Volume 1, Chapter 17: Did They... Sleep Together?

"You seem very interested in the topic of 'liking' someone." Meng Huaijin lowered his eyes to look directly at her. "Do you know what it feels like to 'like' someone?"

"..."

The heart that Shu Wan had just managed to calm down jumped like a glass marble. Under the gaze of his blade-like pupils, she slowly shook her head. "I don't know."

"Focus on recovering," Meng Huaijin said sternly. "Why didn't you call me when you developed a fever in the middle of the night?"

What would be the point of calling? Even if he brought her to the hospital, he would still have to go back to negotiate the engagement date.

The girl lowered her eyes. "Aren't you busy with important matters? I was afraid of interfering with your auspicious union."

The man made a sound of acknowledgment. "And it doesn't interfere now?"

"..." Shu Wan fell silent.

Meng Huaijin did not press the issue further, yet he intentionally avoided discussing Jiang Jie with her. He likely felt these were adult matters, not something to be discussed with a schoolgirl like her. Shu Wan knew this, and it brought her an unprecedented sense of loss. His world seemed so very far away from hers.

That afternoon, Jiang Jie arrived to visit her. She brought a bouquet of flowers, and Meng Huaijin was present. The woman glanced at the spotless bedside table and teased with a gentle, soft smile: "I knew a big man like you wouldn't know how to take care of a young girl; you didn't even buy her any fruit."

Meng Huaijin cast a faint glance at her and said, "She has a pollen allergy."

Jiang Jie looked embarrassed. She threw the flowers into the trash bin outside the door, then returned to the ward, asking solicitously, "Shu Wan, would you like some fruit? I'll go buy some with your uncle."

Shu Wan didn't want to eat anything, or more precisely, she didn't want to eat anything bought by her. In the end, she watched as Meng Huaijin was lured away. It felt as though something that belonged entirely to her had been forcibly stripped away. The girl lay in the hospital