Shiyao bit her lower lip tightly and shook her head. “I genuinely didn’t notice at the time. And I already apologized to Ningning — it was an accident.”

“Very well.” Ye Jian clapped his hands, and several bodyguards entered the ward.

Ye’an raised his eyes, his expression devoid of warmth as he looked at Shiyao sobbing on the hospital bed. “Miss Shiyao, explain why you repeatedly asked the bodyguards about Miss Yan’s whereabouts and what she was doing.”

“I’ll give you a reminder — the first time was at the amusement park, the second time was at a Xuan Corporation boutique, and the third time was at the barbecue restaurant.”

Ever since the elder Mr. Xuan declared that the only suitable wife for Young Master Xuan was Miss Yan, Shiyao had been making inquiries about her.

Yan Yunning was mildly surprised. She hadn’t realized that every encounter with Shiyao had been no coincidence — Shiyao had been deliberately seeking her out each time. She’d known about the last two, but she had never even seen Shiyao at the amusement park.

Tears welled in Shiyao’s eyes. “I was simply curious about what kind of woman Uncle Xuan had in mind for his daughter-in-law.”

Yan Yunning glanced sideways at the man beside her, meeting his dark, burning gaze, then shifted her eyes back to Shiyao and waited for her to continue.

“I… I didn’t mean anything by it.” Shiyao’s tears spilled over.

“Miss Shiyao, let me venture a guess.” Ye’an closed the laptop on the hospital bed and spoke in an unhurried tone.

“Miss Shiyao — you feel that your boyfriend is ill, and his prognosis isn’t good. You don’t want to give up the life you have now, so you want to remain close to Young Master Xuan. Am I right?”

“Or perhaps — you hope that Young Master Xuan will look after you and your boyfriend’s child, out of regard for the friendship between them.”

“But the elder Mr. Xuan disapproves. Of course he does — what father would be happy to see his son raise another man’s child as his own?”

“So you devised a plan to drive away the woman the elder Mr. Xuan favors as a daughter-in-law. First, you took photographs hoping to make the elder Mr. Xuan suspicious — but he didn’t believe it.”

“Then you made remarks in front of Miss Yan suggesting that Young Master Xuan had a dress custom-made for you, and that Young Master Xuan had Ye Jian stationed at your side because he was worried about you — comments designed to create misunderstandings.”

Ye’an paused, then continued. “Miss Shiyao, Young Master Xuan agreed out of the goodness of his heart — to honor a promise to your boyfriend to protect you and your unborn child. That is why, when the announcement was made, Ye Jian was assigned to your side. As for the custom dress — please be honest: has Young Master Xuan ever spent a single coin on you?”

Shiyao’s hoarse, tear-choked voice rose sharply. “Good heart? Where exactly was the good heart? Didn’t he take money for this? And after taking that money, has he taken proper care of me and my baby? How much have I suffered — did he ever once step in?”

Ye Jian let out a derisive laugh. “Miss Shiyao, the ten percent profit concession in the contract — truthfully, the Xuan Corporation could have secured that deal without it. If Young Master Xuan hadn’t considered his bond with your boyfriend, he would never have agreed to this arrangement.”

Ye’an drawled, “In other words, we never needed that money to begin with. And Young Master Xuan was even in a car accident because of this. By any measure, it is our Young Master Xuan who has been wronged.”

Shiyao’s entire body shook with fury. The Xuan Corporation and the Qi Corporation’s partnership was no small matter — a ten percent profit margin was an enormous concession. They had profited handsomely, and yet they could say such things.

Utterly shameless.

She had glossed over Ye Jian’s remark — “the Xuan Corporation could have signed it anyway” — and her mind was consumed entirely by the idea that Xuan Yanyu had taken Qi Qingchen’s money without properly looking after her.

“Miss Shiyao, we’re informing you that Young Master Xuan has already settled things with your boyfriend — he will no longer be responsible for you. There is no need for you to return to the Xuan estate. Please take your two ‘good friends’ and leave.” Ye Chen finally found an opening to speak.

Shiyao gave a bitter laugh. She looked at Xuan Yanyu, voice trembling. “If you were in the same position as Qi Qingchen, would you send the person you love to your best friend’s side?”

She wanted to know — did Qi Qingchen truly love her? She had her answer now. It was enough. More than enough.

Xuan Yanyu’s brow furrowed. His gaze fell on Yan Yunning. He thought to himself — even if it killed him, he could never send Yan Yunning to another man’s side. Not even for the sake of so-called protection. Not even if that man were his closest friend.

He worried she might not eat well, might not sleep well. That others might make things difficult for her. Bully her.

As long as he was alive, no matter the circumstances, he would never do that.

“Everyone loves differently,” he said.

“Ah!” Shiyao understood exactly what Xuan Yanyu meant. She swallowed the bitterness rising inside her and cried out, “Get out — all of you, get out!”

She grabbed her phone and hurled the pillow at Ye Jian, Ye’an, and Ye Chen.

“Lunatic!” Ye Chen glared at Shiyao.

Yan Yunning watched Shiyao weeping uncontrollably on the hospital bed, her feelings tangled. She found herself thinking again of Yan Shiyao from that historical romance novel — not very clever, but without any malice.

And in that novel, Xuan Yanyu and Qi Qingchen had been enemies, not good friends. The adaptation had a lot of nerve — turning sworn brothers into rivals!

“Let’s go. Home. You haven’t eaten dinner yet.” Xuan Yanyu tentatively reached for Yan Yunning’s hand, and when she didn’t pull away, he quietly allowed himself a small, hidden smile.

Hearing Xuan Yanyu’s voice, Yan Yunning glanced at him. Her feelings only grew more complicated — frustrated and helpless all at once.

——

Xuan Estate — Dining Room.

It was already quite late, so Yan Yunning didn’t ask the housekeeper to prepare anything elaborate. She simply had her cook two bowls of tomato and egg noodles.

She took a bite of the poached egg, then set down her chopsticks and looked at the man across the table.

“What’s the matter? Does it not taste good?”

Yan Yunning shook her head, picked up her chopsticks, and twirled the noodles around them slowly. Her voice was very soft. “Is Shiyao’s boyfriend really not going to make it?”

Xuan Yanyu’s throat worked with difficulty. “The doctors say there isn’t much time left.”

“What happened to him?”

Xuan Yanyu rose from his seat and moved to sit beside Yan Yunning. He rested his head on her shoulder, eyes carrying a faint dimness.

“Qingchen’s mother passed away when he was very young. His father later remarried and had another son, Qi Qingxian. His father always favored Qingxian over Qingchen.”

“Qingchen was always obedient to his father’s wishes. In university, he and Shiyao fell in love, but his father disapproved. With no other choice, Qingchen broke up with Shiyao. Following his father’s wishes after graduation, he married Jiang Jin, and they had a daughter.”

“Later, Jiang Jin brought up divorce, leaving the daughter with Qingchen. He agreed. Just two months after the divorce, when Qingchen was single again, Shiyao applied for an assistant position at the Qi Corporation, and the two of them got back together.”

Yan Yunning frowned. “Shiyao didn’t mind at all that Qi Qingchen had been married, divorced, and had a child?”

“Apparently not — otherwise why would she have gotten back together with him?” Xuan Yanyu nuzzled his nose against her shoulder, breathing in the faint, pleasant fragrance clinging to the girl, his eyes drifting half-shut. “Does Ningning mind something like that?”

Yan Yunning raised a brow and said deliberately, to make sure Xuan Yanyu heard, “Put it this way — even if a man had never been married, simply having been with another woman would be enough for me not to consider him.”

The man’s eyes shimmered with a quiet light, and he laughed, his voice low and suggestive. “I meet your requirements. Give me some consideration.”

Yan Yunning’s gaze lingered on Xuan Yanyu’s handsome face, her brow arching slightly. “Are you sure?”

Xuan Yanyu rubbed the top of his head lightly against her neck, his voice languid. “Mm.”

Yan Yunning pushed his head away with a meaningful look. “Think carefully. I’m sure you must have at some point.”

Xuan Yanyu gave a cold scoff. “Oh? Did you crawl under my bed and watch?”

“Ahem.” Yan Yunning picked up her chopsticks and shoveled a large mouthful of noodles, then said unhurriedly, “No — I saw it while I was on your bed.”

——