Ye Qingcheng looked at An Nuan, who was pleading with him, his eyes filled with pity. He knew better than anyone that if he didn't agree, An Nuan would just keep begging him until he did. That's just how she was.
"An Nuan, I agree to your request." Ye Qingcheng said with deep helplessness in his voice. At that moment, his entire being was consumed by heartache. For a fleeting moment, he wanted to disregard everything and punch Shen Xizhou with all his might, to place all the grievances An Nuan had suffered onto Shen Xizhou, and make him taste the same bitterness.
He cared deeply for An Nuan.
"Alright, let's stop talking. Please don't say another word for someone so undeserving, okay?"
"Your brother is in the hospital. My people are there. Even if someone tries to harm him, they won't succeed."
Ye Qingcheng held An Nuan, speaking with extreme gentleness. "This time, you must leave. What if Shen Xizhou targets you after I'm gone? An Nuan, you can't always be this lucky, and I can't always show up at the right moment."
She nodded. This time, she didn't refuse Ye Qingcheng's suggestion.
Perhaps, from the very beginning, she shouldn't have been so insistent.
An Nuan nodded, no longer rejecting Ye Qingcheng.
At this moment, she felt the most at ease. All along, she had been living in fear.
Her focus had always been on Shen Xizhou. She had been incredibly cruel to herself. But now, she no longer harbored such thoughts.
Now, she wanted to cherish herself and those around her.
Sometimes, she wondered, when did Shen Xizhou start to think Xu Ruowei was good?
He had clearly detested Xu Ruowei before.
Ye Qingcheng tended to An Nuan's injuries. He noticed her unease and said with a hint of fondness, "Don't worry, no one will come here."
"I live alone here, so you can rest assured. Absolutely no one will disturb you."
After speaking, Ye Qingcheng's gaze fell upon An Nuan, as if trying to see through her. In reality, he wanted to know more than anything what she was thinking.
An Nuan lowered her head, appearing troubled.
After a long silence, Ye Qingcheng spoke, "An Nuan, you don't need to feel any burden. I won't ask you to do anything for me either."
An Nuan thought for a long time, took a deep breath, and looked at Ye Qingcheng. She suddenly said, "Ye Qingcheng, I will try to accept you slowly. I will try to drive Shen Xizhou out of my heart."
"But, I can't accept you all at once right now."
"An Nuan, do you know? Just hearing that you are willing to try makes me incredibly happy."
"I always thought I had no chance. But heaven is still merciful to me."
"An Nuan, I don't need you to agree to me immediately. This is good enough. Slowly, step by step."
"Ye Qingcheng, thank you for being willing to wait for me and for protecting me."
An Nuan looked at Ye Qingcheng and said, "You should know about my relationship with Shen Xizhou, right?"
"Yes, I investigated you." Ye Qingcheng seemed to recall something and quickly explained, "It was for..."
An Nuan let out a faint smile. "I know."
His gaze rested on her. Her understanding and compassion were heartbreaking.
What she was about to say next was something he couldn't have discovered through his investigations.
An Nuan recounted everything that had happened to her. She told him so that Ye Qingcheng could have a complete understanding of who she was.
As for how Ye Qingcheng would react or what he would do after hearing it, she hadn't thought about it in detail.
In fact, if he refused her, she would understand.
Her eyes held a hint of helplessness, yet she spoke calmly, "Doctor Ye, my brother is gravely ill and requires a lot of money. I need to work hard to earn a lot of money. Perhaps, because of my brother, I might burden you. Even so, would you not mind?"
"As for why Xu Ruowei has been targeting me, it's because she has always liked Shen Xizhou."
"When did it start?"
"Oh, right. It seems that from when I was studying, the first time Xu Ruowei saw Shen Xizhou, she fell deeply in love with him."
"From then on, Xu Ruowei has continuously appeared in Shen Xizhou's and my line of sight."
"Actually, choosing me was the most unwise decision."
"In fact, there was one sentence Shen Xizhou said that was quite correct. He said that everyone who has any connection with me ends up in a tragic end. His words were absolutely not wrong."
"I am like an ominous person. Anyone who comes into contact with me is entangled by misfortune."
"An Nuan, you can't negate yourself just because of Xu Ruowei's lies."
"You need to believe in yourself. Some things are man-made."
"I've never believed that what happened to you was due to bad luck."
"I believe it was done intentionally by someone."
"An Nuan, believe me, I will always be by your side and will never change."
An Nuan looked at Ye Qingcheng. He had said such words many times. He was so earnest and sincere.
"Doctor Ye, I..."
"An Nuan, what you need most right now is rest, not to waste your energy on this matter."
"Alright, I'll leave now. You should rest well here."
Three days later.
An Nuan was still going to work as usual. Ye Qingcheng called her, saying Yun Xiu was not in the hospital and asked her to go back and see if Yun Xiu was at home.
She didn't even care about the work in her hands and rushed back.
When she returned and pushed open the door, she didn't see Yun Xiu.
Yun Xiu was gone?
Her limbs turned cold, her face paled. The thing she feared most had finally happened.
"Yun Xiu?"
She still held a sliver of hope. Perhaps Yun Xiu was resting in his room? She opened the room door; no one was there.
Her gaze fell on the bathroom. She opened the door; no one was there either.
She searched everywhere she could think of, but Yun Xiu was nowhere to be found. Where could Yun Xiu have gone?
An Nuan had a thought. Perhaps Yun Xiu was taken away by Shen Xizhou. Wasn't that what happened before?
This time, her heart was particularly panicked, but she was more willing to believe that Yun Xiu had been taken by Shen Xizhou.
Even though Shen Xizhou hated her, he had still shown mercy to Yun Xiu.
She called Shen Xizhou, but he hadn't taken Yun Xiu. She believed Shen Xizhou's words, not because she loved him so much, but because if he had taken Yun Xiu, he would have admitted it.
An Nuan became completely distraught. She slumped to the floor, utterly dejected. What should she do? Yun Xiu was gone. Her only belief had collapsed at this very moment.