A Miao's smile instantly disappeared. Le Yi got up while shaking his head. "Have you been here for long?"
Le Yi meant that he must have heard most of their conversation.
"I just got here," Shen Xinglan shamelessly lied. He then looked coldly at A Miao. "You better recover as soon as possible. Otherwise, don't dream of going to classes in the second half of the year."
A Miao stared at him and suddenly smiled. "I'm not in a hurry then. Worse comes to worst, I'll just attend next year."
What she did not know was that her smile earlier had stupefied Shen Xinglan. It was as if the soft and gentle little girl in his memories was lying on his body, saying,
"Brother Lan, it'll stop hurting after I blow on it…"
Le Yi called him. "Shen?"
"I'm fine." Shen Xinglan sat down on the sofa. "How soon can her hands recover?"
"One and a half month if she obediently follows the treatment," Le Yi said disapprovingly. "Speaking as her doctor, I recommend that she doesn't overexert herself in these two months."
Shen Xinglan turned to look at A Miao as if he had not heard Le Yi. "Did you hear him? One and a half month."
"Hehe, I'm not deaf. Of course I can hear him." A Miao stared at him mockingly. "You really played yourself this time. Look, this is your karma!"
Le Yi crossed his arms and watched in amusement as they bickered like children. When he happened to glance at the door, he placed a finger on his lips.
"A Miao, I'm here to see you!" Xia Wan pushed the door open and entered the room before her voice had even faded. Her heart jumped with joy when she saw Shen Xinglan.
She knew that she would meet him if she came here, but she did not expect her prediction to come true.
"You're here too, Mr. Shen!" Xia Wan placed the vacuum flask on the table. Without even looking at A Miao, she turned to greet Shen Xinglan who was sitting on the sofa.
Looking as if he was watching a good show, Le Yi smiled as he moved aside to make space for Xia Wan. "Please sit, Ms. Xia!" He then walked to the edge of the bed to pick up the vacuum flask. A Miao noticed he was frowning.
"Did she poison the food?" she asked earnestly.
"It's not that bad." Le Yi chuckled. "She just put too much pepper in this. I nearly sneezed just from smelling this."
Xia Wan, who had focused her attention on Shen Xinglan all along, walked over in a panic after hearing Le Yi's words. "How did that happen? It was Auntie Li who prepared the porridge. I already told her that it's for a patient…"
"When you speak to her, Xia Mei is with you, isn't she?" A Miao knew it could not be Xia Wan because the latter was trying to establish her presence in front of Shen Xinglan. Xia Wan would not embarrass herself. It must be Xia Mei's handiwork.
Xia Wan wore an awkward smile. "I'm sorry. Xia Mei is too naughty."
A Miao said nothing. It was Le Yi who smiled and said, "It's fine. I'll go and prepare something."
"Don't go through some much trouble. I'll just eat the hospital's food." A Miao stopped him. She quite enjoyed the hospital's food.
Le Yi shook his head. "No problem. I need to eat anyway."
"Hang on." Shen Xinglan stood up and looked at A Miao with a complicated expression. "Recover as soon as possible." Then, he followed Le Yi out of the room.
Seeing this, Xia Wan tried to go after them but she lost sight of them as soon as she stepped out. She had no choice but to return to the room.
"A Miao, how long did the doctor say you'll need to stay?" She picked up an apple and pretentiously began to cut it for A Miao. "Mr. Shen is quite a good person. He even showed concern for you earlier even though you're the careless one and this has nothing to do with him."
A Miao's expression was hidden behind a pair of sunglasses. But seeing as she did not reply, Xia Wan immediately added, "Whatever it is, he has taken responsibility for your accident. If it's someone else, they might have just left."
"Hehe." A Miao tugged the corners of her mouth. "That psycho is just worried that if I don't recover, I won't be able to steal your family's item!"
Xia Wan put down the apple. "Anyway, why did Shen Xinglan take you away that day?"
"How would I know?" A Miao adjusted her position so she would lean more comfortably against the bed frame.
"Then what did he talk to you about?" Xia Wan refused to give up. "Did… Did he mention my name?"
A Miao looked at her in alarm. Just how obsessed was this woman?
"He didn't?" Xia Wan's smile became unnatural.
"Yes, he did!" A Miao gave a small nod. "He asked me what's going on between you and Bai Youran."
"Since you like him so much, I'll give you a hand. That psycho, on the other hand…" A Miao thought. "He should just marry Xia Wan. Then, the Xia family will naturally give him whatever he wants."
"Really?" Xia Wan tried to grab A Miao's hands. Had A Miao been just a little slower in dodging her, her wounds would definitely reopen.
Xia Wan immediately stood up. "Sorry! I'm sorry that I got overexcited. Are you okay?"
A Miao placed her heavily-bandaged hands aside. "I'm fine. But please don't move anymore."
"Yes, yes. I won't move anymore." Xia Wan sat back down. "Then… How did you answer him?"
"I just told him the truth!" A Miao smiled when she saw the change in Xia Wan's expression. "Don't worry. I told him that Bai Youran is my fiance."
Xia Wan instantly smiled. "Then? What did he say next?"
A Miao shook her head. "Nothing. He made me leave afterward."
"What does he mean by this…" Xia Wan lowered her head, murmuring to herself.
"I think he's just shy," A Miao said, continuing to prod her. "I suspect he's just too shy to ask you in person."
Xia Wan's eyes gleamed. "That's right! No wonder he doesn't dare to look at me earlier!"
A Miao really wanted to tell Xia Wan that the psycho simply could not be bothered to look at her.
"You're not joking, are you?" Xia Wan suddenly asked. She was not an idiot. Shen Xinglan's attitude toward her had always been cold. Why would he suddenly ask a question like this?
"What good does it serve me to lie?" A Miao snorted. "I'd rather you two have nothing to do with each other. That way, I won't have to marry Bai Youran in your stead."
Momentarily dumbfounded, Xia Wan quickly fixed her expression. "Don't joke around. What do you mean, marrying in my stead? You're the one who's supposed to get married in the first place!" She stood up. "I have to go since it's getting late. I'll come and visit you again tomorrow."
A Miao smiled faintly at her. "Shen Xinglan won't be coming tomorrow."
"What are you saying? How can you stay here without anyone looking after you?" Xia Wan feigned bashfulness and glared at her. "Don't worry. I'll bring you something delicious tomorrow."
Shortly after she left, the caretaker came in with a tray.
"Miss A Miao, Dr. Le is the one who prepared all these dishes today. It smells really fragrant. Hurry up and have a taste!" The caretaker was a woman in her fifties. She diligently helped A Miao straighten the bed and lifted the lunchbox up to feed her.
"Did he really cook this?" A Miao was in disbelief after taking a bite. This was too delicious for words.
The caretaker replied in a mysterious voice, "You must not be aware of this. Dr. Le is such a mystery. He doesn't talk to people and stays inside his office all day. He does even his cooking inside his office."
"Your hospital management is so humane." A Miao swallowed a piece of braised rib.
"Dr. Le is the only one." The care worker's eyes turned lively. "He came here for you. Our dean is talking to him all smiles. That's why…"
In other words, she was the amazing one.
Suddenly, A Miao found it hard to swallow the food in her mouth. Evidently, it was Shen Xinglan who purposefully summoned Le Yi here to treat her. She found it ridiculous when she thought of Shen Xinglan's attitude toward her this morning. What right did he have to treat her that way?
What right did they have to decide everything? What right did they have to cause her injuries just because they were unhappy with her…
"I'm full. I don't want to eat anymore." She pushed the lunchbox aside and leaned backward to lie down. "I'm going to take a nap."
The care worker dared not question her, thinking that she had misspoken, and left after cleaning up. When Le Yi came to change her bandages in the afternoon, he found that her bandages were unwrapped until they were a mess.
"Did you touch your wound?"
"No." A Miao shook her head. "I think I accidentally tugged at it while sleeping."
Le Yi rebandaged her hands while frowning. "Please be more careful. Don't tug at it anymore or you won't recover."
However, he once again found her bandages to be in a complete mess when he tried to change them the next day. He said nothing because of Xia Wan's presence and merely glanced at A Miao before taking his leave.
"You don't have to wait any longer. I've already told you that Shen Xinglan won't be coming today." A Miao was in no mood to see any of the Xia family members, especially the heavily perfumed Xia Wan. The smell made her uncomfortable.
"I'll accompany you for a little longer." Xia Wan refused to give up. She waited for another hour before finally leaving in anger.
Unexpectedly, Shen Xinglan and Le Yi showed up minutes after she left.
"Do you need something from me?" A Miao glanced at them. "I'm about to sleep."
Shen Xinglan's beautiful eyes carried a piercing coldness. "I've told you that our deal is a fair one. Since we both need something from each other, you best not get up to your schemes behind my back." He stared straight at A Miao. "In my eyes, you're no more than a clown."
A Miao's expression was deadly cold. She buried her head inside the covers without looking or even speaking to him.
Le Yi, who stood on the sidelines, shook his head. He thought that if this girl removed her sunglasses and stared at Shen Xinglan for a bit longer, Shen Xinglan's temper might just quell...
"I only need her hands to recover. You can do as you see fit." Once he finished speaking, Shen Xinglan stepped out of the room with large strides. Le Yi followed after him. The two of them only began talking after they walked far away from the room.
"Didn't you believe that she's Shanshan?" Le Yi looked at Shen Xinglan with an amused smile. "Aren't you afraid of scaring her with how fierce you looked?"
Shen Xinglan scoffed. "You underestimated her. That woman is an unkillable cockroach. She's incredibly resilient." He paused for a moment before adding, "It's not that I believe she's Shanshan. It's a suspicion, that's all."
After all, whether in terms of appearance or experience, A Miao was the one that most closely resembled Shanshan of all the people he had met over the years.
"Then I'll use the gentlest method!" Le Yi was beaming but his smile carried an inexplicable coldness.
In the next few days, A Miao realized that she would sleep very soundly. Moreover, she would be in a state of perpetual drowsiness. Not even Xia Wan could rouse A Miao from sleep when she visited. After remaining in this state for a week, she took advantage of a moment of clarity to question Le Yi.
"What did you do to me?"
Le Yi was still wearing that faint smile. "Nothing much. I'm just helping you recover in an ordinary manner."
"You dare drug me!" This answer was well within A Miao's expectations but her heart nevertheless sank when she heard it from Le Yi.
"Shen needs your hands to recover and you also have a deal with him. It's only right for you to go along with the treatment." Le Yi looked at her gently. "You behaved very well in the beginning! Otherwise, I wouldn't have made you sleep all day and obediently heal."
A Miao looked at the man in front of her in disappointment. She had made a mistake...
Before he was a doctor, Le Yi was first and foremost Shen Xinglan's friend. Moreover, he came here because Shen Xinglan wanted to heal her hands... "I understand." A Miao pushed aside the bowl of soup in front of her without any expression. "Don't worry, I'll play along. You're right. This is a deal that I should complete." Le Yi chuckled, his expression ever attentive and gentle. A Miao smirked in self-mockery. She was the foolish one here. How could she think that this man was a good person? No, the man was not a bad person. They merely had different stances. "Why didn't you finish the soup?" Le Yi pushed the bowl in front of her again. "This is good for your recovery. It's much better than the hospital food." A Miao once again scolded herself in her mind. She thought that he was being kind when he prepared all those meals for her. She had been so grateful and treated him as a friend. Hehe, she was simply t
There was no way that she could run. Never mind that she had so little money on her or that she did not have her passport, she knew the casino town was dangerous just from the scene she saw earlier. Dejected, she hid in a corner of the room. She felt like crying but no tears came. "Mom…" she cried out with much difficulty. Suddenly, she found herself truly despising people of the Xia family. She did not know when her tears began to flow. She sobbed and whimpered quietly until her voice turned smaller and smaller. She had fallen asleep with her body curled up. She woke up to the sound of someone knocking on her door. Bai Youran sent someone to deliver a dress. She gave it no more than a glance before throwing it on the floor. Later on, Bai Youran came over and saw that she was not wearing the dress. "What do you mean by this?" He flew into a rage. "Put on that dress!" The dress was so deeply cut in the front that she wo
She was wearing a peaked cap, a men's T-shirt and jeans, and even her shoes were men's. If Shen Xinglan hadn't seen her iconic dull eyes, he would consider her a man from nowhere. "Don't be angry. You don't want to eat with a bald woman, do you?" A Miao sat down. "At least I'm not as conspicuous as I dress up as a man." Shen Xinglan pursed his lips, staring at the woman opposite him, and said, "I don't mind. Go back and change your clothes." "You are supposed to become a laughing stock. If you dress like this, it will go easy on you." "Since I have come, can I go back and change them after we finish eating?" A Miao said, grinding her teeth. "Once I come back to eat alone later and tell someone something that I should not say, it won't be good, right?" Shen Xinglan sneered, picked up the coffee and said, "Follow Shen I after you change your clothes." Seeing A Miao eating attentive
Shen I and Shen II wiped their foreheads. They felt wet with cold sweat. "Where is the last person who threatened our Boss? No... The last person who threatened our Boss is A Miao, who is obviously still alive." "Mr... Mr. Shen..." The waiter was terrified and said in a shaking voice, "Mr. Shen, I know nothing. That's what our boss told me." Shen I despised him and said, "Loser." The waiter glared at him. "We are all employees. Why are you so arrogant?" "Show me the way." Shen Xinglan stood up and his expression seemed calm. However, everyone who was familiar with him knew that he was about to lose temper. In He Shishi's private VIP room, A Miao changed back to men's clothing. She put on makeup and her eyes turned into dull eyes again, which shocked He Shishi's subordinates. "Is she a man or a woman?" "Do you really want to do this?" A Miao asked her indef
When she entered the living room, A Miao realized that it was not the right time to come back. "You still know you should come back!" Xia Mei was going to yell at A Miao when she saw a few people standing behind A Miao. She was stunned, and Xia Wan pushed her away before she came to her senses. "Mr. Shen!" Xia Wan shouted in surprise. When her gaze fell on A Miao, she turned her words into a question, "What are you doing with Mr. Shen?" No one answered her. A Miao didn't know how to answer her, while Shen Xinglan did not care to answer. "Hey, I didn't lie to you!" Bai Youran walked out from behind. "I told you that she ran away with a man, but you don't believe me!" Xia Mei immediately yelled as well, "I am going to tell Grandpa. The Bai family will not want a woman like you." "Xia Mei!" Xia Wan hurriedly stopped her. "Let her talk. Maybe there is a misundersta
A Miao, like magic, threw a few photos on Shen Xinglan's office table from nowhere and then ran out at a high speed when Shen I was stunned. "Boss?" Shen II reacted and quickly turned to look at Shen Xinglan. The latter was staring at the photo and his eyes grew darker and darker. Shen I peeped at him and then was stunned... "Isn't this the jade pendant with a bronze mirror that Boss wants? The photographer was obviously very careful to take a few shots from all angles. There is no problem except for the poor resolution." "Tell the security guard to stop her." Shen Xinglan stood up, giving off an aura of "keep away from me or I will kill you." But before the security guard found her, A Miao had been stopped. "Why are you here?" Xia Wan looked at A Miao with a shocked look. A Miao felt that she was too unlucky. "Why is this woman here too?" "I just swing by here,&q
Receiving this news, the whole Xia family was so ecstatic that the unpleasantness caused by A Miao was gone. Xia Yongqiang was talking to his family doctor when he heard this. He was supposed to have the physical examination last month. However, the doctor had been away, thus he had to reschedule the medical examination to this month. When Xia Wan came in and told him the news, he forgot to be angry with the doctor anymore. He immediately hung up the phone and asked Xia Wan about it. "Did he personally invite you?" "It was from his subordinate. I saw the man last time. He is always with Shen Xinglan." Xia Wan excitedly showed the invitation to Xia Yongqiang. "Shen Xinglan invites me to be his prom date." Xia Yongqiang took it over to have a look, "A birthday party? I didn't see it in the news..." "What do you mean, Grandpa?" Xia Wan's smile froze. "Is the invitation a fake?" "L
The invitation that the Bai family received clearly indicated his and A Miao's name. Furthermore, it was explicitly written that the two of them must attend together or none could enter. When he first saw the invitation, he nearly tore it apart. It was his grandmother who gave him a scolding. "Shen Xinglan has invited all the large families of the upper class. You're not going? Aren't you clearly telling people that our family is unhappy with him?" Naturally, A Miao was not afraid of his threat. She was about to throw him out when she heard Bai Youran say, "Your grandfather places great importance on this banquet. If you don't want him to beat you up, you better cooperate with me. Otherwise, neither of us will live well tonight." "Must I go?" A Miao noticed that something was off. "Does… Does this mean that you can't go if I don't?" Bai Youran waved his hand impatiently. "Why do you care so much?