Mr. Huo, don't worry, the old lady will definitely be blessed."
Traffic had thinned out considerably by this time, and the driver was so familiar with Shanghai's roads that they arrived at the hospital in just half an hour.
When he walked to the corridor outside the operating room, he saw Ni Jingxi standing facing the wall with her forehead against it.
Her slender figure seemed so lonely and isolated.
"Stars," Huo Shenyan called softly.
Ni Jingxi turned around as if she had been saved, tears welling up in her eyes the moment she saw him. Huo Shenyan strode over and hugged her, "Don't be afraid, I'm here."
"Be careful what you say," she whispered to him.
After a long silence, Ni Jingxi managed to squeeze out a sentence: "My grandmother has fallen into a coma. What should I do?"
Even though Ni Jingxi was never superstitious, she had to admit that she had very few relatives. Her grandparents had already passed away when she was born, and her maternal grandfather had passed away later.
When she was ten years old, her mother left her.
After her father disappeared, the only person in the world with whom she was connected by blood was her maternal grandmother.
How could she not be afraid?
"I'm here." Huo Shenyan gently stroked her back, as if he felt extremely sorry for her. His voice was very soft, yet so firm, close to her ear: "I've always been here. I won't leave."
Even long afterward, when she recalled that day, she truly believed that she had embraced her entire world.
Author's Note: Shenyan-gege is such a cold guy! Su Yiheng is looking for sweet moments in her daily life...
As a result, he replaced them all with knives.
Chapter 51
Grandma's surgery ended around 1 a.m., but because she needed to be admitted to the intensive care unit, Ni Jingxi and Huo Shenyan couldn't see her at all.
The two sat on chairs in the corridor, and Ni Jingxi reached out and rubbed her cheek.
"You should go back and rest first; you have a lot of work to do tomorrow."
Ni Jingxi knew that Huo Shenyan had been particularly busy these past few days. Before, it was considered early for him to come home at 11 p.m., and sometimes he would quietly come in when she was already asleep at 1 or 2 a.m.
Huo Shenyan frowned: "At a time like this, you want me to leave you here and go home alone?"
At this moment, the doctor came out, saw the two of them, and asked, "Are you the old lady's family members?"
Ni Jingxi immediately stood up from the stool: "I am her granddaughter and also her guardian."
The doctor nodded: "So far, the surgery went smoothly, but the patient will need to be observed in the intensive care unit for the next 24 hours. If the family wants to see the patient, they will have to wait until the patient wakes up."
"Thank you, doctor, thank you." Ni Jingxi said thank you several times.
The doctor looked at her for a few moments before finally saying, "But the family also needs to be mentally prepared."
Ni Jingxi's smile, which had just returned, suddenly froze before it even reached her eyebrows. Her eyes widened as she stared at the doctor in front of her: "What does this mean?"
Seeing her expression, the doctor knew she must have a very close relationship with the old lady, and his tone softened: "The old lady is quite old, and has had difficulty walking for many years, her physical functions have declined significantly..."
As Ni Jingxi listened to the doctor's words, her thoughts, which had finally calmed down, began to churn again.
Birth, aging, sickness, and death.
She knew the doctor was simply trying to tell her that no one can escape this fair yet cruel law of nature, and that everyone will face death one day.
But she wasn't prepared.
She didn't.