The first thing Yan and Han Qing saw as they entered the ward was the bandage wrapped around Xu Yanwan’s head. Xu Yanwan was just sitting there, and the white gauze bandage around her head was still stained with blood. The oversized blue hospital uniform that was over her petite body made her fair clavicle visible. She looked frail and weak, causing whoever saw her to feel bad for her. She looked over toward the door as she heard the footsteps.
Yan understood the look that Xu Yanwan had on her—it was full of anticipation, especially when she saw Han Qing. However, the glimmer in her eyes slowly disappeared the moment she saw Yan. The change in her look was quick and could almost go unnoticed if it were not for Yan’s constant observation of the look on her face.
Frustrated, Yan felt helpless. She used to visit Xu Yanwan at the hospital before and even brought her food from time to time, treating her as a friend. But things seemed to be a little different now. Xu Yanwan was not alone in the ward as some of the management of the company were also there, including Su Jiu. Su Jiu’s also here? It had to be because of how importantly Han Qing treated the relationship between the two families; otherwise, important persons like Su Jiu would not have shown up here.
Feeling bad, Yan insisted on not showing any emotions. Instead, she quietly stood next to Han Qing.
“What’s going on?” Han Qing glanced at Xu Yanwan who was on the bed before turning to Su Jiu.
Feeling helpless, Su Jiu explained, “There was an argument and amid that, Miss Xu went up to calm them down. As the argument became heated, they accidentally pushed her, causing her to hit her head.”
If it was not because of the blood, those people would not have stopped. After realizing that there was blood, they all stopped arguing and eventually came to the hospital together. They were afraid to be held responsible in the event anything happened.
Han Qing looked downcast and turned to those from the upper management. “So, a bunch of people from the upper management got into a fight because of some differences in opinions?”
Hearing Han Qing’s angry voice, they all kept quiet. Even though Han Qing was younger than most of them, having many years of experience as the president of the company, the charisma and intensity that he possessed were strong enough to hold them down. Whenever Han Qing was around, he would always have the last say. But with Xu Yanwan, especially now that she was by herself, they would naturally be less respectful and more arrogant. As they got into an argument over differences in opinions, rage caused some of them to begin using violence. The injury that Xu Yanwan sustained was inevitable as a result of her attempt to stop these people.
“Please think about what you can do to fix this. You all can leave now.”
After they left the ward, Su Jiu turned to Xu Yanwan, who was sitting on the bed, and walked up to Han Qing. “President Han, I have something about the company to tell you.”
“Sure.” Han Qing gave Yan a look and she quickly responded, “Go then. I’ll be here to look after Xu Yanwan.”
As everyone left, only the two were left in the ward—Xu Yanwan and Zhou Xiaoyan. It was quiet and no one was willing to say the first word. After a while, Xu Yanwan finally lifted her head and looked at Yan. Her gaze inadvertently fell on the shiny diamond ring that was on Yan’s finger. Even though she had already heard about the engagement, seeing the diamond ring on Yan’s finger was different—it was like a stab in her heart. She waited for a moment before saying bitterly, “Congratulations.”
Yan was surprised when she heard that as she never thought Xu Yanwan would ever congratulate her. Initially, Yan had no plans to speak to her, but since Xu Yanwan initiated the conversation, Yan felt she should at least respond. So, she pursed her red lips and waited for a few seconds before responding, “Thank you.”
Xu Yanwan was sitting there, all curled up, looking skinny and pale. At this point, she sorrowfully looked at Yan and commented all of a sudden, “You’re pretty lucky; you know that? I guess you’ve already found out what happened between me and him, haven’t you? And I didn’t mean anything when I texted you the last time, including the time when I was sitting in the passenger seat. I didn’t know that Han Qing was on his way to pick you up. Had I known that, I wouldn’t have sat there.”
Huh? Hearing these explanations, Yan became confused as she did not know why Xu Yanwan had to say these to her. She then frowned. “But you like Han Qing, don’t you?”
Xu Yanwan paused and nodded. “You’re right. I do like him—no, I love him, to be accurate. I’ve known him since I was little, and in my mind, he has always been the man that I would marry when I grew up. Throughout all these years, I’ve been treating him like my husband. I understand that I can be a little extreme at times, but can you understand what I’m going through? I’ve always thought he was mine, until suddenly he wasn’t. Can you understand the disappointment that I have to face?”
Yan was rendered speechless.
“It was my fault last time around, but now since you two are together, there’s nothing I can do. I’ve lost everything; the only thing I want to do now is to restore the Xu family. Can you… not think of me as an enemy in the future?”
Enemy? Yan looked at Xu Yanwan for a moment before she let out a smile. “Is that all you want to say? If you think that I’d think of you as an enemy so you’re trying to change my mind, I’d like to tell you to stop trying now,” Yan spoke, looking stern and serious.
“As long as you still like Han Qing, that will continue to make me, his girlfriend, and you rivals. I believe that you, Young Lady Xu, don’t have a heart that’s large enough not to hate me, or to even become my good friend. Besides, there’s no point for us to be good friends as we’re people from different worlds. And, you don’t have to apologize to me, because I’ve already hated you since that day. One last thing—I believe Han Qing has clarified with you that there’s never been an engagement between you and him. You made everything up; he was never yours. So, please don’t blame me for not being able to understand what you’re going through.”
As she finished, the look on Xu Yanwan’s face changed; her face that was already pale because of the injury had turned colorless—she looked as if she was being oppressed.
Seeing the blood stain on her bandage, Yan pursed her lips. Sigh, she’s a patient, after all. Did I go overboard? Oh well. Patient? So what? That doesn’t mean she’s no longer a rival. Those pretentious words that she said disgust me. Perhaps Yan was narrow-minded, but she did not reckon that Xu Yanwan was a kind person, and she certainly wasn’t planning on acting like a saint. Whatever. What’s said is said.
Xu Yanwan remained silent and sat there with her pale face, looking helpless and pitiful. Even as a woman, Yan felt that Xu Yanwan looked pitiful. If a man saw her in this state, he would definitely show his compassion and care for her. But not Han Qing, whom Yan thought would never fall for this sort of temptation. So, she was at ease.
