Wu Xiufang said guiltily, "She told me she still couldn't let go of Shaohua, so I told her Shaohua's address. It's all my fault; I didn't stop her when she wanted to find Shaohua. If I had stopped her then, it would have been better."
The police officers nearby seemed to have grasped some of the victim's experiences before the incident and asked everyone to calm down first.
He questioned them one by one to clarify the sequence of events.
After finishing the statements, Huangfu Shaohua entered the ward. Before he could speak,
Sheng Zhuzhu opened her eyes, saw him, and smiled happily. She reached out to him and said, "Brother Shaohua, I'm already yours. When do you plan to marry me?"
Seeing her entire face deformed, Huangfu Shaohua couldn't bear to stimulate her further. He said gently, "I'm sorry, don't overthink it. Rest well."
"I'm fine, I'm okay." Sheng Zhuzhu sat up and pulled out the needle from her arm. "Let's go get the marriage certificate now."
Zhong Lu, who was following Huangfu Shaohua, hurriedly stopped her and coaxed, "Zhuzhu, we'll talk about marriage later. You need to recuperate now."
"No, I want to go with Brother Shaohua..."
Sheng Haoguang pressed the call button, summoning doctors and nurses to reinsert the needle.
But she struggled desperately and wouldn't cooperate with the doctors.
The doctors had to give her a sedative.
Wu Xiufang also stepped forward to comfort her, saying, "Zhuzhu, be good and lie down first. You don't have to go with Shaohua. If he doesn't leave, he'll stay here with you."
Sheng Zhuzhu quieted down and extended her hand to Shaohua, implying she wanted him to sit by her bedside.
Huangfu Shaohua helplessly sat by the bed and held her hand.
She pressed Huangfu Shaohua's hand against her face and closed her eyes as if falling asleep.
Huangfu Shaohua tried to pull his hand away, but she immediately woke up, grabbing his hand tightly and refusing to let go.
Zhong Lu, wiping tears, said from the side, "Shaohua, just help us out and stay with her at the hospital, okay?"
Huangfu Shaohua felt extremely resistant to her touch, but in this situation, he couldn't get away. He nodded.
Wu Xiufang didn't know what else to say. Zhuzhu had just had an accident, and she was also flustered. She could only try to appease Sheng Haoguang's family and make plans after Zhuzhu recovered.
The medical staff reinserted the needle, and the doctor observed her mental state. He told those in the ward, "She has developed delusional disorder after experiencing extreme stimulation. It looks like we'll need a consultation with a psychiatrist."
"Yes, yes. Please make sure to cure her," Zhong Lu pleaded.
The doctor said, "Her external injuries can be healed, but the psychological trauma will take a long time to recover. Your family needs to be prepared. Try to avoid causing her emotional fluctuations during this period."
Zhong Lu nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand, thank you."
Given Sheng Zhuzhu's condition, she was still unable to cooperate with the police for a statement.
Sheng Haoguang decided to return to the police station with the officers to see if he could use his connections to help the police catch those two as soon as possible.
Zhong Lu and Wu Xiufang discussed going back separately to get some daily necessities and change of clothes for Shaohua and Zhuzhu to bring to the hospital.
After they all left, only Huangfu Shaohua remained in the ward.
...
Daisy stayed alone in the old house. After tidying up the room, she went to the supermarket and market to buy plenty of food and necessities, filling the refrigerator.
To keep herself from overthinking, she carefully prepared dishes in the kitchen, thinking that when Shaohua arrived, seeing these delicious meals would improve his mood.
She finished cooking and waited until it was dark. He hadn't returned, nor had he called or texted her.
Perhaps Sheng Zhuzhu's condition was very serious. She worriedly sent him a message.
Not long after, Huangfu Shaohua replied, "I can't come back tonight. Zhuzhu's condition isn't good, and I need to stay with her at the hospital."
Daisy replied with an "Okay" and looked at the empty room and the table full of food. A sense of loss washed over her, and she suddenly felt that the joy of last night was stolen and would never last.
She ate dinner alone, left a note for Shaohua, and then left.
If she didn't let Shaohua stay to care for Sheng Zhuzhu at the hospital, she would seem unreasonable and only cause him trouble. She decided not to dwell on it and to continue with her own life.
...
Huangfu Shaohua stayed by the hospital bed all day, but he couldn't do anything about Sheng Zhuzhu.
Every time he saw her seemingly asleep with her eyes closed, the moment he tried to pull his hand away to make a phone call outside the room, she would immediately wake up and refuse to let him leave.
Huangfu Shaohua felt exhausted. He received Daisy's text message and replied. Daisy only replied with "Okay."
He still wanted to call Daisy. He carefully pulled his hand away again. This time, Zhuzhu didn't wake up.
He hurried to the corridor outside. Just as he was about to call Daisy, his mother, Wu Xiufang, arrived with household staff, carrying large bags.
Wu Xiufang saw that he had been guarding all day, with dark circles under his eyes, and said with concern, "You haven't eaten much all day, have you? I asked Sister Chen to bring some food. Eat something first."
Sister Chen busied herself placing the insulated containers on the bench. Upon seeing the insulated food containers, Huangfu Shaohua had a residual fear and said irritably, "I don't want to eat."
Wu Xiufang grabbed him, made him sit down, and asked Sister Chen to take the other items into the ward.
"You go back and rest later. Your Aunt Zhong and I will stay the night."
Huangfu Shaohua felt relieved and said, "Mom, if you hadn't done that last night, Zhuzhu wouldn't have had the accident! You're setting up your own son!"
Wu Xiufang felt indescribable annoyance and regret, thinking it was all for his own good. "How could I have known Zhuzhu would be so careless at night? Besides, who am I doing all this for? Zhuzhu is a good match for you, someone we know well. You two would be a perfect couple, but you refuse."
She sighed as she spoke.
"Feelings cannot be forced!" Huangfu Shaohua emphasized again.
Wu Xiufang waved her hand impatiently and said, "What a shame, Zhuzhu can't be our family's daughter-in-law anymore. However, we must appease your Uncle Sheng and Aunt Zhong properly, so we don't become enemies after failing to become in-laws."
"I know." No matter how much Huangfu Shaohua blamed his mother, it was useless. He didn't want to continue talking to her and got up to leave.
As he walked to the elevator at the end of the corridor, he met Zhong Lu, who was also returning to the hospital with many items.
"Aunt Zhong, I'm going back to rest for a bit."
Without waiting for Zhong Lu's response, he entered the elevator, eager to return and find Daisy.
After the elevator doors closed, he was alone inside. He glanced at the hand that Zhuzhu had been holding all along and felt uncomfortable, wanting to find a place to disinfect it.
Sheng Zhuzhu was very pitiful now, but he wouldn't like her just because he pitied her. This was an unchangeable fact.