Chapter 81 Chapter 81 "Do you need me to help you open it?"

For the rest of the day, Shen Xingchuan did not come to the hospital to bother her. The VIP ward had a large accompanying bed, and Yao Yingxia stayed there on Saturday night.

Perhaps because she saw her mother again after a month, Yao Yingxia felt very relieved. She was very tired from the long journey that day, so she finished washing up just after nine o'clock, stared at Xu Nian for a while, and fell asleep.

She had been sleeping soundly, but suddenly had a nightmare in the middle of the night. In the foggy darkness, it seemed as if a pair of haunting eyes were staring at her, silently waiting for an opportunity, ready to pounce and bite her neck at any time.

When a slightly warm hand touched her cheek, Yao Yingxia finally woke up from the nightmare. Perhaps because she didn't get enough sleep, her eyes were dry and sore, and she couldn't see anything in the dim light. After a while, she saw a person standing beside the bed.

The tall figure that blocked out the sun and the sky blocked the very dim night light at the head of Xu Nian's bed. The backlight made it impossible for Yao Yingxia to see the man's face, but she could smell the familiar scent between his sleeves, mint mixed with pine and sandalwood, with a damp and cold smell after a heavy snowfall.

She was probably very frightened, her heart was beating wildly, and she became even angrier, turning her head to avoid the hand.

Shen Xingchuan smiled, but didn't insist on touching her again. He just raised his voice slightly and asked, "Xia Xia, it's so uncomfortable sleeping here. Do you want to come home with me?"

His voice was gentle, his tone was affectionate, and carried a strong hint of temptation, as if he wanted to seduce the little girl who was alone in front of him.

Yao Yingxia suddenly became irritable. She was upset that he was disturbing her sweet dreams and always haunting her like a ghost. She simply told him the truth: "No matter how uncomfortable it is here, it's better than sleeping with you."

A week later, Yao Yingxia finally agreed to talk to him again, but she didn't expect it to be so unpleasant.

He was probably a little sad, but it only lasted for a short while. Soon, Yao Yingxia felt a gaze like an ice knife falling on her face, wishing it could cut her cheek.

Shen Xingchuan's voice was strangely low, as if he was suppressing his anger: "Diligence can make up for lack of talent. Try a few more times, and Xia Xia will feel better."

Things like this always require the joint efforts of both parties to get along as quickly as possible. Shen Xingchuan bent down slightly, wanting to kiss her lips. Occasionally, Yao Yingxia was even more adorable when she was silent.

She finally sensed the danger approaching, and the area he'd injured her before began to ache again. Yao Yingxia tried to remain calm, refusing to reveal her inner fear, and coldly asked him, "Do you want to sleep here with me?"

Xu Nian was right next to them. No matter how perverted Shen Xingchuan was, he didn't want to do anything to her in front of his mother-in-law, even though she was already a vegetable.

Shen Xingchuan was probably completely annoyed, the aura around him became even colder, and he didn't speak for a long time. Yao Yingxia closed her eyes in anxiety. Anyway, if he really wanted to do something, she would never have the chance to resist.

The two of them remained in a stalemate for a long time, until Shen Xingchuan sneered and turned to leave the ward. The door slammed shut, and the loud noise seemed to shake her eardrums.

After a while, when there was no more movement around her, Yao Yingxia finally relaxed. Only then did she realize that her limbs were cold and even her palms were sweating. Her fear of Shen Xingchuan was truly engraved in her bones.

He had been in good spirits last week, saying things like "I'll wait for you to calm down", but in the blink of an eye, he couldn't hold back and turned hostile. This was indeed the Shen Xingchuan she was familiar with - always moody and with little patience.

The next day was Sunday. Yao Yingxia got up and gave her mother some water, trimmed her nails, and massaged her limbs. Even though the on-duty caregiver said they could do these things, Yao Yingxia wanted to take care of her mother herself.

In the afternoon, when the sun was at its best, she washed Xu Nian's hair with the help of her companion. This reminded her of a long time ago, when she was only about five or six years old, and she often took a bath with Xu Nian.

Young Yao Yingxia was afraid of the stinging sensation caused by shampoo in her eyes, so she always sat on a small stool and leaned on Xu Nian's smooth and soft legs.

Her mother would carefully massage her scalp, creating fluffy and soft foam, and then use a small ladle to rinse it off for her.

Yao Yingxia imitated her mother's past behavior, gently and carefully helping her wash her hair, and then blow-dried it with a hair dryer. But when she was combing her mother's hair later, Yao Yingxia found that every time she combed her hair, a handful of hair would fall off the comb.

She had clearly tried to use as little force as possible.

Yao Yingxia gathered the fallen hair into her palm and made a pile of it.

The caregiver saw her standing there motionless for a while, and walked over with some concern. Only then did he see that Yao Yingxia's eyes were red and her eye sockets were full of tears.

She couldn't bear it any longer and comforted him, saying, "Miss Yao, don't be too sad. Your mother's condition is much better now. Maybe there will be a miracle, and she might wake up one day."

But Yao Yingxia never believed that a miracle would happen to her, and such comforting words were of no use to her.

Until an arm landed on her shoulder and patted her gently: "Sister."

Xiao An's tone was full of heartache, but he did not persuade her to stop crying. It seemed that as long as she wanted, it would be okay even if she cried until she was dizzy. Yao Yingxia felt even more sad and wanted to hug Xiao An and cry, but there were so many people here, so she just stood there and held Xu Nian's hand.

Maybe it was because he could feel his daughter's grief, but Xu Nian's expression seemed to become anxious. Unfortunately, Yao Yingxia was immersed in sadness and didn't notice it in time.

Until something moved slightly in the palm of my hand.

Yao Yingxia thought it was an illusion, but she still held her breath involuntarily and looked at her mother's hand.

Under her gaze, the slender little finger was slightly raised, then dropped again, touching the palm of Yao Yingxia's hand, as if silently saying: Xia Xia, don't cry.

"Mom!" She held Xu Nian's hand in surprise, and looked at her face again, hoping for a miracle to happen, but since then, Xu Nian's body returned to silence and did not make any subtle movements.

After hearing the news, the medical team rushed over and immediately conducted an in-depth examination on Xu Nian. After receiving the report, even the attending physician felt that a miracle had occurred: "Ms. Xu's nervous system damage is very serious. Normally, even the simplest reflexes would be difficult for her to perform. But the movement just now is enough to prove that Miss Xu's nervous system is slowly recovering."

Yao Yingxia hurriedly asked, "If the situation continues to improve, is it possible for my mother to wake up?"

Even though there was only a tiny possibility, the attending doctor nodded, and after a moment, he thought he saw the most beautiful smile in the world.

No wonder the boss would give his all at all costs when faced with such a patient with almost no hope.

This was probably the happiest day Yao Yingxia had had in the past few months. She was reluctant to leave the hospital until Xiao An reminded her, "If you don't leave now, you'll miss your flight."

Yao Yingxia's flight was at 7pm. When she came out of the hospital at 5pm, the road was already a bit congested and there was not much time left, so Xiao An simply took her to the subway station.

I thought Xiao An would leave after I got on the train, but I didn't expect him to follow me into the same carriage.

During the evening rush hour, the subway was packed with people, and Xiao An helped her walk to a relatively spacious corner with difficulty, using his body to form a human wall.

The huge crowds around them seemed to disappear, and the noise of people passing through the tunnel became melodious. Yao Yingxia raised her head slightly and saw Xiao An's warm eyes.

He missed her terribly and loved her deeply.

Those eyes told her so.

First, the fingers tangled together uncontrollably.

Xiao An's palms were broad and covered with a thin layer of calluses, which was completely different from her soft touch. So he was more cautious, fearing that he would hurt her if he used a little force.

But holding it vaguely like this always felt unreal, so Yao Yingxia simply buried her fingers into his fingers one by one, and the two of them interlocked their fingers, making them seem inseparable.

Amidst the noise, Xiao An could clearly hear his own heartbeat.

At a certain station, the car restarted with huge inertia. Yao Yingxia had no leverage and accidentally bumped into his arms.

Xiao An seemed to smile, his broad shoulders trembled slightly, and he stretched out his arms to hug Yao Yingxia and never let go.

Both of them were praying silently, hoping that the destination would arrive slowly.

So no one noticed that an inconspicuous thin man followed them all the way onto the subway, but was unable to make his way through the crowd and squeeze next to them.

From the moment they got off the subway, the two of them consciously kept a safe distance. Xiao An accompanied her to the security check entrance and said goodbye as usual.

Every weekend after that, Yao Yingxia would fly back to visit Xu Nian.

My mother's condition seemed to be getting better and better. Her fingers moved more and more frequently, and occasionally even her eyelashes would flutter, as if she would open her eyes in the next second.

She was overly happy and just wanted to stay with her mother day and night, for fear of missing the moment when Xu Nian woke up.

But no matter how much she didn't want to leave, the time of separation came inevitably. Fortunately, Xiao An would always accompany her to take the subway.

The crowded crowd became the best protective color. No one knew them here. Xiao An was no longer her "brother", and she was no longer Shen Xingchuan's "accessory". The two of them could temporarily stop thinking about all the hardships in reality, and not think about the future that seemed so far away, and just enjoy the joy of the moment.

Such a peaceful and hopeful day made Yao Yingxia somewhat ignore the abnormalities happening around her, for example, Shen Xingchuan had not come to disturb her for a long time.

Ever since the last time they parted on bad terms, Shen Xingchuan hadn't called her or sent her a text message. For a whole month, he didn't even come to the hospital to meet her.

Shen Xingchuan disappeared too completely. Yao Yingxia was like a fish trapped in a big net for a long time. When she first regained her freedom, she was overjoyed, but after a long time, she couldn't help feeling uneasy, as if she refused to believe that he would be so kind as to let her go.

When her anxiety reached its peak, Yao Yingxia contacted Nie Yuan: "Isn't he in City A recently?"

If it was just a business trip, it would be understandable. This was the outcome Yao Yingxia most hoped for among the several expected outcomes.

Fortunately, Nie Yuan's reply was basically what she expected: "Mr. Shen has been busy with a multinational project recently. He went to Europe a month ago and his return date is uncertain."

No wonder I don't have time for her.

Yao Yingxia finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Thinking that he had always been impatient and the two of them had been in a cold war for a long time, Yao Yingxia took the initiative to send him a message one evening in late April: "When are you going back to City A?"

In the past, Shen Xingchuan would have replied to her as soon as possible after seeing the letter, but this time Yao Yingxia waited for three days and did not receive a single word.

The relationship between the two was inherently fragile, and most of the time he had to rely on himself to maintain it. But when Shen Xingchuan withdrew his steps that were desperately moving towards her, they instantly became two stars in the vast universe, thousands of miles apart, making it difficult to find any trace of them.

This kind of unknown fear, like a slow knife cutting flesh, slowly gathered and lingered in her heart. When it accumulated to a certain level, it was far more frightening than facing Shen Xingchuan's rage.

Is he angry, or is he tired of me, or is he just too busy?

Yao Yingxia began to feel uneasy all day long. What she was most worried about was that Shen Xingchuan would find out about her and Xiao An.

But when I contacted my brother recently, he was fine and Xiao An's mother was still receiving treatment at Chuanhe Hospital.

If Shen Xingchuan had discovered them, he would definitely not be so kind. He would probably tear her and Xiao An into pieces.

Yao Yingxia welcomed the May Day holiday with trepidation.

The day before the holiday, after finishing her last class, Yao Yingxia immediately returned to the dormitory, picked up her luggage that had already been packed, and prepared to take a taxi to the airport.

As soon as Yao Yingxia walked out of the dormitory building, she was stopped by a middle-aged man in a suit. The man seemed to recognize her and handed her a sealed document. "Ms. Yao, please sign for it in person."

This person didn't look like a courier at all, but rather an elite in a certain field. Yao Yingxia immediately felt a bad feeling in her heart and looked at him defensively: "Who are you?

The other party then remembered to introduce himself, straightened his tie and said: "Excuse me, my name is Wang, I am Mr. Shen's personal lawyer."

The document in her hand immediately became heavy, and Yao Yingxia's fingers trembled uncontrollably, almost unable to hold it.

She hadn't even opened it yet, but she seemed to know that she was in big trouble.

Lawyer Wang asked considerately, "Do you need me to open it for you?"