Cheng Yue’s injuries weren’t too serious—after all, this was a busy downtown area where the driver’s speed wouldn’t be too fast. But mainly it was because Wu Mangmang appeared too suddenly and ran a red light, which caused her to collide with Cheng Yue who rushed over to push her away.

The driver’s legs were shaking when he got out of the car—it was truly an undeserved disaster. After seeing Cheng Yue’s injuries clearly, his heart settled down a bit.

Once he calmed down, the driver couldn’t help but get annoyed. What a damned unlucky day—a couple fighting, the woman insisting on courting death by running red lights on the street, the man insisting on showing off his heroic rescue of his beloved. It was thanks to their past lives’ good karma that he didn’t kill both these dramatic lovers. Really had to thank his slow driving speed.

Outside the emergency room, Wu Mangmang sat bewildered and dazed on a chair, cold waves rising from her back, making her shiver uncontrollably.

“He’s fine, Mangmang,” Lu Sui walked over, gently placing his hand on Wu Mangmang’s shoulder.

But Wu Mangmang jumped up as if electrocuted, stepping back a large step and turning her head away, unwilling to see Lu Sui.

Lu Sui had really overestimated Wu Mangmang’s mental state.

Although she had instinctively hugged Cheng Yue when he fell, what exactly had happened to this person or what this person was doing had no particular impression in her mind.

Now Wu Mangmang’s mind was like an exploded pot, filled with harsh braking sounds, noisy discussion voices, “it’s over, it’s over” ambulance sirens…

Wu Mangmang only felt her head splitting with pain. She supported herself against the wall, slowly sliding down to sit on the chair, holding her head with both hands, repeatedly suggesting to herself that what had just happened wasn’t real—it was all acting. She just needed to sleep and everything would pass when she woke up.

But another voice was telling her: stop escaping, this is real, Cheng Yue has returned.

And Lu Sui would definitely know about everything that had happened to her in the past.

Although he knew she had been in a mental hospital, he wouldn’t clearly know how crazy and terrifying she had been back then.

He also wouldn’t know how humbly and cowardly she had knelt to Cheng Yue at the airport, begging him not to abandon her.

Actually, she wasn’t that wonderful, not as excellent as she appeared—she was just someone who had been disliked and abandoned by many people.

And someday, he would also wake up and realize that someone as excellent as him didn’t match her at all; he would have other better pursuits.

Wu Mangmang held her head in despair, thinking that she had been deceiving herself all along. How pitiful and cowardly this self-deception was—those nightmarish things had all actually happened.

Wu Mangmang was currently immersed in her own world of self-pity, unaware of what kind of signal her state was sending to Lu Sui.

Her first love had returned, her first love was lying in the hospital because he saved her, and she could no longer see anyone else.

She couldn’t even tolerate his touch anymore?

Lu Sui naturally knew who Cheng Yue was, knew that Cheng Yue was Wu Mangmang’s psychological knot, knew that everything in Wu Mangmang’s past was related to this man.

What Lu Sui hadn’t expected was that nine years later, Cheng Yue’s influence on Wu Mangmang would still be so great—just one meeting was enough to make her completely collapse.

“Wu Mangmang, look at yourself now,” Lu Sui was a strong-willed person. Although he’d been trying to be gentle lately, he wasn’t without emotions. “Just for some Cheng Yue, you…”

Wu Mangmang was forcibly turned by Lu Sui to face him.

Wu Mangmang looked into Lu Sui’s eyes and immediately read the anger and disappointment within.

When she heard the words “Cheng Yue,” the voice in Wu Mangmang’s head immediately screamed: See? Lu Sui knows everything, he knows it all.

Wu Mangmang suddenly felt like she couldn’t breathe.

The world around her became quiet in that instant. She couldn’t see or hear anything, her palms covered in sweat.

Wu Mangmang stood up trembling and unsteady, stumbling as she pushed past Lu Sui, her neck feeling strangled, the suffocation causing unbearable pain.

Wu Mangmang ran to the bathroom, vomiting out almost even stomach acid, feeling dirty and foul.

The following scenes passed like a fast-forwarded movie. When Wu Mangmang became slightly conscious again, she was already lying on her own bed at Lu residence.

“It might be panic anxiety disorder,” Wu Yong said over the phone after hearing Lu Sui’s description. “But I’m not certain 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 went upstairs. He pushed open Wu Mangmang’s bedroom door but didn’t see her on the bed. After looking around, she was nowhere to be found.

Annie nervously said behind Lu Sui, “I swear, I really saw Miss fall asleep before I went downstairs.”

“Have Old Peter pull up the surveillance,” Lu Sui said.

The surveillance showed Wu Mangmang hadn’t left the room. Lu Sui lowered his eyelids and walked directly into Wu Mangmang’s walk-in closet.

Opening the wardrobe door, Wu Mangmang was indeed curled up in the corner. When light streamed in, she reflexively covered her eyes with her hands.

“Wu Mangmang,” Lu Sui pulled the wardrobe door wider open.

Strong-willed people usually have a weakness—they can’t stand cowards who hide when trouble comes. Lu Sui could normally indulge Wu Mangmang in everything, but not in this matter today.

So he mercilessly pulled Wu Mangmang out from the dark corner where she felt safe.

Wu Mangmang stood barefoot and disheveled before Lu Sui, pulled in front of the floor-length mirror. “Look at yourself now, Mangmang. You’re twenty-seven now, not seventeen.”

What Wu Mangmang hated most now was her own appearance. She stood on tiptoe with tears flowing, covering Lu Sui’s mouth with her hand, crying, “Don’t talk, don’t talk.”

Lu Sui looked at Wu Mangmang, truly angry at her lack of fighting spirit. He held her in his arms, stroking her hair. “Mangmang, don’t be afraid. I’ll accompany you through everything. Whatever decision you make, I’ll go along with it. You’re sick now—let’s go see a doctor, okay?”

Upon hearing this, Wu Mangmang again experienced heart palpitations, sweating, and difficulty breathing. She gasped with difficulty, shaking 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…”

Actually, Wu Mangmang could no longer distinguish between past and present—her brain could no longer process her emotions normally.

When Wu Yong arrived at Lu residence, he also couldn’t communicate with Wu Mangmang. He could only give her an injection first and prescribe 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 first. Once her emotions stabilize, we’ll do treatment.”

Lu Sui nodded.

Wu Yong was still worried about Wu Mangmang. Going downstairs, he said quietly to Lu Sui, “Mangmang is very fragile right now. Be more patient with her. She’ll definitely get better—what she needs most now is your comfort.”

Lu Sui quietly looked at Wu Yong for a while without speaking.

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 nice—you could predict it would definitely be clear skies and brilliant sunshine later.

Winter sunshine always made people feel especially cheerful.

It was rare that Lu Sui was still sleeping at this hour. Wu Mangmang gently shook his arm. “Get up, fatty liver uncle.”

Lu Sui’s eyelashes moved and he quickly opened his eyes.

“Hurry up, we should go jogging,” Wu Mangmang said, then rolled out of bed and pressed the remote control to fully open the half-closed curtains.

Lu Sui propped himself up with his arms, looking at Wu Mangmang thoughtfully for a moment. “We’re not jogging today. After breakfast, we’ll go to the hospital together.”

Wu Mangmang turned around somewhat bewildered. “Why go to the hospital? Is someone sick?”

Lu Sui was quiet for a moment, then sighed helplessly. “Cheng Yue is in the hospital.”

“Who’s Cheng Yue?” Wu Mangmang asked with a smile.

No one would lose their memory without reason. Wu Mangmang’s behavior only made Lu Sui more worried. He closed his eyes, and when he reopened them, said, “Mangmang, don’t escape reality. There’s no obstacle that can’t be overcome—it just depends on whether you’re willing to face it.”

Wu Mangmang finally put away her smile, turning around to avoid looking at Lu Sui. “I’m not escaping reality. I completely don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

Lu Sui took the medication Wu Yong had prescribed from the bedside drawer and handed it to Wu Mangmang. “Medicine Wu Yong prescribed for you.”

Wu Mangmang stepped back a large step, shaking her head. “I’m not taking medicine. I’m fine. I can adjust myself. I could before, and I can now.”

“I believe you,” Lu Sui walked in front of Wu Mangmang and pressed the pill packet into her hands. “But you need help right now.”

Wu Mangmang’s tears flowed again, her hands trembling lightly. She thought her past would always be her lifelong nightmare.

Lu Sui naturally liked her, but no one could accept a girlfriend with mental illness.

Just like her parents back then—because they couldn’t accept her illness, they sent her far away to a mental hospital, wishing they could erase her existence.

Wu Mangmang broke the pills out of the foil, continuously wiping her tears. She didn’t want to cry, didn’t want to appear weak and incompetent. She put the pill in her mouth and took the water cup from Lu Sui’s hand. She so wanted to hold Lu Sui’s hand and beg him not to send her away.

But twenty-seven-year-old Wu Mangmang already knew that when someone wanted to leave, even if you knelt before them or threatened to jump from a building, they would still turn around mercilessly.

“I’ll take the medicine properly,” Wu Mangmang said with her head down.

Lu Sui gently rubbed Wu Mangmang’s hair and kissed her forehead. “I’m going to wash up.”

“Mm,” Wu Mangmang lowered her head in response. As Lu Sui walked to the bathroom door and turned to close it, he saw Wu Mangmang breaking out all six remaining pills from the packet and putting them all in her mouth at once.

Lu Sui rushed over quickly and pinched Wu Mangmang’s cheeks. “Spit them out!”

“I’m sorry, I just wanted to get better quickly,” Wu Mangmang was frightened to tears by Lu Sui’s expression.

She was sick, but not stupid. Wu Mangmang could clearly sense the impatience in Lu Sui’s attitude.

She wanted more than anyone to quickly rescue herself from this tangled mess.

To untie a bell, you need the person who tied it.

After breakfast, Wu Mangmang was taken by Lu Sui to the hospital.

“Do you want me to go in with you?” Lu Sui asked.

“No need,” Wu Mangmang said quietly. Her emotions were much better than yesterday—at least she could think and communicate normally now.

Wu Mangmang stood at the hospital room door. This time she could clearly see Cheng Yue after nine years of separation.

His complexion was very fair, like the scholarly elegance described in books about Wei and Jin dynasty nobles.

His posture was exactly the same as many years ago—straight as a pine tree. Even sitting, he appeared tall and distinguished.

Experience had also given him a man’s greatest charm.

Wu Mangmang thought that such a Cheng Yue must have been very popular with girls abroad.

“You came,” Cheng Yue smiled at Wu Mangmang.

Wu Mangmang nodded. Cheng Yue’s mother had already stood up. “Mangmang, come sit quickly.”

Wu Mangmang had met Cheng Yue’s mother before. Those years she had eaten at the Cheng family many times. Mother Cheng’s cooking was particularly fragrant—the kind of motherly taste Wu Mangmang liked.

“Auntie, long time no see,” Wu Mangmang smiled faintly.

“Sit, you two chat. I’ll go get hot water to make you tea,” Mother Cheng said while walking out, not forgetting to close the hospital room door.

“Are you well?” Cheng Yue asked Wu Mangmang.

“Sorry, did I frighten you yesterday?” Wu Mangmang said.

Cheng Yue wasn’t frightened, but was indeed shocked. He had fantasized countless times about meeting Wu Mangmang again.

She might politely greet him, might treat him coldly, might ignore him completely, or might even run up and punch and kick him. But Cheng Yue had never imagined Wu Mangmang’s reaction would be so intense upon seeing him.

Thinking about it made Cheng Yue feel both heartbroken and happy.

Heartbroken that Mangmang had been hurt so deeply by him, yet happy that she still remembered him in her heart and might even still love him.

Cheng Yue had been with Wu Mangmang for six years—he naturally knew how sincere and passionate her love for him was. That’s why he had the courage to leave her, because he knew they would definitely be together in the future.

Cheng Yue reached out his uninjured right hand to gently cover Wu Mangmang’s hand, saying softly, “Mangmang, I’m back. This time I’ll never leave again.”

Wu Mangmang looked at Cheng Yue’s right hand without speaking.

His hand still bore scars from the injury years ago. Although they had faded considerably, they were still visible.

“I regretted it the moment I walked out of the airport in America, Mangmang,” Cheng Yue said.

He regretted it to the point of madness. He was afraid he had hurt Wu Mangmang too deeply, but at the time he didn’t even have money for a return ticket.

Or perhaps he also knew that even if he returned, it would be useless—he and Wu Mangmang’s future still had insurmountable obstacles.

“I called you, but you didn’t answer. I wrote you many emails, but you didn’t reply. I left QQ messages, but you didn’t respond either. I knew you were truly angry with me. I’m sorry, Mangmang,” Cheng Yue said.

Wu Mangmang looked back at Cheng Yue. Those calls, emails, and messages—she had received none of them, because she had already collapsed then. Later, she sealed those memories away like a movie on a disc.

“Can you still forgive me, Mangmang?” Cheng Yue gently stroked Wu Mangmang’s hand. Her fingers bore no ring, no ring mark. “Mangmang, the promise I once made to you—will you allow me to continue fulfilling it?”

Wu Mangmang looked at Cheng Yue. This was the person she had once loved most, the one hidden deep in her heart. He was still perfect.

And as long as he spoke, she believed his words again.

Because he was Cheng Yue! The person she had loved wholeheartedly would never be wrong.

Cheng Yue didn’t wait for Wu Mangmang’s answer. After nine years, he was now a mature man. Before Wu Mangmang answered, he had to provide sufficient bargaining chips.

“All these years, I’ve never had any other woman. In my heart, there’s always been only you, always only you and our future together,” Cheng Yue said.

His right hand used all its strength to grip Wu Mangmang’s hand, but the force was still very slight.

Wu Mangmang’s tears almost burned her own hand. “I don’t deserve you,” Wu Mangmang gently withdrew her hand from Cheng Yue’s palm.

Cheng Yue smiled again, this time his smile looked worse than crying. “I know coming back like this, you definitely won’t forgive me. But I’ll show you my determination, Mangmang.”

“You could never be unworthy of me. I’ve always been grateful to heaven for letting me meet you and generously letting me receive your love,” Cheng Yue said.

Wu Mangmang stood up in panic. “Sorry, I didn’t come to hear this. I came to thank you for saving me yesterday. I have a boyfriend now. We’re doing well.”

Cheng Yue said nothing, just watched Wu Mangmang turn and leave.

As soon as Wu Mangmang opened the door, she saw Mother Cheng, who hadn’t had time to avoid her.

Mother Cheng’s face showed both embarrassment and worry. She followed behind Wu Mangmang. “Mangmang, can we have a talk?”

Five minutes later, Wu Mangmang and Mother Cheng were sitting in the hospital garden.

“After so many years, you’ve become more and more beautiful,” Cheng Huiyun said.

Careful readers have probably noticed that Cheng Yue took his mother’s surname. His father abandoned his mother before he was born. Cheng Yue was raised single-handedly by his mother. For his sake, Cheng Huiyun never considered remarrying.

“Thank you,” Wu Mangmang really didn’t know how to respond to Cheng Huiyun.

“I saw your boyfriend. He’s an excellent person,” Cheng Huiyun said again.

Wu Mangmang said nothing more.

Cheng Huiyun continued, “Cheng Yue has always kept his thoughts deeply hidden. The words he can’t say, I as his mother very much want to say for him.” Mother Cheng spoke directly.

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 his throat to leave,” Cheng Huiyun said.

“I’m a mother. My heart ached seeing him endure humiliation from your parents for you, standing at your family’s door for a day and night, getting pneumonia from the rain. I begged him so much, but he still wouldn’t leave. He said he had made you a promise. He said you were the most beautiful, most delicate porcelain in the world—one touch and you’d break. He was afraid that losing you meant he could never put you back together.”

Wu Mangmang’s tears immediately flowed.

During their passionate romance, Cheng Yue had said these words to Wu Mangmang. At the time, she had laughingly told him not to be afraid—as long as he was there, she wouldn’t break.

She said she wasn’t that delicate, and jokingly added that if he was worried, she’d major in porcelain restoration in college.

The past was vivid, such sweet words that now sounded shocking to hear.

“I couldn’t watch my proud son live like that, and I couldn’t watch him give up his dreams. As long as you were by his side, he would never be able to fly,” Cheng Huiyun said.

She became somewhat emotional, reaching up to wipe her tears. Wu Mangmang silently handed over her handkerchief.

“Thank you,” Cheng Huiyun wiped her tears. “But Mangmang, I regret it. I deeply regret it now.”

Wu Mangmang didn’t understand Cheng Huiyun’s regret, but she had grown up and was mature enough to understand Cheng Huiyun’s choice back then.

“Auntie, don’t be sad. I can understand your 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 was never happy again. You might not know—he came back once before graduating from college. He had received a very good job offer from a company in America and wanted to come back to propose to you.”

“I was truly happy for you both. But that day, Cheng Yue went to find you excitedly and came home very sad. He said you had a new boyfriend, your relationship was good, and that he wasn’t worthy of you—no wonder you had never responded to any of his messages.”

Wu Mangmang listened quietly. She had indeed dated several boyfriends during college, but she hadn’t expected Cheng Yue to have returned.

“What happened then?” Wu Mangmang asked.

Did Cheng Yue give up after that?

Cheng Huiyun said, “Then? The next day Cheng Yue was in a car accident.”

Wu Mangmang’s eyes widened suddenly.

“He was in a coma for over two months. After waking up, he did three years of rehabilitation before he could speak, walk, and live normally like now. During those difficult days, he never gave up. Although he never said anything, I knew it was all for you. He always kept your photo in his wallet. Every time he was in so much pain he wanted to give up, he would take out your photo and caress it.”

“I hated you intensely then, but was also grateful to you. Without you, Cheng Yue definitely wouldn’t have been able to stand up again,” Cheng Huiyun’s tears kept flowing.

“He wouldn’t let me find you. He said if you saw him in that condition, you would definitely pity him and return to his side, but he was unwilling. Later Cheng Yue finally recovered. He returned to America to complete his studies and now has his own career. So he came back,” Cheng Huiyun looked into Wu Mangmang’s eyes. “Mangmang, can you give Cheng Yue another chance?”