Stirring the Heartstrings
Jiang Xiao had a dream.
The dream encompassed her outrageous and speechless half of life, from her first cry to entering the entertainment industry to pursue her dreams, from her fluttering heart when she first saw Zhou Wenting to her tragic death under the wheels of her black fans.
So unreal, yet so real.
Jiang Xiao was unwilling to accept this. She didn't want to be treated as "garbage" by the system, but even if she gritted her teeth, what else could she do...
No, wait, she seemed to have overlooked something.
Jiang Xiao slowly opened her eyes, and what appeared before her eyes was neither the Naihe Bridge nor the entrance to heaven, but a white ceiling that could not be more ordinary.
The air was filled with a faint smell of disinfectant. The darkness outside the window had not yet completely dissipated. The evening breeze made the leaves rustle, like a devil with its bloody mouth open, and there was a slightly weird atmosphere in the air.
Jiang Xiao stretched out her hand and placed it across her eyes to block the glaring light. Under the warm yellow light, she saw a pair of slender jade hands, white and clean. A piece of sky blue hospital gown on the wrist caught her attention.
Is she in the hospital?
However, before she could figure it out, she heard a deliberately low voice talking next to her.
"Miss Jiang, are you awake?"
The doctor standing facing Jiang Xiao had been paying attention to her movements. When he saw her wake up, a look of joy appeared on his face and he immediately walked towards her without stopping.
Seeing this, the other man took the initiative to avoid the situation and said, "I'll go out for a while."
However, the female voice behind him pinned his legs to the spot.
"Hubby, where are you going?"
The woman's voice was soft and crisp, echoing in the ward, like a feather brushing the heartstrings, making one's ears numb.
First he was called "little uncle", then "husband". These two strange names made Zhou Qishen feel absurd. He looked back and asked, "What did you call me?"
Jiang Xiao met his probing and warning gaze directly, blinking her big watery eyes, innocent and simple, and asked blankly: "Husband, why am I in the hospital? What happened?"
The incandescent light was bright enough to illuminate her slender figure. Her snow-white, jade-like face concealed a hint of sadness, as if she was afraid and puzzled by her sudden appearance in the hospital.
Even in the eyes that were most vulnerable to being poked, there was only confusion and helplessness, with no trace of lying or joking at all.
Zhou Qishen's expression froze on his face and his thoughts became confused.
The doctor at the side opened his mouth into an O shape, looking back and forth between the two people. He knew that choosing to take the night shift today was the right decision, as he actually got to know the shocking news that the hospital boss was secretly married to a female star!
At this moment, Jiang Xiao seemed to have noticed something and sobbed hoarsely, "Husband, why are you looking at me with such a cold expression? And you don't even answer my questions? Don't you love me anymore?"
Her beautiful eyes instantly became moist, spilling out a few drops of water of unknown origin, like flower buds in a rainstorm, making people want to hold an umbrella for her to dispel the annoying wind and rain.
Hearing this groundless accusation, Zhou Qishen frowned even deeper, and had no choice but to say to the doctor, "Check her out."
As soon as he finished speaking, he continued to walk towards the door, but the woman's crying was like a deadly knife, scraping away his remaining sanity again and again.
"Where are you going, husband?"
"Hubby, please don't leave, okay? I'm scared, wuwuwu..."
The doctor, who sensed something fishy, advised: "Mr. Zhou, why don't you just sit there and wait? It will be quick."
The usual calmness on Zhou Qishen's face was almost broken. He paused and finally turned back.
Perhaps because she saw that he did not leave, Jiang Xiao on the hospital bed slowly stopped crying and obediently cooperated with the doctor to do basic examinations such as measuring her blood pressure.
After a while, the doctor came to the same conclusion as before: "Basic signs are normal, nothing serious."
Zhou Qishen half-leaned on the sofa, his dark eyes thoughtful. After a moment, he asked in a deep voice: "If there is nothing wrong with her body, then why did she mistake me for her husband?"
The doctor scratched his head in confusion: "Aren't you two a couple?"
"no."
"yes."
The two answered at the same time, but their answers were completely opposite.
Jiang Xiao raised her hand to pull down her messy hair and glared at the man angrily: "Besides you, do I have another husband?"
After saying that, she quickly threw back the quilt, rolled up her sleeves, and looked like she was so angry that she was about to get out of bed and argue with the man.
Seeing this, the doctor quickly stopped her: "Ms. Jiang, calm down, talk it over nicely, don't do anything, there must be some misunderstanding here."
"What misunderstanding? It's obvious that he has grown powerful or has someone else outside and doesn't want me as his wife anymore."
While the doctor was trying his best to comfort the emotional Jiang Xiao, he glanced at the silent Zhou Qishen. No matter how you looked at it, these two people were so well matched. How could they not be husband and wife?
But Zhou Qishen denied it again and again...
Even though the doctor was knowledgeable, the current situation was something he had never encountered before. Both of them were people he could not afford to offend. He was in a dilemma for a moment, not knowing who was right.
But no matter whether these two are husband and wife or not, it will definitely stir up a public opinion storm, and he, a small office worker, cannot afford the risk of being on the front page of the news.
Damn it, what are you talking about? You must not have checked the almanac when scheduling the shifts. I’m so unlucky to have to deal with something like this.
Zhou Qishen's forehead veins jumped, and he said with his last bit of patience: "Give her a full body check, especially..."
Although he didn't finish his words, any smart person could tell that his implication was to check Jiang Xiao's brain carefully.
Yes, it is unheard of to regard a stranger as your husband. Jiang Xiao is either crazy or joking on purpose.
Whatever the reason, it is serious.
"I'll arrange it right away."
After saying this, the doctor couldn't wait to flee the scene and seek help.
They were the only two people left in the ward.
Zhou Qishen took the initiative to break the silence: "Stop pretending."
But it was obvious that the other party was still immersed in the anger of "my husband doesn't recognize me". She glared at him fiercely, and ignored what he said. She even turned her head and moved her buttocks, sitting with her back to him.
Witnessing this scene, Zhou Qishen understood the subtext that she didn't want to communicate, but she didn't respond, so Zhou Qishen couldn't help but say, "There should be a bottom line for nonsense, why lie?"
This time, he finally got a response: "You are talking nonsense, you are lying, you bastard who doesn't recognize your wife."
"Besides, you're the one with a problem in your brain..." After scolding her, she still felt unsatisfied and added while mumbling.
Zhou Qishen closed his eyes in annoyance and was about to explode, but the image of her tearful eyes emerged involuntarily in his mind. If she cried, he would have to comfort her.
After hesitating for two seconds, he tried his best to suppress his impatience and said, "I'm not your husband, do you understand?"
Jiang Xiao snorted: "I don't understand."
Hearing this, Zhou Qishen held his forehead with his hand, feeling as if something was stuck in his throat.
He prides himself on being calm and self-controlled, and being able to handle any problem without batting an eyelid, but as the saying goes: every force has its own nemesis, and today he has met his match.
After a few seconds of stalemate, Zhou Qishen realized that this was not a solution. Helplessly, he sighed and gave in: "What do you want?"
"I didn't mean anything." Jiang Xiao's voice was muffled, and no emotion could be heard.
“…”
A faint light flashed across Zhou Qishen's slightly narrowed eyes. For the first time in his life, he experienced what it felt like to be made to laugh out of anger. He simply said nothing and waited quietly for the doctor to come back.
Soon after, doctors from the neurology and psychology departments rushed to the ward.
After a series of examinations and discussions, the conclusion was the same as before: there was nothing wrong with Jiang Xiao's body.
In the hospital corridor, Zhou Qishen listened to the doctor's report, narrowed his eyes, and said firmly: "So, she was pretending."
"This..." The doctors looked at each other in bewilderment. A neurologist said awkwardly, "It is also possible that the patient suffered from traumatic memory loss after the car accident."
Traumatic memory loss refers to the temporary amnesia and memory disorder that occurs when a person suffers a major blow or stimulation.
This means that even if Jiang Xiao was not hit by the car, she might have suffered a huge shock and suffered memory disorder.
As for why they regarded Zhou Qishen as their husband, perhaps it was out of dependence on their savior. It was hard for them to say. After all, there are many situations in this world that are difficult to explain by medicine.
"Anyway, let's get in touch with Miss Jiang's family first."
After saying that, the doctors around all looked at Zhou Qishen standing aside. After all, it was he who brought the patient to the hospital and he was now the only "guardian".
Zhou Qishen rubbed his forehead with his fingers, his eyes were subtle, and he didn't say a word.
Seeing that he remained silent, the doctor who had come in first stood up and said, "I'll go talk to Miss Jiang."
"Let me go." Finally, Zhou Qishen stopped him.
*
The clock on the white wall was ticking. Jiang Xiao lowered her eyes and played with her fingers. Her pretty face was hidden by her hair. It was unknown what she was thinking.
Hearing the approaching footsteps, she subconsciously raised her eyes.
She was stunned when she saw the person coming, and then pouted aggrievedly: "Honey, what did the doctor say? Do I have a terminal illness?"
Zhou Qishen stopped two steps away from the bed, took in her panic, and raised his eyebrows slightly: "You're fine."
Every word the woman said was beyond his expectations, but after knowing the reason, he felt inexplicably sad.
After a while, he came up with a good excuse: "We are going to the police station to take a statement later. Call your agent or family."
It wasn't really a reason. He called the police according to Jiang Xiao's wishes. The perpetrator had been caught, and they should go and identify him.
Jiang Xiao pursed her lower lip. At eleven or twelve in the morning, a popular female star was nearly killed in a car accident. She was first taken to the hospital and then to the police station. She had to notify the team anyway.
"I'll call now." Jiang Xiao picked up the phone from the bedside table, opened WeChat, and sent a message to her agent.
Agent Liang Cheng is her cousin and best friend. Apart from other things, she has good business skills. After graduation, her father hired her as an agent with a high salary. In name, it was to take care of her, but in reality, it was to keep an eye on her to prevent her from getting into trouble.
[Let’s call it Jiang Zi]: Sister Liang, I’m going to the police station later.
As soon as the message was sent, the other party replied almost instantly.
[Sister Liang of Society]:? ? ?
Jiang Xiao realized later that what she had said seemed ambiguous. She was about to type out an explanation when her phone started vibrating the next second.
Jiang Xiao immediately answered the call, and Liang Cheng's loud voice echoed through the screen in the ward: "Which police station? Let me see a joke."
Jiang Xiao: “…”
Zhou Qishen glanced sideways.
After a long time without a reply, the voice on the other end became louder: "I'm asking you a question. Which police station are you from?"
It wasn't her who called the police, so how would she know which police station it was.
Jiang Xiao silently turned down the volume of her phone, then gritted her teeth and looked at Zhou Qishen for help.
"Jinjiang Police Station." Zhou Qishen responded calmly.
Jiang Xiao repeated it.
After learning the exact location, Liang Cheng sneered and said, "My dear Miss Jiang, you didn't send Lin Qianyu to the hospital, did you? I told you not to listen to Zhang Jingyao's nonsense a long time ago. Now you've done it, right? Have you finished with yourself?"
"I didn't beat anyone into the hospital. I was almost hit by a car and I'm still in the hospital." Jiang Xiao couldn't help but retort.
Liang Cheng was silent for two seconds, and said in disbelief: "Lin Qianyu has that ability?"
“……” Jiang Xiao was speechless.
After Jiang Xiao's unilateral explanation, the other party finally understood. She just told Jiang Xiao to wait quietly in the hospital and not to make trouble, and she would be there soon, and then hung up the phone quickly.
Jiang Xiao: “…”
Making trouble in the hospital? Does she look that crazy?
After putting away the phone, Jiang Xiao smiled awkwardly and said, "Sorry, my agent is not very smart."
Zhou Qishen didn't have any special reaction, he just raised his eyebrows slightly: "It's okay, I understand."
Understand what? Do you understand that her agent is not very smart? Or understand what?
After this episode, the atmosphere became much more relaxed.
Zhou Qishen sat down on the sofa again. As soon as he sat down, he closed his eyes and rested, as if he didn't want to be disturbed.
Jiang Xiao looked at his frown and tactfully avoided getting into trouble.
"Xiaoxiao! Xiaoxiao!"
Liang Cheng arrived quickly. Led by the doctor, he rushed into the ward in a hurry. He grabbed Jiang Xiao and looked her up and down several times. He opened and closed his mouth, but couldn't utter a word.
The look on his face as if he wanted to say something but hesitated showed that he knew about her amnesia.
A few seconds later, Liang Cheng bowed deeply to Zhou Qi, and his respectful tone was full of gratitude: "Mr. Zhou, thank you for your hard work. Could you please step aside for a moment?"
Zhou Qishen opened his eyes and nodded.
After the others left, Liang Cheng followed them stealthily.
He first locked the door with a click, then leaned over the window to make sure no one was eavesdropping outside, and then turned back to the bed.
After all this, Jiang Xiao couldn't help but ask, "What are you doing?"
Liang Cheng didn't answer immediately. Instead, he threw his bag and the clothes he brought onto the chair. Then, he crossed his arms over his chest, stared at her, and said solemnly, "Shouldn't I be the one asking you this? What are you going to do?"
"What's the meaning?"
"Still pretending?"
Liang Cheng narrowed his eyes slightly, already understanding everything.
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