chapter 1
When I received the hospital’s diagnosis report, the first thing I did was call He Chenyi.
Again and again, no one answered.
The doctor’s words still echoed in my ears, “Leukemia. You should be hospitalized immediately. Cooperate actively with the treatment, there’s still hope…”
Leaning back against the chair, I showed no expression: “If I don’t get treated, how long do I have?”
“You’re still so young, why not get treated…”
“How long?”
The doctor looked at me as if I were crazy. After a long pause, he finally said, “At most… three months.”
I gave a grateful smile, “Thank you.”
Three months.
That’s enough.
Just as I walked out of the hospital, my phone rang.
The caller ID said “Ah Chen,” but when I answered, it wasn’t He Chenyi’s voice: “Sister-in-law, Brother Yi is drunk, please come quickly!”
He Chenyi drank?
My heart tightened instantly: “How could you let him drink?!”
It could be fatal!
Xiao Dong stammered, unable to explain, but through the noise I heard a woman’s voice.
Jiang Yuhe.
He Chenyi’s white moonlight.
I almost forgot-today was the day Jiang Yuhe returned to the country.
–
The private room was lively.
A crowd gathered, craning their necks, heads huddled together, egging them on.
He Chenyi, as the main character, was tilting his head back, arms entwined with Jiang Yuhe’s, drinking a cross-cupped toast.
That expression-one of satisfaction I’d never seen before.
Amid the cheers, I pushed the door open and entered.
Only Xiao Dong called out “Sister-in-law,” while the others looked at me with eyes full of curiosity and amusement.
Funny, after all these years by He Chenyi’s side, I’d never truly fit into his circle of friends.
It seemed that in their eyes, only a goddess like Jiang Yuhe was worthy of He Chenyi.
Jiang Yuhe turned and saw me, smiling calmly, unconcerned: “Xingyao, you’re here…”
Smack!
Before she could finish, I raised my hand and slapped her.
Jiang Yuhe covered her face, looking at me in disbelief.
The room fell abruptly silent.
A deathly quiet.
“Jiang Yuhe, others may not know, but don’t you? Do you know what’s going on with Ah Chen’s health? Can he drink?!”
I questioned her harshly.
But in the next second, my left cheek was fiercely slapped to the side.
It was He Chenyi.
He stood in front of Jiang Yuhe, his eyes fierce as if he wanted to devour me.
“Shen Xingyao, what’s wrong with you? What right do you have to hit Yuhe?”
Right?
I took a deep breath, forcing down the metallic taste in my mouth.
He Chenyi must have forgotten-when he had his heart transplant, I was the one who stayed by his side, sleepless and tireless.
And Jiang Yuhe, knowing full well the risks of his surgery, still resolutely left for her dreams abroad.
In the end, the one who has no right-is me?
“He Chenyi, all these years I’ve followed you, protected you, afraid you’d make even the slightest mistake,” my throat was so tight I could barely speak, “because I believed that one day, I could warm your fragile heart.”
“But now, I realize I was wrong.”
“You don’t have a heart at all.”
I closed my eyes, a wave of powerless exhaustion washing over me.
“He Chenyi, this is where we end.”
I took off the couple’s diamond ring and placed it before him, “You’re free now.”
A wave of dizziness swept over me.
I stumbled out of the bar.
Using the last of my strength, I flagged down a taxi and got in.
On the window glass, my disheveled reflection stared back.
I covered my nose, blood seeping through my fingers, trickling down.
Like a ghost.
I looked at the window and forced a bitter smile.
Shen Xingyao, you’re really something.
You still have the energy to worry about how drinking might hurt He Chenyi’s heart.
When the one who’s about to die-
Is you.