You stay with me

Shen Yanshu took leave that day to care for her grandmother at the hospital. Andrew, the hospital doctors, and their family held a video conference in the conference room to finalize the treatment plan. On the third day, Andrew put aside his research project and flew to Ningcheng to observe her condition and discuss further treatment plans with the attending physician. Although her grandmother remained unconscious, she was moved from the intensive care unit to a regular ward. The doctor said the rest depended on the patient's own health.

More than a month passed, and Shen Yanshu prayed every day that her grandmother would finally open her eyes. It was already late, and her grandfather had gone home to rest, leaving her alone in the hospital. She sat by the bed, looking at her grandmother's calm, thin face, her lips almost bloodless, and no matter what she said, she wouldn't respond.

Shen Yanshu checked his phone, but there were no messages. Su Bai had flown to Nova a week ago, saying he had important matters to attend to, but not only had there been no news, but he was also unreachable. Shen Yanshu contacted Guan Cheng and Anna, but they were both silent on Su Bai's situation. Nova's news reported a major conflict within the S Group's leadership, with the new chairman suspected of being caught in the middle of the internal strife and involved in a car accident, and his whereabouts remain unknown.

Ningcheng became unusually damp and cold in December. The air-conditioned room in the hospital was a bit dry, so Shen Yanshu felt his throat was a bit dry and drank some water.

The phone suddenly vibrated. Shen Yanshu quickly picked up the phone and couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the message that popped up.

Su Bai: Merry Christmas.

Shen Yanshu looked at the message Su Bai sent her a week later, and all her tension was released. She stared at the phone for a long time, repeatedly confirming that the message was new.

Su Bai: Is it convenient for you to answer the phone?

Shen Yanshu walked to the window and looked up to see a huge green Christmas tree static sticker and many decorations on the shop window in the distance. Only then did he realize that it was really Christmas.

Shen Yanshu clenched his hands lightly and typed: Convenient.

Immediately afterwards, Su Bai called, and the voice coming from the receiver stimulated the skin on Shen Yanshu's ear.

"Little book."

"Um."

"What's wrong? Are you crying?"

She didn't know what was wrong with her, her throat was tight, "No."

Shen Yanshu asked, "Have you been busy these days?"

"I'm sorry I haven't replied to your message. Now that everything is done, I'm glad I can spend Christmas with you."

"Can't you tell me?"

She could sense some hesitation from the other party as she heard soft breathing sounds from the other side.

"I was in a car accident and was in a coma for five days. I didn't let Guan Cheng tell you because I was afraid you would worry."

Su Bai simplified the details; the process was far more sinister than he'd let on. Some people had tried to exploit the conflict between him and his father, believing his father would actually dethrone him as the heir. But his father merely wanted to teach him a lesson, to keep him under control. But whoever it was, it was an insult and contempt for him.

The penetrating wound on my shoulder was a little painful when I moved. The doctor said that my arm was almost gone, but compared to some people who have already visited God, these injuries are not serious.

The only annoying thing is that it makes Shen Yanshu worried.

Hearing that Su Bai had really been in a car accident, Shen Yanshu suddenly became nervous, "Is it serious?"

"It's not serious. We'll land in Ningcheng soon."

"If it wasn't serious, you wouldn't have kept it from me, nor would you have ignored my messages."

"Feel sorry."

Shen Yanshu was a little angry. This person didn't care about his health at all. "Why don't you stay in the hospital?"

Su Bai replied softly: "I want to spend Christmas with you. Christmas is a very important holiday."

"But I'm in the hospital with my grandma."

"I know, I just wanted to see you." When he was injured and fainted, the only person he saw was Shen Yanshu. If he couldn't see her before he died, he would probably die with regrets.

He asked Shen Yanshu: "Have you had dinner?"

"have eaten."

"What are you eating?"

"Rice made by my mom."

"It must be delicious." He then asked, "What do you want for Christmas?"

"I don't know." After a pause, Shen Yanshu replied, "I want to know about you. Su Bai, I will be worried if I don't hear from you. Next time, you must tell me no matter what, okay?"

"I've got that in mind. See you later."

…

When Su Bai entered the ward, Shen Yanshu had already fallen asleep on the accompanying bed. The moonlight shone through the window onto her face, and her whole body was shrouded in a soft glow. He tiptoed to her bedside, placed the small gift box in his hand on the headboard, and squatted down to watch her sleep.

Shen Yanshu slept lightly and woke up at the slightest noise. Seeing Su Bai, she slowly sat up. The moonlight was hazy and she thought she was dreaming.

"Su Bai."

"I'm back."

Her eyes rolled, the days of worry finally breaking down when she saw Su Bai appear before her, intact. She really couldn't take it anymore. Wen Xianyue and her grandmother had already exhausted her. If it was Su Bai... then she really couldn't bear it.

"Don't cry." Su Bai reached out and wiped her tears. "I didn't dare to tell you because I was afraid you would be like this."

She hugged Su Bai's neck, and Su Bai hissed in pain due to the wound on his shoulder.

She pointed to her shoulder and asked, "Does it hurt here?"

Su Bai just asked softly: "Can you continue to hold me?"

If I lose a hug because of a wound, it will hurt me more than the wound itself.

Shen Yanshu looked at his eyes, which were more beautiful than the moon, and hugged him gently as if tempted: "Did it hurt you?"

"No, I'm almost healed."

"Isn't it particularly serious?"

"Nothing serious."

"If it's not serious, why would you hide it from me and why haven't you replied to my message for so long?"

Their conversation was going around in circles, even though they had asked the same question just now.

Su Bai put one arm around Shen Yanshu, raised the corner of his mouth, and asked, "Then what do you think I should be like?"

"If it's not serious, you must come back to Ningcheng to find me as soon as possible." Shen Yanshu buried his head in Su Bai's shoulder. "You have so many things to deal with. Anna said before that your family situation is very complicated, which made me a little scared."

Su Bai's mouth sank and he asked, "Do you want to leave?"

"No, I want you to tell me and I'll work with you to find a solution."

Su Bai said: "I will solve it myself. I just want you to be happy all the time."

“No one is happy all the time. How can anyone be happy all the time?”

Su Bai felt that Shen Yanshu had lost weight and could be wrapped around his waist with one arm: "I want to do my best."

"Su Bai, I saw a three-second announcement about your marriage on your company's homepage."

When I was looking for news about Su Bai, I happened to see it in the announcement on the homepage of their company's official website. There were only three seconds, and I didn't have time to confirm whether it was true.

She felt Su Bai's body tense up, and he nuzzled her cheek and held her tighter: "I've taken care of it."

"I want to say, let's be together." Shen Yanshu left Su Bai's arms and looked into his eyes. "Although we said before that it's up to you to decide whether we should be together, I can't wait any longer. I want to be with you, I want you to be my boyfriend, I want to know everything about you."

"I don't want you to face the dangers around you alone, nor do I want you to be lonely forever. I know you're still afraid, but I want to make you a promise, a lifelong promise." Shen Yanshu conjured a ring from nowhere and put it on Su Bai's finger. "I bought it when you ignored me. I asked Guan Cheng and Anna, but they wouldn't tell me about you. I happened to walk into a jewelry store at that time. I thought if you could come back to find me, I would tie you down and make sure you couldn't go anywhere else except by my side."

"Would you like to?"

Su Bai looked at the ring on his hand, a simple honeycomb-shaped ring, "It seems that there is no chance to say no."

"You still want to refuse?"

"No, I'm just surprised. Why would someone give a ring just for confessing their love?"

"You could also consider it a proposal."

"How can this be?!"

"Then consider it as me inviting you to be my boyfriend, okay?"

"Can."

Shen Yanshu laughed, "Merry Christmas."

"Wait a minute, I have a gift for you too."

Su Bai took the gift box from the bedside and opened it. Inside was a silver-white seven-pointed star bracelet with about seven stars. Each star was inlaid with a 3-carat D color IF clarity diamond. "Do you like it? I remember you said you like seven-pointed stars."

Seven stars you like, thank you for ending my lonely fate and making my life complete.

Shen Yanshu took the bracelet out of the box. She looked at the sparkling diamonds on the bracelet, looked into Su Bai's eyes, and said, "I like it."

"Please help me put it on."

Su Bai helped Shen Yanshu tie the bracelet and heard her say, "I didn't expect that we would confess here."

"Grandma witnessed us." The bracelet looked even better on Shen Yanshu's hand. He asked, "Has it been very hard these past few days?"

"Yes, you see I've lost weight. This is the first time I know there are so many things to pay attention to when taking care of patients. When you get old, I will definitely hire a nurse."

"When you're old, I'll do it myself."

Shen Yanshu smiled and hugged him, "Then you have to be more serious, I'm very difficult to please."

"good."

"I'm sleepy."

"Go to sleep." Su Bai covered Shen Yanshu with a blanket. "I'll be by your side. Sleep well this time."

She held Su Bai's hand and asked, "Is it really not fake?"

"Would you like to pinch yourself?"

"It seems to be true. You were so gentle in my dream."

"You dreamt about me?"

"Ah - I'm going to sleep." Then he covered himself with the quilt and fell asleep.

Su Bai looked at Shen Yanshu holding his hand, and the ring on her finger. He seemed to understand Shen Yanshu's anxiety and worry these days. Just how worried could she be to buy a ring, make dozens of calls, and send 99+ messages? This belated realization made him feel even more distressed. Seeing her exhausted from taking care of her grandmother and worrying about his own safety, Su Bai thought that he shouldn't have taken such a risk, nor should he have kept it secret from her. He should have let her know everything.

He smoothed Shen Yanshu's hair with his fingers. She looked very cute when she was asleep. Compared to when they first met, she had shed far more tears than smiled in the past month. The friends who had left, the relatives who were in a coma, each one was in the hands of fate, leaving people helpless.

He didn't dare tell Shen Yanshu about Andrew's conclusion. He couldn't tell which would make her feel better, endless waiting or a straightforward result, but both results were unacceptable to her.

After an hour or two, Shen Yanshu fell asleep, turned over, and let go of him. He looked at Shen Yanshu for a long time and then walked to the window and closed the curtains.

Let her have a good sleep.