0026 Jiang Shi (2)

Hotel bathroom.

Du Fenfang had tied her long hair into a bun. She was wearing a white, tight-fitting inner layer with the sleeves rolled up high, and she was bending over to wash a white towel.

She had brought several new towels before coming to B City because she was worried they weren't clean, since they weren't from the hotel.

Shen Yan sat in his wheelchair buttoning up his shirt. Due to his limited mobility, it was inconvenient for him to take a bath outside, so Du Fenfang had to help him wipe his body.

He wasn't wearing his glasses in the bathroom, and his hair, damp with mist, made him look sultry, giving him an unusually erotic air. Having just finished drying her upper body, Du Fenfang wrung out the towel and was about to pull up his trousers.

He blushed and pressed her hand down.

"Fragrance, I can do it myself."

Shen Yan's attempt to avoid suspicion made her feel like she, as a girl, was being inappropriate. She lowered her head slightly, but still pushed his hand away.

"It's not like we haven't done it before." Saying that, she helped him take off his clothes.

The cramped and confined space was filled with an awkward atmosphere.

Du Fenfang skillfully started rubbing from the base of his legs. Because he had been sitting in a wheelchair for many years, his legs did not have strong lines, but they were also not fat at all, and they were good-looking.

She carefully wiped every inch of his skin, and when she reached his broken leg, she became even more focused.

From this angle, Shen Yan could just see her profile clearly.

Under the light, the white tight-fitting bodysuit beautifully accentuated her rounded breasts.

When he first met Du Fenfang, he only thought of her as a mischievous child. Because at that time she always had short, boyish hair and was lively and active, he had never noticed that she also had such a quiet side.

At that time, he was unaware of her relationship with Lingling. His heart was entirely with Lingling, and he couldn't understand why Fenfang, who was usually so lively like a little monkey, would blush and become nervous in front of him.

It wasn't until after those events happened that she suddenly said at his bedside, "I love you, and I'm willing to take care of you." Only then did he realize that Fenfang, whom he had always regarded as a student, actually harbored such feelings for him.

He had just graduated from university and found an internship. But overnight, he lost his right leg and completely missed out on the person he loved, plunging his world into utter darkness.

Actually, he had a premonition all along. When Lingling brought that unusually handsome boy back to the He family, he knew that Lingling's relationship with him was extraordinary. He knew it wasn't because she was kind, because he saw that Lingling's gaze was no longer fixed on him, but instead she smiled at the boy named Chen Yixu time and time again.

He could tell that Chen Yixu's family background was extraordinary.

He saw a car at an intersection about a kilometer from Lingling's house. It wouldn't be found in such a poor county town as theirs. He guessed that it belonged to the boy.

It really was him.

Whether to test him or to avoid scaring Lingling, he chose to conceal his background. He had to park the car far enough away to become one of He Lingling's "ordinary classmates." But he didn't expect that after he left, He's mother insisted that Lingling bring him some of the snacks she had just made. Lingling complained and chased after him, just in time to see the driver opening the door for him.

The unspoken "Young Master" was met with a glare from him, which he then replaced with a curt "Chen Yixu".

Later, he accidentally learned his surname and realized that his concealment was far more complicated than he had thought. It wasn't something that could be concealed under the pretext of personal feelings or private life.

At that time, he thought Chen Yixu was just a rich kid. Later, when he heard Lingling say that he had been admitted to T University in B City, he had a completely new attitude and understanding of him.

Unlike Chen Yixu, he had to study diligently for over ten years in H County, where educational resources were extremely underdeveloped, in order to be admitted to the highest university in D Province. For him, the college entrance examination was his only chance to change his background and transcend social class.

He thought of his impoverished living conditions, his grandparents' worn-out clothes, and his own financial struggles due to not having enough money for food.

He had no connections, no money, and not even parents.

That time and again brought him strange looks from those around him.

Yes, he was about to have a completely new life. He finally had the chance to stand tall in front of his parents and say, "Don't worry about entrusting Lingling to me. I will make sure she has a good life." He could also finally say to Lingling, whom he had always kept in his heart, "I love you."

How could fate be so cruel and unpredictable? The climb was so difficult, leaving him battered and bruised, yet he lost everything in an instant.

The car accident took away more than just his right leg; it also took away one of the few things he had in this world—a healthy body and dignity.

He lost his freedom of movement and the opportunity to have a glamorous job, but what he found hardest to accept was that Lingling finally got together with that boy named Chen Yixu.

He Lingling had always been his source of strength and motivation, but now that she was gone, he was devastated.

He lay in the ward filled with the smell of disinfectant, unwilling to wake up, but Fenfang woke him up.

When he opened his eyes, what he saw was her crying.

She cried so bitterly in front of him that he was actually somewhat moved.

To his even greater surprise, she said she loved him.

Even he, a man, felt inferior. Regardless of how much love she had for him, it took immense courage to say "I love you" to a man who had just had his right leg amputated, permanently lost it, and might even lose the ability to support himself.

Because hidden behind those three words is "I will take care of you".

Of course he didn't agree. Putting aside the fact that he had no feelings for her at all, he would never do something that would drag down a girl from a good family.

But he didn't expect her to have such perseverance; she actually moved into his rented apartment and took care of his daily needs.

She took care of everything, big and small, from cooking and washing clothes to changing his dressings.

Although her family wasn't extremely wealthy, they were still quite well-off, and it was clear that she had never experienced hardship growing up.

When she first started cooking, she would burn her hands and cut herself. When washing clothes, she would pour in half a bottle of laundry detergent and use several large buckets of water, but she still couldn't get the scum out. Yet, she actually became skilled at these things little by little.

It's not that we didn't try to get her out, but she would repeatedly go out to buy groceries and come back to make him a stomach-soothing vegetable porridge, as if she didn't hear us.

And he watched helplessly as the lively and adorable little monkey with short hair transformed into Du Fenfang, who, under the lamplight, had long, smooth hair and patiently and carefully wiped his broken leg.

Shen Yan grabbed Du Fenfang's hand, and Du Fenfang stopped moving and looked up at him.

Her eyes were so pure when she looked at him that he was momentarily captivated.

He said, "Fenfang, I've said it many times, my heart is not with you."

She turned away from his gaze and went to wring out the towel.

"I've wasted so many years of your life, I can never repay your kindness..."

“You know that’s not a favor,” she interrupted him gently, a bitter taste lingering on her lips.

“It’s not love either,” he replied coldly.

Tears still welled up, but she desperately held them back. "You heard it with your own ears, ten years later she's still by Chen Yixu's side, she doesn't love you..."

"But I love her."

What firm words, what hurtful statements.

“Shenyan, I told her we’re getting engaged…” Tears still streamed down her face.

“You know that’s not true.” His tone remained indifferent.

She finally snapped and yelled at him, "But I've said I love you a thousand times, ten thousand times! I've always been by your side, all I want is for you to marry me."

Shen Yan finally found it difficult to show her such a cold expression. Looking at her tear-streaked face, his heart was filled with sorrow.

He raised his hand to wipe away her tears, and she cried uncontrollably, leaning against him.

He spoke softly and painfully, "But I can't give you anything..."

He lacks the ability, and therefore has no right to make any promises to anyone.

All he could do, despite his physical disability, was quietly wipe away her tears.

This long-standing feud should have ended long ago, but a phone call interrupted them.

It was an unfamiliar number, but not an unfamiliar voice.