"Fortunately, the stab didn't hit any vital organs, and since it was treated promptly with only a small wound, stitching it up will be enough," the doctor at Zhongwu Hospital told Ye Shuang the next morning, discussing Chen Qin's condition. "But even a small wound can be dangerous if it hits the heart or similar areas."
"Understood."
After exchanging a few more words with the doctor, Ye Shuang entered the ward to check on Chen Qin.
She was lying in bed, with several nurses attending to her.
When Chen Qin saw Ye Shuang walk in, she playfully flashed a peace sign. "I'm fine, yay!"
"Just rest for now," Ye Shuang said, sitting beside the bed.
"Should I contact Uncle Chen and the others?"
"No, they’d be terrified," Chen Qin replied, forcing a lighthearted tone. "I prefer sharing only good news."
"Telling family would just make them worry without helping anything."
Ye Shuang could only sigh. "Then let me be the only one worrying."
Chen Qin giggled. "Sorry to trouble you~"
But her complexion was pale—she was clearly putting on a brave face just to ease Ye Shuang’s concerns.
"What about work?"
"The doctor said I’ll need at least half a month of bed rest, but it’s fine. I’ll just work from the hospital," Chen Qin said.
"I’ll stay here and help handle company matters too," Ye Shuang offered. "Luckily, the knife missed all the vital organs. The doctor said the angle was extremely tricky but somehow avoided everything important."
"Huh? A stroke of luck in misfortune, then."
"How can you still laugh about it?" Ye Shuang asked.
"Because I’m happy."
"Happy?" Ye Shuang was puzzled. What was there to be happy about?
"Because I only got a minor injury," Chen Qin said, tilting her head. "But what if the knife had hit you somewhere fatal? Even if Zhao Mengyao just meant to scare you with the knife, I was so afraid of losing you."
"If it happened again…"
"I’d still choose to do the same."
Ye Shuang: "..."
"You’re such a fool," Ye Shuang murmured. Then, after a pause, he suddenly asked,
"So… we’re really not dating?"
"Nope," Chen Qin said, then proceeded to recount everything about Ye Shuang and Zhao Mengyao from beginning to end.
Ye Shuang listened quietly. Though it was his own story, it felt completely unfamiliar—as if it had happened to someone else.
"None of that matters now," Ye Shuang shook his head and said earnestly,
"Be with me."
Chen Qin stared at him blankly before smiling and shaking her head.
"No."
"Why…?"
Chen Qin lowered her head, deep in thought.
"I really do like you, but…"
"I don’t want you to be with me out of obligation or guilt."
"I don’t want you to be with me because of those jumbled memories."
"Of course, at first, when I realized you’d replaced Zhao Mengyao in your memories with me, I was overjoyed…"
"It felt like we had shared memories, like… the girl you worked so hard to please… was actually me."
"But then I realized—that just made me a substitute."
"Zhao Mengyao is Zhao Mengyao."
"And I am me."
Chen Qin placed a hand over her chest. Even wounded, bathed in the morning light streaming through the window, her smile seemed to glow brilliantly.
"This lady is one of a kind! I’m no one’s replacement, and I don’t need anyone’s pity."
"I love you for who you are, and I want a love that’s just as unique."
"I want you to genuinely like this girl, not just feel like you owe her."
"Ye Shuang, I want you to remember everything."
"And then, properly tell me, ‘I love you.’"
Ye Shuang gazed at the radiant girl before him, momentarily speechless—she was so dazzling that he felt like a corpse dragged out of the gutter and forced into the sunlight.
She was extraordinary, with her own pride and dignity. Even if Chen Qin could humble herself to the bone for Ye Shuang, that didn’t mean she’d accept being a stand-in or a bandage for his wounds.
Right.
Ye Shuang suddenly understood.
They’d grown up together—he remembered Chen Qin’s favorite foods.
So why, during dinner yesterday, had Zhao Mengyao’s preferences overwritten those memories?
Chen Qin was Chen Qin. Zhao Mengyao was Zhao Mengyao.
"Memories…"
A sharp pain shot through Ye Shuang’s head, but nothing came back to him.
Noticing his discomfort, Chen Qin gently reassured him, "Take your time. I don’t know what happened to you, but I’m sure you’ll be okay."
"After all, this lady isn’t going anywhere."
"..." Ye Shuang smiled. "Yeah."
Just then, his phone rang.
It was the police station.
"Hello? Yes… What? Seriously? Alright." Hanging up, Ye Shuang frowned slightly, lost in thought.
"Huh?" Chen Qin asked.
"Zhao Mengyao…"
"She got arrested?" Chen Qin sounded displeased. "What a joke. My injury barely counts as minor."
Ye Shuang shook his head. "No, when she ran out of her apartment, she was in such a hurry that…"
"She got hit by a dump truck at the corner."
Chen Qin: "..."
"You’re kidding?"
"Nope. The police said it was instant—they couldn’t even find her head." Ye Shuang felt neither sorrow nor joy. While Zhao Mengyao didn’t deserve death, it seemed too lenient for her.
Rather than a quick end, rotting in prison with regret would’ve been more fitting.
After all, death was over in an instant.
"As the Analects say, ‘Heaven punishes the wicked. If Heaven won’t, I know a thing or two about fists.’"
Ye Shuang laughed. "That’s in the Analects?"
"Heh."
They exchanged a glance and smiled in unison.
"Hey, Ye Shuang."
"Yeah?"
"It hurts…"
"Idiot. Lie down already."
Not long after Zhao Mengyao’s encounter with the dump truck, Tang Hao also ran into trouble overseas. While transferring assets, he was betrayed by someone he trusted, losing everything before getting robbed by locals in a "zero-dollar shopping" spree.
After that, news of Tang Hao simply vanished.
Overseas, death often goes unnoticed.
With Zhao Mengyao’s demise and the collapse of the Zhao Corporation, the chapter closed—erasing her not just from the world, but from Ye Shuang’s life as well.
As if she’d never existed.
And with this interlude over, Yinshan Academy finally welcomed its annual sports festival—
lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.
reezy rom-com) Good news: Jiang Liu is quite the ladies' man. Bad news: He’s lost his memory. Lying in a hospital bed, Jiang Liu listens to a parade of goddesses spouting "absurd claims," feeling like the world is one giant game of Werewolf. "Jiang Liu, I’m your first love." "Jiang Liu, you’re my boyfriend—she’s your ex." "Jiang Liu, we’re close friends who’ve shared a bed, remember?" "Jiang Liu, I want to have your baby." The now-lucid Jiang Liu is convinced this must be some elaborate scam... until someone drops the bombshell: "The day before you lost your memory, you confessed your feelings—and got into a relationship." Jiang Liu is utterly baffled. So... who the hell is his actual girlfriend?! ... Before recovering his memories, Jiang Liu must navigate this minefield of lies and sincerity, fighting to protect himself from these women’s schemes. But things spiral even further out of control as more people show up at his doorstep—each with increasingly unhinged antics. On the bright side, the memories he lost due to overwhelming trauma seem to be resurfacing. Great news, right? So why are they all panicking now?
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
+【Epic Battles!】 "Your Highness, they say Linxi Temple is miraculous. Won’t you make a wish?" "A wish? It should be making wishes to me." "That may be so, but since you’re already here..." "..." "Fine. Then grant this princess a consort to play with." "He must be obedient, devoted, and utterly infatuated with my body—so much so that he’d kneel and kiss my feet." "Your Highness, that’s not a consort. That’s a dog." "Then add clever, witty, heroic, ambitious yet pragmatic..." "Hmm, that’s enough for now. I’ll add more later." After tossing out these words half in jest, Princess Anle departed the temple—only to catch a fleeting glimpse of the Bodhisattva statue smiling at her. Meanwhile, Yang An, fresh out of university, was having a very bad day. Good news: He’d transmigrated into another world with a cheat granting tenfold combat power. Bad news: He’d immediately fallen into the clutches of a certain villainess. Good news: Said villainess possessed peerless beauty and royal status. Bad news: She was absolutely monstrous!!! In the frozen wilderness, Yang An knelt beneath Qin Guo’er’s feet, drenched in sweat despite the cold. Desperately clutching her porcelain-perfect foot—the very one poised to crush his throat—he could only think: How do I survive this?! Need answers NOW!
